Stanisław Wigura was born 115 years ago, on 9 April 1901. He became interested in aviation when he was young. In 1922, having completed the Jan Zamoyski Secondary School in Warsaw, he started studying at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Warsaw University of Technology. At that time, aircraft design was a novelty in Poland. The Aviation Section was the place where some brilliant minds met. Together with his friends from the Warsaw University of Technology, Stanisław Rogalski and Jerzy Drzewiecki, Stanisław Wigura mastered the arcana of aircraft design.

Wigura participated in designing JD-2 and WR-1 aircraft. In 1927, when they were still students, they set up a company called RWD (an acronym of their names). In this design team, Wigura was mainly responsible for calculations. The following year saw the launch of the first sport aircraft RWD-1, which was acclaimed for its unique design.

In 1927-1929, he was a volunteer assistant and when he obtained his Mechanical Engineer degree, he became assistant to Prof. Gustaw Mokrzycki at the Chair of Aircraft Construction of the Warsaw University of Technology.

A meeting that changed it all

At that time, Stanisław Wigura was also working on the general concept of aircraft construction and calculations relating to aerodynamics and strength. More planes were produced soon, such as the RWD-2 (4 built) and the RWD-3 (9 built). A pilot with whom Wigura could form a duo was the only missing thing to achieve full success.

In 1929, Stanisław Wigura obtained a sports pilot licence from the Academic Aeroclub. That’s where he met Franciszek Żwirko, an experienced pilot with his first success in international competitions under his belt. Soon, he became really interested in the modern designs of his colleague who was 6 years his junior.

Their first flight is dated between 9 August and 6 September 1929. Flying a RDW-2, they covered a distance of almost 5,000 km across Europe. Afterwards, most of the time Żwirko flew with Wigura as his mechanic. The perfect team’s success was just round the corner.

A global career

In 1930, Żwirko i Wigura flew a RWD-4 during the Second International Tourist Aircraft Competition. However, they had to withdraw due to engine failure. But in the same year, flying RWD-2 the duo won the Second Flight of South-West Poland.

In 1932, a new RWD model was designed and given number 6. That modern design was made especially for the 1932 Challenge – a tourist aircraft competition. Captain Franciszek Żwirko – a Polish aviation star – was appointed as a participant in the competition. No wonder that when going to Berlin, he took Stanisław Wigura with him as his mechanic.

40 teams competed in the 1932 Challenge– an International Tourist Aircraft Competition, which took place in Berlin. The pilots had to perform a rally, technical trials and a maximum speed triangular course.

28 August 1932 was a big day for Polish aviation – Captain Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura won the competition. To commemorate the day, 28 August is henceforth Polish Aviation Day. This spectacular victory turned Żwirko and Wigura into national heroes. They were awarded Golden Crosses of Merit for their achievement.

A tragic end

The whole of Poland was celebrating. The brilliant Polish aviators hit the headlines of all newspapers. Readers sent poems composed in their honour. The fame of Żwirko and Wigura was short-lived, though. As stars they were invited to various meetings and events. On 11 September 1932, when travelling to Prague to take part in such an event, their plane failed. Stormy winds had broken off one of the wings of their RWD-6. “Everything failed. A perfect machine flown by an excellent pilot was defeated by airflows that flung her to the ground”, the press reported. The plane crashed in the forest in Cierlicko Górne near Cieszyn and the aviators died on the spot.

Stanisław Wigura was described as: “A talented aircraft designer, a perfect lecturer who despite his young age was regarded as an excellent specialist with a brilliant future. Working on the improvement of the Polish version of a sports plane, he flew with Żwirko to take part in the Challenge competition. His extensive experience gained in the course of the competition was to be used in his further design work. He was thinking about an aircraft, which was intended to represent Poland in the 1932 Challenge. He had already prepared a concept and was about to start its implementation”.

When they died, Stanisław Wigura was 31, Franciszek Żwirko – 37. Both of them were buried in a joint grave at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw, in the Avenue of Notables.

Monika Bukowska
Office for Promotion and Information

The photographs and quotations from press cuttings come from the collection of the Museum of the Warsaw University of Technology.