LWS 5 HYDRO

The LWS-5 Hydro was a project of the Polish reconnaissance and bomber-torpedo seaplane in the low wing configuration, with a fixed-float undercarriage from the interwar period. The machine has never been tested, and a prototype has never been completely completed. The propulsion was to be provided by two motors Bristol Pegasus IIIM2 with a power of up to 750 HP each. The length of the aircraft would be approximately 15.4 meters with a wingspan of approximately 18.5 meters. It was assumed that the deck armament would consist of five 7.92 mm machine guns. The plane was also supposed to carry a torpedo weighing up to 800 kg or a load of bombs weighing - most likely - up to 600-800 kilograms. The LWS-5 Hydro aircraft was developed at the Lublin Aircraft Factory (LWS for short) as a kind of successor to the failed Lublin R-XX machine. It was assumed that the new plane would be a relatively simple conversion of the LWS-6 Żubr bomber to the role of a seaplane. The main change was to strengthen the structure and add a float chassis. The work, initiated in 1937, however, took a long time and the LWS was unable to bear the increasing costs associated with the development of the project. For this reason, the main potential recipient of the machine, i.e. the Navy, decided to withdraw from the project and purchase the Italian Cant Z.506B machines, of which, however, the first copy was delivered to Poland a few days before the outbreak of World War II.