RWD – Stanislaw Rogalski, Stanislaw Wigura and Jerzy Drzewiecki – a trio of engineers who in the early 1930s developed an entire family of excellent sport aircraft. On an RWD-5bis, Captain Stanislaw Skarzynski crossed the Atlantic solo. The RWD-6, piloted by Franciszek Zwirko and Stanislaw Wigura, won the 1932 Challenge International des Avions de Tourisme. Two years later, Captain pilot Jerzy Bajan together with Senior Sergeant mechanic Gustaw Pokrzywka repeated their success on an RWD-9.
In the autumn of 1934, on commission from the Main Board of the Air and Anti-Gas Defence League (LOPP), engineers Stanislaw Rogalski, Leszek Duleba and Jerzy Drzewiecki designed a popular touring aircraft. Initially it was to bear the designation RWD-6bis – the three-seat airframe was a development of the RWD-6 and RWD-9. Complicated and expensive solutions were abandoned, while retaining excellent handling characteristics and short takeoff and landing capabilities.
The fuselage framework, welded from steel tubes, was covered with a fairing (to give it an aerodynamic shape) consisting of longerons and plywood formers. The whole was covered with fabric, and the wooden wings were covered with plywood and fabric. The cabin offered good visibility and had ventilation and heating. The landing gear with long-stroke shock absorbers allowed safe “harder” landings. The wings retained automatic slats and slotted ailerons, though flaps were omitted. For easier hangar storage, the wings could be folded along the fuselage. The aircraft was powered by an inline engine.
Soon the RWD 13 prototype, registered SP-AOA, was first flown by Kazimierz Chorzewski on 15 January 1935. After minor modifications to the airframe design, serial production of the RWD-13 began in May of the same year. It was only halted by the outbreak of war in 1939. Of approximately 100 examples produced, nearly 20 were exported – in Brazil, one aircraft of this type is still flying today. In Poland, most RWD-13s were purchased by the Ministry of Transport and LOPP. A few ended up in private hands, and two or three were purchased by the military authorities in August 1939. While being delivered in September to a base in Brzesc as liaison aircraft, one was mistakenly fired upon by friendly anti-aircraft artillery. Licensed production was also undertaken by the Yugoslav Rogozarski factory. In September 1939, nearly 30 RWD-13 and 13S aircraft were interned in Romania and Sweden.
From 1937, the ambulance variant RWD-13S, designed by engineer Bronislaw Zurakowski, was produced in parallel. During the International Medical Aviation Competition in Luxembourg in July 1938, the aircraft in this version was recognised as the best machine. In addition to this competition, RWD-13 aircraft participated in domestic and international aviation events, including the International Scout Rally in the Netherlands, the 4th International Aviation Meeting in Zurich, and the International Rally over Lake Balaton. In May 1939, a luxuriously finished RWD-13 with registration SP-BNY was presented by the President of the Republic of Poland as a wedding gift to the Persian heir to the throne, Mohammed Reza.
RWD-13 aircraft were used as ambulance and liaison planes during the Spanish Civil War, the September Campaign, as well as by the Romanian air force on the Eastern Front against the USSR, and by Jews in clashes with Arabs in 1947. That same year, four examples preserved in Romania returned to Poland. One of them is currently on display at the Museum. After the war, between 1951 and 1953, it served in aero clubs. In 1963 it was transferred to the Museum collection.
| Wingspan | 11.5 m |
| Length | 7.85 m |
| Takeoff weight | 930 kg |
| Maximum speed | 210 km/h |
| Ceiling | 4200 m |
| Range | 900 km |
| Armament | – |
| Engine | 4-cylinder, inline, inverted PZInz. (Walter licence) Major A, 130 hp (95 kW) |
