During the early 1930s, PZL had developed a series of innovative gull wing all-metal fighters, headed by Polish aeronautical engineer Zygmunt Puławski.

[2] The Polish monoplanes were subject to considerable international interest, leading to PZL's offices receiving a deluge of enquiries on the topic of prospective export sales.

According to aviation author J.B. Cynk, by 1933, outward interest had been expressed by Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Turkey and Yugoslavia.

[2] Firstly, the company was only capable of producing so many aircraft in the space of a year; PZL did not have the internal resources to substantially expand its production capacity, nor was financing from the Polish government or other bodies viewed as being particularly forthcoming during this time.

[2] Furthermore, Cynk claims that several deals which had been formed with PZL had fallen through or had been otherwise postponed due to difficulties encountered in agreeing acceptable terms of payment between the customer and the manufacturer.

[2] In accordance with these converging interests, PZL decided to embark upon preliminary design work into the prospective development of a further evolved form of the P.11 that would be aimed specifically at the export market.

[2] During May 1933, the first P.24/I prototype, which was largely based on the P.11a and powered by a Gnome-Rhône 14Kds 760 hp (570 kW) engine, conducted its maiden flight, flown by Bolesław Orliński.

[4] The maiden flight had not gone smoothly either; it had been cut short after severe vibrations had shattered the hub fairing, further damage to the propeller blades, engine bearing structure, and fuel tank attachments was also incurred, leading to the forward section of the prototype being reconstructed and reinforced.

[5] During August 1934, the third prototype conducted its first flight; two months later, it performed a demonstration outside Warsaw attended by various Polish officials and several members of foreign missions.

[6] During late 1934, the newly-completed P.24/III was publicly displayed at the Paris Air Show, where it reportedly attracted a high level of interest from visitors and other participants alike.

[6] In the spring of 1935, having judged the likelihood of sales to have been high at this point, PZL decided to commence work on a batch of six pre-production P.24s at their Warsaw plant.

[8] During early 1936, Turkey became the first customer to place a firm order for the P.24, completing a deal to not only by 40 Polish-built fighters, but also a licensing arrangement and the materials to domestically produce a further 20 P.24As.

[8] Following the encountering of greater-than-anticipated drag on early production aircraft, various aerodynamic improvements were implemented upon the next variant of the fighter, designated as the P.24C, which made up the majority of the Turkish order.

[10] When it had become clear that the PZL.50 would not become available in time to counter the now-imminent German attack, figures within the Polish Air Force, such as General Józef Zając, advocated an accelerated purchase of the type.

[12] According to Cynk, during 1939, negotiations for several large orders were either at an advanced stage or had been finalised; these customers had included Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.

[12] The PZL P.24 was a gull wing all-metal fighter aircraft that drew extensively on the design of the earlier P.11, being essentially a more powerful and export-friendly version of it.

[12] The tail unit, which shared similar construction to the wings, was fitted with a cantilever fin, a braced tailplane, while the elevators were furnished with Flettner tabs.

The P.24 was provided with a conventional "scissor-type" fixed landing gear arrangement; each leg incorporated an independently spring oleo-pneumatic shock absorber, built by Avia.

[14] On all production P.24s, the canopy was fully enclosed; according to Cynk, it provided pilots with exceptionally high levels of external visibility in comparison to other fighter aircraft of the era.

That month, these remaining fighters fought hopelessly against the Luftwaffe onslaught, scoring 4 kills (two Hs 126, one Ju 87B and one Do 17) while losing most of their surviving aircraft on the ground.

[citation needed] Prior to its procurement of the P.24, the Romanian Air Force had already adopted the P.11F, which was manufactured under license by Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR) in Romania.

The P.24E was specifically designed in conform with the requirements set out by the Romanian Air Force, including compatibility with its IAR-built model of the 14K engine, its two-cannon and two-machine gun armament, and various refinements and aerodynamic improvements.

[20] The P.24E was also routinely used for ground attack missions until the end of 1941; however, after 1942, the type was relegated to training duties because of its obsolescence in the face of improved opposition fighter aircraft.

Photographs of the Turkish museum piece show a variety of serial numbering (2015, 2017, 2145, 2147) and are shot at different locations: (Ankara and Istanbul), but original aircraft is mistaken with one full-scale fiberglass replica.