Józef Stanisław Kosacki (21 April 1909–26 April 1990) was a Polish

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

, and an officer in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He is best known as the inventor of the

Polish mine detector The Mine detector (Polish) Mark I () was a metal detector for landmines developed during World War II. Initial work on the design had started in Poland but after the invasion of Poland by the Germans in 1939, and then the Fall of France in mid- ...

, the first portable

mine detector Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contra ...

, whose basic design has been in use with various armies for over 50 years.

Life

Before

, Kosacki was a technician in the Artillery Department of the Polish Ministry of National Defense. Shortly before the war, he joined the clandestine Special Signals Unit, a secret institute that worked on electronic appliances for the army. Following the 1939

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, he managed to get to the United Kingdom, where he continued his service in the

as a signals officer. In 1941 he devised his

Polish Mine Detector The Mine detector (Polish) Mark I () was a metal detector for landmines developed during World War II. Initial work on the design had started in Poland but after the invasion of Poland by the Germans in 1939, and then the Fall of France in mid- ...

. It was to be used for the first time in action on

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

. Five hundred of these detectors were issued to Eighth Army. They doubled the speed at which heavily mined sands could be cleared, from 100 to 200 meters an hour.Time Magazine/Canadian Edition, March 8, 1999, page 18 The device was used until the 1991

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. After the war, he returned to Poland, where he became a pioneer of electronics and nuclear machinery. For many years he held the chair in electronics at the Institute for Nuclear Research at

Otwock Otwock is a city in east-central Poland, some southeast of Warsaw, with 44,635 inhabitants (2019). Otwock is a part of the Warsaw Agglomeration. It is situated on the right bank of Vistula River below the mouth of Swider River. Otwock is hom ...

- Świerk. He was also a professor at the

Military Technical Academy The Academia Tehnică Militară Ferdinand I is a public university in Bucharest, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Uk ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. He died in 1990 and was buried with military honors.

Legacy

In 2005 the

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

-based Military Institute for Engineering Technology (''WITI'') was named for him. This Institute has the first prototype

built by Kosacki.

Name

During

, Kosacki's name was classified in order to protect his family, which had remained behind in German-held Poland. Therefore, most of his patents were submitted under

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s, including "Józef Kos," "Kozacki" and "Kozak." As a result, his

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

is often given erroneously in postwar historiography.

References

Bibliography

* Mike Croll, "The History of Landmines", first published in Great Britain in 1998 by Leo Cooper, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd, * Modelski Tadeusz (1986). "The Polish Contribution to The Ultimate Allied Victory in The Second World War" p. 221 * "Time Magazine"/Canadian Edition, March 8, 1999, page 18 * Mieczysław Borchólski "Z saperami generała Maczka", MON 1990,

Life

Legacy

Name

References

Bibliography

See also