PZL P.24

Development

In the meantime, a new variant of the P.11, the P.11c, was developed for the Polish Air Force. It had a new refined fuselage, and the radial engine lowered to give a pilot a better view. These changes were applied also to the new P.24 prototype, flown in 1936. It adapted a whole tail fuselage section from the P.11c and was powered with a Gnome-Rhone 14Kfs engine (930 hp). This first variant entered production under a designation P.24A, armed with two 20mm cannons and 2 machineguns. Similar variants were P.24B armed with 4 machineguns and P.24C armed with 4 machineguns and two 50kg bombs.

The variant P.24D was developed for Hungary, but not completed, since Hungary decided not to buy P.24. The next variant, P.24E, was licence-built in Romania by IAR as the IAR P.24E.

The last serial variants were P.24F and P.24G, produced from 1937 and powered with a stronger 970 hp engine (GR 14N07). The P.24F was armed with 4 MG's, while the P.24G was armed with 2 cannons and 2 MG's, both could carry bombs.

The P.24H was to be powered with a Gnome-Rhone 14N21 engine (1100 HP) and carry 4 cannons or 2 cannons and 2 MG's, but it was not completed. It was considered to built them for the Polish Air Force, but it was to late.

Use

The first user was Turkey, which bought 14 P.24A and 26 P.24C, delivered by 1937. Next 20 P.24A/C were built in Turkey in Kayserie. Then, Turkey built 30 P.24G. All were used for training until the lat 1940's. Some were refitted with Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines. One P.24 survived in museum in Turkey as the only P.24 in the world.

Greece first bought 5 P.24A in 1937, then 25 P.24F and 6 P.24G in 1938. They were the main Greek fighters at a time of the Italian attack in 1940, and their pilots fought bravely against Italian bombers.

Romania already used PZL P.11f built under licence in the IAR factory, and decided to buy the licence for a new plane as well. As a result, Romania bought 6 P.24E in Poland and built further 44 aircraft IAR P.24E from 1937 to 1939. Some components of the P.24E, mainly its tail section, were used in construction of the Romanian low-wing fighter IAR 80.

Bulgaria bought 14 P.24B in 1937-1938. Then, Bulgaria orderd 26 P.24F. 22 of them were delivered from Poland in July 1939, just before an outbreak of the World War II (it was considered to stop their delivery, but the Polish side feared of financial penalty). The remaining 4, lacking propellers, were bombed in Okecie factory in September 1939 by the Germans.

Abisynia (Ethiopia) bought the third P.24 prototype (Super P.24bis) and used it in combat against Italians in 1936.

Technical description

The armament was a combination of 20mm Oerlikon FF cannons and 7.92mm Colt-Browning machineguns in wings.