View source for PZL P.6

{{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 aircraft|Fighter]]
 |manufacturer =[[Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze|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|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|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 [[Landing gear|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]], which used the exact 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 International|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 gun]]s 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]]