Stefan Kwiatkowski was a Polish commander of the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

and a recipient of the Silver Cross of the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

. He was known for being killed on the first day of

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 ...

during the

Battle of Danzig Bay __NOTOC__ The Battle of Danzig Bay ( pl, bitwa w Zatoce Gdańskiej) took place on 1 September 1939, at the beginning of the invasion of Poland, when Polish Navy warships were attacked by German Luftwaffe aircraft in Gdańsk Bay (then Danzig Bay ...

while commanding the .

Biography

He was born on 8 November 1894 in Korelicze,

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

, in the family of Wacław. In 1915 he graduated from the Kiev River School, then he attended the Junkier School, which he did not graduate. In 1918, he was part of the

Polish I Corps in Russia Polish I Corps in Russia ( pl, I Korpus Polski w Rosji; russian: 1-й Польский корпус) was a military formation formed on 24 July 1917 in Minsk from Polish and Lithuanian personnel serving in the Western and Northern Fronts of the ...

, commanded by General

Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki (Iosif Romanovich while in the Russian military; sometimes also Dowbór-Muśnicki; ; 25 October 1867 – 26 October 1937) was a Russian military officer and Polish general, serving with the Imperial Russian and then Poli ...

and was a standard-bearer of the First . In 1919 he joined the emerging Polish Navy as a second lieutenant. He took part in the

, initially as a liaison officer of the

Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy The Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy ( pl, Flotylla Rzeczna Marynarki Wojennej), better known as the ''Pinsk Flotilla'', was the inland branch of the Polish Navy operating on the Vistula river and in the area of the Pinsk Marshes (Dnieper– ...

from 24 March 1920 as the commander of the captured transport ship ORP ''Ataman'', on which he participated in the clash near

Łomczewo Łomczewo (german: Lümzow) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Okonek, within Złotów County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Okonek, north-west of Złotów, and north ...

. Later he commanded the tug ''Champion'', which he sank during the retreat on 21 July near Kaczanowicze. From August 1920, he commanded the armed ship in the Riverine Flotilla. On 30 August 1920 he was decorated by General

Józef Haller Józef Haller von Hallenburg (13 August 1873 – 4 June 1960) was a lieutenant general of the Polish Army, a legionary in the Polish Legions, harcmistrz (the highest Scouting instructor rank in Poland), the president of the Polish Scouti ...

for participating in the Battle of Warsaw With the Silver Cross of the Order of the

. The ID of the Cross was made on a piece of printed paper. In 1921 he commanded the armed ship ORP ''Warneńczyk''. In 1922, he was verified as a naval lieutenant with seniority on 1 June 1919. In the following years, he served, among others, in the command of the Riverine Flotilla, a course officer at the

Polish Naval Academy The Polish Naval Academy (PNA) " Heroes of Westerplatte" is a naval university supervised by the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland, with the history, uninterrupted by World War II, dating back to 1922. At present the PNA provi ...

and the commander of . In the years 1928–1930, he was a navigation officer and then the deputy commander of the training sailing ship during three consecutive training voyages, including to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and the United States. In 1929, he was promoted to the rank of naval captain. Later, until 1933, he was the deputy commander of the destroyer . He participated in a cruise to

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

after Marshal

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

and the

Danzig crisis The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...

. On 1 January 1935 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant commander. From May 1936 to May 1937, he commanded until March 1939 where he served in the Fleet Command. On 1 April 1939 he became the commander of the minelayer . On 1 September, during the execution of the

Operation Rurka Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, the ship was attacked in the Gdańsk Bank by

Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Cond ...

dive bombers. Stefan Kwiatkowski was fatally wounded by a fragment of one of the bombs that exploded at the side. He was buried in the cemetery in Hel.

Awards

, SIlver Cross (1921, No. 3942) * Cross of ValourFotografia kmdr. ppor. Stefana Kwiatkowskiego
Retrieved 3 February 2022 * Cross of Merit * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwiatkowski, Stefan 1894 births 1939 deaths People from Karelichy Polish Navy officers Polish military personnel killed in World War II Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Recipients of the Cross of Merit (Poland) Russian military personnel of World War I Polish people of World War I Deaths by airstrike during World War II