| W.W.S.1 / IS-A Salamandra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| W.W.S.1 Salamandra in Finnish Aviation Museum | |
| Role | Glider |
| National origin | Poland |
| Manufacturer | Wojskowe Warsztaty Szybowcowe and others |
| Designer | Wacław Czerwiński |
| First flight | 1936 [1] |
| Retired | 1962 (in Poland) |
| Number built | 500+ worldwide [1] |
The W.W.S. 1 Salamandra (Salamander) was a single-seat training glider designed and built in Poland from 1936, and again from 1947 after World War II as IS-A Salamandra.
As the head of the W.W.S. (Wojskowe Warsztaty Szybowcowe - Military Glider Workshops), Wacław Czerwiński designed the W.W.S. 1 Salamandra during the mid-1930s. The excellent handling properties, ideal for the solo training methods then in use, led to mass production in various workshops throughout Poland.
During World War II, almost all Polish gliders and their technical documentation were destroyed or lost. After the war there was only one Salamandra left, kept hidden during the occupation, and it was decided to resume its production. Due to lack of blueprints, the design was reverse engineered in the IS ( Instytut Szybownictwa - Gliding Institute). Five were built in March 1947 by the IS workshops as the first gliders in Poland after the war. [2] In 1948 a serial production resumed as IS-A Salamandra 48 in workshops in Jeżów. It was followed by improved variants Salamandra 49 and 53, produced also by other state-owned aviation factories throughout Poland, among others WSK Okęcie. [2]
Construction of the Salamandra was entirely of wood with fabric covering on wings and tail unit. The fuselage consisted of a plywood covered nacelle for the single seat cockpit, with a wire-braced open strut rear fuselage supporting the cruciform style tail-unit. The high mounted wire braced wings were supported by struts from the bottom of the fuselage to approx 1/5 span. Later versions introduced airbrakes in the wings (Salamandra 49) and a windscreen (Salamandra 53). Wooden skids under the tail and fuselage nacelle comprised the undercarriage. In Salamandra 53 there was introduced a bigger horizontal stabilizer, next retrofitted to earlier versions. [2]
The most notable feat by a W.W.S. 1 Salamandra, in Poland, was an 11hr 15min flight by Buraka, between Brasław and Wilno, on 22 Aug 1938. Another marathon flight of 23 hours took place in Romania with a licence built version piloted by G. Braescu. After the war, 223 IS-A were built for Polish aero clubs, where they were used until 1962. [2]
Before the war the WWS 1 was exported to Yugoslavia, Finland and Estonia. [2] On 29 December 1956 there flew an export version Salamandra 53A – around 50 were exported to China, and a licence production started there. In China there was also developed a primary trainer two-seater variant, without a cockpit. [2] In Yugoslavia there was built a similar glider Čavka, and in Finland - PIK-5. [2] After migrating to Canada as a refugee, Czerwiński designed a modified Salamandra as the Czerwiński Sparrow, as well as an improved Sparrow designated Czerwiński Robin.
In 2017 one Salamandra was built in Gliwice Aero Club, to original plans. [3]
Data from http://www.piotrp.de/SZYBOWCE/pwws1.htm
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
The SZD-36 Cobra was a glider designed and produced in Poland from 1968.
The SZD-21 Kobuz was a single-seat aerobatic glider designed and built in Poland at Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny in Bielsko-Biała from 1958.
The SZD-8 Jaskółka was a single-seat glider aircraft that was designed and built in Poland at Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny in Bielsko-Biała from 1951.
The SZD-7 Osa was a single-seat developmental glider aircraft that was designed and built in Poland at Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny in Bielsko-Biała in 1950. Only one example was built.
The SZD-12 Mucha 100 was a single-seat glider aircraft that was designed and built in Poland from 1953.
The SZD-14X Jaskółka M was a single-seat glider designed and built in Poland at Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny - Glider Experimental Works in Bielsko-Biała in 1954. This was an experimental prototype, and only one unit was constructed.
The SZD-15 Sroka was a single-seat glider designed and built in Poland in 1956.
The SZD-25A Lis was a single-seat glider aircraft that was designed and built in Poland from 1955, derived from the SZD-16 Gil and SZD-25 Nov.
The SZD-17X Jaskółka L was a single-seat high-performance competition glider designed and built in Poland at Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny in Bielsko-Biała in 1955.
The SZD-22 Mucha Standard was a single-seat aerobatic glider designed and built in Poland from 1957.
The SZD-38 Jantar 1 (Amber) is a glider designed and produced in Poland from 1971.
The SZD-41 Jantar Standard was a Standard Class glider designed and produced in Poland from 1973.
The SZD-C Żuraw, also designated as IS-C is a two-seat training and aerobatic glider aircraft, built in Poland from 1952, a copy of the German DFS Kranich II.
The WWS-2 Żaba (Frog) was a single-seat training glider designed and built in Poland from 1937.
The WWS-3 Delphin (Dolphin) was a single-seat glider designed and built in Poland from 1936.
The IS-3 ABC was a single-seat training glider designed and built in Poland from 1947.
The IS-2 Mucha was a single-seat training glider designed and built in Poland starting in 1947.
The Czerwiński Sparrow, sometimes known as the de Havilland Canada glider, was a single seat glider, designed and built by a group of de Haviiland engineers in Canada in 1942. It was intended to popularise gliding and be suitable for both basic training and thermal soaring.
The Czerwiński and Jaworski CWJ was a basic training glider designed and flown in Poland in 1931. Between eighty to one hundred examples of it and an improved variant, the CWJ-bis Skaut, were built.
The ITS-II was a Polish intermediate training glider. Only about five were built as it was soon outclassed by newer Polish aircraft but some were used until 1935. ITS-IIs were used in early training courses on air towing and another gave the first demonstration of glider aerobatics in Poland. It was also used to set one national record.
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to WWS-1 Salamandra . |
