Bulgaria purchased 14 PZL P.24B fighters in 1937. A repeat order for 20 PZL P.24C, to be delivered by the end of 1938 was later added. Later it ordered 26 PZL P.24Fs, 22 of which were delivered from Poland in July 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II. The remaining four, lacking propellers, were bombed in the Okęcie factory in September 1939 by the Germans.
The P.24s formed part of Bulgaria’s effort to re-establish a capable air force after the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Neuilly. They were employed primarily as frontline fighters in the late 1930s and early war years, tasked with air defence and patrol duties. Although Bulgaria did not take part in combat operations in the early stages of the war, the P.24s were used during Bulgaria’s entry into the Axis war effort in 1941 for defensive air patrols. By 1943, they were increasingly outdated against modern Allied aircraft and relegated to training and second-line duties. The last Bulgarian P.24s were withdrawn by 1944, when German-supplied Messerschmitt Bf 109s had fully replaced them.
Bulgaria purchased 14 PZL P.24B fighters in 1937. A repeat order for 20 PZL P.24C, to be delivered by the end of 1938 was later added. Later it ordered 26 PZL P.24Fs, 22 of which were delivered from Poland in July 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II. The remaining four, lacking propellers, were bombed in the Okęcie factory in September 1939 by the Germans.
The P.24s formed part of Bulgaria’s effort to re-establish a capable air force after the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Neuilly. They were employed primarily as frontline fighters in the late 1930s and early war years, tasked with air defence and patrol duties. Although Bulgaria did not take part in combat operations in the early stages of the war, the P.24s were used during Bulgaria’s entry into the Axis war effort in 1941 for defensive air patrols. By 1943, they were increasingly outdated against modern Allied aircraft and relegated to training and second-line duties. The last Bulgarian P.24s were withdrawn by 1944, when German-supplied Messerschmitt Bf 109s had fully replaced them.
Bulgaria purchased 14 PZL P.24B fighters in 1937, then 20 PZL P.24C, to be delivered in 1938 was later added. Later it ordered 26 PZL P.24Fs, 22 delivered 4 destroyed by Germany
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