Greece The
Royal Hellenic Air Force (EVA) was the only air force during the Second World War to operate the PZL.24 as its main fighter type. Two different subtypes, consisting of 30 P.24F and six P.24G, were ordered and delivered between 1937 and 1938 (an agreement for licence production by
KEA was signed, but due to the outbreak of the war, construction in Greece of only one P.24F is documented). Upon arrival, these were split between three Mirae Dioxeos (Fighter Squadrons): the 21st at
Trikala, 22nd at
Thessaloniki and 23rd at
Larissa. The only other operational Greek fighters, stationed further south, were eight
Bloch MB.151s and two each
Gloster Gladiator Mk Is and
Avia B-534 II, both of which were of limited value. During October 1940, the month in which Italy launched its invasion of Greece, the Polish fighter was the Greeks' only modern type in adequate numbers. However, by 1940, the P.24 was no longer a front-runner, despite its use of a powerful powerplant and a satisfactory armament; the P.24 had no speed advantage over the
Fiat CR.42, nor could it outfly the nimble Italian biplane, while it was considerably slower than the
Macchi MC.200 and the
Fiat G.50 it was often pitted against. Its armament was the only real advantage against the Italian fighters, whose reliance on the slow-firing Breda-SAFAT 12.7mm machine guns proved detrimental. The P.24F, armed with a pair of 20mm Oerlikon FF cannon and two machine guns, gave the Greeks a temporary edge in combat until lack of ammunition and spares forced EVA to re-arm all P.24Fs with four Colt–Browning 7.7 mm MG40 machine guns. Overall, the P.24s performed gallantly during the early period of the conflict, holding their own against impossible numerical odds and despite the fact that their main target were enemy bombers, which forced them to fight at a disadvantage against enemy fighters. Italian claims of easy superiority over the Albanian front were vastly exaggerated and their kill claims even exceeded the total number of operational fighters on the Greek side. In total, Greek fighter losses in combat came to 24 aircraft, while the Greek fighter pilots claimed to have achieved 64 confirmed kills and 24 probables, around two-thirds of which were bombers). By April 1941, however, lack of spares and attrition had forced EVA to merge the five surviving P.24s into one understrength squadron, which was supported by five
Gloster Gladiator Mk I and II's and the two surviving MB.151s. That month, these remaining fighters fought hopelessly against the
Luftwaffe onslaught, scoring 4 kills (two
Hs 126, one
Ju 87B and one
Do 17) while losing most of their surviving aircraft on the ground. None of the Puławski fighters are believed to have survived the conflict.
Romania Prior to its procurement of the P.24, the
Romanian Air Force had already adopted the P.11F, which was manufactured under licence by
Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR) in Romania. The Romanian Air Force acquired a production licence for the type along with an initial batch of six Polish-built P.24Es, which served as pattern aircraft. The P.24E was specifically designed in conform with the requirements set out by the Romanian Air Force, including compatibility with its IAR-built model of the 14K engine, its two-cannon and two-machine gun armament, and various refinements and aerodynamic improvements. According to Cynk, the P.24E had played a significant role in the development of a new Romanian low-wing
monoplane fighter, which was designated as the
IAR 80. Specifically, the new fighter had adopted a fuselage which had been derived from the P.24, along with a nearly-identical tail section, which was paired up to a new
cantilever wing and an inwardly-retractable undercarriage. The P.24E was also routinely used for ground attack missions until the end of 1941; however, after 1942, the type was relegated to training duties because of its obsolescence in the face of improved opposition fighter aircraft. ==Variants==