The aircraft:

The PZL-37 Łoś (Elk) was a Polish twin-engine medium bomber, a highly advanced and aesthetically pleasing aircraft of the mid-1930s. It boasted impressive performance, with a top speed over 400 km/h (250 mph) and a bomb load capacity of up to 2,580 kg (5,690 lbs).

Despite its capabilities, limited numbers were produced before WWII. The Łoś attracted significant international interest, leading to export variants. Romania ordered 30 aircraft, Yugoslavia 20, and Bulgaria 12. Turkey showed interest in 10, with an option for 25 more assembled locally. Republican Spain clandestinely ordered 50, and Belgium acquired license production rights. Finland, Denmark, and Estonia also expressed interest.

While the PZL-37 Łoś is more widely known, its larger, four-engine sibling, the PZL-237 Duży Łoś (Large Elk), remains a lesser-known chapter in Polish aviation history. Based on the original Łoś design, this ambitious bomber featured a stretched wing and enlarged fuselage, promising a significant increase in capability. It was projected to carry a formidable 5,000 kg bomb load over short to medium ranges, or 2,500 kg for an impressive 3,000 km.
The first prototype was ready by May 1939. Early test flights revealed stability issues at higher speeds, which engineers swiftly resolved by redesigning the tail section to incorporate three rudders. With this modification, the aircraft's performance successfully met its design expectations.

Escape and Operations
However, history intervened. When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, the single PZL-237 prototype wasn't in flying condition. It took six intense days to make the aircraft airworthy again. Recognizing its limited chances for operational use in besieged Poland, a crucial decision was made: evacuate it to an Allied nation.
On the night of September 9, 1939, the PZL-237 took off from an airfield near Warsaw. Its audacious flight path led it over the Baltic Sea towards Sweden, then west over Denmark, finally arriving safely in Great Britain the following morning.

By February 1940, the unique aircraft was pressed into service by exiled Polish aircrews for clandestine night operations. Unlike the famous RAF Squadron 303, the PZL-237 continued to fly with its distinctive Polish markings. For six months, it undertook frequent missions over German and German-occupied territories, conducting "precision strikes" and dropping agents or cargo.

The End of the "Large Elk"
Operating without access to spare parts became increasingly challenging. This vital limitation ultimately grounded the PZL-237, which made its last flight on July 26, 1940. The aircraft was then parked at Waddington airfield. In the years that followed, the single PZL-237 was regrettably scrapped on-site, leaving no physical traces of this remarkable Polish aviation endeavor.











The story - The Great Escape of the Large Elk
The roar of distant artillery was a constant, grim counterpoint to the frantic shouts and clatter on the airfield. September 6th, 1939. Six days had passed since the German invasion, and the single, colossal shape of the PZL-237 Duży Łoś, the "Large Elk," still sat stubbornly on the tarmac near Warsaw, its four engines silent. Captain Janek Kowalski wiped sweat from his brow, his eyes fixed on the bomber. This wasn't just a prototype; it was a symbol of Polish ingenuity, a behemoth designed to carry double the bomb load of its smaller sibling, the PZL-37. But a dangerous stability issue at high speeds had plagued its initial test flights, only recently remedied with a distinctive three-rudder tail. Now, the challenge wasn't design flaws, but survival.
"She's almost ready, Captain!" shouted Chief Mechanic Marek, his face smudged with grease. "Fuel lines checked, engines primed. Just need those last few rivets on the starboard inner nacelle."
Janek nodded, the weight of the decision heavy on him. Operational use in Poland was a pipe dream; the skies were swarming with Luftwaffe. The order had come from the highest echelons: get the Łoś to Britain. It was a desperate gamble, a flight into the unknown, but the alternative was capture or destruction.
Three nights later, under a sliver of moon, the airfield was a hive of hushed activity. The PZL-237, a dark silhouette against the pre-dawn sky, finally hummed with life. Janek, co-pilot Piotr, navigator Stanisław, and gunner Tomasz strapped themselves into their stations. The air was thick with the smell of aviation fuel and fear.
"Clear for takeoff!" Janek's voice was steady, belying the tremor in his hands.
The four Bristol Pegasus engines coughed, then roared to life, shaking the ground. The Duży Łoś lumbered down the makeshift runway, its massive frame gathering speed. Tracer fire arced in the distance, a stark reminder of the war closing in. With a final, shuddering heave, the "Large Elk" lifted off, a silent prayer echoing in the cockpit.
Their route was a perilous secret: north over the Baltic Sea, skirting the Swedish coast, then a daring turn west over occupied Denmark. Every shadow, every flicker of light on the horizon, was a potential enemy. Tomasz, hunched over his dorsal machine gun, scanned the inky blackness, his knuckles white. Stanisław, guided by dead reckoning and a few precious charts, called out headings, his voice a calm anchor in the storm of their nerves.
Hours bled into a tense eternity. The hum of the engines was hypnotic, the cold seeped into their bones. Then, as the first grey light of dawn painted the eastern sky, Stanisław's voice cracked with relief. "Landfall! Bearing two-seven-zero, Captain! Looks like... the British coast!"
A collective sigh of relief filled the cockpit. They had made it. The PZL-237, a testament to Polish resilience, touched down smoothly on a British airfield, its Polish markings a defiant splash of color against the foreign tarmac. The "Large Elk" had escaped, carrying with it not just a crew, but a sliver of hope for a nation under siege. It would fly again, not in defense of its homeland, but as a ghost in the night, striking back from the shadows.










The model:
Creating the model of the PZL-237 proved to be a significant undertaking, largely due to the starting material: two PZL-37 Plastyk kits notorious for their low quality, though commendably cheap at €4-6 each. Overcoming these limitations was key.
The wings required substantial extension, achieved by incorporating inner wing sections from the second kit and fabricating new surfaces with plastic sheets.
The fuselage also needed lengthening aft of the backward gun stand to achieve correct dimensions, a step that, notably, had to be redone after an initial failure.
While the kit offered single or twin rudder choices, I decided to implement a unique three-rudder design.
A significant hurdle arose with the landing gear bays, which collapsed into the wings post-assembly and painting; these were ultimately replaced with custom 3D-printed parts.
The model was finished with Revell Aqua Color paints, and the original decals were utilized.

That's absolutely brilliant, both model and story   

She also wouldn't look out of place in Dutch markings.

Quote from: NARSES2 on June 29, 2025, 01:40:59 AMThat's absolutely brilliant, both model and story   

She also wouldn't look out of place in Dutch markings.

Thx.
Decals are always an issue, I always look out to get some "unusual" ones for What-If models as its sometimes tricky to make them yourself. But I had no Dutch ones.

Quote from: nönöbär on June 29, 2025, 01:43:49 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on June 29, 2025, 01:40:59 AMThat's absolutely brilliant, both model and story   

She also wouldn't look out of place in Dutch markings.

Thx.
Decals are always an issue, I always look out to get some "unusual" ones for What-If models as its sometimes tricky to make them yourself. But I had no Dutch ones.

If your looking for any in future then let me know via PM. I might be able to help as I've lots that I will never use.

Chris

Nice! Must tackle my own Łoś project some day, too... 

That is absolutely WONDERFUL, and a credit to you and your engineer!   

It gives me a great deja vu feeling as I used to know a Polish pilot who did JUST that with a RW PZL Los, except he flew his right over Germany to France, goodness knows how! 

I love it! 

Given what you started with, this is a great piece of work.  It looks like a bought one!
Very good.
    

a fine looking model, and a good back story as well