Maj. pilot
Jerzy Garbiński (1896–1979) was a colonel pilot of the Polish Army, one of the outstanding officers of Polish military aviation in the interwar period.
He was born on 22 May 1896 in Lipetsk. In 1913 he began studies at the Faculty of Agronomy of Lwów Polytechnic, but interrupted them after the outbreak of World War I. In 1914 he joined the Russian army and graduated from the Officers’ Cavalry School in Tver. He then served in the 12th Uhlan Regiment, taking part in fighting on the Galician front.
In 1916 he began flight training at the Officers’ Aviation School in Gatchina. After completing it he served as a pilot on the Eastern front, and then as an instructor at the Observer School in Yevpatoria. During the revolution and the fights for independence he operated in Polish aviation formations in Russia, and after the Battle of Kaniów he was taken prisoner, from which he escaped in 1918. After Poland regained its independence he joined the Polish Army and quickly became one of the key organisers of aviation training. In 1919 he held positions as an instructor and staff officer in aviation structures, and then commanded the 581st Squadron. Between 1920 and 1928 he was associated with the French pilots’ school, serving as its commandant after it was moved to Poland. In the interwar period he held senior command and training positions, including commanding units in the 3rd Aviation Regiment in Poznań, serving as commandant of the Air Force Officer Cadet School in Dęblin and as commander of the 5th Aviation Regiment in Lida. In 1932–1933 he served as commander of the air base at the 2nd Aviation Regiment in Kraków. In 1939 he ended his military service in connection with the mobilisation and reorganisation of aviation. His further fate after the outbreak of World War II remains less well documented. He died on 19 September 1979.
