PZL.54 Ryś

The PZL.54 Ryś (Lynx) was a pre-war Polish heavy fighter design developed in 1939 by the PZL company. Although intended as an evolution (and a replacement of) the PZL.48 Lampart, it never went beyond drawing boards due to Invasion of Poland and the outbreak of World War II.

Design and development
The aircraft was designed by Franciszek Misztal and Tadeusz Tarczyński of the PZL works. Based on the PZL.48 Lampart (which in turn was a modification of the PZL.38 Wilk), the aircraft was to be equipped with more powerful Hispano Suiza 12Z inline engines, and was slated to become one of the basic fighter-bombers of the Polish Army. Heavier than its' predecessors due to larger and heavier engine, the PZL.54 was to be faster, feature a higher bombload (with heavier 500 kg bombs mounted under the fuselage) and operational range. While primarily designed as a heavy fighter, thanks to its' strong armament the aircraft was to be also suitable as a bomber or fighter-bomber.

The aircraft was to be an all-metal (duraluminium) low-wing monoplane, with a classic retractable landing gear and a fixed tail wheel. The aerodynamic profile was based on the highly successful PZL.37 Łoś bomber, including the double tail fins. The aircraft was to be armed with six 7.9 mm machine guns (3 in each wing), two 20mm cannon (in the nose) and twin 7.9 mm MGs in the rear gunner's station. In addition, the aircraft was to be able to deliver a single 500 kg aerial bomb mounted below the fuselage - or a collection of smaller bombs.

The construction of the first prototype was stopped by the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War. While the design looked promising, the PZL.54 was based around the new Hispano-Suiza engines that at the time were still under development and could deliver only 1000 out of planned 1600 horsepower.

Operators (planned)

 * Polish Air Force
 * Polish Air Force