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Poland's PZL P.37 Los (elk), medium bomber¹

PZL P.37 Los bomber:

Design

The PZL P.37 Los was an exceptional bomber for its time and attracted much foreign interest before World War II started.¹ The P.37 was designed in 1934.¹

Prototype

A contract for three prototypes was placed in 1935.¹

The P.37/I prototype first flew in June 1936.¹

Production

• Prototypes: 3¹
• P.37A: 10¹
• P.37Abis: 20¹
• P.37B: ~70¹
• Total: ~103¹

Variants

• P.37/I: Prototype.¹ Had two Pegasus XII engines.¹ Single fin.¹
• P.37/II: Prototype.¹ Had two Pegasus XX engines.¹ Single fin.¹
• P.37/III: Prototype.¹ Had two Gnome-Rhône engines.¹ Double fin and rudder.¹
• P.37A: Had a single fin.¹
• P.37Abis: Had twin fins.¹
• P.37B: Canopy was revised.¹ Undercarriage now had twin wheels.¹ Entered service in late 1938.¹
• P.37C: To fill foreign orders.¹ Had two Gnome-Rhône engines.¹
• P.37D: To fill foreign orders.¹ Had two Gnome-Rhône engines.¹
• P.49 Mi (teddy bear): Prototype.¹ Had 1,200 - 1,600 HP engines.¹ Prototype was under construction when Germans invaded.¹

Usage

Poland and Romania used the PZL P.37 Los.¹

Orders

The P.37C and P.37D were ordered by:

• Bulgaria: 15¹
• Romania: 30¹
• Turkey: 10¹
• Yugoslavia: 20¹

These were to be delivered in June 1940 but World War II started well before then.¹

Defense of Poland

There were approximately 45 operational P.37s when Germany invaded.¹ Over the next two weeks 26 were destroyed.¹

The survivors were evacuated to Romania and were used by the Romanian Air Force on the Eastern Front.¹

After World War II

Several P.37s survived the war with the Romanians and were used as target tugs into the late 1950s.¹

	PZL P.37 Los1	PZL P.37A Los1	PZL P.37B Los1
Type	Medium bomber1	Medium bomber1	Medium bomber1
Crew	41	41	41
Engine (Type)		2: PZL (Bristol) Pegasus XIIB1	2: PZL Pegasus XX1
Cylinders		Radial 91
Cooling
Net HP		875 each1	925 each1
Propeller blades		3 each1	3 each1
Dimensions
Span	58' 11"1 17.96 m1
Length	42' 4.5"1 12.91 m1
Height	16' 8"1 5.08 m1
Wing area
Weight
Empty			9,436 lb1 4,280 kg1
Loaded			19,621 lb1 8,900 kg1
Performance
Speed @ 11,155' / 3,400 m			277 mph1 445 kph1
Climb
Service ceiling			19,685'1 6,000 m1
Maximum range			2,796 miles1 4,500 km1
Range with 4850 lb / 2,200 kg load			932 miles1 1,500 km1
Armament
Nose	1: 7.7 mm MG1
Dorsal	1: 7.7 mm MG1
Ventral	1: 7.7 mm MG1
Bombs	9,436 lb1 4,280 kg1

Sources:

1. Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998

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