“Never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few.”
Winston Churchill, in reference to the Battle of Britain; speech to Parliament, August 20, 1940
The Battle of Britain, July 10 to October 31, 1940, is commemorated each year on September 15. It is usually considered a British RAF ‘Show.’ Although totally under RAF control, at least 20 per cent of the fighter pilots were from other countries, including Canada. Also playing a big part were 145 well trained Polish Air Force pilots. Most flew with different RAF Squadrons but 66 Polish Airmen flew in either 302 or 303 (Polish) Fighter Squadrons.
Poland was attacked on the west by Nazi Germany on September 3, 1939 and on September 17, 1939 by the Soviet Union on the East. The fight was lost. Many Polish airmen made their way to France where the PAF re-emerged. Others went to the U.K. where they ‘connected with the RAF.’
When France was overrun in May 1941, airmen and ground crews moved to England where a Polish government in exile was created. By June 1940 there were more than 2,000 Polish air personnel in Britain.
Polish who arrived in Britain in December 1939 and on were re-trained. They took English lessons, learned British Imperial measurements instead of metric and that a pilot pushed the throttle forward, not backward, to increase speed. And they learned quickly.
Flight Lieutenant Zygmunt Witymir Bieńkowski
Flight Lieutenant Zygmunt Witymir Bieńkowski escaped from Poland, going south to Romania while the Nazis and the Soviet Union pushed into Poland, dividing the country among themselves. He picked up his flying in France and then evacuated to England, where he flew in the Battle of Britain.
During his time in England he became friendly with American pilots who renamed him ‘Bing Crosby’ because it sounded like his last name.
In July 1941 he joined Polish RAF 303 Squadron as a fighter pilot. In January 1945 he took command of Polish RAF 302 Squadron. He was shot down on February 24, 1945 and taken prisoner. He remained in England after the war and died in London in August, 1979
Sergeant Pilot Antoni Glowacki
The Polish were superb fighter pilots. Sergeant Pilot Antoni Glowacki of 501 Squadron, RAF became an ace in one day by shooting down five German airplanes on August 24, 1940. He rose in rank, survived the war and was credited with 8.5 aircraft destroyed. After hostilities moved to New Zealand and joined the RNZAF. He died in 1980.
Squadron Leader Witold Urbanowicz
Squadron Leader Witold Urbanowicz had an incredible career with 20 aircraft shot down, 17 in the Battle of Britain and three Japanese aircraft while flying with the Flying Tigers in China.
After the Battle of Britain, Witold moved to the United States where he taught fighter tactics to men of the USAAF. From there, he signed on with the Flying Tigers of the United States Army Air Force in the fall of 1943 and flew against the Japanese in China. He was the only non-American in the unit, flying a P-40 Warhawk.
After the war, he settled in the eastern United States working in the airline industry. When the Communist Government of Poland fell in 1991 he returned home. In 1996 he was appointed an Honorary General in the Polish Air Force. He died in New York in August 1996.
Janusz Zurakowski, Britain of Britain Hero — Famous Canadian Test Pilot
Janusz Zurakowski, (1914-2004) a pilot in the Polish Air Force, escaped the invasion of Poland and make his way to England by way of Romania and France.
After ‘conversion training’ he was posted as a Pilot Officer to RAF Squadron 152 and later moved to 234 Squadron, RAF. He also flew with 315 Polish Squadron, RAF and 316 Polish Squadron, RAF, reaching the rank of Squadron Leader (Major).
After the war he remained in the RAF for a few years and then became a civilian test pilot. He was known for his aerobatic flying, once ‘cart-wheeling’ a Glouster Meteor. In 1952 he and his family moved to Canada where he worked as a Test Pilot for the A. V. Roe Company at Malton, Ontario.
He broke the sound barrier in a CF-100 in level flight.
Jan Zurakowski took on his greatest challenge and his place in Canadian Aviation History in 1958 when he became the Test Pilot for the AVRO Arrow. When the program was killed in 1959 he retired from aviation and built Kartuzy Lodge at Barry’s Bay, Ontario. He remained there the rest of his life pursuing hobbies, running the lodge and using his engineering know-how building boats. He died there in February 2004 — a life well lived.
