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It might be surprising for many Pakistanis that the chief architect of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the space program was a Polish World War Two pilot. Wladyslaw Józef Marian Turowicz was one of the refugee pilots from Poland who joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and fought for Britain during World War Two. After the war, the RAF no longer required the services of these Polish pilots, and, also not welcomed by their homeland that became Communist and under the Soviet sphere of influence.
Before joining the RAF during World War Two, Wladyslaw Turowicz was a commissioned aeronautical engineer and fighter pilot in the Polish Air Force. He graduated with honors in aeronautical engineering at the Faculty of Aviation of the Warsaw University of Technology. In 1948, the Pakistan High Commission in London advertised positions for trained technicians and pilots to replace the British personnel who were leaving after the independence of Pakistan. Turowicz and 29 other Polish pilots accepted a three-year contract to join the Royal Pakistan Air Force as it was known then. He began working in Technical Training Section at Drigh Road while his wife Zofia was a civilian glider instructor at Shaheen Air Cadets.
Many of the Polish personnel left Pakistan after the expiration of the three-year contract but Turowicz decided to stay as he and his family enjoyed their life in Pakistan. Furthermore, Turowicz in the rank of Wing Commander became Station Commander of PAF Chaklala in 1952 and Station Commander of PAF Kohat from 1955 to 1957. In 1959, Turowicz received a promotion to Group Captain then Air Commodore in 1960 joining Air Headquarters as Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Maintenance). The Turowiczs became Pakistani citizens in 1961.
During his service with the PAF, Turowicz established technical institutes in Karachi, and taught at and strengthened the Pakistan Air Force Academy where he also worked as chief scientist. During the 1965 war with India, the United States stopped supplies of spare parts to Pakistan but Turowicz made sure that aircraft readiness didn’t suffer by organizing locally produced substitutes. Turowicz retired from the PAF in 1967.
The PAF’s standing as one of the best air forces in the world wouldn’t be possible without the valuable contribution of Polish-Pakistani Air Commodore Wladyslaw Turowicz.
In 1966, the Government of Pakistan transferred Turowicz to the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) as its chief scientist and eventually became its head in 1967. As Suparco’s head, he initiated the space program, upgraded the Sonmiani Satellite Launch Centre, installed the Flight-Test Control Command, the Launchpad Control System, and System Engineering Division. Turowicz started a project for the construction and launch of a Pakistani satellite which empowered Pakistan to master the field of rocket technology. Also, many Pakistanis might not know that Turowicz designed ballistic missiles of short and medium-range and participated in the development of Pakistan’s nuclear program.
Turowicz died in a car crash on January 8, 1980, and was given a burial with full military honors. For his meritorious service, Turowicz was honored with many awards including the Sitara-i-Pakistan, the Tamgha-i-Pakistan, the Sitara-i-Khidmat, the Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, the Abdus Salam Award in Aeronautical Engineering, and the ICTP Award in Space Physics. The Pakistan Air Force placed a memorial in honor of Air Commodore Turowicz at the PAF Museum whereas Suparco established the Wladyslaw Turowicz Space Complex in Lahore. His wife Zofia, besides teaching gliding to Shaheen Air Cadets in Karachi and Rawalpindi, taught applied mathematics and particle physics at Karachi University. Furthermore, she was a recipient of the Pride of Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
All Pakistanis feel immense pride in the Pakistan Air Force starting from the 1965 war to the present. The PAF’s standing as one of the best air forces in the world wouldn’t be possible without the valuable contribution of Polish-Pakistani Air Commodore Wladyslaw Turowicz. We owe him and his family a huge debt of gratitude for their services and contributions to institution building in Pakistan.
