Zygmunt Puławski (October 24, 1901 – March 21, 1931) was a Polish aircraft designer and pilot. He invented a gull-wing aircraft design, also known as "Puławski wing" and designed a series of Polish PZL

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

. He was born in Lublin. In the summer of 1920, during the Soviet offensive in the Polish-Soviet War, he volunteered for a Boy Scout battalion. In late 1920 he commenced studies at

Warsaw University of Technology The Warsaw University of Technology ( pl, Politechnika Warszawska, lit=Varsovian Polytechnic) is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professor ...

. He was a member of the Aviation Section of the Students' Mechanical Club, where he constructed some gliders. He distinguished himself as a thorough and able student. In 1925 he graduated from the University, receiving the

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 limit ...

title, and left for practice in the Breguet works in

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. After his return, he served in the national service, completing military aviation school in Bydgoszcz and becoming a pilot. From 1927 he became a main designer of the Central Aviation Workshops (CWL) at Słupecka Street in Warsaw, soon reorganized into the PZL (''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'' - State Aviation Works). To meet a requirement of the Polish military department, in 1928 Puławski designed a modern all-metal high-wing fighter with an inline engine,

PZL P.1 The PZL P.1 was a Polish fighter, designed by the engineer Zygmunt Puławski, manufactured by the PZL state-owned factory. It remained a prototype, but it was the first of the Polish PZL gull wing fighter series, leading to the PZL P.7, PZL P.11 ...

. For the P.1, he invented a gull-wing design, giving the pilot an excellent view from his cockpit. The P.1 was flown in 1929 and met with great interest in the world. Its wing design became also known as "Puławski wing" or "Polish wing", and was later copied in some other designs in the world. The P.1 was not produced, in a favour of Puławski's next designs with a radial engine, preferred by the Polish Air Force. A development of the P/1 was the PZL P.6 with a radial engine, first flown in 1930. With a pilot Bolesław Orliński, it won a National Air Races in the USA. It was named the best fighter in the world by some of military press at that time. Its improved variant,

PZL P.7 The PZLP.7 was a Polish gull wing monoplane fighter aircraft designed in the early 1930s at the PZL factory in Warsaw. It was the main fighter of the Polish Air Force between 1933 and 1935. The PZLP.7 was replaced in Polish service by its follow-u ...

, was produced for the Polish Air Force (150 made). In early 1931 Puławski designed another fighter development

PZL P.8 P.Z.L. P.8 was a fighter designed by Ing. Zygmunt Puławski and constructed by P.Z.L. (''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'' - National Aviation Establishments) from 1930. Design and development The P.8 was loosely based on the P.1, retaining the sl ...

, returning to his favourite inline engine. In 1930, he was also ordered to start working upon the P.7 development, with a stronger engine and begun design work upon the

PZL P.11 The PZL P.11 was a Polish fighter aircraft, designed and constructed during the early 1930s by Warsaw-based aircraft manufacturer PZL. Possessing an all-metal structure, metal-covering, and high-mounted gull wing, the type held the distinction of ...

then. Puławski also flew aircraft in the Warsaw Aeroclub. He died on March 21, 1931 in a crash of his newest amphibious flying boat PZL.12 in Warsaw, at the age of 29 (the plane fell due to strong wind, after take-off). After his death, the

project was finished by Wsiewołod Jakimiuk, becoming the main Polish fighter during the Invasion of Poland 1939. Additionally, a faster export model PZL P.24, based entirely on Puławski's construction features, was developed and sold to some countries. Puławski was one of the most talented Polish designers. Partly due to his death, Puławski's fighters, most modern in the early 1930s, had not been replaced with modern successors before 1939, when they were already obsolete.

A list of Puławski's designs

A list of Puławski's designs

See also