The PZL P-23 had been developed by the state owned Polish PZL company in the early 1930's after the army had requested them to design a light bomber which was supposed to replace its worn-out Potez biplanes. The plane had to carry a minimum of 600 kg of bombs and reach a top speed of 300 km/h. Another interesting requirement was that the aircraft must be capable of operating from improvised airstrips.

After overcoming some problems caused by the Pegasus II M2 engines ( in the end the more powerful Bristol Pegasus VIII engine had to be used instead of the M2), the plane entered production in 1935, and by September 1939 some 250 had been built. Of these, about 114 P-23's entered combat on the 1st of September 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Used for ground-attack missions against German troops heavily defended by AA artillery and fighters, they took heavy losses. After the Poles collapsed under the German pressure, about 30 P-23's ( from training and front-line squadrons ) found shelter in Romania. An agreement was reached between the Romanian state and the Polish government in exile, stating that most of the approximately 300 Polish planes that had reached Romania would be taken over by the ARR, in exchange for the safe passage and expenses for the troops and refugees fleeing in front of the German and Soviet invaders.

After the P-23's were examined and given a major overhaul, 19 of them were chosen for frontline service, whilst the others seem to have been broken down for spare parts. The 73rd bomber squadron was equipped with 8 P-23's in late 1941, and was sent to the east front in the Stalingrad area as part of the 3rd Light Bombing Group.