PZL.50 Jastrząb

The PZL.50 Jastrząb (Hawk) was a Polish pre-war fighter aircraft designed by Wsiewołod Jakimiuk of the PZL works. The single-seat low-wing monoplane was to serve as a multi-purpose fighter and escort to replace all fighters used previously by the Polish Air Force. Designed after 1936, its prototype was first flown in February 1939. A further two prototypes were almost ready by the time of the Invasion of Poland, but the fighter did not manage to enter mass production before the war.

Design and development
In early 1930s the Polish Air Force was equipped with the modern PZL P.11 all-metal high-wing monoplanes, the latest of a family of fighter aircraft designed by Zygmunt Puławski. However, by the end of decade they became obsolete, as new fighter and bomber aircraft with higher performance started to appear. There was no development carried out on other fighters, apart from PZL P.24 export variants of Puławski's P.11 design. By the mid-1930s, the Polish Air Force Command led by Gen. Ludomił Rayski expected, that a basic Polish general purpose fighter and light bomber would be a twin-engine heavy fighter-bomber PZL.38 Wilk, supplemented by light, cheap low-wing monoplane PZL.39/LWS-4. While potentially a suitable design, the PZL.38 had problems finding proper engines and the estimated performance of the PZL.39 was too low (maximum speed 400 km/h), resulting in both programs being canceled. Future wartime experience showed, that heavy fighters were not well matched against fast single-engine interceptors. It became evident that the Air Force needed a modern interceptor aircraft to defend the country, and at last, in October 1936, the Armament Committee (KSUS) submitted a demand for such an interceptor.

In late 1936, Rayski ordered the PZL (National Aviation Works)'s Chief Designer Wsiewołod Jakimiuk, a lead designer of the P.11c, to abandon work on the PZL.44 Wicher passenger airliner, and design and start work on a modern single-engine fighter with a retractable landing gear and a speed of some 500 km/h. At the same time, Rayski selected the British 840 hp Bristol Mercury VIII radial engine as the project's powerplant. PZL had already manufactured Mercury V engines and would be able to retool to build the later version, as a Polish-produced engine was one of primary considerations in the design. This choice however restricted performance of the future fighter, and, according to historians, the whole program started at least two years too late.

The project PZL.50 (or PZL P.50) and named Jastrząb (Hawk), started in late 1936. The design was accepted by the Air Force Command in 1937 and two prototypes were ordered. In June 1938, 300 Mercury VIII engines were also ordered for the PZL, the first to be delivered in June 1939. The engine for the prototype was imported from Great Britain and fitted in September 1938. The prototype was almost ready by October, but its completion was delayed by the lack of a retractable landing gear, delivered by the British Dowty firm. Due to the delay, the Polish aviation authorities missed the chance of starting flying tests with some temporary fixed landing gear, since the Polish industry had not yet produced suitable retractable gears. Avia-manufactured undercarriage units were specified for the production series.

Finally, the first prototype PZL.50/I was completed and flown in late February 1939 by pilot Jerzy Widawski. Despite being secret, on 27 February it was on static display for the Italian Foreign Minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano. Tests were carried mainly by Bolesław Orliński and several other pilots who noted that the prototype, after modifications to the tail, exhibited satisfactory handling and maneuverability characteristics although it not agile enough as an interceptor. The greatest concern was that even without radio and machine guns, it was only able to achieve 420–430 km/h. The Mercury VIII engine had problems with delivering full power due to an unsuitable carburetor intake and after modifications, the prototype was able to reach 442 km/h. Test pilots continued to complain about power output being too low, although with a better engine, some observers estimated that a production example would have been able to top 470 km/h.

It was first planned to order 300 P.50s, but in April 1939, the new Air Force Commander Gen. Kalkus and Air Defence Inspector Gen. Józef Zając estimated that the current PZL.50 design did not meet its specified performance goals and ordered PZL to develop it further, building an improved pattern aircraft with only a limited series of 25-30 aircraft on order, designated the P.50A. Production aircraft were to have the wing area increased from 15.8 m² to 19 m². The total planned order was decreased to 200 and Poland started to look for fighters abroad, ordering 160 Morane-Saulnier MS 406 fighters from France. As an interim measure, 100 PZL P.11g Kobuz fighters were ordered, fitting the P.11c airframe with Mercury VIII engines.

The second prototype PZL.50/II was to be equipped with a more powerful 1,200-1,400 hp engine, but it eventually had been completed without an engine. Only in 1939, was the PZL.50/II reworked with a 1,100 hp Gnome-Rhône 14N21 for an export variant P.50B (estimated maximum speed 560 km/h / 348 mph) or 1,150 hp Bristol Taurus III or IV for the Polish Air Force (estimated speed 530–560 km/h). The Gnome-Rhone engine was only delivered in August 1939, while the newest British Taurus was scheduled to be delivered in October or November, but final deliveries were prevented by war, nonetheless Taurus development had proved to be troublesome. Other possible engine alternatives were the Polish PZL Waran engine, which was to be ready in spring 1940, the 1,000 hp Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp or 1,375 hp Bristol Hercules. As early as 1938, Jakimiuk proposed a variant with the 1,100 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Y inline engine, designated PZL.56 Kania, but it was not accepted.

Operational history
By the end of August 1939, the first unarmed flying prototype PZL.50/I, the second incomplete and engine-less prototype PZL.50/II, an incomplete pattern aircraft PZL.50 and parts of four series PZL.50As were all that were completed. The first prototype had a short fairing behind the canopy, all the others were distinguished by having a cut down rear fuselage to accommodate an "all-round vision hood". The production series would have incorporated a different canopy and a ventral fuselage fairing. After the German invasion and outbreak of World War II, on 2–3 September 1939, two incomplete aircraft (pattern PZL.50 and PZL.50/II) were moved from the WP-1 factory in Warsaw to car workshops at Czerniakowska street in Warsaw, where they were captured by the Germans, and possibly scrapped after 1940.

The first prototype was evacuated east when Jan Widawski flew it towards Lwów on 6 September, but when the fuel ran out, it crashed during a forced landing near Rawa Ruska.

Because of the secrecy surrounding the aircraft, for over 65 years its appearance was only partly known based on four photographs of fragments of the first prototype, made during a presentation to Ciano, two of which are shown in the book, Polish Aircraft 1893-1939 by Cynk, which also contains representative drawings of the aircraft. Only in 2005 were a couple of photographs discovered that showed two incomplete aircraft at Czerniakowska street. The photographs made by German soldiers and a Polish amateur photographer, made it possible to authentically reconstruct the PZL.50's design features.

Popular culture
The PZL.50/I Jastrząb was the original aircraft that Blackhawk flew in Poland during the Nazi invasion of 1939.

Versions

 * PZL.50/I
 * First prototype.


 * PZL.50/II
 * Second prototype with some fuselage shape changes (long canopy fairing) and with simplified engine cowling.


 * PZL.50A
 * Planned first production variant based on second prototype powered by Bristol Mercury VIII engine (840 hp) and armed with 4 x 7.9 mm machine guns and 100 kg of bombs.


 * PZL.50B
 * Planned second production batch powered by Bristol Taurus III engine (1,145 hp) and armed with 4 x 7.9 mm machine guns, 2 x 20 mm cannon and 300 kg of bombs.

Operators (planned)

 * Polish Air Force
 * Polish Air Force