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The PZL.23 ''Karaś'' was a Polish light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft designed in the mid-1930s by PZL in Warsaw. It was the primary Polish reconnaissance bomber in use during the Invasion of Poland. ==Design and development== The aircraft was developed in 1931 to replace Breguet 19 and Potez 25 aircraft in the Polish Air Force. Designer Stanisław Prauss based the new recon bomber on a proposed passenger transport plane that never saw into production, the PZL.13. The PZL.23 design was a modern all-metal body with wings built around light closed profiles instead of spars (introduced first in PZL.19). The P.23/I first prototype flew on 1 April 1934, followed by the second P.23/II prototype. In the third P.23/III prototype of 1935, the pilot's seat was raised and the engine lowered to improve sight lines. This prototype was accepted for production, with the name Karaś (in Polish - the crucian carp). The first series, PZL.23A was fitted with a Bristol Pegasus IIM2 radial engine of 670 hp (500 kW) produced in Poland under licence. Since this engine proved to be unreliable, the final variant PZL.23B was fitted with a newer Pegasus VIII of 720 hp (537 kW). The aircraft was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal, metal-covered construction. The crew of three consisted of a pilot, a bombardier, and a rear gunner. The bombardier's combat station was situated in a gondola underneath the hull, where he could also operate an underbelly machine gun. The fixed undercarriage was well spatted, but despite a massive look, it was not suited for rough airfields. Bombs were carried under the wings: the maximum load was (6 x 100 kg and 2 x 50 kg). The aircraft were equipped with one of the following engines: Bristol Pegasus IIM2 normal: 570 hp (425 kW), maximum: 670 hp (500 kW) - PZL.23A; Pegasus VIII normal: 650 hp (485 kW), maximum: 720 (537 kW) - PZL.23B. Regardless of the engine, the aircraft had a two-blade propeller. The Bristol engines were licensed for use in Poland only, so for export purposes the Gnome-Rhône 14K was used in a variety of PZL designs. In this case the 14K-powered PZL.23, with some changes to the airframe, became the PZL.43 Karaś. Final export variant was PZL.43A, with 1,020 hp Gnome-Rhone 14N-01 engine. 52 PZL.43s were made in total, all for Bulgaria only. The new engine improved the aircraft's performance considerably, maximum speed increased to 365 km/h. In 1936, 40 PZL.23As were produced. Between late 1936 and February 1938, 210 PZL.23Bs were produced with the new engines. They were also known as Karaś A and B or Karaś I and II. All PZL.23s had military numbers from 44.1 to 44.250.Sometimes the aircraft is called the "PZL P.23", but despite an abbreviation P.23 painted on a tail fin, the letter "P" was generally reserved for fighters of Pulawski's design (like PZL P.11). In November 1936, one aircraft was shown at the Paris Air Show, where it was met with interest. During this period, PZL developed the PZL.46 Sum, a new light bomber, partly based on the PZL.23 design, but only two prototypes were completed in 1938. There was also a single experimental variant of the ''Karaś'', PZL.42, with double tail fins and a modified bombardier gondola, retractable into the fuselage. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「PZL.23 Karaś」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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