What do you do when the first aircraft crashes before the actual start?… Try again! What do you do when, on the return journey, a tornado damages the aircraft, a wing has to be shortened, and the propeller repaired with wood glue and bound with wire?… Keep flying! The story of Bolesław Orliński and Leonard Kubiak may sound like the script of an adventure film – but it really happened. To mark the 100th anniversary of their extraordinary Warsaw–Tokyo–Warsaw expedition, the Polish Aviation Museum has prepared a special temporary exhibition, “Arrive Tokio! The Extraordinary Flight of Bolesław Orliński and Leonard Kubiak.”
This is a story not only for aviation enthusiasts. It is a story of courage, determination, friendship, technology and people who, in the 1920s, managed to achieve things that only moments earlier had seemed impossible. If they were alive today, their adventures could easily become the basis for a Hollywood blockbuster or a bestselling television series. The title of the exhibition – “Arrive Tokio!” – refers to the famous telegram Orliński sent to Warsaw after landing in Japan, announcing the success of this historic expedition.
In 1926, Lieutenant Bolesław Orliński and Sergeant Leonard Kubiak covered 22,600 kilometres aboard a Breguet XIX biplane. They flew from Warsaw via Moscow, Siberia, Manchuria and Korea, eventually reaching Tokyo. Along the way, they had to rely primarily on a map, a compass and their own experience.
In Tokyo, they received a heroes’ welcome. Their non-stop flight over the 1,600-kilometre stretch from Heijō to Tokyo was a world record – no Japanese aviator had accomplished it before. Orliński and Kubiak received the Gold Medals of the Imperial Aviation Society and subsequently the Orders of the Rising Sun. Remarkably, the classes of the orders awarded to them set a precedent, as they were higher than those prescribed at the time for officers of their military ranks.
The return journey proved even more extraordinary. Bad weather, problems with the engine and oil system, emergency landings and, finally, a tornado that seriously damaged the aircraft – these were just some of the challenges they had to overcome. They safely reached Warsaw on 25 September. The Breguet in which they completed the entire route was no longer fit for further service.
“Arrive Tokio!” is more than large-format panels detailing the course of the expedition. The exhibition also brings visitors closer to the protagonists of this story through original objects, documents and memorabilia, many of which will be presented to the wider public for the first time.
Among the most valuable exhibits are previously unpublished photographs from the visit to Tokyo, taken from Leonard Kubiak’s album, as well as Bolesław Orliński’s travel suitcase, which accompanied him on his flight to Japan.
Original Japanese decorations, including the Order of the Rising Sun and the Imperial Aeronautical Society Gold Medal, will also be on display. The exhibition will also feature documents, photographs, press clippings, and items from Bolesław Orliński’s uniforms and badges, including his Polish pilot badge and the famous “gapa” (“gapa”), as well as memorabilia related to his later service in the British and Canadian air forces.
A special place of honor will be held by an original pre-war edition of Bolesław Orliński’s book “My Flight Warsaw-Tokyo-Warsaw” and a unique commemorative album that the pilot received from de Havilland Canada upon his retirement. It contains illustrated recollections of some of his extraordinary aviation adventures.
“Arrive Tokyo!” allows us to see history not through the prism of dry dates and names, but through the people, emotions, risks, and tangible objects that witnessed events from a century ago.
This is a story that goes far beyond the history of aviation. It will appeal to lovers of history, travel, Japan, extraordinary biographies, and simply well-told stories about people who dared to do what no one else had done before. Because when you see the suitcase Orliński flew with to Tokyo, his decorations, Kubiak’s private photographs, or the traces of damage to the aircraft, it’s easier to understand that behind great records lie more than just numbers. They are people who make decisions, take risks, improvise, and—sometimes against all odds—fly on.
The exhibition opens on August 30, 2026, at 12:30 PM in the Main Hangar, during the Polish Aviation Day celebrations.
You are cordially invited!
Exhibition curator: Ewa Cuber-Strutyńska
Task team: Mateusz Tułodziecki, Jarosław Dobrzyński, Aleksandra Blachnicka, Błażej Młudzik, Szymon Pstruś
Graphic design: Arkadiusz Morawski
