The jubilee year of the Dęblin Eaglets’ School is drawing to a close, but before the last chord of the celebrations fades, something truly exceptional will happen at the Polish Aviation Museum. This coming Friday, 12 December, we invite you to the ceremonial opening of the exhibition “100th Anniversary of the Eaglets’ School”, prepared in cooperation with the Air Force Academy — an institution that has been shaping the elite of Polish military aviation for a hundred years.
The exhibition combines two perspectives: information panels prepared by the Air Force Academy, presenting the history of the school in a broad and modern approach, and unique exhibits from the collection of the Polish Aviation Museum, rarely presented to the public. It is a comprehensive, fascinating story about the development of the Eaglets’ School and the people who created its legend.
The event will begin on Friday, 12 December at 12:00 in the conference hall of the Museum’s Main Building. The exhibition will be officially opened by Tomasz Kosecki, Director of the Polish Aviation Museum, and the Rector-Commandant of the Air Force Academy, Brigadier General Pilot Dr Eng. Krzysztof Cur.
At 12:20, lectures will begin by Dr hab. Marcin Kruszyński, Professor at the Air Force Academy, and Dr Danuta Maria Hać, Director of the Air Force Academy Archives, who will present an engaging and accessible outline of the history of the Eaglets’ School — from its beginnings to the present day. This is an excellent opportunity to hear the story of the Dęblin ethos straight from the researchers who study it on a daily basis.
We will then move to the mezzanine of the Museum’s Main Hangar — the actual location of the temporary exhibition, which can be viewed at the Polish Aviation Museum until 12 June 2026.
Among the numerous valuable exhibits presented as part of the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to see:
• Documents of the first Commandant of the Officers’ Aviation School — Col. Pilot Roman Florer, including a letter dated 24 April 1925 on assuming the position and the act of awarding the Gold Cross of Merit for services in organising military aviation education. This is source material showing the beginnings of the institution that over time became the cradle of Polish air force personnel.
• Uniforms and decorations of distinguished graduates, such as:
— Lt Col. Pilot Karol Pniak — the first Polish pilot to earn the title of fighter ace during World War II,
— Col. Pilot Władysław Gnyś — author of the first Allied aerial victory in 1939.
• Memorabilia related to the post-war history of the Officers’ Aviation School, including from the career of Col. Pilot Zofia Dziewiszek-Andrychowska — one of the first women pilots admitted to the school — and Col. Pilot Zbigniew Sobeńko, a pilot of the 2nd Fighter Regiment in Kraków, a soldier of the Home Army and co-creator of the Monument to Polish Aviators.
• Exhibits relating to the highest command of the Polish Air Force, including Maj. Gen. Pilot Leszek Cwojdziński and Maj. Gen. Pilot Jacek Pszczoła, showing the contemporary continuation of the Dęblin school tradition.
The exhibition is a symbolic culmination of a year full of reflection on the history of the Eaglets’ School — an institution that for a century has combined demanding training, outstanding instructors and a unique ethos of responsibility. It is a journey through decades of Polish military aviation, told through people, their courage, determination and exceptional achievements.
It is also the only opportunity to see in one place such a broad range of materials related to the development of the Dęblin school: from its pioneering years, through wartime, to the present day.
We invite you to an event that will fittingly close the jubilee year — and allow you to look at the century of the Eaglets’ School in all its exceptional scale.
