Bartel BM-4

The Bartel BM-4 was a Polish biplane primary trainer aircraft used from 1929 to 1939 by the Polish Air Force and Polish civilian aviation, manufactured in the Samolot factory in Poznań. It was the first plane of Polish design put into production.

Design and development
The aircraft was designed by Ryszard Bartel in the Samolot factory in Poznań. It was a development of the Bartel BM-2, which did not advance beyond the prototype stage. Thanks to a lower weight than the BM-2, it could use lower-powered engines, so its performance was actually improved. Its performance was also superior to the Hanriot H.28, used by the Poles and licence-built by Samolot. The BM-4 prototype was flown on 20 December 1927 in Poznań. It had good handling and stability and was resistant to spinning. A distinguishing feature of all Bartels was an upper wing of a shorter span, because lower and upper wing halves were interchangeable (i.e. the lower wingspan included the width of the fuselage).

The first prototype was designated BM-4b and was fitted with 90 hp Walter Vega radial engine. The second prototype, flown on 2 April 1928, was designated BM-4d and fitted with the Polish experimental 85 hp WZ-7 radial engine, then refitted with 80 hp Le Rhône 9C rotary engine and redesignated BM-4a. The BM-4a became a production variant, because the Polish Air Force had a store of Le Rhône engines. 22 aircraft were ordered and built in 1928–1929. This variant had a cowled engine which made it different from all other BM-4s with radial engines.

Next several variants remained experimental. The BM-4c with a 125 hp Lorraine-Dietrich 5Pb radial engine, built as a one-off in 1928, was supposed to be used for long-distance flights to advertise the engines, but was finally used as the factory's aircraft. Three BM-4a's were converted to BM-4e of 1930 with the Polish experimental 85 hp Peterlot radial engine, the BM-4f of 1931 with the Polish experimental 120 hp Skoda G-594 Czarny Piotruś radial engine, and the BM-4g of 1931 with 100 hp de Havilland Gipsy I inline engine. The last one competed against the RWD-8 in a search for a standard trainer aircraft, but was not selected. After tests in 1932, all three were converted back with Le Rhône engines.

The second series variant became BM-4h, with 120 hp de Havilland Gipsy III or 120 hp Walter Junior 4 inline engines. Like late BM-4a's, they had a rounded tailfin and a modified undercarriage. Due to the Samolot factory's closure in 1930, the BM-4h was developed at the PWS (Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów) and built there in 1932 in a series of about 50 aircraft.

Description
Wooden construction biplane, conventional in layout. Fuselage rectangular in cross-section, plywood covered (engine section - metal covered). Rectangular two-spar wings, plywood and canvas covered. Crew of two, sitting in tandem in open cockpits, with individual windshields. Cockpits with dual controls, instructor's at rear. Fixed landing gear, with a rear skid. Two-blade wooden propeller 2.55 m diameter. Fuel tank in fuselage: 89.5 l.

Operational history
BM-4a's were used in the Polish Air Force from 1929 - in pilots' school in Bydgoszcz. 6 burnt in September 1929 in the Samolot factory. BM-4h's were used in the Polish Air Force from 1932, in schools in Bydgoszcz and Dęblin. They only partly replaced Hanriot H.28s and were themselves replaced with the RWD-8. They had military numbers starting with 33.

In 1936 the Polish Air Force handed over their remaining 23 BM-4h's to civilian aviation - most to regional aero clubs, some to the Ministry of Communication. They received registrations SP-BBP - BBZ and from a range SP-ARB to ARZ. Several survived until the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. Several were used as liaison aircraft during the campaign. None survived the war.

Variants

 * BM-4a
 * Powered by Le Rhône 9C, 9-cylinder rotary engine, 80 hp nominal power.


 * BM-4b
 * Powered by Walter Vega, 5-cylinder radial engine, 90 hp take-off power, 85 hp nominal power.


 * BM-4c
 * Powered by Lorraine-Dietrich 5Pb, 5-cylinder radial engine, 125 hp take-off power, 110 hp nominal power.


 * BM-4d
 * Powered by Avia WZ-7, 7-cylinder radial engine, 85 hp take-off power, 80 hp nominal power.


 * BM-4e
 * Powered by Peterlot, 7-cyl radial engine, 85 hp take-off power, 80 hp nominal power.


 * BM-4f
 * Powered by Skoda G-594 Czarny Piotruś, 5-cylinder radial engine, 120 hp take-off power, 100 hp nominal power.


 * BM-4g
 * Powered by de Havilland Gipsy I, 4-cylinder straight engine, 100 hp take-off power, 90 hp nominal power.


 * BM-4h
 * Powered by de Havilland Gipsy III, 4-cylinder straight engine, 120 hp nominal power or Walter Junior 4, 4-cylinder straight engine, 120 hp take-off power, 110 hp nominal power.

Operators

 * 🇦🇫 Afghanistan
 * Afghan Air Force - The first prototype BM-4b was given to the king of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan during his visit to Poland in 1928.
 * Polish Air Force
 * Polish Air Force