The PWS-19 was a Polish

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

and

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

plane prototype of the 1930s, constructed in the

PWS PWS may refer to: * Pressure wave supercharger, a type of super-charger technology *Performance work statement, term used to summarize the work that needs to be done for a contract * Personal weather station, a weather station owned and operated by ...

(''Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów'' -

Podlasie Podlachia, or Podlasie, ( pl, Podlasie, , be, Падляшша, translit=Padliašša, uk, Підляшшя, translit=Pidliashshia) is a historical region in the north-eastern part of Poland. Between 1513 and 1795 it was a voivodeship with the c ...

Aircraft Factory).

Development

The PWS-19 was constructed in 1930 in order to replace the French-designed bombers Potez 25 and

Breguet 19 Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

in the

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...

. It was a development of the PWS-17, which remained unbuilt. Main designers were

Zbysław Ciołkosz Zbysław Ciołkosz (23 March 1902 – 25 June 1960) was a prolific Polish American aircraft designer, whose work includes the P.Z.L. 27, PWS-20, LWS-3 Mewa, RWD-11, LWS-6 Żubr, PWS-1, PWS-54, PWS-19, LWS-2, and PWS-52.''Obituary'' (1960) Fli ...

and Antoni Uszacki. It was planned to be produced in two variants: reconnaissance PWS-19A2 and bomber PWS-19B2. It was a conventional design, a strutted high-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

with quite elegant silhouette, open cockpits and fixed landing gear. It was fitted with double tailfins to obtain a good field of defense fire. In 1934 Antoni Uszacki designed a smaller plane basing on the PWS-19, designated PWS U-6, with G-1620 Mors 400 hp engine. It participated in a contest for an army cooperation plane, but lost against

RWD-14 Czapla The RWD-14 Czapla (LWS Czapla) was a Polish army cooperation aircraft (observation, close reconnaissance and liaison aircraft), designed in the mid-1930s by the RWD team, and produced in the LWS factory from 1938. A series of 65 aircraft were b ...

and was not built.

Operational history

The only prototype first flew in

Biała Podlaska Biała Podlaska ( la, Alba Ducalis) is a city in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the Lublin Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the capital of Biała Podlaska Voivodeship (1975–1998). ...

in September 1931. During tests it showed quite good flight characteristics, although the

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

s had to be enlarged to improve manoeuvrability and stability. However, on March 17, in 1933, the wings distorted in a dive and the prototype crashed (killing an observer). The Air Force considered ordering the PWS-19A2 powered by a

Bristol Pegasus The Bristol Pegasus is a British nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial aero engine. Designed by Roy Fedden of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it was used to power both civil and military aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s. Developed from t ...

engine, but at the same time, a more modern aircraft the

PZL.23 Karaś The PZL.23 ''Karaś'' (''crucian carp'') was a Polish light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft designed in the early 1930s by PZL in Warsaw. During the interwar period, the Polish High Command had placed considerable emphasis upon the role of ar ...

had been developed by

PZL PZL (''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'' - State Aviation Works) was the main Polish aerospace manufacturer of the interwar period, and a brand of their aircraft. Based in Warsaw between 1928 and 1939, PZL introduced a variety of well-regarded air ...

- a low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction. As a result, works upon the PWS-19 stopped.

Description

Mixed construction high-wing (parasol)

. A fuselage of a steel frame, covered with

duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age-hardenable aluminium alloys. The term is a combination of '' Dürener'' and ''aluminium''. Its use as a tra ...

in front section and

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

in mid and rear sections. Two-spar wings, of wooden construction, plywood covered. Stabilizers, rudder and elevator of metal construction, canvas covered. Twin vertical tailfins. Crew of two (pilot and observer/gunner) in open individual

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

s. Conventional fixed

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

, with a rear skid. The plane was fitted with RKL/D radio and camera. Engine: 9 cylinder air-cooled radial

Pratt & Whitney Hornet The Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet was a widely used American aircraft engine. Developed by Pratt & Whitney, 2,944 were produced from 1926 through 1942. It first flew in 1927. It was a single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled radial design. Displacemen ...

T2 in front, with a Townend ring (there were optional

Bristol Jupiter The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turn ...

VII or

). Two-blade metal propeller of a fixed pitch. Fuel tank 420 L in a fuselage, dropped in emergency. Armament: single fixed front-mounted 7.7 mm Vickers machinegun with an interrupter gear, in the right fuselage side, single 7.7mm Vickers on a ring mounting of the observer. Up to 250 kg bombs (maximum bomb size - up to 50 kg).

Operators

; *

Specifications

References

External links

Photos and drawings at Ugolok Neba
{{PWS aircraft 1930s Polish bomber aircraft 1930s Polish military reconnaissance aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft PWS aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1931