The P-24 was the ultimate progression of the earlier P-11 design. Although the aircraft were similar in appearance, the PZL P-24 was more heavily armed and had a more powerful engine, an enclosed canopy and several other refinements. Work on the PZL P-24 had continued throughout 1933 and 1934, and the second prototype was demonstrated at the Paris Air Show in 1934. Its performance was stunning, and the aircraft was labeled the fastest and best-armed interceptor in the world. The Romanian government was also impressed by the new Polish aircraft. Although the government would have liked to buy IAR’s design, the Polish fighter was a better aircraft. The PZL P-24 was the refinement of a proven design the Romanian Air Force was already operating. The Romanians purchased a license to build the P-24 equipped with the IAR-built 930-hp Gnome-Rhone 14 Kmc/36 engine.

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Despite disappointment at the government’s choice of the Polish design, a team of IAR engineers led by Dr. Ion Grosu was convinced that its design was superior to the high-gull-wing configuration of the PZL P-24. The team studied the new Polish aircraft and combined its best features with those of the latest IAR design.

The resulting aircraft was unique in many respects. It was a low-wing, single-seat monoplane fighter with an open cockpit and retractable landing gear. It had a wingspan of 32 feet 10 inches, was 26 feet 91ž2 inches long and stood 11 feet 10 inches high. It weighed 3,930 pounds empty and 5,040 with a normal fuel and ordnance load. The aircraft was powered by the 14-cylinder radial air-cooled IAR-built Gnome-Rhone 14K II C 32 engine, which generated 870 hp, resulting in a top speed of 317 mph at 13,000 feet and a maximum range of 590 miles. The prototype was armed with two FN Browning 7.92mm machine guns, but heavier armament was planned.

The simple statistics do not do justice to the brilliant design that combined the best features of a Polish and a Romanian aircraft. The fuselage forward of the tail was from the IAR design, while the entire tail section was taken from the PZL P-24. The wings were designed by IAR and had been tested on the IAR 24. The engine, engine mount and engine cowling were all from the PZL P-24. The cockpit instruments, internal cockpit components and gunsight were either Romanian or imported from foreign suppliers. The Romanian government was duly impressed with the new aircraft, which was officially christened the IAR 80, and ordered 100 of the new fighters on December 18, 1939.

The new fighters required 600 Belgian-made FN Browning machine guns, and the supply of them was disrupted by the German conquest of the Low Countries. The Germans eventually allowed the production of the machine guns to resume, but it took until November 1940 for the order to be released. The first 20 production IAR 80s rolled off the assembly line between January and February 1941. Several minor modifications differentiated them from the prototype. The production versions had the more powerful IAR 14K III C 36 engine installed. The cockpit was fully enclosed, and the pilot was provided with oxygen for high-altitude flight.

The initial batch of fighters was well received by the Romanian pilots, but they made several recommendations that the IAR engineers quickly adopted. The pilots considered the aircraft underpowered and lacking sufficient firepower for modern air-to-air combat. The IAR engineers interrupted series production to add the more powerful 960-hp IAR 14K IV C 32 engine to airplanes 21 through 50 on the assembly line. They were unable, however, to upgrade the armament package.

The Romanians, now firmly in the Axis camp, were set to participate in the invasion of Russia along with the Germans. The Romanian air force benefited from the new alliance, as Germany, in late April 1941, allowed the delivery of sufficient Browning FN machine guns for the IAR engineers to build the IAR 80A.

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