LWS (aircraft manufacturer)

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LWS was the Polish aerospace manufacturer, located in Lublin and producing aircraft between 1936 and 1939. The name was an abbreviation of Lubelska Wytwórnia Samolotów (Lublin Aircraft Factory). The factory when it was nationalized as the LWS.

The LWS was created of a nationalized Plage & Laskiewicz works, the first Polish aircraft manufacturer. Due to plans of Polish aviation authorities to gather all aviation industry in state factories, Plage & Laskiewicz works were forced to go bankrupt in late 1935. Then, they were nationalized under the name LWS in February 1936. Formally, it was owned by the PWS state aircraft manufacturer, in fact it was subordinated to the PZL. Technical director and main designer was Zbyslaw Ciolkosz (until autumn 1937).

The first LWS aircraft were Plage & Laskiewicz developments. 18 almost ready Lublin R-XIIIF army cooperation aircraft were completed in 1936 (their quality was the pretext for forcing Plage & Laskiewicz bankruptcy), and the next series of 32 was ordered by the Polish Air Force and built in the LWS by 1938. The factory also continued works upon a two-engine torpedo bomber seaplane Lublin R-XX prototype, now designated LWS-1, but it was not ordered due to low performance.

In 1937 a light ambulance aircraft LWS-2 prototype of Ciolkosz design was first flown, but despite it was quite successful, it did not enter production, since the factory was busy with military orders.

In 1936, a further development of the medium bomber PZL-30 of Ciolkosz design, was handed to the LWS, under a designation LWS-6 Zubr. Since it was much inferior to PZL.37 Los, a planned serial production was finally reduced to 15 aircraft, built in 1938. However, works upon its modernized variant continued until 1939. The factory also proposed a torpedo-bomber seaplane variant designated LWS-5, but it was not accepted due to low performance and the prototype was not completed.

From 1938 to 1939 the LWS built a series of 65 licence RWD-14 Czapla army cooperation aircraft for the Polish Air Force (it was sometimes called the LWS Czapla after the manufacturer). In 1937, there was flown a prototype of a modern reconnaissance aircraft LWS-3 Mewa of own design. A series of 200 aircraft was ordered by the Polish Air Force, but only a couple were completed just after the outbreak of the World War II, and about 30 were in not finished state in a factory.

Apart from aircraft production, the LWS modified 47 light bombers Potez XXV (licence produced in Plage & Laskiewicz and PWS) fitting them with radial engines PZL (Bristol) Jupiter. The LWS also designed the LWS-4 light fighter and LWS-7 Mewa II reconnaissance plane, but they were not built.

A list of LWS aircraft
Name	description and prototype/serial first flight year	number built
LWS-1 (Lublin R-XX)	2-engine, 5-seater, torpedo bomber seaplane, low-wing, 1935/-	1
LWS-2	1-engine, 1+3-seater, ambulance plane, 1937/-	1
LWS-3 Mewa	1-engine, 2-seater, army cooperation and reconnaissance, high-wing, 1937/1939	3+41
LWS-4	1-engine, 1-seater, fighter, low-wing (project) -/-	-
LWS-5	2-engine, 4-seater, torpedo bomber seaplane, high-wing (1936 project)	-
LWS-6 Zubr (PZL-30)	2-engine, 4-seater, medium bomber, high-wing, 1936/1938	2+15 2
LWS-7 Mewa II	1-engine, 2-seater, army cooperation and reconnaissance, high-wing (1939 project)	-
LWS Czapla (RWD-14 Czapla)	1-engine, 2-seater, army cooperation and reconnaissance, high-wing, 1935/1938	65 3

Notes:

1. 3 prototypes, 4 completed, about 25 not completed
2. 2 prototypes built in PZL
3. licence production