PZL P.11c

A cranked wing over the Carpathians

In its day the PZL P.11c fighter was among the technically remarkable solutions. A gull-shaped wing set above the fuselage gave the pilot an extraordinary view forward and downward, and metal construction was progressive for the beginning of the 1930s. By 1939, though, a machine with fixed landing gear and an open cockpit had grown obsolete and against the low-wing monoplanes of the day it lacked speed.

Machines from a fighter school

The four variants on the sheet come from a Romanian setting. Three of them belonged to the fighter school at Calarasi, where the type finished its service as a trainer, and carry the numbers 311, 315 and 323; for two of them the names of the students who flew them are given as well. The fourth machine with the number 318 falls under Grupul 4 Vanatoare in July 1941 and is therefore captured still in a combat role. The dating reaches from July 1941 through September 1942 to the summer of 1943.

Before applying

The film is thin, which is an advantage with the drawing of small numbers, but it calls for gentle handling. Lift the motif with tweezers by the edge of the paper, never directly by the colored area. Line it up in place with a brush with a softened tip and draw off the surplus water by laying a paper towel on it, not by wiping to the side.

• Romanian equipment of the type, that is markings outside the usual September campaign of 1939
• Four separate machines including one in a combat unit
• A choice for modelers looking for a less often seen color form of the machine in 1:48