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The PZL.43 was a Polish light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft designed in the mid-1930s by PZL in Warsaw. It was an export development of the PZL.23 Karaś. Its main user was the Bulgarian Airforce who called it the Chaika (Чайка, ''gull''). ==Design and development== The standard Polish light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, the PZL.23 Karaś could not be exported because of licence restrictions on the use of the Polish-built (PZL) Bristol Pegasus engine. The PZL.43 was an improved export variant of the PZL.23, powered instead by a Gnome-Rhône 14K engine. It was first offered to Romania, but they rejected it in favour of domestic designs. The PZL was more successful in Bulgaria, then reforming their airforce after a period of post-World War I treaty constraints. An order was placed in April 1936. Like its predecessor, the PZL.43 was conventional in layout, a low-wing, all-metal, metal-covered cantilever monoplane. Its fuselage was semi-monocoque. It had a crew of three: pilot, bombardier and an observer/rear gunner. The pilot and observer's cockpits were in tandem and glazed with the open rear gunner's position behind. The bombardier occupied a ventral combat gondola which had a machine gun position at the rear. The fixed undercarriage was heavily spatted, though not suited for rough airfields. Tanks in the centre section of the wings held 740 litres of fuel. A three-bladed propeller was used. The differences between the two types derived chiefly from use of the heavier and longer (two rows of seven cylinders) Gnome-Rhône engine. To maintain the centre of gravity the fuselage was lengthened by adding one central section which moved the bombardier's gondola rearwards. The new engine improved performance considerably, for example increasing maximum speed from 319 km/h to 365 km/h. In addition, armament was increased with two forward firing Karabin maszynowy wz. 36 machine guns mounted in offset fairings to clear the radial engine. Up to 700 kg of bombs could be carried under the wings, like the PZL.23. A common option was 24 x 12.5 kg bombs (300 kg in total). A camera was fitted. No prototype preceded the production series of 12 aircraft completed in 1937. These were designated PZL.43 and powered by Gnome-Rhône 14Kirs motors of 900 to 930 hp (671 to 694 kW). In March 1938, Bulgaria ordered a further 42 aircraft powered by the new Gnome-Rhône 14N-01 engine, an improved 14K design that delivered 950 to 1,020 hp (708 to 761 kW). These were designated PZL.43A. Production started in 1939, but only 36 were completed and delivered to Bulgaria before the German Invasion of Poland in September 1939. Sometimes the aircraft is called the "PZL P.43", but despite an abbreviation P.43 painted on the tail fin, the letter "P" was generally reserved for fighters of Pulawski's design (like the PZL P.11). In some older sources the PZL.43 is referred to as the PZL.43A, and the PZL.43A as the PZL.43B. These latter designations are incorrect. 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.43」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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