Capt. pilot
Stanisław Karpiński (1891–1982). Brigadier general pilot of the Polish Army, officer of the Polish Air Force in the West, participant in World War I and World War II, instructor, émigré activist, author of aviation literature. In 1913 he was called up to the army of the Russian Empire, where he served in the 15th Artillery Brigade. In 1915 he graduated from the Military Aviation School in Odessa, obtaining a military pilot diploma. He then served in the 36th Aviation Group operating on the Russian-Romanian front. In 1917 he was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery, and after convalescence served as an instructor at the aviation school in Odessa. That same year he joined the secret Union of Poles in the Military in Odessa, participating in the organisation of Polish aviation units. In 1918 he made his way to the reborn Polish Army. He took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War, where he commanded aviation operations and co-created the Combat Aviation Detachment of the Polish Army. In 1920 he was promoted to lieutenant, and in 1922 to captain. He served in the 2nd Aviation Regiment in Kraków. In the interwar period he was one of the pioneers of sport and long-distance aviation. In 1931 he completed a rally around Poland and Europe, in 1932 a flight to Asia, and in 1935 an attempt to fly to Australia. He was also the author of aviation books and publications, including on long-distance flights, as well as the screenplay for the aviation film “The Winged Victor” (1923). After the outbreak of World War II he served as liaison officer with the air forces of France and Great Britain on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief of Aviation, Gen. Józef Zając. After evacuation through Romania he organised Polish aviation in France, and subsequently in Great Britain. In 1940 he was promoted to colonel, and after the war assumed command of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain. After the dissolution of the PAF he remained in exile. From 1950 to 1954 he served as president of the Association of Polish Airmen in Great Britain. In 1958 he settled in Los Angeles, where he died on 30 January 1982. He was decorated with, among others, the Silver Cross of the War Order of Virtuti Militari, the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Cross of Valour, the Medal of Independence, the Gold Cross of Merit, and the British Order of the British Empire.
