Irena Kempówna-Zabiełło (20 October 1920 - 17 June 2002) was a Polish

glider pilot Glider or Gliders may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport ...

, record-breaking aviator and

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

Early life and education

Irena Kempówna was born on 20 October 1920 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. She grew up in the city, where she graduated from Krystyna Malczewska secondary school in 1938. She took up

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...

in 1936 at the age of 16. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she was a soldier in the Kedyw unit (Kierownictwo Dywersji Komendy Głównej Armii Krajowej), which August Emil Fieldorf founded as part of the

Polish Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the a ...

. Kempówna took part in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

Flying career

Immediately after the end of the war, Kempówna trained as a flight instructor at the Cywilna Szkoła Pilotów i Mechaników (Civil School of Pilots and Mechanics). After passing the exam in July 1945, she soon began to train other flight instructors. She began competitive flying and between 1947 and 1950 she set thirteen Polish records for flight duration, flight length and maximum flight altitude and two world records for women. On 10 June 1948, Kempówna flew a 100-km triangle in the

IS-1 Sęp The IS-1 Sęp was a single-seat high-performance Glider aircraft, glider designed and built in Poland from 1947. It was the first post-war Polish glider. Development The IS-1 Sęp (Vulture) was designed in Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny, ...

(registration SP-549) and completed her first world record with an average speed of 50 km/h. On 12 November 1950, she flew a record 4963 metres high with fellow pilot Lucyna Wlazło in the IS-C Żuraw two-seater. Kempówna studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

at the

Politechnika Gdańska A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

, where she became a member of ''Akademickie Koło Lotnicze'', the university flying club. The club flew at Strzebielino near

Wejherowo Wejherowo (; formerly ) is a city in Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 48,735 inhabitants (2021). It has been the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999; previously, it was a city in Gdańsk Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

and at the airport in

Wrzeszcz Wrzeszcz (pronounced , ; ) is one of the boroughs of the Northern Polish city of Gdańsk. With a population of more than 65,000 in an area of (population density 6,622), Wrzeszcz is the most populous part of Gdańsk. History The current n ...

.''Aeroklub Gdański''.
In: ''Gedanopedia''. (polnisch, retrieved 14 April 2020) In 1949, Kempówna was the first woman to win an international gliding competition in competition with men. At the Żar glider airfield near the village of

Międzybrodzie Żywieckie Międzybrodzie Żywieckie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czernichów, within Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north of Czernichów, north of Żywiec, and south of the regi ...

, she outpaced experienced glider pilots and pilots who had flown in the war. The following year she came fourth in the poll for the Przegląd Sportowy (Polish Sportsperson of the Year) behind Helena Rakoczy, Emil Kiszka and

Władysław Skonecki Wladyslaw Skonecki (13 July 1920 – 12 June 1983) was a Polish tennis player. He was a Polish Champion, two-time winner of Monte Carlo Championships and represented the country in Davis Cup. Career Skonecki was born in Tomsk, in the Soviet Uni ...

. From 1950 she was a member of the board of the Liga Lotnicza (Aviation League). Between 1950 and 1956, Kempówna was banned from flying for political reasons, as two members of her flying club had managed to escape to Sweden in a motorised plane in November 1950. In 1952, she graduated from university as a trained architect and got married. She became the head of the Centralna Szkoła Szybowcowa Aeroklubu PRL (Central Gliding School of the Aeroclub of the People's Republic of Poland) in

Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...

- Strzyżewice in 1957, which she turned into an international gliding centre. In 1957, the Polish National Championship was held there. In 1958 and 1968 it hosted the

World Gliding Championships The World Gliding Championships (WGC) is a gliding competitions, gliding competition held roughly every two years by the FAI Gliding Commission. The dates are not always exactly two years apart, often because the contests are always held in the sum ...

. In 1965, she initiated the last major expansion of the site with the construction of a control tower and café. In 1962, she travelled to Sweden with three other pilots on a promotional trip to showcase the Polish gliders

SZD-22 Mucha Standard The SZD-22 Mucha Standard (''Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny'' – Glider Experimental Works) was a single-seat aerobatic glider designed and built in Poland from 1957. Development Developed especially for the 1958 World Gliding Championshi ...

and SZD-24 Foka. In 1966, Kempówna and her husband Roman Zabiełło obtained work contracts in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

through the

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

company ''Centrala Handlu Zagranicznego Polservice'' and settled in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

. Kempówna trained

Swissair Swissair (German language, German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French language, French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne, stylised as swissair) was the Flag carrier, national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and ban ...

commercial pilots on the

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

there for many years. Her husband Roman Zabiełło worked as a pilot for Swissair,

Balair Belair, legally ''Belair Airlines AG'', was a Swiss charter airline headquartered in Glattbrugg operating out of Zürich Airport and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg. It was a subsidiary of Air Berlin and operated under the Air Berlin bran ...

and later Germanair.

Personal life

Kempówna married pilot Roman Zabiełło in 1952 and they had a son. Kempówna shared a lifelong friendship with fellow pilot

Jadwiga Piłsudska Jadwiga Piłsudska-Jaraczewska (; 28 February 1920 – 16 November 2014) was a Polish aviator, pilot who served in the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War. She was one of two daughters of Józef Piłsudski. Life and career Jad ...

(1920-2014), daughter of Polish Prime Minister

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

. Her friends also included the actress Barbara Ahrens-Młynarska. Irena Kempówna-Zabiełło died after a long illness on 17 June 2002 in

. She was survived by her husband Roman Zabiełło (d. 2006) and a son. Her funeral took place on 28 June 2022 after a memorial service in St. Anna's Church in

Wilanów Wilanów () is a dzielnica, district of the city of Warsaw, Poland. It is home to historic Wilanów Palace, the "Polish Palace of Versailles, Versailles," and second home to various List of Polish rulers, Polish kings. Wilanów is home to many v ...

Awards

Kempówna was awarded Poland's

Golden Cross of Merit Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

and a number of Polish and international prizes. In 1959, she was the first Polish woman to receive the

Paul Tissandier Paul Tissandier (19 February 1881 – 11 March 1945) was a French aviator. He was the treasurer of the ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale'' (FAI) from its foundation (1905) to 1919, and its Secretary General from 1913 to 1945, and it aw ...

Diploma of Honour from the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

(FAI) "for exceptional contributions and achievements in sport aviation".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kempówna, Irena 1920 births 2002 deaths Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Women aviation record holders Women aviation pioneers Polish women aviators Polish aviation record holders Polish glider pilots Polish women in World War II resistance Flight instructors People from Warsaw Warsaw Uprising insurgents

Early life and education

Flying career

Personal life

Awards

Further reading

References