The forgotten story of legendary Lithuanian pilot Jonas Mikėnas
Jonas Mikėnas was a pioneer of Lithuanian aviation and an artist who flew across Europe, was received by Mussolini, and later witnessed the Soviet occupation. His memoirs, "A Flight Through Life," were finished a week before his death in 1994.
Jonas Mikėnas is remembered for his artistic work, but he also helped shape the early years of Lithuanian aviation. In his memoirs, he wrote that he was lucky to take part in the creation of Lithuanian aviation, which served both a practical purpose and as an expression of the nation's spiritual freedom. He finished the book shortly before his death in 1994.
Mikėnas was born on September 17, 1899, at a farmstead in what is now Latvia. In July 1919, he traveled to Kaunas with friends to join the army. Because the aviation school course had already started, he served as a senior clerk in the specialists' company. His first flight took place on May 2, 1920, in a German Rumpler C.I with Lieutenant Leonas Sliužinskas. He made his first solo flight in July 1921 in an Albatros B.II.
In 1923, Mikėnas won by lot a trip to Italy to supervise the production of aircraft for Lithuania. Those travels sparked an interest in art, leading him to enroll at Kaunas Art School in 1924. He graduated in 1928 as a qualified drawing teacher and later tried sculpture, but he stayed committed to aviation.
Over his 20-year career, he faced several accidents. During a military parade in February 1923, another pilot's engine struck his wing, but both aviators landed safely. In 1925, he became a flight instructor.
In 1934, Mikėnas took part in a symbolic flight around Europe in Lithuanian-designed ANBO IV aircraft. The group visited 12 countries and covered almost 10,000 kilometers in 44 hours and 5 minutes. In Rome, the aviators were received by Benito Mussolini. Mikėnas recalled that Mussolini did not blink once during the entire ceremony.
Mikėnas became commander of the 1st Fighter Squadron in 1936. In June 1940, during exercises in Palanga, a radio message ordered all flights to stop as Soviet troops entered Lithuania. The airfield was soon occupied, and the aviators were ordered back to Kaunas. Mikėnas was appointed to a liquidation commission, but he chose to retire from active service at age 41.
