RWD 22 was a Polish twin-engine

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

and naval reconnaissance

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

design. Developed by Leszek Dulęba and Andrzej Anczutin of Doświadczalne Warsztaty Lotnicze (''Experimental Aeronautical Workshops'', DWL) in 1939, the project was to be developed under the brand of the RWD design bureau. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

interrupted the design and it never left the planning stage.

Design and development

In late 1930s the

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

sought a replacement for the ageing R-XIIIter and Lublin R-VIII. The new design was to replace those aircraft in both the torpedo bomber and close-range reconnaissance roles. Design of the RWD 22 started in October 1938 and by January 1939 the basic three projects were ready, each with different engine and armament configuration, but with a similar silhouette. The first version was to be equipped with a German-built Argus As-10c with of power and would carry up to of bombs. The second variant was equipped with second generation Walter Minor 12-JMR with a projected power of and was to carry of bombs. The third and final version was to be equipped with a Polish-built third generation PZL G-1620B Mors II engine, already being used with the

RWD-14 Czapla The RWD-14 Czapla (LWS Czapla) was a Polish army cooperation aircraft (observation, close reconnaissance and liaison aircraft), designed in the mid-1930s by the RWD team, and produced in the LWS factory from 1938. A series of 65 aircraft were ...

. Alternatively, American Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior SB could also be used. A land-based version of the aircraft was also being considered under a separate designation RWD 24. It was most likely to receive two Gnome-Rhône 14M Mars engines of . In the summer of 1939 the third, heaviest variant was chosen by the Polish Navy and a wooden mock-up was completed for aerodynamic trials. The designers also received 150.000

Polish złoty The złoty (alternative spelling: ''zloty''; Polish: ''polski złoty'', ;The nominative plural, used for numbers ending in 2, 3 and 4 (except those in 12, 13 and 14), is ; the genitive plural, used for all other numbers, is abbreviation: z� ...

for the prototype, which was to be completed by mid-1940. The first serial run was to be started in 1940 and by early 1942 the Naval Air Squadron was to receive the first 12 planes. However, the Nazi and Soviet invasion of Poland and the outbreak of World War II interrupted further works.

Specifications (RWD 22 estimated)

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

{{RWD aircraft 1930s Polish bomber aircraft 1930s Polish military reconnaissance aircraft RWD aircraft