Ryszard Bartel

Who was Ryszard Bartel?

Ryszard Bartel was a Polish engineer, aircraft designer and aviator, one of Poland's aviation pioneers.

Bartel was born in Sławniów village near Pilica. He was interested in aviation from his youth, and in 1911 he built his own gliders capable of short flights. In 1916, he enrolled in the Warsaw University of Technology, being one of three founders of the Aviation Section of that university's Students' Mechanical Club. In 1917, he completed a pilot course, and he joined the underground aviator organization. In 1918, after Poland regained its independence, he volunteered for the Polish Air Force. He completed further military flying courses and he took part in the Polish-Soviet War, flying Breguet 14s in the 16th Reconnaissance Squadron and in the Central Lithuanian Air Squadron. He was demobilized in December 1920, and graduated from the Warsaw University of Technology in 1924 as an Engineer. He also took second place in the first Polish soaring competition in 1923.

In 1925, his design of the Bartel BM-1 Maryla fighter aircraft received an award in the first Polish contest for military aircraft, but the design was not built. In 1924-1926 he worked in France, supervising production of aircraft for Poland and he also undertook research on aerodynamics there. From 1926, he was a chief designer of the Samolot aircraft manufacturer in Poznań. He designed and built there a prototype of a trainer aircraft, the Bartel BM-2, then trainers Bartel BM-4 and Bartel BM-5, built in small series for the Polish Air Force.