PZL Mielec

50°18′36″N 21°27′40″E / 50.31000°N 21.46111°E / 50.31000; 21.46111

PZL Mielec (Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze - Polish Aviation Works), formerly WSK-Mielec (Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego) and WSK "PZL-Mielec" is a Polish

In 1938-1939, Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze ("State Aviation Works"; PZL), Poland's largest aviation company, built a factory in Mielec, designated PZL WP-2 (Wytwórnia Płatowców 2; "Airframe Factory no. 2"). Production there began just before the outbreak of World War II. In March 1939, the plant began manufacturing its first aircraft — PZL.37 Łoś bombers, assembled from components delivered from the PZL WP-1 factory in Warsaw.^[2] There were 700 workers at that time.^[2]

During World War II, Mielec was occupied by Nazi Germany, starting 13 September 1939.^[3] During the occupation, the factory became a part of Heinkel, among others producing tailfins of Heinkel He 111 bombers, and repairing Junkers Ju 52 aircraft. There were 5,500 workers in 1944.^[2] In July 1944, the withdrawing Germans took away all the machines and equipment. Mielec was seized by the Soviet Army on 6 August 1944. At first, the factory was used by the Soviets as a repair works. On 22 July 1945, it was handed back to Polish control.^[3]

1945 to present

The factory in Mielec was renamed to Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL) - Zakład nr 1 (State Aviation Works, No.1 plant), and turned into a state-owned factory. At first, it undertook aircraft repair works, and produced mostly non-aviation items, such as bus bodies, scales, etc.^[3] The first aircraft constructed in Mielec was a simple trainer PZL S-1, flown on 15 November 1945, of which only one unit was built (this was the second aircraft built in Poland after the war).

The factory in Mielec produced aircraft mostly under license, or designed in other Polish bureaus. In 1948, the factory built a small series of 10 utility aircraft LWD Szpak-4T, designed in the LWD (it was the first Polish post-war series-built aircraft).^[2] In the same year, the company started producing licensed Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes under the designation CSS-13, and 180 were built by 1950 (they were also produced by PZL Warszawa-Okęcie). In 1950, also a small series of pre-war Polish Salamandra gliders was built.

In 1949, the factory was renamed, like all Polish aerospace industry at that time, as Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego – zakład nr 1 (Communication Equipment Factory, No. 1 plant), in short WSK-1 Mielec or just WSK-Mielec.^[3] For a short time in 1970-1975, it bore a name WSK Delta-Mielec.^[2] In 1975, it returned to a traditional name Wytwórnia Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego "PZL-Mielec" (WSK "PZL-Mielec"), in an honor of the PZL brand.^[2] In the 1950s, there were 2600 workers; at its peak the number was 18,000.^[2]

From 1950, the factory developed significantly, and became the largest Polish aircraft producer. It was a licensed producer of the Soviet-designed jet fighters

The factory produced also non-aviation items, like fire engines (1948), refrigerators (1954–1966), Mikrus MR-300 microcar (1956–1960, 1728 built), refrigerator car bodies (1962–1974), TV broadcast cars (from 1965), fuel injection equipment (from 1964), Leyland-licence diesel engines (from 1967), Melex electric utility vehicles and golf carts (from 1970, mostly for export to the USA, later separated as own brand). In 1993, a division Wytwórnia Aparatury Wtryskowej "PZL Mielec" (Fuel Injection Equipment Factory "PZL–Mielec") was separated as a limited liability company.

Present and future

On 19 October 1998, a state-owned factory WSK "PZL-Mielec" was converted into a state-owned company Polskie Zakłady Lotnicze Mielec Sp. z o.o. (Polish Aviation Works), in short: PZL Mielec (not to be confused with pre-war PZL - Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze).^[2] In May 1999, it was certified according to JAR-21.^[2] After a fall of export to Eastern Bloc countries, production volume decreased, and there remained 1200-1400 workers.^[2]

On 16 March 2007, PZL Mielec was acquired by the

The circumstances of this transaction and its aftermath were heavily criticized by the Polish military press, suggesting that the price was very low (56.1 million PLN), due to pro-American lobbying. It was also pointed out that the Polish military agreed in December 2008 to purchase 12 unnecessary M-28B aircraft from the new factory owners, for a price two or three times higher than their real value and export price.^[5]

Aircraft

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Janusz Babiejczuk, Jerzy Grzegorzewski (1974) Polski przemysł lotniczy 1945-1973 (Polish aviation industry...), Wydawnictwo MON, Warsaw (no ISBN)
• Jerzy Gruszczyński (2014) Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk in "Nowa Technika Wojskowa - Polski przetarg śmigłowcowy", special issue for MSPO 2014 defence fair, ISSN 1230-1655, p. 8-9.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to PZL-Mielec.

• PZL Mielec official website