Stefan Stec (Polish aviator), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Stefan Stec (Polish aviator)

Polish flying ace

Date of Birth: 21-Nov-1893

Place of Birth: Lviv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine

Date of Death: 11-May-1921

Profession: engineer, military officer, flying ace

Nationality: Poland

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio


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About Stefan Stec (Polish aviator)

  • Stefan Stanislaw Stec (November 21, 1893 - May 11, 1921) was a Polish aviator and military pilot, one of the pioneers of Polish aviation.
  • He is also credited as the originator of the Polish Air Force checkerboard. From 1916 he initially served as an observer in the Flik 3 reconnaissance squadron on the eastern front.
  • In February 1918 he trained as a pilot and from May he was assigned to the Flik 3J fighter squadron, flying the Oeffag D.III on the Austro-Italian front.
  • Between June 17 and July 4 he commanded Flik 9J.
  • He participated in shooting down 3 aircraft (plus 4 probable kills) and ended the war as an Oberleutnant. He was among the first pilots to join the Polish Air Force.
  • In November 1918 hostilities broke out between Poland and the Western Ukrainian Republic over the possession of East Galicia and Lwów.
  • In March/April 1919 two Fokker E.Vs were presented by the province of Wielkopolska to the defenders of Lwów.
  • These aircraft were used by the 7th Eskadra Lotnicza, flown by Cpt.
  • Stefan Bastyr and Stec, in operations against Ukrainian forces.
  • He carried out the first bombing sortie on November 7.
  • Later he flew the Fokker D.VII fighter. In May 1919 the 7th Eskadra had three Fokker E.Vs, three Brandenburgs and a LVG C.VI.
  • By June the flight had almost ceased to exist because of a lack of equipment.
  • With war with the Soviets impending, Stec collected all Fokker E.Vs together in the 7th Eskadra, transforming it into a fighter unit.
  • In August the eskadra received 12 Albatros (Oef) D IIIs purchased from Austria. In 1919, flying E.V 185/18, he shot down a Ukrainian fighter Nieuport 11 and a balloon, becoming a fighter ace.
  • From April to October 1919 he was commander of the 7th Escadrille (later to become the Kosciuszko Squadron). Later he went to France to study in Ecole Superiore d'Aeronautique.
  • After returning to Poland, he was involved in establishing Polish aircraft production.
  • He died in an air crash in 1921. His personal emblem from the time of Austrian service, a red and white checkerboard, was adopted on December 1, 1918 as the Polish Air Force national insignia.

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