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PZL.3

PZL.3
Potez 41
Role	Heavy bomber Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze
Designer	Władysław Zalewski[1]
Status	project

The PZL.3 was a Polish project of a four-engine heavy bomber, designed by Władysław Zalewski in 1928-1930 at Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze.^[1]

At the time of the formation of PZL the Department of Aeronautics gave the nascent design office the task of designing a heavy bomber. Drawing heavily on his 1924 WZ-IX Pteranodon bomber, Zalewski was given the task as designer. During the winter of 1928-29 the detailed design of the PZL.3 bomber took shape, emerging as a large aircraft powered by four 500 hp (370 kW) Bristol Jupiter engines mounted in tandem in nacelles on pylons above the wings. Due to the dire economic situation at the start of the 1930s and the expected high costs, funds for construction of a prototype were not forthcoming so the project was dropped.^[1]

The PZL.3 would have been a low-wing cantilever monoplane with four engines in push-pull tandem nacelles over the wings mounted on pylons. Built with a semi-monocoque stressed skin fuselage skinned with Duralumin skinning and structural parts, the PZL.3 would have had twin fins and a trousered fixed tail-wheel undercarriage. Armament would have included 3 machine-guns and up to 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) of bombs.^[1]

After the PZL.3 was rejected Zalewski left PZL and refused to work on Government sponsored projects thereafter.^[1]

This was also produced in France as the Potez 41.

Data from Polish Aircraft 1893-1939^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 5 or 6
• Length: 22 m (72 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 36 m (118 ft 1 in)
• Empty weight: 7,500 kg (16,535 lb)
• Gross weight: 12,500 kg (27,558 lb)
• Powerplant: 4 × Bristol Jupiter 9-cyl. Air-cooled radial engines, 373 kW (500 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 280 km/h (170 mph, 150 kn) at sea level
• Wing loading: 73.6 kg/m² (15.1 lb/sq ft)
• Power/mass: 0.16 hp/kg

Armament

• Guns: 3x manually aimed machine-guns in nose, dorsal and ventral positions..
• Bombs: up to 3,000kg of bombs

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Bloch MB.200
• Dornier Do 19

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