POLAND STAMP AIR CHALLENGE 1932 & 1934

POLAND STAMP AIR CHALLENGE 1932 & 1934

The above stamp is a tribute of the FAI air challenges of 1932 and 1934 which  were won by Polish teams. Below is the history behind the stamp.

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.^] It maintains world records for aeronautical activities including ballooning, aeromodeling, unmanned aerial vehicles, and also human spaceflight.

The Challenge 1932 was the third FAI International Tourist Plane Competition  that took place between 12 and August 28, 1932 in Berlin, Germany. The four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pre-war Europe.

Germany organized the contest, because it won the challenge  in 1930:  43 aircraft  took part in the 1932 Challenge

the  participating teams came from : Germany (16 crews), France (8 crews), Italy (8 crews), Poland (5 crews), Czechoslovakia (4 crews) and Switzerland (2 crews)

The Challenge was to be a contest of tourist aircraft, and consisted of three parts: technical trials, a rally around Europe and a maximum speed test, since one of the aims of the Challenge was to stimulate progress in aircraft development.

The opening ceremony was on August 12, 1932 at Berlin-Staaken airfield.

On August 13,  the technical evaluation of the competing planes  took place. Most points were given to the Polish designs (86 points to the RWD-6 

 and 84 points to the PZL.19).

The first trial was a minimal speed trial, to evaluate the aircraft safety, which was new in Challenge contests.Flying on the edge of stalling, Franciszek Żwirko was the slowest with 57.6 km/h speed, the second was another Pole flying an RWD-6, Tadeusz Karpińsk

Next there were trials of a short take off and landing, carried out in groups until 17 August 1932.The short take-off trial required the crews to fly over an 8-m high gate. The German pilot Wolfram Hirth (Kl 32) was the best, taking off from the closest distance (91.6m)

Next, a short landing trial followed, from behind an 8 m high gate. The best result, 92.4 m (40 pts), was achieved by Winifred Spooner.

August 16 saw a trial of quick folding of wings, which was a feature to save place in hangars, and then a trial of quick engine starting.

A fuel consumption trial on a 300 km distance was held on August 19, and the German aircraft won in that category. After all technical trials, Ambrogio Colombo led the general classification, with Franciszek Żwirko second, Italy's Francesco Lombardi third

The second part of the Challenge was a 7363 km rally over Europe, on a path: Berlin - Warsaw - Kraków - Prague - Brno – Vienna - Zagreb - Postumia (checkpoint) - Vicenza - Rimini - Rome - Firenza - Bellinzona - Torino – Albenga (checkpoint) – Imperia (checkpoint) - Cannes - Lyon - St. Gallen - Stuttgart - Bonn - Paris - Deauville – Rotterdam - Dortmund – Hamburg - Copenhagen – Laholm (checkpoint) - Gothenburg - Laholm (checkpoint) - Copenhagen - Hamburg – Berlin. 

By derivative work: Pibwl - Own work, derivative of File:Blank_map_of_Europe_in_1920.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20443487

39 aircraft took part in the race. Main waypoints were Rome and Paris. Longest section was Berlin – Warsaw (518 km), the shortest - Brno – Vienna (106.4 km).

On August 27, the competitors finished in Berlin. The first pilot in Berlin, and the fastest in the whole race, was the German Hans Seidemann with a cruise speed of 213 km/h, flying the Heinkel He 64b. The next seven placess were also German. Franciszek Żwirko arrived in 11th place, with a cruise speed of 191 km/h.

After the technical trials and the rally, Franciszek Żwirko held first place in the general classification with 456 points, with Reinhold Poss in second with 451 pts, Wolf Hirth in third with 450 pts

The last part of the Challenge was a maximum speed trial, on a 300 km triangular course. The beginning and landing was on August 28 at the Berlin-Staaken airfield.
The fastest was the German Fritz Morzik (He 64c) with 241.3 km/h. The next four places were also occupied by Heinkels. Żwirko's closest rival, Reinhold Poss flying a Klemm Kl 32V, was in 7th position (220.7 km/h). The fastest Pole was Tadeusz Karpiński (8th position, 216.2 km/h, RWD-6), while Franciszek Żwirko took the 13th position with 214.1 km/h.

A closing ceremony was held after the maximum speed test on August 28. The winners were the Polish crew: pilot Franciszek Żwirko and mechanic Stanisław Wigura, with 461 points. Their success was not only a result of their aviation skills, but also of the technical features of their Polish-designed RWD-6 (which Wigura had co-designed). Due to Żwirko's victory, the next Challenge 1934 was organized in Warsaw.
The second and third place was occupied jointly by Germans: Fritz Morzik (Heinkel He 64c, the winner of the Challenge 1930) and Reinhold Poss (Klemm Kl 32V) with 458 points.
The Challenge was completed by only 24 crews out of 43 (12 German, 4 Polish, 4 French, 3 Czechoslovak and 1 Swiss.


The first prize in the Challenge was 100,000 French franc, the 2nd - 50,000 FRF, the 3rd - 25,000 FRF, the 4th - 13,000 FRF, 16 other crews would get 7,000 FRF.
Less than a month after the Challenge, Franciszek Zwirko and Stanislaw Wigura died in an accident, flying their RWD-6 to Czechoslovakia in a storm on September 11, 1932. Reinhold Poss also died in an accident in 1933. Winifred Spooner died the same year.

The Challenge 1934 was the fourth and last FAI International Tourist Plane Contest  that took place between August 28 and September 16, 1934, in Warsaw, Poland

The opening ceremony was held at noon on August 28, 1934, at Mokotowskie field in Warsaw.The number of crews and aircraft that eventually took part in the 1934 Challenge was 34. Only four countries entered teams for the Challenge in 1934: Poland (12 crews), Germany (13 crews), Italy (6 crews) and Czechoslovakia (3 crews). Most aircraft were fast cantilever low-wing monoplanes:

On August 29 the technical evaluation of the competing aircraft started 

A minimal speed trial started on August 31, but it had to be continued on September 2 due to weather and some crews completed it only on September 6.

On September 1 there was a trial of quick folding of wings,. The trial was completed only on September 6,

On September 3–4 there was a short take off trial, followed by a short landing trial

A fuel consumption trial on a 594 km (369 mi) closed circuit was held on September 5

Top results after the technical trials

1.	Jerzy Bajan
2.	Tadeusz Karpiński
3.	Stanisław Płonczyński
4.	Hans Seidemann
5.	Gerhard Hubrich
6.	Jan Buczyński
7.	Stefan Florjanowicz
8-10.	Wolf Hirth
8-10.	Ján Ambruš
8-10.	Jan Anderle

The second part of the Challenge was a 9537.4 km rally over Europe and northern Africa, on a path: Warsaw - Königsberg - Berlin - Köln - Brussels - Paris - Bordeaux - Pau - Madrid - Seville - Casablanca - Meknes - Sidi Bel Abbes - Algiers (stage waypoint) - Biskra - Tunis - Palermo - Naples - Rome - Rimini - Zagreb - Vienna - Brno - Prague - Katowice - Lwów - Wilno - Warsaw. There were also 8 checkpoints, among others, in Tanger, Messina and Castelfranco Veneto. The route was far longer and more difficult, than in previous contests.

The rally started on September 7,

On September 15 last three crews reached Warsaw

Only 19 crews out of 32 completed the rally

1.	Georg Pasewaldt
2.	Ignacy Giedgowd
3.	Ján Ambruš

After the technical trials and the race, Jerzy Bajan held first place in the general classification with 1855 points, with Stanisław Płonczyński in second with 1821 pts, Hans Seidemann in third with 1813 pts. A classification that did not change until the end of the challenge

The last part of the Challenge was a maximum speed trial, on a 297 km triangular course. The trial was carried out on Sunday, September 16,

The fastest were three German Bf 108s, with Theo Osterkamp at the lead (291 km/h). Next three places were taken by the Polish RWD-9s: Stanisław Płonczyński, Jan Buczyński, Jerzy Bajan and Henryk Skrzypiński, the later ex aequo with Hans Seidemann (Fi 97).

A closing ceremony was held soon after the maximum speed test on September 16. The winners were again the Polish crew of pilot Jerzy Bajan and mechanic Gustaw Pokrzywka (RWD9). Due to their victory, Poland had a right to organize the next Challenge in 1936, but it decided not to, because of financial reasons. The FAI proposed that other countries organize the contest, but Germany, Italy and France declined. The 1934 Challenge remained the last Challenge and the Polish Aero Club was given a right to retain a transitory cup.

Polish sports plane PZL.26 SP-PZM of Jerzy Giedgowd during Challenge contest in 1934

Polish touring plane RWD-9 of Jerzy Bajan during wings folding trial, during the International Touring Aircraft Contest Challenge 1934 and winner of the challenge