Ludwik Idzikowski (August 24, 1891 – July 13, 1929) was a Polish military aviator. He died during a

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing ai ...

trial.

Early life and service

Ludwik Idzikowski was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

. He started

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

studies in Liège,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. At the outbreak of World War I, he was conscripted into the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...

. He completed aviation school in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, and from 1916 served in air combat units as an officer pilot. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

he managed to return to Warsaw and in November 1918 Idzikowski joined the newly-born

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history str ...

, in the

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...

of ''podporucznik pilot'' (flying 2nd Lieutenant). In 1919 he joined the

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...

and during the Polish-Soviet War, initially flew with the 7th fighter escadre (" Kościuszko Squadron"), crewed mostly by American volunteers, then the 6th reconnaissance escadre. He took part, among others, in the defence of

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

. After the war, from 1921–1923 he was an instructor, then commander of escadre training in an advanced flying school in

Grudziądz Grudziądz ( la, Graudentum, Graudentium, german: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its pro ...

. From 1924–1926 he commanded an escadre, then a squadron, in the 1st Aviation Regiment in Warsaw.

First transatlantic flight attempt

In April 1926, Idzikowski was sent to France with a Polish military mission, where he tested aircraft bought by the Polish government. It was then that he planned to make his first transatlantic flight, but in the more difficult and as yet, unsuccessfully attempted East-West direction. A French attempt had been made in May 1927 aboard '' The White Bird'' (''L'Oiseau Blanc''), but the aircraft disappeared over the Atlantic. Two weeks later, the American

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

made the first successful nonstop flight from New York to Paris. After considerable hesitation, the Polish authorities, urged on by the press, eventually succumbed and bought a special plane for a transatlantic flight from France. A long range variant of the latest

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

Amiot 123 The Amiot 120 was a family of French single-engine biplane bomber aircraft, built by the SECM-Amiot factory in the mid-1920s. The only series-built variant was Amiot 122 BP3 medium bomber, other known variant was Amiot 123 long-distance record p ...

, It was named ''Marszałek Piłsudski'' (Marshal

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

). On January 1, 1928, Idzikowski was promoted to Major. The second pilot and navigator chosen was Major Kazimierz Kubala. They commenced their first trials for the transatlantic flight on August 3, 1928, taking off at 4:45 a.m. from Paris

Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The commune features Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hosts the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Museum). A very ...

airfield. However, after flying some 3,200 km and above the ocean, they noticed

engine oil Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any one of various substances used for the lubrication of internal combustion engines. They typically consist of base oils enhanced with various additives, particularly antiwear additives, deterge ...

levels were falling, caused by a cracked oil tank. They decided to return to Europe, since it was more than half way to America and against the wind. After 31 hours of flight, oil depleted, Idzikowski decided to land on water by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

merchant ship ''Samos'', about 70 km from the Spanish coast. The

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the ...

s rescued the crew and pulled the aircraft from the water.

Second transatlantic flight attempt

Idzikowski and Kubala repeated a trial the next year. A second Amiot 123 was bought, since the old one was too badly damaged. It was named the ''White Eagle'' (according to some sources, it was named ''Marszałek Piłsudski'' as well). They took off on July 13, 1929, at 3:45 a.m. from Le Bourget. After flying 2140 km, over the ocean, about 5 p.m., an engine started to lose RPM and emit noise. They decided to land on

Faial Island Faial Island (), also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group (Portuguese: ''Grupo Central'') of the Azores. The Capelinhos Volcano, the westernmost point of the island, may be considered the westernmost point of E ...

in the

Azores ) , motto= ( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem=( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. However, because of more irregular engine work, at 9 p.m. (7 p.m. local time), Idzikowski decided to make an emergency landing on a closer rocky island

Graciosa Graciosa Island () (literally "graceful" or "enchanting" in Portuguese) is referred to as the ''White Island'', the northernmost of the Central Group of islands in the Azores. The ovular Portuguese island has an area of , a length of and a width ...

. During a landing on a field, the plane hit a low stone wall and overturned, wheels up. In the crash, Ludwik Idzikowski was killed, while Kazimierz Kubala was slightly injured. During the rescue operation, the aircraft was wrecked and Idzikowski burned. Idzikowski's body was returned to Poland by the sailing ship

ORP Iskra ORP may refer to: * Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, a Polish Navy ship prefix * Operational Ration Pack, UK military * Orpington railway station, Bromley, England * O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis * Oxidation reduction potential Redox po ...

and buried with honours on August 17, 1929. He was awarded the Silver Cross of the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

, Cross of Valour (''Krzyz Walecznych'') (three times), Gold Cross of Merit, and ( posthumously) the Officer's Cross of the

Polonia Restituta , image=Polonia Restituta - Commander's Cross pre-1939 w rib.jpg , image_size=200px , caption=Commander's Cross of Polonia Restituta , presenter = the President of Poland , country = , type=Five classes , eligibility=All , awa ...

. He also held the Field Pilot Badge. Idzikowski was commemorated with a monument in

Dąbrowa Górnicza Dąbrowa Górnicza is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula, see ...

- Tucznawa at the terrain of local Primary School.

Early life and service

First transatlantic flight attempt

Second transatlantic flight attempt

See also