Wladyslaw Swiatecki

Władysław J. Świątecki (1895-1944) was a Polish inventor and airman.

Biography

Early life

Born 1895 in Russian Poland. His father was a General Practitioner in St Petersburg. Flew in the War of Liberation for Poland 1918 - 1920. Decorated with the order Virtuti Militari, a high Polish decoration for bravery.

Career

Świątecki invented the slip bomb device, which he patented in 1926. Escaped from Poland in 1939 through Hungary, Yogoslavia and Italy to France (Paris) where he worked as engineer in military industry. Then, when France collapsed in June 1940, he escaped again, with his family, travelling to North Africa and then by ship to England. There he deomonstrated his device to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. He went on to serve in the Royal Air Force as a Flight Lieutenant.

The slip device was modified for use in the Lancasters of 9, 12 and 617 Squadrons of the Royal Air Force for the use of Grand Slam and Tallboy giant aerial bombs. The Boeing B-29 was modified to carry Grand Slam and Tallboy and the giant 42000lb T-12 bomb, the slip device (The D-9 carrier) was a modification of the Swiatecki bomb slip. These weapons were the most successful air dropped bombs before the atomic bomb. In Project Harken and Project Ruby the Swiatecki devices performed flawlessly.

Death and afterward

Died in April 1944 and is buried in Edinburgh.

His slip device was the subject of debate at the Royal Commission of Awards to Inventors from 1946 to 1955. The Ministry claimed the device was invented at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. The family received an ex gratia award of £350.

References

*The Devices of War N. Kemp, London 1956: Project 1-46-7 Anglo american Bomb Tests Project Ruby V 68319 31 October 1946: The Secret War, Gerald Pawle, Harrap-London 1956, Transactions of the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors 1946 - 1955 LONDON ND