PZL.46 Sum

PZL-46 Sum
Prototype P.46 / I
Type:	Light bomb and reconnaissance aircraft
Design country:	Poland
Manufacturer:	PZL
First flight:	August 1938
Commissioning:	-
Number of pieces:	2 prototypes

The PZL.46 Sum ( German  Wels ) was a Polish multi-purpose aircraft during World War II .

history

In response to a request from the Polish Air Force in 1936, Stanisław Prauss , chief designer of the state-owned company PZL ( Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze ), began planning a successor to the PZL.23 Karaś . In April of the same year, a P.23 from ongoing production was equipped with a double tail and tested as a P.42. Prauss then began the actual work, which he completed in 1937. At the beginning of 1938, the order was placed to build four prototypes, one of which was to be used for static tests. After some deliberation, a retractable landing gear was abandoned. Equipped with a 675 kW Pegasus XX engine, the P.46 / I took off on its maiden flight in August (other sources cite October) 1938. In November 1938 it was exhibited at the 16th Paris Aerosalon and judged favorably there. After the tests, construction of the second prototype, known as the P.23 / II, began. As a special feature, it was equipped with a lower fuselage gondola that could be lowered hydraulically. The first flight took place in March 1939.

On March 28, 1939, an order for 160 machines was placed, which was soon expanded to 300, of which 140 were to be used in combat units, the rest in school units or as a reserve. The start of series production was delayed, however, because the mechanism of the fuselage nacelle caused some problems, before the planned delivery of the first series copies was postponed to November / December 1939 and therefore no longer took place.

In the summer of 1939, the construction of a third prototype, designated as PZL.46 / III and equipped with a 694 kW Gnôme-Rhône 14N21 engine, was started, which was to serve as the starting model for a Bulgarian export version, of the 12 (according to other sources 16 ) Copies had been ordered. It was no longer completed. Furthermore, a dive bomber version called Losos with retractable landing gear and Hispano-Suiza-12Z propulsion existed as a project .

The beginning of the war finally finished all work. The second prototype could be transferred to Bucharest and thus withdrawn from the access of the German troops. He is said to have reached the Soviet Union later and was tested by their air forces.

Technical specifications

Three-sided tear

Parameter	Data
length	10.5 m
span	14.6 m
height	3.3 m
Wing area	31.5 m²
Empty mass	1995 kg
Takeoff mass	3555 kg
Top speed	425 km / h
Marching speed	350 km / h
Landing speed	110 km / h
Summit height	7700 m
Range	1300 km
Engine	a Bristol Pegasus XX , 925 PS (680 kW)
Armament	four 7.9 mm MG
Bomb load	600 kg

See also

• Aircraft of the minor powers in World War II
• List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : PZL.46 Sum  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• PZL P-46 Sum picture and brief information , accessed on May 22, 2012

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wolfgang Sellenthin: Attack aircraft and single-engine bombers of the Second World War. In: Fliegerkalender der DDR 1981. Militärverlag, Berlin 1980, p. 220.
2. ^ Wilfried Copenhagen, Jochen K. Beeck: The large aircraft type book. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2005, p. 360.