Abstract
How Rakowice became the hub of Polish aviation This article describes the takeover from Austrian hands of the military airport in Krakow-Rakowice during the liberation of Krakow on 31 October 1918. Although this subject is treated marginally in the historiography of the town, the airport taken over was of great significance for Polish military aviation and, thanks to this, obtained the title of the “cradle of Polish aviation”. The article is an attempt to establish a true chronology of the events which led to the seizure of power by the minority Polish crew and the protection of military property against looting, as well as to refute the myths that have grown over the last decades, and which are frequently presented in the literature dedicated to Polish aviation. The article recalls the important role played during the days when the Habsburg rule fell in Krakow by two Polish aviators – Captain Roman Florer and Sgt Mech. Antoni Jucha, thanks to which, the airport was very quickly able to serve the reborn Republic. The text presents the infrastructure of the airport on the day of its acquisition, as well as its visible traces in the current landscape of Krakow, almost one hundred years after the described events and over fifty years since the airport was closed.
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