Zbigniew Juliusz Babiński (13 May 1896 – April 1940) was a Polish military and sports aviator. He was born in

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...

. While in school he constructed two simple

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

gliders in 1912 and 1913 in

Milanówek Milanówek is a town and urban gmina, commune in central Poland, in the Grodzisk Mazowiecki County in the Masovian Voivodeship. Located near Warsaw, it is often considered an outlying suburb of the capital of Poland but is in fact an independent e ...

. The first one crashed during pilotless tests, while the second one was used for short flights by Babiński and his friends (including later aircraft designer Władysław Zalewski). There is no information available on his service during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but he probably received a pilot's training and served in the air force of one of the occupants of Poland. In November 1918, as Poland regained its independence, Babiński took part in disarmament of German soldiers. He then joined the

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...

with the rank of Flying 2nd Lieutenant (''podporucznik pilot''). He served in the 1st Scout Escadre (1 ''Eskadra Wywiadowcza'') during the Polish-Soviet war, as a pilot of Bristol F.2 Fighter. Before and during the Battle of Warsaw he flew sorties strafing Soviet cavalry, particularly on 14 August 1920 near

Pułtusk Pułtusk () is a town in Poland, by the river Narew. Located north of Warsaw in the Masovian Voivodeship, it has a population of 19,224 as of 2023. Known for its historic architecture and Europe's longest paved marketplace ( in length), it is a po ...

.Babiński Zbigniew
/ref> After the war, Babiński remained in service, in air units in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

Dęblin Dęblin is a town at the Confluence (geography), confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which together have over 100,000 inhabitan ...

and

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 ...

, and was promoted to the rank of Flying Captain. He participated in the first Polish air contest - the 1st Polish Circuit of 1922, taking third place.

As a member of Warsaw Aero Club of the Polish Aero Club, he was especially active in developing Polish touring aviation. He was the first to fly amateur ultra-light aircraft D-1 Cykacz (1925) and WZ-XI Kogutek (1927, of Zalewski's design).A. Glass, op.cit., p. 105, 120. In 1928 he undertook the first touring raid over Poland on the Kogutek, 600 km-long. Flying the Kogutek, he took part in the 2nd Polish Light Aircraft Contest in 1928 (taking 9th place) and in the 3rd Contest in 1930, from which he withdrew. After 1929, he bought a JD-2 (SP-ACA), with which he undertook many touring flights. Assessing the possibilities for light aviation, he landed with this aircraft in at least 225 places in Poland (according to other information, 330). In 1936, he bought a RWD-7 aircraft, and then a RWD-16. Until 1937, Zbigniew Babiński landed in about 400 casual places in Poland. In July 1930, Zbigniew Babiński took part in the Challenge 1930 international contest, flying PWS-50, but was disqualified for time infringement, although he completed the circuit over Europe. Marian Krzyżan, ''Międzynarodowe turnieje lotnicze 1929–1934'', Warsaw 1988, , p. 45. The same source p. 232 and A. Glass, op.cit. p. 186 claim however, that he had to withdraw due to illness. Zbigniew Babiński flew reconnaissance sorties during the

Polish September campaign The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

World War II 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 ...

, the last one on 16 September 1939. After the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

, he was taken captive on 17/18 September 1939, and was murdered in April 1940 by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

in Katyn during the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

References

* *
Babiński Zbigniew
at Historia Lotnictwa site, after: Tadeusz Malinowski, ''Poczet lotników polskich'', Entuzjasta lotnictwa 1/1995 *Romeyko, Marian (ed.) (1937) (in Polish). ''Polska lotnicza'', Warsaw. {{DEFAULTSORT:Babinski Zbigniew 1896 births 1940 deaths Katyn massacre victims Polish aviators People from Sosnowiec Polish military personnel killed in World War II Executed people from Silesian Voivodeship