A polish aviator in Turkish skies: Ludomił Rayski

Throughout history, the Ottoman Empire has accepted many refugees and asylum seekers from various countries, and gave citizenship to those who wanted it, and employed them in various positions within the state. Especially in the military field, employment is the field where most foreigners are assigned, and one of the soldiers employed in this field is Ludomił Rayski, the subject of our study. Although he is not an asylum seeker, his father, Artur Teodor Rayski, was a soldier who took part in the 1863 January Uprising against the Russian occupation when he was only 17 and immigrated to the Ottoman Empire after the failure of the uprising. Teodor Rayski returned to Galicia retaining his Ottoman citizenship. Therefore, his citizenship was passed on to his son and Rayski's bond with the Ottoman State was established. In this study, the life of Ludomił Rayski, his duties after joining the Ottoman army in 1915, his services to the Ottoman Empire and his active duties in Polish army are discussed. While Ludomił Rayski was employed as an observer in the first days of his career in the Ottoman Empire, he later received pilot training and continued his career as an aviator. He mostly took part in observing the activity in the Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea. He was discharged from the army following the end of the First World War, but he did not break his relations even after leaving the country and made important contributions to the design of the first warplane produced in Kayseri. After leaving the Ottoman Empire, Rayski contributed significantly to the shaping of the Polish air force, but in 1939 he parted ways with the army. In this context, this study draws attention to the duties of Rayski, one of the many Polish refugees, both in the Ottoman army and in the Polish army. Keywords: Ludomił Rayski, aviation, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, plane, pilot