The Romanian aircraft industry was created in the early 1920s because that country’s government did not want to rely on other nations to provide its aircraft and components. The delivery of foreign aircraft and parts was subject to the winds of political turmoil and often delayed. Also, many of the best foreign aircraft types were simply not for sale.

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In order to overcome these problems and ensure that the Royal Romanian Air Force (Fortele Aeriene Regale ale Romaniei, or FARR) was capable of protecting the nation’s airspace, the government subsidized the creation of three major aircraft manufacturers. The Societatii pentru Exploatari Tehnice (SET) factory was established in Bucharest in 1923, the Industria Aeronautica Romana (IAR) built its factory in Brasov in 1925, and the Intreprinderea de Constructii Aeronautice Romanesti (ICAR) company was founded at Bucharest in 1932.

Unfortunately, the sudden growth of the aircraft industry and large government subsidies resulted in more graft and corruption than actual aircraft construction. In order to rectify the situation, the government nationalized IAR in 1935 and made it the primary supplier of warplanes while SET and ICAR were left to compete for limited government and civilian contracts.

IAR was chosen to supply the Romanian armed forces with warplanes because it had already demonstrated its ability and desire to build fighter aircraft. In 1930 the Romanian government issued specifications for a new fighter. Although the government did not expect much from its own infant aircraft industry, IAR nevertheless produced several prototype fighters in response to the specifications.

Although the prototypes held great promise, none was ready for mass production, and the government decided to purchase the Polish Panstwowe Zaclady Lotnicze (PZL) P-11B for its new fighter. The IAR engineers were dismayed at losing the contract but realized that the Polish design had many advantages over their own. They carefully analyzed the aircraft and incorporated many of its strengths into their future designs.

In 1934, IAR introduced two prototypes to challenge the PZL P-11B. The IARs 15 and 16 were both low-wing, single-seat monoplane fighters powered by 600-hp in-line and 560-hp radial engines, respectively. Many of the fighter’s features came from the original PZL P-11B. While both prototypes were faster than the Polish fighter, the Romanian government opted to simply upgrade the powerplant of the PZL P-11B. Mating it with the Romanian 640-hp IAR K9 engine produced an aircraft that was faster than both prototypes and saved the cost of building a completely new airplane. The new version was christened the PZL P-11F, and since it used an IAR engine, the company was awarded a contract to build PZL P-11Fs under license.

Undaunted by the setback of having its own design turned down, IAR continued design work on its next generation of fighters. Building on their experience, IAR engineers constructed a single example of a low-wing monoplane in 1935 that was christened the IAR 24. The aircraft was powered by a 350-hp Gnome-Rhone 7Kd engine, and because of its low power it was classified as a civilian touring aircraft. However, it contained many advanced features, including uniquely designed wings.

War clouds were already gathering in Europe, and Hungary, Romania’s old enemy, was rearming. Faced with the prospect of defending its airspace against any of several possible aggressors, the Romanian government decided to purchase a new fighter in 1936. The ideal choice was a Romanian-built fighter, since the growing political turmoil in Europe was certain to interrupt the delivery of aircraft from foreign sources.

IAR was more than ready to build the new fighter. The company had been working for several months on an improved design for a low-wing, single-seat monoplane fighter with a retractable undercarriage. Many of the design features, such as the special wings, had been successfully tested on the IAR 24, and the engineers believed that they had an outstanding aircraft in the making. Unfortunately, Polish designers had beaten them to the punch again. PZL had been refining the design of its P-11B for several years and had introduced the PZL P-24 in May 1933.

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