The RWD-14 Czapla (LWS Czapla) was a Polish army cooperation aircraft (observation, close

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 ( skirmishe ...

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 built and most were used by the Polish Air Force observation squadrons 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1939.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed in response to a

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 ...

requirement of

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

for a new army cooperation plane, a successor of the

Lublin R-XIII The Lublin R-XIII was the Polish army cooperation plane (observation and liaison plane), designed in the early-1930s in the Plage i Laśkiewicz factory in Lublin. It was the main army cooperation plane in the Invasion of Poland. Its variant Lubl ...

. The RWD team of the DWL workshops ('' Doświadczalne Warsztaty Lotnicze'') initially proposed the RWD-12 project, based on the

RWD-8 The RWD 8 was a Polish parasol wing monoplane trainer aircraft produced by RWD. It was used from 1934 to 1939 by the Polish Air Force and civilian aviation. Development The RWD 8 was designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement in 19 ...

trainer. It was however considered as not as good as the R-XIII, and was not built. Another aircraft, the RWD-14 was designed by

Stanislaw Rogalski Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav (Village), Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Sta ...

and Jerzy Drzewiecki instead.Glass A. (1977), pp. 318–320 Designer Tadeusz Chyliński prepared its technical documentation. The first prototype was flown in early

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

(according to newest research, earlier given date December 1935 is wrong).Mazur W. (2014), p.12 It won the contest over the Lublin R-XXI project and the PWS factory project, but factory trials showed that its performance was still not satisfactory. In

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Febr ...

two modified prototypes were built, designated RWD-14a, but both crashed during trials that year due to steering mechanism faults (the pilots survived). Finally, in early 1938 the fourth improved prototype, designated RWD-14b, was built. After successful trials it was ordered by the

, receiving the name Czapla (Polish: ''

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...

''), but due to a long development process, it was regarded as only an interim model, to replace the R-XIII until the advent of the more modern

LWS-3 Mewa The LWS-3 Mewa ("Seagull") was a Polish observation and close reconnaissance aircraft, designed in the late-1930s by the LWS factory. It was ordered by the Polish Air Force, but did not manage to enter service before the outbreak of World War II ...

. In return for refunding the development costs, the DWL gave the rights to produce the RWD-14b to the state factory LWS (''Lubelska Wytwórnia Samolotów'' –

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

Aircraft Works, a successor of the

Plage i Laśkiewicz Plage i Laśkiewicz (Plage & Laśkiewicz) was the first Polish aerospace manufacturer, located in Lublin and manufacturing aircraft under Lublin name. Full name was: ''Zakłady Mechaniczne E. Plage i T. Laśkiewicz'' – Mechanical Works E. Plag ...

). The LWS built a series of 65 RWD-14b Czapla by February

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidde ...

. They were also known under a military designation LWS Czapla.

Operational history

The Czapla entered service in the Polish Air Force in the spring of 1939, equipping some observation squadrons (''eskadra obserwacyjna''). Due to its long development, it was not a modern aircraft, only a little better than the

. Its advantage was its short take-off (140 m) and landing (120 m), enabling it to operate from fields and meadows. Its modern successor, the

, did not manage to enter operational units due to the war.Morgała. A (2003), pp. 210 By the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

in 1939, the

had 35 Czaplas in five observation squadrons (out of twelve): No.'s 13, 23, 33, 53 and 63, each with seven aircraft. Squadrons were distributed among the field Armies. The remaining 30 Czaplas were initially in reserve. Several were used to supplement the combat units during the campaign (the mentioned squadrons and several others). In total, 49 Czaplas were used in units.Morgała. A (2003), pp. 201–205 Like the R-XIII, the Czapla was no match for any

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

fighter,

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 ...

, or even reconnaissance aircraft, being much slower, and armed with only two machine guns. In spite of this, they were actively used for close

and

liaison Liaison means communication between two or more groups, or co-operation or working together. Liaison or liaisons may refer to: General usage * Affair, an unfaithful sexual relationship * Collaboration * Co-operation Arts and entertainment * L ...

tasks. Most – 35 RWD-14b were destroyed during the campaign. At least 14 were withdrawn to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

(the sources quote numbers from 14 to 17). They were taken over by the

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...

and used for training and auxiliary duties. Several aircraft were captured in Poland by the Germans or the Soviets, but were not used by them. No RWD-14b has survived.

Technical description

Mixed construction braced

parasol An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally u ...

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 ...

, conventional in layout. A fuselage of a metal and wooden frame, covered with

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 handb ...

. Wooden two-spar wings, canvas- and plywood-covered, fitted with slats. Wings were folding rearwards (width with folded wings: 3.9 m). Stabilizers of wooden construction. 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. Marti ...

, with a rear wheel. Crew of two, sitting in

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

in open cockpits, with twin controls and individual windshields. The observer had a 7.7 mm Vickers K

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifl ...

, the pilot had a fixed 7.92 mm wz.33 machine gun with an interrupter gear. 9-cylinder air-cooled

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

PZL G-1620B Mors-II with 430 hp (320 kW) nominal power and 470 hp (350 kW) take-off power. Two-blade wooden

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. A fuel tank with a capacity of 315 litres in the fuselage, dropped in emergency. The aircraft could be fitted with

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

N2L/T and

camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

Operators

; *

Royal Romanian Air Force The Air Force branch of the Royal Romanian forces in World War II was officially named the (ARR), or the Romanian Royal Aeronautics, though it is more commonly referred to in English histories as the (Royal Romanian Air Force, FARR), or simply ...

Specifications (RWD-14b)

References

*Andrzej Glass (1977): "Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893–1939" (''Polish aviation constructions 1893–1939''), WKiŁ, Warsaw *Andrzej Morgała (2003): "Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1924–1939" (''Military aircraft in Poland 1924–1939''), Bellona, Warsaw, * Wojciech Mazur (2014): "Samoloty RWD.14 i LWS.3", series ''Wielki Leksykon Uzbrojenia Wrzesień 1939'' no.39, Edipresse, Warsaw, {{LWS aircraft 1930s Polish military utility aircraft 1930s Polish military reconnaissance aircraft World War II Polish aircraft RWD-14 Parasol-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1936 Single-engined tractor aircraft

Design and development

Operational history

Technical description

Operators

Specifications (RWD-14b)

See also

References