PZL (''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'' - State Aviation Works) was the main
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
aerospace manufacturer
An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry.
...
of the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
, and a
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
of their aircraft. Based in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
between 1928 and 1939, PZL introduced a variety of well-regarded aircraft, most notably the
PZL P.11
The PZL P.11 was a Polish fighter aircraft, designed and constructed during the early 1930s by Warsaw-based aircraft manufacturer PZL. Possessing an all-metal structure, metal-covering, and high-mounted gull wing, the type held the distinction of ...
fighter, the
PZL.23 Karaś light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance.
The earliest light bombers were intended to dro ...
, and the
PZL.37 Łoś medium bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...
.
In the post-war era, aerospace factories in Poland were initially run under the name WSK (Transport Equipment Manufacturing Plant), but returned to adopt PZL acronym in late 1950s. This was used as a common aircraft brand and later as a part of names of several Polish state-owned aerospace manufacturers referring to PZL traditions, and belonging to the ''Zjednoczenie Przemysłu Lotniczego i Silnikowego PZL'' - PZL Aircraft and Engine Industry Union. Among the better-known products during this period is the
PZL TS-11 Iskra
The PZL TS-11 ''Iskra'' ( en, Spark) is a Polish jet trainer, developed and manufactured by aircraft company PZL-Mielec. It was used by the air forces of Poland and India. It is notable as being the first domestically developed jet aircraft to ...
jet trainer and
PZL-104 Wilga
PZL-104 Wilga ('' golden oriole'') is a Polish short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) civil aviation utility aircraft designed and originally manufactured by PZL Warszawa-Okęcie, and later by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), who ...
STOL
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
utility aircraft.
After the
fall of communism in Poland
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( South ...
in 1989, these manufacturers became separate companies, still sharing the PZL name. In the case of
PZL Mielec
PZL Mielec (''Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze'' - Polish Aviation Works), formerly WSK-Mielec (''Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego'') and WSK "PZL-Mielec" is a Polish aerospace manufacturer based in Mielec. It is the largest aerospace manufacturer i ...
, the abbreviation was later developed as ''Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze'' - Polish Aviation Works. Over time, most of the now-separate divisions were purchased by foreign concerns, and some continue to use PZL brand.
History
PZL (1928-1939)
![Bundesarchiv Bild 141-0728, Warschau, zerstörte Halle der PZL-Werke](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Bundesarchiv_Bild_141-0728%2C_Warschau%2C_zerst%C3%B6rte_Halle_der_PZL-Werke.jpg)
The PZL - ''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'' (State Aviation Works) was founded in Warsaw in 1928 as a state-owned company, and was based on the earlier CWL (''
Centralne Warsztaty Lotnicze
Centralne Warsztaty Lotnicze (Central Aviation Workshops, CWL) was the Polish state-owned aircraft repair works and manufacturer in Warsaw, active between 1918 and 1928. The workshops were created on 20 November 1918, just after Poland had regai ...
'') - Central Aviation Workshops.
[A. Glass (1977), p. 26-31] First to be produced was a licensed version of a French fighter, the
Wibault 70
The Wibault 7 was a 1920s French monoplane fighter designed and built by '' Société des Avions Michel Wibault''. Variants were operated by the French and Polish military and built under licence for Chile as the Vickers Wibault.
Development
D ...
, but from then on the company produced exclusively its own designs. In the next decade a talented designer
Zygmunt Puławski
Zygmunt Puławski (October 24, 1901 – March 21, 1931) was a Polish aircraft designer and pilot. He invented a gull-wing aircraft design, also known as "Puławski wing" and designed a series of Polish PZL fighters.
He was born in Lublin. In ...
designed a series of high-wing, all-metal modern fighters:
PZL P.1
The PZL P.1 was a Polish fighter, designed by the engineer Zygmunt Puławski, manufactured by the PZL state-owned factory. It remained a prototype, but it was the first of the Polish PZL gull wing fighter series, leading to the PZL P.7, PZL P.11 ...
,
P.6,
P.7 and
P.11. The latter two types were used as basic fighters in the
Polish Air Force from 1933 onwards. The last variant,
PZL P.24
The PZL P.24 was a Polish fighter aircraft, designed during the mid-1930s in the PZL factory in Warsaw. It was developed as a dedicated export version of the PZL P.11, a gull wing all-metal fighter designed by Polish aeronautical engineer Zygmun ...
, developed after Puławski's death in an air crash, was exported to four countries. PZL also mass-produced a light bomber,
PZL.23 Karaś, and a modern medium bomber,
PZL.37 Łoś, as well as building small numbers of sport aircraft (
PZL.5
The PZL-5 was a Polish two-seat touring and sports aircraft of 1930 constructed and produced by the PZL.
Design and development
The aircraft was designed in 1929 by an amateur designer Władysław Kozłowski. It was a wooden biplane, similar t ...
,
PZL.19,
PZL.26
PZL.26 was a Polish sports plane built in 1934 in the PZL works. Ordered by the Ministry of Defence, it was specifically designed for the upcoming Challenge 1934 International Touring Aircraft Contest.
Design and development
The PZL.26 was a de ...
), and
liaison aircraft
A liaison aircraft (also called an army cooperation aircraft) is a small, usually unarmed aircraft primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting commanders and messages. The concept developed before World War II and ...
(
PZL Ł.2
The PZL Ł.2 was the Polish Army cooperation and liaison aircraft, built in 1929 in the Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL) in Warsaw. Only a small series of 31 aircraft, including prototype, were made, and used by the Polish Air Force in the 193 ...
); and developing prototypes of passenger aircraft. In the late 1930s the company also developed several prototypes of more modern fighters and bombers — and a passenger airliner, the
PZL.44 Wicher. However,
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
prevented these aircraft from entering production. PZL was the largest Polish pre-war aircraft manufacturer.
In 1934, the main factory in Warsaw was named PZL WP-1 (''Wytwórnia Płatowców 1'' - Airframe Works 1) in the
Okęcie
Okęcie () is the largest neighbourhood of the Włochy district of Warsaw, Poland.
It is the location of Warsaw Chopin Airport and the PZL Warszawa-Okęcie aircraft works, and home to the Okęcie Warszawa professional association football club. ...
district of
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. A new division PZL WP-2 was built in
Mielec
Mielec ( yi, מעליץ-Melitz) is the largest city and seat of Mielec County. Mielec is located in south-eastern Poland (Lesser Poland), in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie). The population of Mielec in December 2021 wa ...
in 1938-1939, but production was only just starting there at the outbreak of World War II.
[ An engine factory division, PZL WS-1 in Warsaw-Okęcie (''Wytwórnia Silników'' - Engine Works 1), produced mostly licensed versions of British Bristol engines, such as the Bristol Pegasus and the Bristol Mercury. The WS-1 factory was former ''Polskie Zakłady Skody'', the Polish division of ]Skoda Works
Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to:
Czech brands and enterprises
* Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav
** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
, and was nationalized and renamed in 1936. In 1937-1939 a new engine division, PZL WS-2, was built in Rzeszów
Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian Vo ...
.[A. Glass (1977), p. 41-44]
Situation post-war
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the five-year German occupation, all Polish aviation industry was taken over by German firms, and as a result, almost completely destroyed. By the end of the war, all factories were either ruined or robbed of tooling.[Babiejczuk, J. and Grzegorzewski, J. (1974), p. 54] Despite it, from 1944 there were carried out efforts to design new aircraft, in primitive conditions (first of all, in the LWD). No engines nor suitable production facilities were available at first. The post-war communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
government of Poland wanted to break all connections with pre-war Poland: from the late 1940s the name PZL ceased to be used, and new aerospace factories were named WSK (''Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego'' - Transport Equipment Manufacturing Plant). Under the Soviet-influenced, centrally planned economy
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...
, all indigenous projects were abandoned, in a favour of manufacturing Soviet-licensed aircraft.[ No own designs were produced for a decade, and only in late 1950s, after the ]stalinist
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
period (1956), did the PZL brand return to designing new aircraft.
The ZPLiS PZL - ''Zjednoczenie Przemysłu Lotniczego i Silnikowego PZL'' - PZL Aircraft and Engine Industry Union, which grouped all state-owned aerospace industry factories, was created in following years, but it only enjoyed some economic autonomy from 1973 onwards.[Babiejczuk, J. and Grzegorzewski, J. (1974), p. 11, 16] It consisted of 19 factories, a research institute, and the Pezetel Foreign Trade Center - CHZ Pezetel, which represented all the Polish aerospace industry abroad (''Pezetel'' being the pronunciation of an abbreviation PZL in Polish).[ Consequently, in the 1970s some WSK factories also introduced the PZL abbreviation to their names. After the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, all manufacturers became separate companies, initially state-owned, still sharing the PZL name.
]
Locations
PZL "Warszawa-Okęcie"
The main factory PZL WP-1 in Warsaw was destroyed during World War II, mostly during the German evacuation in 1944. In 1946, the CSS construction bureau (''Centralne Studium Samolotów'' - Central Aircraft Study) was set up there. As the factory was rebuilt, it was renamed in 1950 as the WSK Nr.4, and in 1956 as the WSK-Okęcie.[Babiejczuk, J. and Grzegorzewski, J. (1974), p. 67-72]
It first produced licensed versions of Soviet types and aircraft developed by other Polish companies. From 1958 onwards it started to produce its own designs under the PZL brand, starting with the PZL-101 Gawron
The PZL-101 Gawron (''rook'') is a Polish agricultural and utility aircraft designed and built by WSK-Okęcie (later PZL "Warszawa-Okęcie").
Design and development
The PZL-101 was a development of the Yakovlev Yak-12M, manufactured in Poland ...
. The factory developed mainly light sports, trainer and utility aircraft. An attempt of producing and airliner PZL MD-12
The MD-12 is a Polish four-engined short-range passenger and civil utility aircraft of the 1960s, which remained in the prototype stage. The PZL brand is conventional, since it did not enter production, and was referred to under its project desi ...
was unsuccessful. The best-known designs are the PZL-104 Wilga
PZL-104 Wilga ('' golden oriole'') is a Polish short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) civil aviation utility aircraft designed and originally manufactured by PZL Warszawa-Okęcie, and later by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), who ...
utility aircraft, which was produced in larger numbers than any other Polish-designed aircraft; and the PZL-106 Kruk
The PZL-106 Kruk ( en, Raven) is a Polish agricultural aircraft designed and built by WSK PZL Warszawa-Okęcie (later PZL "Warszawa-Okęcie" and now EADS-PZL).
Design and development
The PZL-106 was developed as a modern agricultural aircraft ...
agricultural aircraft. During the 1970s the factory adopted the name WSK "PZL Warszawa-Okęcie", which after the fall of the communist system was changed in 1989 to PZL Warszawa-Okęcie. In 2001 the factory was bought by the Spanish company EADS CASA
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1923 and began manufacturing aircraft the following year. In 1999 it became a subsidiary of the EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) ...
(now part of Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defence and space products, while also providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the ...
) and since then has been known as EADS PZL Warszawa-Okęcie SA.
WSK "PZL-Mielec" / PZL Mielec
The PZL WP2 factory in Mielec became a part of Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, with ...
during the German occupation of Poland, and manufactured parts for German aircraft. After the war the factory was named first PZL No.1 works,[ then from 1949 WSK-Mielec, and later WSK "PZL-Mielec". It became the biggest post-war Polish aircraft producer.][Babiejczuk, J. and Grzegorzewski, J. (1974), p. 90-98] It manufactured mostly licensed Soviet types, such as the Antonov An-2 transport biplane and early jet fighters: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
(as Lim-1 and Lim-2) and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 ...
(as Lim-5 and Lim-6
The Lim-6 (NATO reporting name Fresco) was a Polish attack aircraft used between 1961 and 1992 by the Polish Air Force. It was a variant of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17, which was produced in Poland as the Lim-5.
Development
In 1955 Poland bough ...
). It also produced the Polish-designed TS-8 Bies
The PZL TS-8 ''Bies'' (Devil) is a Polish trainer aircraft, used from 1957 to the 1970s by the Polish Air Force and civilian aviation.
Development
The aircraft was designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement for a modern piston-engine ...
piston trainer and TS-11 Iskra
The PZL TS-11 ''Iskra'' ( en, Spark) is a Polish jet trainer, developed and manufactured by aircraft company PZL-Mielec. It was used by the air forces of Poland and India. It is notable as being the first domestically developed jet aircraft to be ...
jet trainer, and the PZL M-15 Belphegor
The PZL M-15 was a jet-powered biplane designed and manufactured by the Polish aircraft company WSK PZL-Mielec for agricultural aviation. In reference to both its strange looks and relatively loud jet engine, the aircraft was nicknamed ''Belph ...
the world's only jet agricultural aircraft
An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use – usually aerial application of pesticides (crop dusting) or fertilizer (aerial topdressing); in these roles they are referred to as "crop duster ...
. Large numbers of aircraft were exported abroad, mostly to the USSR.[ From the 1970s onward it produced mostly its own developments of licensed civil aircraft, the best known are the PZL M-18 Dromader agricultural aircraft, which was exported to numerous countries, and the ]PZL M-28
The PZL M28 Skytruck is a Polish STOL light cargo and passenger plane, produced by PZL Mielec, as a development of licence-built Antonov An-28s. Early licence-built planes were designated PZL An-28. The maritime patrol and reconnaissance varian ...
Skytruck/Bryza light transport aircraft. In 1998 the state factory WSK PZL-Mielec went bankrupt and was changed into the state-owned ''Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze'' Sp.z o.o. (Polish Aviation Works) (PZL Mielec).
On March 16, 2007, PZL Mielec was purchased by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923 and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use.
Pr ...
, a unit of United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems ...
(UTX). It still produces M-18 and M-28 aircraft.
WSK "PZL-Świdnik"
In 1951 a third national aerospace factory, WSK-Świdnik, was built in Świdnik
Świdnik () is a town in southeastern Poland with 40,186 inhabitants (2012), situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, southeast of the city of Lublin. It is the capital of Świdnik County. Świdnik belongs to the historic province of Lesser Poland, ...
,[Babiejczuk, J. and Grzegorzewski, J. (1974), p. 101-103] and in 1957 it was renamed to WSK "PZL-Świdnik". Since 1956 it has become one of the world's major helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
manufacturers, producing helicopters under Soviet licences, starting from the SM-1 (Mil Mi-1
The Mil Mi-1 (USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 32", NATO reporting name "Hare") was a Soviet three- or four-seat light utility helicopter. It was the first Soviet helicopter to enter serial production. It is powered by one Ivchenko AI-26V radial ...
).[ Świdnik was the main producer of the Mi-1 and the exclusive producer of the ]Mil Mi-2
The Mil Mi-2 (NATO reporting name Hoplite) is a small, three rotor blade Soviet-designed multi-purpose helicopter developed by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant designed in the early 1960s, and produced exclusively by WSK "PZL-Świdnik" in Polan ...
, which was widely used throughout the world. Since the late 1980s, Świdnik has been producing a Polish-designed medium helicopter PZL W-3 Sokół
The PZL W-3 ''Sokół'' (English: "Falcon") is a medium-size, twin-engine, multipurpose helicopter developed and manufactured by Polish helicopter company PZL-Świdnik, now owned by Leonardo. It was the first helicopter entirely designed and pr ...
. It also produces a light helicopter, the PZL SW-4 Puszczyk. After 1991 the state factory became a state-owned corporation (WSK "PZL-Świdnik" SA). It also produced the SZD-30 Pirat, PW-5
The Politechnika Warszawska PW-5 ''Smyk'' (Polish: "Little rascal") is a single seater sailplane designed at the Warsaw University of Technology (Polish: "Politechnika Warszawska") and manufactured in Poland. It is a monotype World Class glider.
...
and PW-6 glider
Glider may refer to:
Aircraft and transport Aircraft
* Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight
** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
s and cooperates widely with other nations' manufacturers, ''e.g.'', in the manufacture of Agusta A109
The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to ...
fuselages.
In early 2010 the factory was acquired by AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccani ...
.
PZL-Bielsko / Allstar PZL Glider
Glider
Glider may refer to:
Aircraft and transport Aircraft
* Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight
** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
manufacturer SZD (''Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny
Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny (SZD), ''Glider Experimental Works'' was a glider aircraft, glider design and research centre of the Polish aerospace industry after World War II, located in Bielsko-Biała. Through its history it underwent many or ...
'' - Glider Experimental Works) was created in Bielsko-Biała
Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...
in 1948. The company grew and had production plants in additional locations, during this process it was renamed several times until it got its name PZL-Bielsko in the 1990s. It was one of the biggest sailplane factories and exported its gliders world-wide.
In 2002 Allstar PZL Glider Sp. z o.o. acquired the production plant in Bielsko-Biala and the Type Certificates of the following SZD sailplanes: SZD-59-1 Acro - a single-seater for aerobatics and cross-country, SZD-54-2 Perkoz – a double-seater training-glider for aerobatic and cross-country, SZD-55-1 Nexus – a single seater glider of the standard class, SZD-51-1 Junior - single seater training glider of the club class, SZD-50 Puchacz - double-seater training-glider and SZD-48-3 Jantar Standard 3 – single-seater glider of standard class.
The company further manufactures and develops the first four SZD-glider models. Allstar PZL Glider is also producing and distributing spare parts for all six types mentioned above.
On the occasion of the air show “Aero” 2019 in Friedrichshafen Allstar PZL Glider has presented its proof-of-concept of a new electric propulsion system for the SZD-55 Nexus. The electric sustainer, developed by the company and named “Allstar-e-motion”, is right now in the advanced certification process. The system will also be available as an assembly kit for retrofitting of existing SZD-55s.
WSK-Rzeszów
The engine division WS-2 of the PZL was built in Rzeszów
Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian Vo ...
in 1937-1939.[ After the war it still bore a name PZL (''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'') until 1951, when it was renamed WSK-Rzeszów.][Babiejczuk, J. and Grzegorzewski, J. (1974), p. 132-134] From 1949 it manufactured Soviet-licensed M-11 engines, later, among others, ASh-62IR, turboshaft engines GTD-350
The Klimov GTD-350 (initially Isotov GTD-350) is a Soviet gas-turbine turboshaft engine intended for helicopter use. Designed in the early 1960s by the Isotov Design Bureau the engine was later produced by Klimov and PZL, production ending in ...
and Polish jet engines SO-1.[ The factory was bought by ]United Technologies
United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems ...
in 2002 and changed its name to Pratt & Whitney Rzeszów in 2015.
WSK "PZL-Kalisz"
In 1952 the engine manufacturer WSK-Kalisz was created. It manufactured mostly Soviet-licensed engines, first piston (the Shvetsov ASh-82
The Shvetsov ASh-82 (M-82) is a Soviet 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial aircraft engine developed from the Shvetsov M-62. The M-62 was the result of development of the M-25, which was a licensed version of the Wright R-1820 Cyclone.
De ...
and the Ivchenko AI-14
The Ivchenko AI-14 is a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial piston engine designed in the Soviet Union to power aircraft.
A variant known as the M462 was produced under license by Avia.
Variants
;AI-14:
;AI-14R:Underwent state trials in Decembe ...
) and then jet (the Klimov VK-1
The Klimov VK-1 was the first Soviet jet engine to see significant production. It was developed by and first produced by the GAZ 116 works. Derived from the Rolls-Royce Nene, the engine was also built under licence in China as the Wopen WP-5. ...
). It also produced Polish piston engines, such as the WN-3, and other equipment. In October 1996 it was renamed WSK "PZL-Kalisz" and became a corporation ( SA).
WSK "PZL Warszawa II"
WSK Warszawa II was created in 1952 in Warsaw as a manufacturer of aircraft parts and military equipment parts. In 1995 it was changed from a state factory to a corporation WSK "PZL Warszawa II" SA.
Aircraft
Other types of aircraft
* PZL Krosno KR-03 Puchatek - glider
Engines
* PZL-3
The Ivchenko AI-26 is a seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine used in early Soviet helicopters and later used in light utility aircraft.
Design and development
The AI-26 engine was designed by A.G Ivchenko in 1945 with the early designation M ...
See also
* Gliders built at PZL-Bielsko
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Swidnik PZL branch home page
PZL Mielec home page
Allstar PZL Glider home page
Web design scotland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pzl
Aircraft manufacturers of Poland
Aircraft engine manufacturers of Poland
Glider manufacturers
Science and technology in Poland
Helicopter manufacturers of Poland
Manufacturing companies based in Warsaw
Polish brands