| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1928 (1928) |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | , Poland |
RWD was a Polishaircraft construction bureau active between1928 and1939. It started as a team of three young designers,Stanisław Rogalski,Stanisław Wigura andJerzy Drzewiecki, whose names formed the RWD acronym.
The three eventual founders of RWD started work while studying atWarsaw University of Technology. In December 1925, with some other student constructors, they set up workshops at the Aviation Section of Mechanics Students' Club (Sekcja Lotnicza Koła Mechaników Studentów), where they manufactured their first designs. From 1926 they designed several aircraft alone (Drzewiecki JD-2 andWR-1), in1928 they joined forces as one team, starting withRWD-1 sportsplane. Apart from building planes, J. Drzewiecki was a test pilot of their designs, while S. Wigura flew as a mechanic in competitions. In 1930 the team was moved to new workshops atOkęcie district in Warsaw, near the Okęcie aerodrome, today'sWarsaw International Airport, founded by theLOPP paramilitary organization. On 11 September 1932,Stanisław Wigura died in an air crash in theRWD-6 during a storm, but the RWD name continued to be used for new designs (according to a popular story, the letter W nowde facto stood for engineerJerzy Wędrychowski, but he was not a designer). In1933, Rogalski, Drzewiecki and Wędrychowski founded the companyDoświadczalne Warsztaty Lotnicze (DWL, Experimental Aeronautical Works) in Warsaw, which became a manufacturer of further RWD aircraft. Apart from Rogalski and Drzewiecki, the construction bureau employed designersTadeusz Chyliński,[1]Bronisław Żurakowski,Leszek Dulęba andAndrzej Anczutin and several engineers, includingHenryk Millicer.
At first, the RWD team designed and built light sport planes. Early designsRWD-2 andRWD-4 were built in small series and used in Polish sports aviation, including their debut at theChallenge 1930 international contest. Their next designs performed particularly well in competitions - theRWD-6 won theChallenge 1932 andRWD-9s won theChallenge 1934 international contest. TheRWD-5 sport plane was the lightest plane to fly across theAtlantic in 1933. Three types saw mass production: theRWD-8, which became the Polish Air Force's basic trainer, theRWD-13 touring plane and theRWD-14 Czapla reconnaissance plane (1938).
Other important designs were theRWD-10aerobatic plane (1933),RWD-17 aerobatic-trainer plane (1937) andRWD-21 light sport plane (1939).World War II prevented further development and serial production of later RWD designs, and put an end to the RWD construction bureau and the DWL production plant.
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| RWD 1 | 1928 | 1 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 2 | 1929 | 4 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 3 | 1930 | 1 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 4 | 1930 | 9 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 5 | 1931 | 20 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 6 | 1932 | 3 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 7 | 1931 | 1 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 8 | 1933 | 550+ | Single engine monoplane trainer |
| RWD 9 | 1933 | 10 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 10 | 1933 | ~23 | Single engine monoplane aerobatic airplane |
| RWD 11 | 1936 | 1 | Two engine monoplane feederliner |
| RWD-12 [pl] | N/A | 0 | Single engine monoplane trainer[2] |
| RWD 13 | 1935 | ~100 | Single engine monoplane touring airplane |
| RWD-14 Czapla | 1936 | 4[a] | Single engine monoplane liaison airplane |
| RWD 15 | 1937 | 6 | Single engine monoplane touring airplane |
| RWD 16 | 1936 | 3+ | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 17 | 1937 | ~30 | Single engine monoplane trainer |
| RWD 18 | N/A | 1 | Two engine monoplane utility airplane |
| RWD-19 | 1938 | 1 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 20 | 1937[3] | 1 | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 21 | 1939 | 6+ | Single engine monoplane sport airplane |
| RWD 22 | N/A | 0 | Two engine monoplane torpedo bomber floatplane |
| RWD 23 | 1939 | 1 | Single engine monoplane trainer |
| RWD 24 | N/A | 0 | Two engine monoplane torpedo bomber |
| RWD-25 | N/A | 0 | Single engine monoplane fighter |
| RWD-26 | N/A | 0 | Single engine monoplane trainer[4] |
