EXTRA01-2011 LUBLIN R-XX

Lublin R-XX was a Polish prototype torpedo-reconnaissance seaplane of a mixed structure, in the low wing configuration, with a fixed float undercarriage. The drive was provided by two motors Bristol Pegasus II with 635 hp each. The flight of the prototype took place in 1935, and the plane never entered mass production. The armament was four 7.7 mm Vickers F machine guns and a load of bombs or torpedoes weighing up to 1000 kilograms. The prototype of the Lublin R-XX aircraft was created as a result of the bottom-up initiative of the Plage and Laśkiewicz aviation plants in Lublin, which in 1931 proposed to the Polish Navy to develop a long-range torpedo-reconnaissance seaplane. In 1932, an agreement was signed for the production of this type of aircraft. In 1935, a prototype of the machine was flown, which was characterized by good performance, a short take-off and landing distance, but also showed considerable problems with the fuselage strength, as well as flight safety. In the same year, however, the Navy terminated the contract, demanding an improved version (Lublin R-XX A). Work on it was started, but due to the bankruptcy of the Plage and Laśkiewicz aviation plants in 1936, the entire project collapsed. The successor of these plants - the LWS company - did not undertake any further work on the Lublin R-XX plane.