5-2010 PZL WIBAULT 70C1

The Wibault 70 (another designation: PZL-Wibault 70) was a French-produced Polish fighter plane with a metal structure, in a high-wing configuration with a classic - fixed landing gear, from the interwar period. The drive was usually provided by a single motor Gnome-Rhone Jupiter 9 Ac up to 500 hp. The plane was flown in 1925, and serial production in Poland was carried out in the years 1929-1930. The deck armament consisted of two 7.92 mm machine guns. Wibault 70 was created on the grassroots initiative of the French engineer Marcel Wibault, who in the mid-1920s decided to create a fighter plane with an all-metal structure. The first flights showed design flaws, which, however, were corrected after further improvements. The Polish side became interested in the plane relatively quickly and decided to buy a license for the production of this machine in our country. Both the purchase of a license and the subsequent training of Polish factory personnel in France had a positive impact on the Polish aviation industry, as they allowed for the creation of machines with a metal structure, and not as before - wooden or mixed. Airplanes of this type remained in the line in the years 1930-1933. Later they were directed to training units. The machine, despite its quite innovative design, was difficult to pilot and did not show the best performance.