PZL-37 Łoś (Elk*) was a Polish bomber, designed in PZL (Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze - State's Aviation Works).

Łoś was one of the best bombers in the world, and in September 1939 it was the best allied bomber, easily beating the French or British machines. It was equipped with very modern solutions (i.e. fully retractable gears - for the first time in Polish plane - and slots on the wings). The initial version (PZL.37A) had a single tail rudder, however in version PZL.37B it was changed to twin tail. Theoretically it could carry up to 3 tons of bombs, but to improve it performance it was rarely given more than 2,5 t. Elk had a crew of 4 - pilot, commander-navigator and two gunners. For self-defence, it carried either 3 wz. 37 machine guns or 1 Vickers F (7,7 mm) and two wz. 37 MGs (two aiming to the back and one in the nose).

Sadly, out of some 120 Elks produced only 46 were used. For example those from training units never bombed any targets. Nevertheless its speed was impressive for a time - up to 490 km/h in the best version. Luftwaffe's counterpart, Heinkel He 111, could fly at 400 km/h, while Soviet equivalent, Tupolev SB-2 - at 450 km/h. It also could take more bombs (3 t compared to Heinkel's 2,5 and SB-2's mere 600 kg).

Elks were used to bomb targets in the III Reich at the beginning of the war, then switched to bombing German columns marching toward Warsaw, along with lighter bomber Karaś (Crucian) - with great succes. A mere appearance of these bombers over the Polish sky terrified German soldiers.

After the loss of September Campaign several PZL.37 bombers were sent to Romania, where they were incorporated into Romanian Armed Forces. One was lost when it landed on a field which has just been captured by Soviets. The Red Army pilots who had a chance to fly the Łoś plane praised it for manouverability, altitude, speed and easy handling.

For a time Elks were used to pull aerial targets. They were also used by Romania to bomb targets in USSR (i.e. in Odessa). Many PZL-37s were lost in accidents by those who captured them (i.e. one of them collided on the ground with I-15bis biplane while taxiing in Soviet research base).

* I'm using the English name for the sake of those who don't have Polish fonts installed.
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I had Moose once already, from Mastercraft, and I started to assembly it, but soon I had to abandon it because of the oncoming exam session in January. When it was over I forgot about the bomber and it was only in March when I've found the unfinished hull with wings. Sadly all other pieces were lost, except for canopies.

Mastercraft's kits were alway those cheap sets, the low price of which was adequate to the low quality of pieces. So I decided I won't buy another Moose from this company. Then I've found Moose from previously unknown to me company "Pantera". While I'm not fond on the models produced in 80s and 90s, I decided to try and buy it, especialy because the price was quite attractive.

Then I oppened the box and what was inside? Mastercraft's forms.

If it wasn't for the presence of my parents in the room I'd certainly start cursing myself for not checking the set before buying it. It seems either Mastercraft bought Pantera's forms or the other way round.

Nevertheless I started the built and finished the plane. From up, it looks quite nice, but it's simply horrible on the bottom Wings and fuselage have gigantic holes between them.

I was saddened by the information that the box contains only markings for captured Luftwaffe Moose (Elch?). Fortunately as it turned out Polish decals were also included.

Sadly if you want some decent Elk's model, you only have Mirage's 1/48 one. Maybe in the future they'll start producing them in 1/72.

Model: Pantera/Mastercraft
Paints: Pactra - Polish khaki, tyre black, red, light grey inside. Humbrol - sky blue, brown for the seats.
Scale: 1/72