de Havilland Tiger Moth T7230, owned by Jacek Mainka and based in Poland, has received Polish markings for the air show season. The markings are based on those worn by a Tiger Moth of No. 25 (Polish) Elementary Flying Training School late in the war. Apart from the white-red square insignia of the Polish Air Force, that machine also sported a prominent personal emblem in form of the Polish Air Force pilot’s wings.
T7230 was flown for the first time with these markings applied on 24 May at Konstancin airfield (its permanent base in Poland) with owner Jacek Mainka as captain and veteran Jerzy Glowczewski as co-pilot.
Jerzy Glowczewski was born in 1922 in Warsaw. When WW2 broke out in 1939 he was a teenager. Leaving Poland in the wake of joint German-Soviet invasion, he found his way via Rumania to Palestine. He intended to join the Polish Forces in Exile but his young age prevented him from doing so. In 1941 he graduated from the Polish High School in Tel Aviv, and was then finally accepted into service with the Polish ‘Carpathian’ Brigade, famed for its defence of Tobruk during the German-Italian siege. In 1942 he volunteered to transfer to the air force. He then underwent a complete course of flying training in Britain and in 1944 he was posted to fly Spitfires in the Polish No. 308 Squadron “City of Cracow”. On 1 January 1945 he shot down a Focke-Wulf 190 over his own unit’s base at Ghent (Belgium). After the war he decided to return to Poland. He graduated from the Architecture Faculty of the Warsaw University of Technology, subsequently working on reconstruction of Warsaw from wartime destruction. He was then employed in various innovative architectural-urban development projects on several continents. During 1960s he managed to leave the communist-controlled Poland and emigrated to the USA, where he has lived to date.
His memoirs were published in 2007 in English by Xlibris under the title “The Accidental Immigrant”.
(all photos © Wojtek Matusiak)
By: VX927 - 17th June 2008 at 13:10
It was indeed a unique moment…
If I can add a couple of my own photos…
Going home…
I’ve posted a few more photo of the show under the photography section.
By: VoyTech - 9th June 2008 at 09:24
Two pictures from Goraszka during the air show.
Jerzy Glowczewski in the front cockpit of the Tiger Moth with the aircraft owner/pilot Jacek Mainka behind.
A unique moment yesterday afternoon, as BBMF Spitfire V AB910 was coming in to land following the air display and the Tiger Moth circled the airfield.
By: antoni - 27th May 2008 at 19:18
will you be adding segmented spinner colours as in the WWII photo? it’d be a nice little touch IMHO.
Regards Tom
The photograph has been cropped. There are two more instructors on the right and the wheel hubs are also divided into segments. Red and white?
T-6908 (camouflaged not yellow) also had similar wheel hubs but cannot tell about the spinner as the engine is running in the photo. It had a white eagle on the cowling. All the other photos of 25 EFTS Tiger Moths I have seen have been too poorly reproduced to see anything.
By: VoyTech - 27th May 2008 at 12:16
I’ve been to Poland many times, but have never been to the show at Goraszka… I’m looking forward to it! – Will you be there? Are you based in Poland?
Yes on both counts. (Between you and me, Mark12 might pop in, too.)
By: VX927 - 27th May 2008 at 12:00
Have you been there before?
I’ve been to Poland many times, but have never been to the show at Goraszka… I’m looking forward to it! – Will you be there? Are you based in Poland?
By: VoyTech - 27th May 2008 at 11:54
Well done all, as an ex-Booker aircraft it’s great to see the old girl is getting plenty of attention,
As an ex-Booker aircraft it would be great to see T7230 fly with AR213!
will you be adding segmented spinner colours as in the WWII photo? it’d be a nice little touch IMHO.
I’m sure Jacek would not mind doing this, provided someone can tell him the actual colours.
I will have the pleasure of meeting Jacek (and hopefully Jerzy Glowczewski) in Poland next week. I’m traveling out there for the Goraszka airshow.
Have you been there before?
I think they’ve done a great job with the paint work.
It’s not paint, actually. It was done by the same people who did the Polish markings for MH434 (SZ-G with the ‘Boxing Dog’ motif) back in 1997.
By: VX927 - 26th May 2008 at 21:02
Looks fantastic…
I will have the pleasure of meeting Jacek (and hopefully Jerzy Glowczewski) in Poland next week. I’m traveling out there for the Goraszka airshow. Will be great to see a BBMF spitfire flying over Warsaw!
I think they’ve done a great job with the paint work.
By: Tom_W - 26th May 2008 at 18:15
Well done all, as an ex-Booker aircraft it’s great to see the old girl is getting plenty of attention, will you be adding segmented spinner colours as in the WWII photo? it’d be a nice little touch IMHO.
Regards Tom
Sign In
May 26, 2008 at 2:42 pm