Capt. observer
Karol Frizer (1890–1982) was a captain observer of the Polish Army, Knight of the Virtuti Militari Order, a military aviation officer of the Second Polish Republic. He was born on 3 March 1890 in Lubaczów. He graduated from the classical gymnasium in Sanok, and then studied at the Faculty of Law and Economics of the Jagiellonian University, obtaining his master’s degree in 1912. In August 1914 he was called up to the Austro-Hungarian army, in which he served in the 29th Field Artillery Regiment, then in the 90th Infantry Regiment and in the 375th Infantry Regiment of the German army. He took part in fighting on the Serbian, Italian and Romanian fronts. In 1917 he completed observer training in Wiener Neustadt and served in the 101st and 102nd aviation companies. During the hostilities he was shot down twice and seriously wounded, which ended his frontline service for the remainder of World War I. After Poland regained its independence in 1918 he was appointed commandant of Lubaczów, and then joined the Polish aviation. He served in the 3rd Aviation Squadron, later the 7th Squadron, stationed at Rakowice near Kraków. He then held positions in the aviation structures, including in the II Air Group in Przemyśl and on the staff of the 3rd Army. In the interwar period he held a number of command and staff positions, including in the 3rd Aviation Regiment in Poznań, the 6th Aviation Regiment in Lwów and in the Aviation Department of the Ministry of Military Affairs, where he was responsible for training and organisation of aviation. He was also associated with the 2nd Aviation Regiment. In 1939 he was in charge of the Air Port Service, preparing the state’s airport infrastructure. After the Soviet invasion of Poland he made his way to Romania, where he was interned, and then escaped and through Bucharest reached France and later Great Britain. There he held organisational positions in the Polish Air Force structures, including in Blackpool, dealing with the selection and preparation of aviation personnel. After the war he returned to Poland and settled in Gdańsk, where he worked in civilian enterprises. He was placed on the retired list. He died on 27 December 1982 in Gdańsk.
