It was planned that the plane would replace obsolete fighters and lead to a significant increase in the capabilities of Polish Military Aviation.

At the end of the 1930s, Polish Military Aviation urgently needed a modern high-performance fighter with strong armament that could put up an equal fight with the latest German designs such as the Bf 109.

In the summer of 1939, the PZL.55 was chosen over the PZL.53 and PZL.56 designs, which were themselves developments of the PZL.50, and completed a series of tests in the wind tunnel giving promising results.

The Aviation Command showed great interest in the project and in August 1939, the design and model of the fighter were approved and two prototypes were ordered.

The fighter was to have a fully retractable landing gear with air-oil shock absorbers, and powerful armament consisting of 6-8 machine guns was to be placed in the wings.