Jan Nagórski
| Jan Nagórski | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 27, 1888 Włocławek, partitioned Poland |
| Died | June 9, 1976 (aged 88) Warsaw, Poland |
| Resting place | Wólka Węglowa cemetery, Bielany, Warsaw |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Aviation career | |
| Known for | Aviator, engineer and Arctic explorer |
| Air force | Imperial Russian Navy, Red Army |
| Awards | Order of St. Stanislaus, Polonia Restituta |
Jan Nagórski (1888–1976), also known as Ivan Nagurski, was a Polish engineer and pioneer of aviation, the first person to fly an airplane in the Arctic and the first aviator to perform a loop with a flying boat.
Jan Nagórski was born on January 27, 1888 in Włocławek, in partitioned Poland. He completed a local trade school and in 1909 graduated from an infantry junker school in Odessa and the All-Russian Aeroclub in 1912. The following year he accomplished his training at the Naval Engineering School in Gatchina near St. Petersburg where he earned his wings. He was among the first pilots of the Imperial Russian Navy.
In 1914 Nagórski was tasked with the difficult mission of locating the expedition of Georgy Sedov, Georgy Brusilov, and Vladimir Rusanov in the Russian Arctic. In a Maurice Farman MF11 plane, specially purchased for that purpose in France, Nagórski embarked on a ship in Arkhangelsk and arrived to Novaya Zemlya, whence he initiated a series of reconnaissance flights in difficult Arctic conditions. Between August 21 and September 13, 1914, he flew five missions, spending more than ten hours in the air and travelling more than a thousand kilometres over land and the Barents Sea. During the last flight he reached the 76th parallel north. Nagórski failed to find Sedov's expedition, but he gained valuable experience as the first polar aviator in history. His report to the Admiralty prepared after his return, as well as a report of Nagórski's achievements by Admiral Mikhail Zhdanko, included a number of suggestions that would prove invaluable to every polar aviator. Among them was the idea of painting red all the planes operating in the Arctic, to make them more visible. His achievements proved that the North Pole could be reached by airplane. He was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus, class III in 1914.
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