Aircraft engine: PZL Pegasus II M2

Great Britain / Poland
radial engine
1935

One of "Polish Bristols", the powerplant of PZL.23A Karaś light reconnaissance-bomber aircraft.

A pioneer of British aviation, George White, in 1910 established the Bristol Aeroplane Company Ltd. It produced airframes and since 1920 aircraft engines it soon became famous of. One of the company's engine designers was an excellent engineer Roy Fedden.

At the beginning of 1930's, Poland bought a licence from Bristol Aeroplane for high-power, nine-cylinder, air-cooled radials, that had already won a very good reputation. They were intended to power new military aircraft that were being designed in Poland at the time. The engines, designated Jupiter, Merkury (Mercury) and Pegaz (Pegasus) were built at the PZL WS-1 works in Warsaw. The Jupiter engines powered the PZL P.7 fighters, the Mercury was envisaged to power the consecutive types of the Polish fighters and the Pegaz was intended for bombers and passenger aircraft.

The first variant of the latter to be manufactured in Poland was Pegaz II, developing 600 hp. Poland undertook the license production, despite the fact that the engine was plagued by problems with reduction gear overheating. It was subsequently replaced in production by the more successful Pegaz VIIIA engine. Pegaz II was used in the PZL P.23A Karaś (English: Crucian) reconnaissance and bomber aircraft.

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