__NOTOC__ The RWD-25 was a proposed

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

low-wing

light fighter A light fighter or lightweight fighter is a fighter aircraft towards the low end of the practical range of weight, cost, and complexity over which fighters are fielded. The light or lightweight fighter retains carefully selected competitive feat ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

of 1939 designed by RWD. The project was abandoned when Poland was invaded.

Design and development

In late 1930s the Polish Army sought several replacements for the rapidly aging

PZL P.11c 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 o ...

, the backbone of Polish aviation of the epoch. One of the specifications issued by the new commander of Polish aviation General

Józef Zając Józef Ludwik Zając (pron. Za-YANTz) (1891–1963) was a Polish general and pilot. Biography Born on 14 March 1891 in Rzeszów, Józef Zając studied at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, graduating with a PhD in philosophy in 1915. He ...

in the spring of 1939 was for a Jockey-class plane, a light, inexpensive and easy to produce interceptor. The plane was to use a cheaper, less powerful radial engine than more advanced multi-purpose fighters. The Jockeys were to be used in accordance with the French concept of " chimney flights", that is for aerial defence of valuable factories and other military targets behind friendly lines. For that purpose they needed less speed, but more manoeuvrability and a faster rate of climb. The plane was to rise quickly after the alarm is sounded and attack formations of enemy bombers in a dive, thus enhancing its speed. One of such fighters designed and produced in France was the Caudron C.710. Three Polish aircraft design studios produced designs to that specification. All were to be powered by the Gnome-Rhône Mars radial engine. The

Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów (PWS) - ''Podlasie Aircraft Factory'' - was a Polish aerospace manufacturer between 1923 and 1939, located in Biała Podlaska. History Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów SA was created in 1923. The first aircraft prod ...

created the PWS-42, the

Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze 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 airc ...

created the PZL.45 Sokół. The last to propose a new design was the RWD, with its RWD-25 by

Jerzy Drzewiecki Jerzy Drzewiecki (7 August 1902 – 15 May 1990) was a Polish aeroplane constructor, an engineer and one of the founders of the RWD construction bureau, along with Rogalski and Wigura. He was born in Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), of ...

and

Tadeusz Chyliński Tadeusz Chylińnski (13 October 1911 in Warsaw – 15 February 1978 in Warsaw) – was a Polish airplane designer and constructor, a researcher at the Institute of Aviation, Warsaw, Institute of Aviation in Warsaw and specialist in aircraft s ...

, Henryk Millicer, Jan Idzikowski. The RWD 25 was proposed as a single-seat cantilever low-wing monoplane fighter powered by an Gnome-Rhône Mars 14M05 radial engine. It was to be armed with four wing-mounted KMO wz.37 "Szczeniak" machine-guns. The construction was to be mixed for cheaper and faster production: steel fuselage frame covered with linen and plywood. The wings were to be made entirely of wood. For lighter weight and cheaper production, the design included a fixed landing gear, though it is probable that the eventual series would have a

retractable 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 ...

. Although the RWD received orders for a prototype and a full-scale mock-up for further tests, the outbreak of

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 ...

interrupted the development and no planes were ever built.

References

;Notes

Bibliography

* * http://rwd-dwl.net/samoloty/rwd_25/index.htm (Polish) {{RWD aircraft 1930s Polish fighter aircraft

RWD 25 RWD may refer to: * Real world data, medical data derived from multiple sources and heterogeneous patient populations in real-world settings * Rear-wheel drive, method of propulsion in an automobile * RWD (aircraft manufacturer), Polish aircraft ma ...

Low-wing aircraft