{{Short description|Polish single-seat gull-wing monoplane fighter}} {{Infobox aircraft |name = PZL P.6 |image = Pzl p-6.jpg |caption = PZL P.6 |type = Fighter |manufacturer =PZL |designer =Zygmunt Puławski |first_flight = August 1930 |number_built = 1 |status =Prototype |primary_user = Polish Air Force |developed_from = PZL P.1 |variants = PZL P.7 }} The '''PZL P.6''' was a pre-WW2 Polish single-seat gull-wing monoplane fighter, designed by Zygmunt Puławski, and manufactured by the Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL) state-owned factory. It remained a prototype and did not go into production.
==Design and development== Zygmunt Puławski designed the all-metal metal-covered monoplane PZL P.1 fighter in 1928 which was powered with an inline engine, and developed a speed of {{cvt|302|km/h}}, but remained a prototype, because the Polish Air Force decided that its fighters should be powered with a Polish-built radial engine. The next model '''PZL P.6''', was powered with a Bristol Jupiter VI FH radial engine.
The PZL P.6 flew for the first time in August 1930 with test pilot Bolesław Orliński at the controls. It had a very similar wing to the P.1, but the semi-monocoque fuselage was completely redesigned with an circular cross-section, and the tail was altered. The modifications reduced the aircraft's empty weight by over {{cvt|200|kg}}.
==Technical description== The PZL P.6 was an all-metal duralumin-covered, strut-braced, gull-wing monoplane. The forward fuselage was built around a tubular steel frame, while the rear fuselage was a circular semi-monocoque. The tapered two-spar wing which was thinner and narrower at the root was skinned with a ribbed and corrugated Wibault type duralumin sheet, and braced by a pair struts on either side. The open cockpit was provided with a windscreen but no headrest. The Bristol Jupiter VI FH radial engine mounted in front was fitted with a Townend ring to reduce drag and used a fixed pitch two-bladed metal propeller. Puławski abandoned the single strut internally sprung legs of the P.1, and used a pair of vees, each braced to the centerline. The fixed undercarriage with a rear skid was conventional and typical of the period. The fuselage had a fuel tank that could be jettisoned in case of an emergency.
==Testing and evaluation== The wing design was referred to as the "Polish wing" or "Puławski wing" although it was preceded by the Nieuport Madon and Curtiss XP-10, which used the same configuration. During a presentation at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget in December 1931, the aviation press, such as ''L'Air'', ''The Aeroplane'', ''Flight'' and ''Die Luftwacht'' acknowledged the P.6 as one of the world's top fighter designs. Significantly, the P.6 prototype, piloted by Bolesław Orliński, won the American National Air Races held in Cleveland between the 29th of August and the 7th of September 1931.
The PZL P.6 did not enter production, because at the same time the next improved variant, the PZL P.7 was being developed. The first P.7 prototype retained most design traits of the P.6 with a more powerful supercharged Bristol Jupiter VII F engine, and achieved better performance at higher altitudes.
The single P.6 prototype crashed on 11 October 1931 near Częstochowa due to the propeller breaking apart, resulting in catastrophic engine failure. The pilot bailed out successfully.
==Variants== * '''P.6/I''' : Prototype, which also served as the prototype for the P.7.
==Operators== ;{{POL}} *Polish Air Force
==Specifications (P.6/I)== {{Aircraft specs |ref=''Polish aircraft 1893-1939'' <ref name=Cynk>{{cite book |last1=Cynk |first1=Jerzy B |title=Polish aircraft 1893-1939 |publisher=Putnam |date=1971 |isbn=0370000854 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/polishaircraft1800cynk/page/147 147-154] |url=https://archive.org/details/polishaircraft1800cynk/page/147 }}</ref> |prime units?=met |crew=1 |length m=7.16 |span m=10.3 |height m=2.75 |wing area sqm=17.2 |airfoil='''root:'''IAW-72 (Bartel 37/IIa) (6.5%); '''tip:''' IAW-72 (Bartel 37/IIa) (8%)<ref name="Selig">{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |accessdate=16 April 2019}}</ref> |empty weight kg=908|gross weight kg=1355|max takeoff weight kg= |fuel capacity={{cvt|250|L|USgal impgal}} in a jettisonable fuselage tank <!-- Powerplant --> |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Bristol Jupiter VIFH|eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine|eng1 hp=450
|prop blade number=2 |prop name=Gnome-Rhŏne fixed-pitch metal propeller |prop dia m= <!-- Performance --> |max speed kmh=292|max speed note=at sea level ::::{{cvt|285|km/h|mph kn}} at {{cvt|3800|m}} *'''Minimum speed:''' {{cvt|100|km/h|mph kn}} |stall speed kmh=103 |stall speed note={{citation needed|date=November 2019}} |range km=600 |ceiling m=8600 |climb rate ms=10.3 |climb rate note={{citation needed|date=November 2019}} |time to altitude={{cvt|2000|m}} in 2 minutes 50 seconds ::::{{cvt|5000|m}} in 9 minutes 1 seconds |wing loading kg/m2=78.7 |power/mass={{cvt|0.15|hp/lb|order=flip}} <!-- Armament --> |guns=2 x {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} Vickers E machine guns in the fuselage }}
==See also== {{aircontent |related= *PZL P.1 *PZL P.7 *PZL P.8 *PZL P.11 *PZL P.24 |similar aircraft= *Dewoitine D.371 *Loire 46 *Ikarus IK-2 *Polikarpov I-15 |lists= }}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== {{refbegin}} * Cynk, Jerzy B. ''History of the Polish Air Force 1918-1968''. Reading, Berkshire, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1972. {{ISBN|0-85045-039-X}}. * Cynk, Jerzy B. ''Polish Aircraft, 1893-1939''. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1971. {{ISBN|0-370-00085-4}}. * Eberspacher, Warren A. and Koniarek, Jan P. ''PZL Fighters Part One - P.1 through P.8. (International Squadron Monograph 2)''. St. Paul, MN: Phalanx Publishing Co., Ltd., 1995. {{ISBN|1-883809-12-6}}. * Glass, Andrzej. ''Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939'' (in Polish: "Polish Aviation Constructions 1893-1939"). Warszawa, Poland: WKiŁ, 1977. no ISBN * Glass, Andrzej. ''PZL P.7: Cz.1''. Gdańsk, Poland: AJ Press, 2000. {{ISBN|83-7237-080-X}}. * Kopański, Tomasz J. ''PZL P.7: Cz.2''. Gdańsk, Poland: AJ Press, 2001. {{ISBN|83-7237-081-8}}. {{refend}}
==External links== {{commons category|PZL P.6}} *[http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww1/pzl6.html Photos and drawings at Ugolok Neba] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927022838/http://www.samoloty.ow.pl/fot/fot272.jpg Photo at Samoloty 1,5]
{{PZL aircraft}}
Category:1930s Polish fighter aircraft Category:PZL aircraft Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:Gull-wing aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1930 Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Category:Single-engined piston aircraft