In Polish doctrine it was a close reconnaissance, observation and liaison aircraft, operating from casual airfields, providing big Army land units with information about the enemy.

The PZL state factory proposed the PZL Ł-2, built in a series of 25 aircraft, while private factory Plage i Laśkiewicz in Lublin proposed the Lublin R-X, designed by Jerzy Rudlicki.

The contest was won by the R-Xa, having the shortest take-off and landing, and good performance, but the factory was ordered to develop design further.

The R-XIV was a two-seater, parasol wing aircraft, with a 220 hp radial engine and fixed landing gear.

The R-XV was not ordered, but the Air Force demanded instead, that two R-XIV should be armed with an observer's machine gun, for testing.

Thus armed, the R-XIV, fitted also with other minor modifications, most notably a changed shape of a tail fin, became the first prototype of the army-cooperation plane, that eventually received a designation Lublin R-XIII.

[1] They were superseded by improved R-XIIIB variant, with oval fuselage top, newer machine gun ring mounting, and longer ailerons.

However, some of R-XXI features, like higher and rounded in cross-section fuselage and changed shape of a tail fin, were found in latest R-XIII variants.

Single prototype of the R-XIIIE was built in 1934, fitted with a stronger 360 hp engine Gnome-Rhone 7K Titan, but it was not produced.

As a result, Plage i Laśkiewicz factory went bankrupt in late 1935, and it was next nationalized under a name LWS (Lubelska Wytwórnia Samolotów - Lublin Aircraft Works).

Finally, in 1934 the Navy bought 6 R-XIIIG seaplanes, differing in details from a previous variant - among others, a metal propeller (nos.

In 1933, one R-XIIIB was converted to a long-distance sport plane R-XIIIDr, named Błękitny Ptak (the Blue Bird), meant for a flight to Australia, however it was crashed in 1935 in Siam by Stanisław Karpiński.

12 R-XIII's were converted to blind flying trainers R-XIIIt in 1934, with higher closed trainee cab.

Some were converted to simple liaison aircraft, removing armament and mounting a windscreen in the second cab.

The R-XIII prototype was converted in 1932 to an experimental variant R-XIX, with V-tail of Rudlicki's design, but it was not accepted by the authorities, despite it had better field of machine gun fire.

About 40 R-XIII from combat units were destroyed during the campaign, but only part of those were shot down by the German aircraft or flak.

A number of aircraft were bombed by the Germans in air bases or burned by withdrawing Poles.

The crew claimed to have bombed civilian victory parade in Danzig, celebrating capturing of Westerplatte instead, but there has been no confirmation of such attack found in German sources.

Data from Cynk, 1971[4]General characteristics Performance Armament Related development: Comparable aircraft: