The Lublin R-XIII was the

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 ...

observation Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. The ...

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 * Li ...

plane), designed in the early-1930s in 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. Plage ...

factory in

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 t ...

. It was the main army cooperation plane in 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 aft ...

. Its variant Lublin R-XIV was a military

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

Design and development

In 1927, the Polish aviation authorities announced a contest for an army-cooperation plane (in Polish: ''samolot towarzyszący'', literally: "accompanying plane"). In Polish doctrine it was a close reconnaissance, observation and liaison aircraft, operating from casual airfields, providing big Army land units with information about the enemy. The

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 ...

state factory proposed the PZL Ł-2, built in a series of 25 aircraft, while private factory Plage i Laśkiewicz in Lublin proposed the Lublin R-X, designed by

Jerzy Rudlicki Jerzy Rudlicki (14 March 1893 – 18 August 1977) was a Polish pilot and aerospace engineer. Best known for his inventing and patenting of the V-tail (Polish Patent #15938), which is an aircraft tail configuration that combines the rudder and elev ...

. It was flown on February 1, 1929. Five aircraft were built for the Air Force as R-Xa, and one was built as a long-distance sports plane. The third competitor was the

PWS-5t2 The PWS-5 or PWS-5t2, was a multi-seated Polish liaison aircraft, developed in 1928 by PWS (''Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów'' - "Podlasie Aircraft Factory"). Design and development In 1927, the Aviation Department of the Polish War Ministr ...

. The contest was won by the R-Xa, having the shortest take-off and landing, and good performance, but the factory was ordered to develop design further. At that time, Rudlicki was working upon an unarmed

R-XIV and an observation aircraft R-XV. Both were new designs, basing upon the R-X construction. Number XIII was initially omitted in designations as "

unlucky Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...

". In February 1930, 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 ...

ordered 15 of R-XIV. The first serial plane was built in June 1930, without an earlier prototype, and all were delivered by July 1931. The R-XIV was a two-seater,

parasol wing 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 ...

aircraft, with a 220 hp

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 ca ...

and 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 ...

. The crewman sat in open cabs 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 ...

. The R-XV was not ordered, but the Air Force demanded instead, that two R-XIV should be armed with an observer's

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 rifles) a ...

, for testing. Thus armed, the R-XIV, fitted also with other minor modifications, most notably a changed shape of a tail

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

, became the first prototype of the army-cooperation plane, that eventually received a designation Lublin R-XIII. One more prototype was newly built (no. 56.1).Morgała, Andrzej (2003), p. 191-192 On July 21, 1931, 50 aircraft R-XIII were ordered. The first couple of aircraft were designated R-XIIIA, and were distinguished by flat fuselage top. They were superseded by improved R-XIIIB variant, with oval fuselage top, newer machine gun ring mounting, and longer ailerons. R-XIIIA were later converted to R-XIIIB standard, and 49 were made in total (numbers 56.2 to 56.50). The first serial R-XIII was built on June 7, 1932. By March 11, 1933, all were given to the Air Force. In older sources, numbers of 30 R-XIIIA and 20 R-XIIIB could be found. In 1932, next 170 aircraft were ordered. 48 were built in R-XIIIC variant with minor modifications, then 95 were built in a most numerous R-XIIID variant. It introduced visible changes, like a

Townend ring A Townend ring is a narrow- chord cowling ring fitted around the cylinders of an aircraft radial engine to reduce drag and improve cooling. Development The Townend ring was the invention of Dr. Hubert Townend of the British National Physica ...

on a radial engine, and a new engine cowling. It also had new type of a machine gun ring mounting. The first R-XIIID was tested in February, 1933. All aircraft were given to the Air Force by March 2, 1935. During repairs, older models A, B and C were modified to R-XIIID standard as well. In 1933, Jerzy Rudlicki proposed a new design R-XXI, for a new contest for R-XIII successor, but it was not accepted (the contest was won by the

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 ...

). However, some of R-XXI features, like higher and rounded in cross-section fuselage and changed shape of a tail fin, were found in latest R-XIII variants. Single prototype of the R-XIIIE was built in 1934, fitted with a stronger 360 hp engine Gnome-Rhone 7K Titan, but it was not produced. Another variant R-XIIIF introduced new, Polish-designed 340 hp engine

Skoda 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 ...

G-1620A Mors-I. It had no

on cylinders of the radial engine. After one prototype (no. 56.101), a series of 50 R-XIIIF were ordered in 1934. After seven aircraft had been delivered, the Polish aviation authorities refused to buy nearly completed further 18 aircraft, planning to

nationalize Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

all aviation industry in Poland. As a result, Plage i Laśkiewicz factory went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

in late 1935, and it was next nationalized under a name LWS (''Lubelska Wytwórnia Samolotów'' - Lublin Aircraft Works). Then, 18 R-XIIIF, bought by scrap price, were completed, and next series of 32 was built. All R-XIIIF were delivered to the Air Force by 1938. However, only 26 of them were completed with Mors engines (and mostly used for training or staff liaison), while 32 had standard 220 hp Wright engines, lowering their performance to R-XIIID level. In 1931, one R-XIV was tested on floats, as a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

. Since tests came out well, the Polish Navy designated it R-XIII bis/hydro and ordered the next three (nos. 700-703). In 1933, the Navy ordered 10 R-XIII ter/hydro, which was a seaplane variant of R-XIIID (nos. 704-713). Finally, in 1934 the Navy bought 6 R-XIIIG seaplanes, differing in details from a previous variant - among others, a metal propeller (nos. 714-720). They were delivered by April 1935. All variants could also be easily converted to wheeled landing gear. Lublin RXIII Dr

In 1933, one R-XIIIB was converted to a long-distance sport plane R-XIIIDr, named ''Błękitny Ptak'' (the ''Blue Bird''), meant for a flight to Australia, however it was crashed in 1935 in

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...

by Stanisław Karpiński. Several aircraft were converted to civilian sport ones, used in

Polish Aero Club Aeroklub Polski (AP; ''Polish Aero Club'') is the Polish central association of persons practising air sports or recreational flying. It was founded in 1921 and is a member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. It has a headquarters in ...

s. 12 R-XIII's were converted to blind flying trainers R-XIIIt in 1934, with higher closed trainee cab. Some were converted to simple

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 ...

, removing armament and mounting a windscreen in the second cab. Several R-XIII were used to tow gliders, using a special frame with a hook, attached to a fuselage. The R-XIII prototype was converted in 1932 to an experimental variant R-XIX, with

V-tail The V-tail or ''Vee-tail'' (sometimes called a butterfly tail or Rudlicki's V-tailGudmundsson S. (2013). "General Aviation Aircraft Design: Applied Methods and Procedures" (Reprint). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 489. , 9780123973290) of an aircraft ...

of Rudlicki's design, but it was not accepted by the authorities, despite it had better field of machine gun fire. In total, 15 R-XIV and 273 R-XIII were built, including 20 seaplanes.

Combat use

In the early 1930s the R-XIII was quite a successful plane for its purpose. It had a very short take-off (68 m for R-XIIIA) and landing, enabling it to operate from fields and meadows. However, only some of R-XIIIs were equipped with a

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 transmit ...

and a

camera A camera is an Optics, 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), ...

, which lowered their usefulness. In 1932-1936 they were used in three-aircraft liaison platoons, being a basic Polish army-cooperation plane. In 1937 they were formed into army-cooperation escadres (''eskadra towarzysząca''), in 1939 reformed into observation escadres (''eskadra obserwacyjna''). Only in 1939, part of R-XIII were replaced by the RWD-14b Czapla, which was not much more modern. A planned replacement was a 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 ...

, but it was not introduced due to war outbreak. On the eve of the

in 1939, the

had about 150 R-XIII. Of them, 49 were in combat units, 30 in reserve, about 30 in training units and about 40 in repairs. In combat units, R-XIII were used in 7 observation escadres (out of 12): numbers 16, 26, 36, 43, 46, 56 and 66. Each escadre had 7 aircraft. The 16th Escadre was in C-in-C reserve, while the others were distributed among the field Armies. The R-XIII was no match for any of the

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-Fliegerabtei ...

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

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 ...

s or even

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...

, being much slower, and armed with only one machine gun, but they were actively used for 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 (skirmisher ...

and

tasks. About 40 R-XIII from combat units were destroyed during the campaign, but only part of those were shot down by the German aircraft or

flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

. During the campaign, 9 aircraft were given to observation escadres as replenishment. Some planes were also used in a wartime improvised units in air bases. About 10 combat aircraft and 7 from other units were withdrawn to

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

. A number of aircraft were bombed by the Germans in air bases or burned by withdrawing Poles. None have survived to today. In the Naval Air Squadron, 11 R-XIIIter and R-XIIIG floatplanes were used in 1939. The aircraft No. 714 was sent on September 7 at night to search for battleship in Danzig, but did not find it there. The crew claimed to have bombed civilian victory parade in Danzig, celebrating capturing of

Westerplatte Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula (one of the Vistula delta estuaries), in the Gdańsk harbour channel. From 1926 to 1939, it was the location of a Polish Military Transi ...

instead, but there has been no confirmation of such attack found in German sources. On September 8 all planes were bombed, while stationed on the sea near Hel on the

Hel Peninsula Hel Peninsula (; pl, Mierzeja Helska, Półwysep Helski; csb, Hélskô Sztremlëzna; german: Halbinsel Hela or ''Putziger Nehrung'') is a sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is loc ...

Variants

*R-XIII prototype (no. 56.1) *R-XIII second prototype (conversion of R-XIV, no. 54.15) *R-XIIIA - army cooperation aircraft from 1931, then converted to R-XIIIB *R-XIIIB - army cooperation aircraft, 49 produced or converted from 1931 (nos 56.2-56.50) *R-XIIIC - army cooperation aircraft, 48 produced from 1933 (nos. 56.52-56.99) *R-XIIID - standard variant of army cooperation aircraft, 95 produced from 1933 (nos 56.102-56.196) *R-XIIIE - one prototype of 1934 with 360 hp Gnome-Rhone 7K Titan engine (no. 56.100) *R-XIIIF - army cooperation aircraft with modified fuselage, part with 340 hp Skoda G-1620A Mors-I engine, 58 produced from 1934 (nos. 56.101, 58.01-58.57) *R-XIII bis/hydro - seaplane, 4 produced from 1931 (nos. 700-703) *R-XIII ter/hydro - seaplane, 10 produced from 1934 (nos. 704-713) *R-XIIIG - seaplane, 6 produced from 1934 (nos. 714-720) *R-XIIIDr - long-distance sport conversion, 1 made (no. 56.51) *R-XIIIt - trainer conversion, at least 12 made *R-XIV - trainer, 15 produced from 1930 (nos. 54.1-54.15) *R-XV - army cooperation variant of R-XIV, not built *R-XIX - one prototype with V-tail of 1932 (no. 56.1) *R-XXIII - This was the original designation of the R-XIIIDr.

Description

Mixed construction (steel and wood) monoplane, conventional in layout, with braced high wings, canvas and plywood covered (front part of fuselage was metal covered). Conventional fixed

, with a tailskid. Crew of two, sitting in

in an open

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 ...

, with twin controls. The observer had a 7.92 mm

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...

on a ring mounting (rarely, 2 machine guns).Morgała, Andrzej (2003), p. 198 A 9-cylinder air-cooled

Wright Whirlwind J-5 The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about and around . These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirl ...

(produced in Poland) with 162 kW (220 hp) nominal power and 176 kW (240 hp) take-off power (on 22 aircraft R-XIIIF, 250 kW (340 hp) engine Skoda G-1620A Mors-I). Two-blade wooden or metal

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 ...

. Fuel tank 200 liters in the fuselage, could be dropped in case of fire emergency (R-XIV - 135 liter tank).

Operators

; *

* Polish Navy ; *

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 ( ...

Specification (R-XIIIB)

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Glass, Andrzej (1977): "Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939" (''Polish aviation constructions 1893-1939''), WKiŁ, Warsaw, *Morgała, Andrzej (2003). ''Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1924–1939'' ilitary aircraft in Poland 1924–1939 Bellona, Warsaw,