PZL P.8/I Strike while the iron is hot.

Colerend · August 11, 2026, 12:54pm

Would you like to see this vehicle in-game?

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Should it be a Tech Tree/Premium/Event/Squadron vehicle?

Tech Tree
Premium
Event
Squadron vehicle
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Battle Rating?

Reserve
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1.3
1.7
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Where should it be?

Future Polish Tech Tree
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General Information
The designs of Zygmunt Puławski, the chief designer and pilot at PZL( Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze, “State Aviation Works”) sparked great interest across Europe due to them being a modern all-metal high-wing fighters (PZL P.1 and P.6 respectively).

This prompted leading aero-engine manufacturers such as Gnome-Rhône, Hispano-Suiza, Bristol, Rolls-Royce, Lorraine, and FIAT to approach PZL with offers to supply a engine free of charge for installation in the fighters designed by Mr. Puławski. Each company believed it’s engine would deliver the best performance in an airframe as excellent as the P.6. Original concept of the V engine fighter with a slim slab-sided fuselage was being studied at the same time as the development of radial-powered PZL P.7 was happening, therefore PZL management initially selected the two best engines. The air-cooled Bristol Mercury which was later used for P.11 and a water-cooled model, either the Hispano-Suiza 12Mc or the Lorraine 12H Petrel. Airframe construction was undertaken at PZL’s own expense, with costs covered by profits from the order for the P.7 fighter series.

Ultimately, instead of a single aircraft, two prototypes powered by inline engines were built in 1931.They were developments of the P.1 aircraft and it’s planned unbraced version, the P.2. The first airframe, designated P.8/I, was powered by a Hispano-Suiza 12 Mc engine. The airframe design was similar to that of the P.1, incorporating lessons learned from it. The use of Elektron components was abandoned. It featured a smooth duralumin skin, meticulous fuselage construction, and so on. The PZL P.8 continued Mr. Puławski’s classic design lineage, combining the Polish-style wing with an inline-engine fuselage. The aircraft made it’s maiden flight in August 1931.It was demonstrated before President Ignacy Mościcki and Prince Nicholas of Romania. It also took part in displays marking the 1st International Air Meeting in Warsaw on June 18–19, 1932, as well as in a private demonstration for the military. It was striking due to it’s sleek profile. Flight tests revealed that it achieved higher speeds than the P.7 at low altitudes, while offering comparable performance at higher altitudes. The flight trials were generally successful with the prototype achieving a maximum speed of 330 km/h (205 mph) at sea level during factory tests and it’s handling characteristics were excellent, but serious engine cooling troubles were encountered and these proved difficult to cure in spite of modifications to the cooling system.

On July 20, 1932 the second prototype took off from Warsaw and went on route to Cracow with well known PZL test pilot Bolesław Orliński at the controls. About 25 minutes after takeoff, the engine overheated. To avoid a seizure, the pilot made a forced landing in a potato field in Białoczerw, near Końskie. The aircraft became stuck in the soft soil and overturned. The next day, July 21 1932,
B. Orliński took off again towards Zürich but in a P.8/I with the number “6B”. Along the way, he landed to refuel at Kraków-Rakowice and Vienna-Aspern. Approaching his next landing around 1 P.M. at the mountain airfield in Innsbruck (over 1,000 meters above sea level), Orliński had a very limited landing area. The air was highly heated and thin, and the approach was over a high-voltage power line. Flying at minimum speed, the plane suddenly disappeared after passing over the line. A landing gear leg broke, and a full roll on its back occurred. The impact with the ground was far worse than that of the P.8/II the previous day. This effectively spelled the end for the first prototype with it being handed over for scrapping later that year.

Construction
The P.8 was a single-seat fighter Puławski-wing monoplane of all-metal construction. The wings and tail unit were essentially identical to those of the previously described P.1, except that all the
Elektron was replaced by a smooth duralumin skin and the ailerons were reduced in span.
Fuselage was basically identical to that of the P.1, but it was entirely covered with duralumin sheets. Pilot’s cockpit was provided with a seat and rudder bar which were adjustable in flight and with a Borkowski self-adjusting safety harness.
The landing gear was a two-leg scissor-type design, based on a PZL patent with Vickers oil-air shock absorbers (present on the steel skid at the back as well) . The wheels are protected by prominent fairings.
A 350 dm³ fuel tank that can be jettisoned in case of emergency.
The engine was a 12-cylinder, in-line, V-shaped, water-cooled Hispano-Suiza 12Mс with a nominal power of 368 kW (500 hp) and a maximum power of 442-471 kW (600-640 hp) with a water cooler in a tunnel under the fuselage and an oil cooler under the engine. It powers a Ratier fixed-pitch biplane metal propeller.
Breaking load factor n=16,0

Armament + Equipment

(Planned)
Two “7,7mm Vickers” machineguns synchronized with the propeller, mounted
in the upper decking of the forward fuselage
800 rounds per gun
Likely would have been either Vickers wz.09/32 or Vickers wz.E
Vickers wz.09/32 is a Vickers Mk I and Mk II modernized to have a higher rate of fire (1000 rpm compared to 450-600 rpm) and uses 7,92mm Mauser ammunition instead.
Vickers wz.E is just a Vickers E that uses the German 7,92mm Mauser ammunition.

Specifications