Jerzy Rudlicki (Polish pronunciation: ; 14 March 1893 – 18 August 1977) was a Polish pilot and

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

. Best known for his inventing and patenting of the

V-tail The V-tail or ''vee-tail'' (sometimes called a butterfly tail or Rudlicki's V-tailGudmundsson S. (2013). "General Aviation Aircraft Design: Applied Methods and Procedures" (Reprint). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 489. , 9780123973290) of an aircraf ...

, which is an aircraft tail configuration that combines the rudder and elevators into one system. Rudlicki was also the Chief Engineer of the Polish Plage i Laśkiewicz works, later known as LWS in Interwar Poland.

Early life and military career

Rudlicki was born on 14 March 1893 in Odessa. In the years (1909-1911) he constructed seven gliders which resulted in Rudlicki receiving a diploma with honors from the Odessa National Polytechnic University. In 1914, Rudlicki competed officer school and pilot school in

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

. Rudlicki served as pilot in the

Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...

and in 1917 fought for the

Blue Army (Poland) The Blue Army (Polish language, Polish: ''Błękitna Armia''; French language, French: ''Armée bleue''), or Haller's Army, was a Polish military contingent created in France during the latter stages of World War I. The name came from the Fre ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

under General

Józef Haller Józef Haller (''de Hallenburg''; 13 August 1873 – 4 June 1960) was a Polish lieutenant general and legionary in the Polish Legions during the First World War. He was a harcmistrz (the highest Scouting instructor rank in Poland), the p ...

. Rudlicki also fought in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

in 1920 which resulted in Rudlicki being awarded the Cross of Valor in 1921 for his heroics as a pilot during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Interwar Period in Poland

In the years (1921-1922), Rudlicki studied at the

École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

, from which Rudlicki received his Engineering degree. From (1922-1925), Rudlicki worked at the Institute of Aviation, Warsaw as head of the experimental laboratory. In 1926, Rudlicki became the Chief Engineer for Polish Aerospace Manufacturer Plage i Laśkiewicz located in

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Throughout his career as Chief Engineer of Plage i Laśkiewicz, he supervised the construction of both civilian and military aircraft most notably the: Lublin R-VIII, and R IX Torpedo Bomber. During the

Interwar Period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, Rudlicki was also credited for creating the first retractable landing gear in Poland. In the years (1928-1931) he worked on perfecting the

design which was patented in 1930 as (Polish Patent #15938) and tested on a modified Hanriot HD.28 in 1931. One of the most notable examples of the

design can be seen on the

F-117 Nighthawk The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is an officially retired American single-seat, subsonic, twin-engined, stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was ...

WWII Period and Post WWII Period

After the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Rudlicki relocated to the

and began work at

SNCASO SNCASO (abbreviated from ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Ouest'' ), or commonly ''Sud-Ouest'', was a French aircraft manufacturer. Created during 1936 as one of seven nationalised aeronautical manufacturing companie ...

. While working at

Rudlicki and 74 of his former workers fixed and upgraded 200 Curtiss Hawk and Martin Maryland but after the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

Rudlicki and his workers escaped to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. In 1943, Rudlicki started work at a Lockheed modification center near

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. While working at Lockheed, Rudlicki created an updated version of the Swiatecki bomb slip, which was originally constructed by fellow Polish aerospace engineer Władysław Świątecki. The updated bomb slip was created for the American

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

. After the end of

, Rudlicki immigrated to the United States where he began work with

Republic Aviation The Republic Aviation Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Farmingdale, New York, on Long Island, New York, Long Island. Originally known as the Seversky Aircraft Company, the company was responsible for the design and produ ...

. While at

, Rudlicki constructed a controlled discharge nozzles for jet engine

General Electric J85 The General Electric J85 is a small single-shaft turbojet engine. Military versions produce up to of thrust dry; Afterburner, afterburning variants can reach up to . The engine, depending upon additional equipment and specific model, weighs fro ...

, allowing the engine thrust vector deflection for vertical take-off jet aircraft. After 16 years with

, Rudlicki retired and at the time of his death was awarded with the Gold Cross of Merit, Cross of Valor and, the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

."Polonia Technica , Jerzy Stanisław Rudlicki , Samolotów, Się, Tam, Latach, Oraz." Polonia Technica , Jerzy Stanisław Rudlicki , Samolotów, Się, Tam, Latach, Oraz. N.p., 19 Apr. 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.

External links

;Patents
Improvements relating to aircraft controls

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudlicki, Jerzy 1893 births 1977 deaths Polish inventors Polish aerospace engineers Odesa National Polytechnic University alumni

Early life and military career

Interwar Period in Poland

WWII Period and Post WWII Period

See also

External links

References