A Polish Pilot

On 15 June 1941 P-782237 Leon HAMPEL was found on the beach near Eastbourne, Sussex. He was a crew member of Wellington R1443 of 304 Squadron lost on 6 May 1941. It has been suggested he is still “missing”. If so, where did his body go to? Do you know where he is buried?

I’m ashamed to say that in my books he is also listed as missing. Do you know any details about the circumstances of his body being found ashore? I now that one member of the crew was buried in Holland, and another in the Polish Air Force cemetery at Newark-on-Trent.

Have looked in my copy of “Ksiega Lotnikow Polskich 1939-46” but cannot make much sense of the entry.

Perhaps you should acquire a copy of “KU CZCI POLEGLYCH LOTNIKOW 1939-1945”. Also in Polish, but some of the authors are available on-line…

I only mentioned CWGC as in the photo the headstones seemed to be of a common design.

Yes, the design is similar, but not the same. Anyway, I have noticed that British researchers are often confused when they can’t get any info on Polish Air Force graves from CWGC.

CWGC

.

Polish Air Force members are not included in CWGC listings, because (contrary to a popular misunderstanding) PAF was not part of the RAF, but a separate air force, affiliated to RAF for operational purposes only.[/QUOTE]
I only mentioned CWGC as in the photo the headstones seemed to be of a common design. Ray

Qustion for VoyTech!

Wojtek! Hi! A related question for you. On 15 June 1941 P-782237 Leon HAMPEL was found on the beach near Eastbourne, Sussex. He was a crew member of Wellington R1443 of 304 Squadron lost on 6 May 1941. It has been suggested he is still “missing”. If so, where did his body go to? Do you know where he is buried? Have looked in my copy of “Ksiega Lotnikow Polskich 1939-46” but cannot make much sense of the entry. Must learn Polish. Ha! Andy Saunders

Not to split hairs but the book I quote from in in my previous posting only mentions the half kill. No He 45 of the 4 used by the Luftwaffe is recorded as being shot down by any unit on any day of the fighting. But I know how awkward it must have been for the Polish Airforce to confirm kills at that time.

I stand to be corrected, however my source does tend to be correct a lot of the time. (Then again records can be wrong, aircraft can be misidentified etc, so I will keep an open mind)
Eric

No need to split hairs over books. Unlike the RAF, the Polish Air Force did establish official lists of victories credited to its fighter pilots in WWII. The original listings are easily accessible at the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London. Franciszek Pretkiewicz was credited with an He 45 destroyed on 3 September 1939 and half share of an He 111 on the 6th. Needless to say, credited victories in any air force don’t always match known losses of the opposing side. The ‘He 45’ may have been in fact a different type.

where is he buried? cant find any details on the CWGC site?

Polish Air Force members are not included in CWGC listings, because (contrary to a popular misunderstanding) PAF was not part of the RAF, but a separate air force, affiliated to RAF for operational purposes only.

where is he buried? cant find any details on the CWGC site?

He is buried in Glenavy Roman Catholic Church yard not very many miles from Aldergrove. As to ‘CWGC’ involvement, to my knowledge service graves in Northern Ireland are looked after by the associated service.

Regards

Eric

Not to split hairs but the book I quote from in in my previous posting only mentions the half kill. No He 45 of the 4 used by the Luftwaffe is recorded as being shot down by any unit on any day of the fighting. But I know how awkward it must have been for the Polish Airforce to confirm kills at that time.
Maybe German Quartermaster returns can put a clearer picture on this affair

regards Ray

I stand to be corrected, however my source does tend to be correct a lot of the time. (Then again records can be wrong, aircraft can be misidentified etc, so I will keep an open mind)

Eric

where is he buried? cant find any details on the CWGC site?

We are talking about the same chap, Sergeant Pretkiewick was oridginally an aircraft mechanic, he must have liked the idea of being a pilot as he did elementary pilots training in 1933, subsequently he was judged suitable for fighter operations.

Sergeant Pretkiewick was posted to the Polish 6th Air force Regiment / 161st Fighter Squadron. While flying with the aforementioned unit he was credited with shooting down a [B]Heinkel He-45 on the 3rd of September[/B], three days later he was credited with a half-share in shooting down a Heinkel 111.

On the 19th September he was evacuated to Romania, then to France and eventually to England. (Not all on the same day of course)

Regards

Eric

Not to split hairs but the book I quote from in in my previous posting only mentions the half kill. No He 45 of the 4 used by the Luftwaffe is recorded as being shot down by any unit on any day of the fighting. But I know how awkward it must have been for the Polish Airforce to confirm kills at that time.
Maybe German Quartermaster returns can put a clearer picture on this affair

regards Ray

I have tried to establish any known facts about Sergeant F. Pretkiewicz ex Polish Air Force. There is a mention of Plutonovy (Corporal) Franciszek Predkiewicz of the 161 Eskadra Mysliwska ( Squadron Fighter) having a 1/2 share in the downing of a Heinkel 111 of KG4 on 6 Sept. 1939 near Grojec. On 17 Sept. the squadron left Polish terrority!
The only difference in spelling a ‘t’ in Wessex Fan’s thread and a ‘d’ in the book ‘WHITE EAGLES’ by Bartlomiej Belcarz and Robert Peczkowki published by HIKOKI, could be put down to a typographical error or translation problem. I dont think the CWGC could have got it wrong,

We are talking about the same chap, Sergeant Pretkiewick was oridginally an aircraft mechanic, he must have liked the idea of being a pilot as he did elementary pilots training in 1933, subsequently he was judged suitable for fighter operations.

Sergeant Pretkiewick was posted to the Polish 6th Air force Regiment / 161st Fighter Squadron. While flying with the aforementioned unit he was credited with shooting down a Heinkel He-45 on the 3rd of September, three days later he was credited with a half-share in shooting down a Heinkel 111.

On the 19th September he was evacuated to Romania, then to France and eventually to England. (Not all on the same day of course)

Regards

Eric

I have tried to establish any known facts about Sergeant F. Pretkiewicz ex Polish Air Force. There is a mention of Plutonovy (Corporal) Franciszek Predkiewicz of the 161 Eskadra Mysliwska ( Squadron Fighter) having a 1/2 share in the downing of a Heinkel 111 of KG4 on 6 Sept. 1939 near Grojec. On 17 Sept. the squadron left Polish terrority!
The only difference in spelling a ‘t’ in Wessex Fan’s thread and a ‘d’ in the book ‘WHITE EAGLES’ by Bartlomiej Belcarz and Robert Peczkowki published by HIKOKI, could be put down to a typographical error or translation problem. I dont think the CWGC could have got it wrong,