1st Lt. observer
Bernard Antoni Adamecki (1897–1952) was a colonel pilot-observer of the Polish Army, a participant in the Polish-Bolshevik War and an activist in the independence underground during World War II. For his combat merits he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Order. In the interwar period he served in military aviation and was associated, among others, with the 2nd Aviation Regiment in Kraków. He was among the experienced aviation officers, holding a number of responsible command and staff positions. In the September Campaign of 1939 he held the position of Chief of Staff of the Aviation of the “Modlin” Army. After Poland’s defeat he became involved in clandestine activities, using the pseudonyms “Bocian”, “Gozdawa” and “Dyrektor”. Within the Home Army (AK) structures he headed the Aviation Department of the AK High Command, being responsible for preparing aviation personnel for operations in the final period of the war and organising landing strips for aircraft maintaining communication with Poland from Allied bases in the West. He also took part in the Warsaw Uprising. After its fall he was taken prisoner by the Germans and remained in a POW camp until the end of the war.
After returning to Poland he resumed service in the reconstituting military aviation. He assumed the position of commandant of the Officers’ Aviation School, participating in the training of new aviation cadres. During the Stalinist period, however, he became a victim of political repression. In 1952 he was arrested by the communist authorities and charged with participation in an alleged conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the state system and espionage activities. After a show trial he was sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out on 7 August 1952 in the prison on Rakowiecka Street in Warsaw. In 2017 the Aviation Engineering Training Centre in Dęblin was named after Colonel Bernard Adamecki, commemorating his contribution to the development of Polish military aviation.
