Zygmunt Puławski

Zygmunt Puławski (October 24, 1901 – March 21, 1931) was a Polish aircraft designer and pilot. He invented a gull-wing aircraft design, also known as "Puławski wing" and designed a series of Polish PZL fighter aircraft.

Life and career Puławski was born in Lublin. He graduated from business school in 1920. In the summer of 1920, during the Soviet offensive in the Polish–Soviet War, he volunteered for a Boy Scout battalion. In late 1920, he commenced studies at the Warsaw University of Technology. He was a member of the Aviation Section of the Students' Mechanical Club, where he constructed some gliders. He distinguished himself as a thorough and able student. In 1925, he graduated from the university, receiving the engineer title, and left to practice in the Breguet Aviation works in France. After his return, he began his required national service, completing military aviation school in Bydgoszcz and becoming a pilot. From 1927, he became the chief general designer of the Central Aviation Workshops (CWL) at Słupecka Street in Warsaw, soon reorganized into the PZL (, "State Aviation Works"). The plane fell after take-off due to strong wind. After his death, the PZL P.11 project was finished by Wsiewołod Jakimiuk, becoming the main Polish fighter during the 1939 invasion of Poland. Additionally, a faster export model, the PZL P.24, based entirely on Puławski's design, was developed and sold outside of Poland.

Partly due to his death, Puławski's fighters, most modern in the early 1930s, were not replaced with modern successors before 1939, when they were already obsolete.

Designs Designation Description Production PZL P.1 Fighter prototype, one-engine high wing 1929 PZL P.2 Fighter project, one-engine high wing Not built PZL P.6 Fighter prototype, one-engine high wing 1930 PZL P.7 Fighter, one-engine high wing 1930–1932 PZL P.8 Fighter prototype, one-engine high wing 1931 PZL P.9 Fighter project, one-engine high wing Not built PZL P.10 Fighter project, one-engine high wing PZL P.11 Fighter, one-engine high wing 1931–1934 PZL.12 Amphibious flying boat, one-engine high wing 1931