Two in one: Spitfire in Luftwaffe markings but with a Polish pilot.
PII Kazimierz Benzinski in No. 17 Sqn machine for a display at Farnborough in July 1950.
Notably, he had also flown MH869 (two posts back)!
PAFA officially closed a few years ago (it was an Association of WW2 Polish Air Force veterans).
Jerzy B. Cynk’s “The Polish Air Force at War: The Official History, 1943–1945” (Schiffer Publishing, 1998, ISBN 978-0-7643-0560-3) has a Chapter on post-WW2 activity of the PAFA, including its Gliding Club.
164 Squadron pilot posing with a Spitfire
(Ronnie Sheward’s personal archive via Chris Thomas)
MB-5 was one of favourite aircraft types of Janusz Zurakowski.
PZL P.11 was another one.
MB-5 was one of favourite aircraft types of Janusz Zurakowski.
PZL P.11 was another one.
Speaking of puzzled…
to quote http://www.facebook.com/SpitfireSurvivors
“Spitfire F.22 project PK519 was registered in the name of Peter Arnold as G-SPXX on 18 May 2012. This photo was taken by John Rawlings at Biggin Hill in September 1950.”
And this photo was taken by myself very recently, when I visited Mr Arnold during Legends. The thing in the foreground is also an original part of PK519, hence the number. I forgot to ask what the ‘3’ on the spinner meant.
I think he was both in Catanga and Biafra. But many years before that he flew Hurricanes and Spitfires (here) with No. 303 Sqn Polish AF from Northolt and other places in UK.
Griffon-powered Spitfires with two Viper engines and carrying nuclear depth-charges – that’s sounds like an exciting subject for a sequel with Daily Mail or another paper!
A number of Polish Air Force brother pilots in WWII
Jan Zenon Bienkowski (KIA in a Mosquito of 307 Sqn 2/8/43) and Zygmunt Witymir Bienkowski (OC 303 and then 302 Sqn, survived the war)
Ludomir Feliks Ciastula (fighter pilot with a number of Spitfire squadrons) and Tadeusz Ciastula (initially a Spitfire pilot, then test pilot at Farnborough, after WWII designed many well known helicopters in Britain)
Michal Cwynar (fighter pilot, OC 316 Sqn) and Stanislaw Cwynar (bomber pilot, OC 300 Sqn, OC RAF Newton, OC RAF Faldingwoth)
Eugeniusz Kazimierz Guziak (Spitfire pilot, 318 Sqn) and Tadeusz Jan Guziak (Spitfire pilot, 317 Sqn)
Rajmund Kalpas (KIA 1/6/40 in the Battle of France), Roland Kalpas (test pilot at Farnborough)
Erwin Kawnik (Spitfire pilot with 308 Sqn, KIA 2/7/41) and Zygmunt Kawnik (Spitfire and Mustang pilot with 306 and 309 Sqns, survived the war)
Jan Pentz (B Flight commander 317 Sqn) and Roman Pentz (Spitfire pilot, 306 Sqn)
Jerzy Slonski-Ostoja (OC 306 Sqn, KIA 29/8/41), Marek Slonski-Ostoja (Spitfire pilot with a number of units, then PR Mosquito pilot, KIA 9/2/44 in 540 Sqn) and Marek Slonski-Ostoja (KIAcc in 58 OTU 30/10/41)
Notably, there were also brother-sister pilot couples!
Kazimierz Leski (a recce-bomber pilot in the Polish campaign of 1939) and Anna Leska (an operational recce-liaison pilot in the Polish campaign, later a ferry pilot in Britain, one of the ‘Spitfire girls’).
Kazimierz Leski was seriously wounded in 1939 which made him unfit for flying. He then worked for Polish intelligence in Europe. Due to his spinal injuries he could not make long trips in spartan wartime conditions normally endured by intelligence couriers. He therefore took on the role of a German general for his trips from occupied Poland to occupied France, to be able to travel in 1st class railway cars without arousing suspicion!
Zdzislaw Henneberg (OC 303 Sqn, KIA 12/4/41) also had a sister, Hanna Henneberg, who was a pilot (not military, though). She had died 28/9/1934 from medical complications after suffering serious injuries in a flying accident.
A group of balloons getting ready to do some bush flying.
Start of Gordon Bennett Balloon Cup in 1934, Warsaw-Mokotów airfield.
Olympia?
This man has won some medals in the Olympics.
Well, there are more cases of irony like in the history of the unit.
1) When the American pilots joined the squadron in 1919 it flew Albatross D.III (Oef) fighters: German designed and built in Austria, the two countries having occupied Poland (together with Russia) for the entire 18th century.
2) When the unit reformed in 1940 as No. 303 Squadron (continuing the same tradition), it defended Britain but still bore the name of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a definitely anti-British hero (a Polish general in the American War of Independence, who made significant contribution to the victory of the ‘colonies’ against Britain).
I obtained the info. from the above site.
http:abadeo.com/books/quote-book.httml
Your Dave Henderson does not seem to be capable of such a quote.:D
I see, so which Dave Henderson?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Henderson_%28disambiguation%29