The CSS-13 is a licence-built version of the Polikarpov Po-2, manufactured in Poland. The Polikarpov U-2, designated Po-2 from 1944, was a light two-seat biplane of wooden construction, designed by Nikolai Polikarpov in 1928. These aircraft were mass-produced in many versions and used for various tasks — training, parachute drops, cargo and passenger transport, medical evacuation and agricultural duties. In 1941, after Germany’s attack on the USSR, a night bomber version, the U-2 LNB, was developed.
Units of the Polish People’s Army, formed in the USSR, received many U-2 aircraft in various versions. After the war, many Po-2 aircraft entered the Polish air force. A total of approximately 33,000 examples were produced in the USSR. In 1948, licence production of an improved post-war version of the Po-2, designated CSS-13, began in Poland, initially at the WSK Mielec works and then at WSK Okecie. A total of 493 examples were produced.
Based on the CSS-13, a medical evacuation version, the CSS S-13, was developed on a military order, featuring an enclosed cabin accommodating a pilot, a doctor and a patient on a stretcher placed on the fuselage framework. Between 1954 and 1955, 54 examples of this version were produced. During overhauls, 40 examples of the two-seat CSS-13 and Po-2 were also converted. They were operated in military and medical aviation until the early 1970s.
The exhibited example, serial number 9-3505 and registration SP-AXT, was operated by the Medical Aviation Unit in Krakow until 1966 and was subsequently donated to the Museum’s collection.
| Wingspan | 11.4 m |
| Length | 8.17 m |
| Empty weight | 900 kg |
| Takeoff weight | 1 268 kg |
| Maximum speed | 162 km/h |
| Ceiling | 1500 m |
| Range | 400 km |
| Powerplant | 5-cylinder Shvetsov M-11D radial engine, air-cooled, 125 hp (95 kW). |
