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PZL P.38 Wilk (Wolf)

1939 WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

PZL p. 38 History of Wilk (Wolf)

As Hitler's Reich grew in strength in neighboring Germany, the Polish Air Force began to strengthen its capabilities, a move that included a commitment to a new fighter-bomber attack platform. The aircraft will be a multi-engine design with a primary attack role, capable of reusing the airframe as a heavy bomber interceptor or bomber escort.

Multi-role performers would be used to cover multiple roles on the battlefield with a single design - a theoretically logistically friendly route and a concept carried by other Air Forces at the time.

Influenced by the upcoming production twin-engine medium bomber PZL P. 37 Los, the PZL P. 38 'Wilk' ('Wolf') was born (thanks to Franciszek Misztal's design). The proposed propulsion scheme involves 2 PZL Foka (Seal) air-cooled 8-cylinder inverted V engines driving the three-bladed propeller unit.

Two crew members, including a pilot and a gunner (the latter also serving as a bombardier), would be housed under the combined cockpit in the center of the fuselage. The weapon will be a hybrid of a cannon and a machine gun, combined with bomb carrying/delivery capabilities.

Issues associated with the development of the proposed Foka range of engines (i.e. overheating and excessive vibration) resulted in the need to replace the powerplant. This prompted engineers to use 2 US-sourced Ranger SGV-770B 12-cylinder engines, each delivering 450 horsepower.

Again, these are the air-cooled types.

The aircraft was given the traditional layout of the twin-engine fighter-bombers of the time. Since each main-wing aircraft has an engine nacelle, the nose assembly can accommodate the main armament. However, the fuselage is rounded with board edges that give the plane's fuselage a deep look. The cockpit is located at the rear of the nose assembly, and a station at the rear of the fuselage is reserved for the second crew member to operate defensive machine gun weapons.

The gun was positioned to fire between two vertical fins mounted on the horizontal section of the end of the aircraft. The landing gear has a tricycle configuration. The main planes of the wings are straight appendages with rounded ends.

Suggested weapon is 1 x 20mm FK-A autocannon mounted on nose section and coupled to 2 x 7.92mm PWU wz. 36 Series Machine Guns - All of these machine guns are stationary and can fire forward. The rear cockpit is a 2 x 7.92mm PWU wz array. 37 machine guns mounted on trainable supports.

The aircraft can also carry conventional bombing projectiles up to 660 pounds.

A pair of prototypes resulted from two engine choices, the Foka for the P.38/I and the Ranger for the P.38/II. The first prototype eventually featured a 620-horsepower Foka II series engine, but the Ranger-equipped model recorded the series' maiden flight in May 1938.

The aircraft was shown to the public for the first time in 2019 during the Paris Air Show. S. 38/I had a blast sometime in early 1939. After further testing, the P.38 proved to be an underperforming heavy aircraft capable of carrying only its rated bomb load.

That said, there is little hope of being cast in any role.

As the series has only reached prototype status, estimated real-world performance specs include a top speed of 289 mph, a range of up to 528 miles, and a service ceiling of up to 30,000 feet. The climb rate is 1,600 feet per minute.

At this time (spring 1939), thought turned to a more refined form of the same aircraft as the twin-engine P.48 Lampart ("Panther") equipped with the 700 hp Gnome-Rhone 14M Mars air-cooled Meridian. However, the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 destroyed all hopes of the P.48 project (only an incomplete prototype of the design was realized).

The two P. 38 prototypes themselves ended up in German hands during the invasion, and the two have never been heard of again.