In 1959, the Institute of Aviation developed the MD-12, a 22-seat passenger aircraft intended for domestic routes. Three prototypes were built — one for static testing and two for flight testing. In 1961, one of them was assigned to trial service on the Warsaw-Rzeszow route.
LOT Polish Airlines were not interested in the aircraft, as it proved more cost-effective to transfer less modern aircraft from international to domestic routes. In 1962, the photogrammetric version MD-12F was developed, featuring a glazed nose, photographic equipment installed in the fuselage, wings with greater span housing enlarged fuel tanks, extending the flight time to 10 hours.
The aircraft proved successful, but the crash of the first prototype in 1963 meant it never entered serial production. The MD-12F arrived at the Museum by air in 1967.
| Wingspan | 23.6 m |
| Length | 15.8 m |
| Takeoff weight | 7000 kg |
| Maximum speed | 305 km/h |
| Ceiling | 4750 m |
| Range | 2100 km |
| Armament | – |
| Engine | 4 x radial, 7-cylinder, air-cooled WN-3C engines, 330 hp (244 kW) each |
