Józef Lewoniewski
Encyclopedia
Józef Lewoniewski was a Polish
military and sports aviator. He was a brother of the Soviet aviator Sigizmund Levanevsky
.
He was born in Russia to a Polish family. In May 1919 he returned to independent Poland and served in the Polish Army, in a cavalry, during Polish-Soviet war
. In 1923 he volunteered for the air force and completed an aviation school in Bydgoszcz, then in France. He served as a fighter pilot, in a rank of Flying Captain (kapitan pilot).
Lewoniewski was also active in sports flying. In 1930 he participated in Challenge 1930
International Tourist Aircraft Contest, flying PWS-51
, but he had to withdraw due to oil pipe damage. On 15 August 1931 he flew a PWS-52
plane around Poland non-stop in 12 hours 35 minutes, covering 1755 km. On 1 September 1931 he flew the same plane from Warszaw to Saloniki and back (2700 km). Next he came with an idea of flying around the world in PWS-52
aircraft, but it was abandoned due to lack of funding. From March 1933 he worked in Aviation Technical Research Institute in Warsaw as a test pilot.
On 11 September 1933 Józef Lewoniewski with Colonel Czesław Filipowicz, attempted at breaking world's record of flight distance in tourist planes category, on Warsaw - Krasnoyarsk
route, flying modified PZL.19
plane. After 8 and a half hours, the plane went into a spin
due to an air turbulence, it was brought under control, but it was too low and it hit the ground near Kazan
. Lewoniewski was killed, while Filipowicz was slightly injured. A coincidence was, that it was year after a crash of Polish aviators Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
military and sports aviator. He was a brother of the Soviet aviator Sigizmund Levanevsky
Sigizmund Levanevsky
Sigizmund Aleksandrovich Levanevsky was a Soviet aircraft pilot of Polish origin and a Hero of the Soviet Union .-Life and career:...
.
He was born in Russia to a Polish family. In May 1919 he returned to independent Poland and served in the Polish Army, in a cavalry, during Polish-Soviet war
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
. In 1923 he volunteered for the air force and completed an aviation school in Bydgoszcz, then in France. He served as a fighter pilot, in a rank of Flying Captain (kapitan pilot).
Lewoniewski was also active in sports flying. In 1930 he participated in Challenge 1930
Challenge 1930
The International Touring Competition in 1930 was the second FAI international touring aircraft contest, that took place between July 18 and August 8, 1930 in Berlin, Germany. Four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pre-war Europe....
International Tourist Aircraft Contest, flying PWS-51
PWS-51
|-References:*Andrzej Glass: "Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939" , WKiŁ, Warsaw 1977 -External links:*...
, but he had to withdraw due to oil pipe damage. On 15 August 1931 he flew a PWS-52
PWS-52
|-References: Andrzej Glass, Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939 [Polish aviation constructions 1893-1939], WKiŁ, Warsaw 1977 , pp.188-190.-External links:*...
plane around Poland non-stop in 12 hours 35 minutes, covering 1755 km. On 1 September 1931 he flew the same plane from Warszaw to Saloniki and back (2700 km). Next he came with an idea of flying around the world in PWS-52
PWS-52
|-References: Andrzej Glass, Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939 [Polish aviation constructions 1893-1939], WKiŁ, Warsaw 1977 , pp.188-190.-External links:*...
aircraft, but it was abandoned due to lack of funding. From March 1933 he worked in Aviation Technical Research Institute in Warsaw as a test pilot.
On 11 September 1933 Józef Lewoniewski with Colonel Czesław Filipowicz, attempted at breaking world's record of flight distance in tourist planes category, on Warsaw - Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...
route, flying modified PZL.19
PZL.19
|-References: Glass, Andrzej. Polskie konstrukcje lotnicze 1893-1939 , pp. 242-244.. Warsaw: WKiŁ, 1977.-See also:...
plane. After 8 and a half hours, the plane went into a spin
Spin (flight)
In aviation, a spin is an aggravated stall resulting in autorotation about the spin axis wherein the aircraft follows a corkscrew downward path. Spins can be entered intentionally or unintentionally, from any flight attitude and from practically any airspeed—all that is required is sufficient yaw...
due to an air turbulence, it was brought under control, but it was too low and it hit the ground near Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
. Lewoniewski was killed, while Filipowicz was slightly injured. A coincidence was, that it was year after a crash of Polish aviators Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura.