PWS - Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów - Podlasie Aircraft Works - was the Polish aerospace manufacturer between 1923 and 1939, located in Biała Podlaska.Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów SA was created in 1923. The first aircraft produced from 1925, were 35 Potez 15 bombers for the Polish Air Force, on the French licence. Then, by 1929 the works produced 155 Potez 27 and 150 Potez 25, also on the French licence, and 50 fighters PWS-A on the Czech licence (Avia BH-33).
From 1925, an own construction bureau was established. Despite a big number of prototypes, only some were produced in series. The first was PWS-10 fighter of 1930 (80 aircraft). Short series of a trainer PWS-14 and a passenger plane PWS-24 were also made (PWS-10 and PWS-24 were the first fighter and the first passenger plane of Polish construction built in series).
In 1932 the PWS works were nationalized because of bad condition. Then it produced 500 trainers RWD-8 (designed by the RWD) and 50 trainers PWS-18 on the British licence (Avro 621 Tutor). Soon the factory designed own successful advanced trainers PWS-16 and PWS-26, the later built in 320 units in 1936-1939.
In 1936 the factory was subordinated to the PZL national concern. It developed a series of projects of military planes, but they were not built due to oubreak of World War II. Twin-engine advanced trainer PWS-33 Wyżeł was ordered to serial production, but it did not start due to war.
A division of the PWS - Lwowskie Warsztaty Lotnicze (LWL, Lwów Aviation Workshops, built gliders, also designated with letters PWS.
After the outbreak of World War II, the PWS factory was bombed by the Germans on September 4, 1939, what put an end to the manufacturer. The remains of equipment were captured by the Soviets after their invasion of Poland.
List of aircraft:
Name/ description / first flight / year
PWS-A 1-engine, 1-seater, fighter biplane, 1929 (licence Avia BH-33)
PWS-1 1-engine, 2-seater, heavy fighter high-wing monoplane, 1927 (prototype)
PWS-3 1-engine, 2-seater, sports high-wing monoplane, 1927 (prototype)
PWS-4 1-engine, 1-seater, sports low-wing monoplane, 1928 (prototype)
PWS-5 1-engine, 2-seater, army cooperation biplane, 1928 (short series)
PWS-6 1-engine, 2-seater, liaison biplane, 1930 (prototype)
PWS-8 1-engine, 2-seater, sports biplane, 1929 (prototype)
PWS-10 1-engine, 1-seater, fighter high-wing monoplane, 1930 (series)
PWS-11 1-engine, 1-seater, trainer fighter high-wing monoplane, 1929 (prototype)
PWS-12 1-engine, 2-seater, trainer biplane, 1929 (prototype)
PWS-14 1-engine, 2-seater, trainer biplane, 1931 (series)
PWS-16 1-engine, 2-seater, trainer biplane, 1933 (series)
PWS-18 1-engine, 2-seater, trainer biplane, 1935 (licence Avro 621)
PWS-19 1-engine, 2-seater, reconnaissance-bomber high-wing monoplane, 1931 (prototype)
PWS-20 1-engine, 2+6-seater, passenger high-wing monoplane, 1929 (prototype)
PWS-21bis 1-engine, 2+4-seater, passenger high-wing monoplane, 1930 (prototype)
PWS-24 1-engine, 2+4-seater, passenger high-wing monoplane, 1931 (short series)
PWS-26 1-engine, 2-seater, trainer biplane, 1935 (series)
PWS-33 Wyżeł 2-engine, 2-seater, trainer low-wing monoplane, 1938 (prototype, series ordered)
PWS-35 1-engine, 2-seater, sports biplane, 1938 (prototype, series ordered)
PWS-40 1-engine, 2-seater, sports low-wing monoplane, 1939 (prototype)
PWS-50 1-engine, 2-seater, sports mid-wing monoplane, 1930 (prototype)
PWS-51 1-engine, 2-seater, sports low-wing monoplane, 1930 (prototype)
PWS-52 1-engine, 2-seater, sports high-wing monoplane, 1930 (prototype)
PWS-54 1-engine, 1+3-seater, passenger high-wing monoplane, 1933 (prototype)
PWS-101 1-seater glider, 1937 (short series)
PWS-102 1-seater glider, 1939 (short series)
PWS-103 1-seater glider, 1940 (prototypes completed by the Soviets)
Source :
Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
RWD was a Polish aircraft construction bureau active between 1928 and 1939. It started as a team of three young designers, Stanisław Rogalski, Stanisław Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki, whose names formed the RWD acronym.They started work while studying at Warsaw University of Technology. In December 1925, with some other student constructors, they set up workshops at the Aviation Section of Mechanics Students' Club (Sekcja Lotnicza Koła Mechaników Studentów), where they manufactured their first designs. From 1926 they designed several aircraft alone (Drzewiecki JD-2 and WR-1), in 1928 they joined forces as one team, starting with RWD-1 sportsplane. Apart from building planes, J. Drzewiecki was a test pilot of their designs, while S. Wigura flew as a mechanic in competitions. In 1930 the team was moved to new workshops at Okęcie district in Warsaw, near the Okęcie aerodrome, today's Warsaw International Airport, founded by the LOPP paramilitary organization. On 11 September 1932, Stanisław Wigura died in an air crash in the RWD-6 during a storm, but the RWD name continued to be used for new designs (according to a popular story, the letter W now de facto stood for engineer Jerzy Wędrychowski, but he was not a designer). In 1933, Rogalski, Drzewiecki and Wędrychowski founded the company Doświadczalne Warsztaty Lotnicze (DWL, Experimental Aeronautical Works) in Warsaw, which became a manufacturer of further RWD aircraft. Apart from Rogalski and Drzewiecki, in a construction bureau worked designers Tadeusz Chyliński,[1], Bronisław Żurakowski, Leszek Dulęba and Andrzej Anczutin and several engineers, including Henryk Millicer.At first, the RWD team designed and built light sportsplanes. Early designs RWD-2 and RWD-4 were built in small series and used in Polish sports aviation, including their debut at the Challenge 1930 international contest. Their next designs performed particularly well in competitions - the RWD-6 won the Challenge 1932 and RWD-9s won the Challenge 1934 international contest. The sportsplane RWD-5 was the lightest plane to fly across the Atlantic in 1933. Three types saw mass production: the RWD-8, which became the Polish Air Force basic trainer, the RWD-13 touring plane and the RWD-14 Czapla reconnaissance plane (1938).
Other important designs were the RWD-10 aerobatic plane (1933), RWD-17 aerobatic-trainer plane (1937) and RWD-21 light sport plane (1939). World War II prevented further development and serial production of later RWD designs, and put an end to the RWD construction bureau and the DWL workshops.
List of aircraft:
Design / First flight / Type / Seats / No. built
RWD-1 1928 sports high-wing, 1 engine 2 1
RWD-2 1929 sports high-wing, 1 engine 2 4
RWD-3 1930 sports high-wing, 1 engine 2 1
RWD-4 1930 sports high-wing, 1 engine 2 9
RWD-5 1931 sports high-wing, 1 engine 2 20
RWD-6 1932 sports high-wing, 1 engine 2 3
RWD-7 1931 sports high-wing, 1 engine 1 2 1
RWD-8 1933 primary trainer high-wing, 1 engine 2 ~ 550
RWD-9 1933 sports high-wing, 1 engine 4 8
RWD-10 1933 aerobatics high-wing, 1 engine 1 23
RWD-11 1936 passenger low-wing, 2 engines 2+6 1
RWD-12 (unfinished) observation plane high wing, 1 engine 2 2 0
RWD-13 1935 sports and touring high-wing, 1 engine 3 ~100
RWD-14 Czapla 1935 reconnaissance aircraft, high-wing, 1 engine 2 65 3
RWD-15 1937 touring high-wing, 1 engine 5 6 (+10 unfinished)
RWD-16 1936 sports low-wing, 1 engine 2 1
RWD-16bis 1938 sports low-wing, 1 engine 2 2
RWD-17 1937 trainer-aerobatics high-wing, 1 engine 2 24
RWD-17W 1938 trainer floatplane, 1 engine 2 6 4
RWD-18 (19395) touring and ambulance high-wing, 2 engines 5 (1 unfinished)
RWD-19 1938 sports low-wing, 1 engine 2 1
RWD-20 1937 experimental touring high-wing, 1 engine 6 2 1
RWD-21 1939 sports and touring low-wing, 1 engine 2 4 (+10 unfinished)
RWD-22 (late 1940) torpedo floatplane project, 2 engines 3 0
RWD-23 1938 trainer low-wing, 1 engine 7 2 1
RWD-24 (late 1940) light bomber project, 2 engines 8 3 0
RWD-25 (1939) low-wing, fixed-wheels fighter project, 1 engine 1 0
RWD-26 (late 1940) trainer low-wing project, 1 engine 2 0
Source :
RWD (aircraft manufacturer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)