HEAVY LOSSES

HF894    24^th December 1942

This aircraft had been involved in an anti-submarine patrol and was unable to return to base at RAF Dale.  Unlike other aircraft on the patrol, it could not divert to RAF Chivenor because it could not establish wireless contact.  After being airborne for 11 hours and 56 minutes, it ran out of fuel and the crew baled out and all were saved, landing near Cannock in Staffordshire.  The plane crashed nearby.  The crew were: F/O Pronaszko, Sgt Bialecki, P/O Kawa, Sgt Serafini, Sgt Wojsa and Sgt Postol.

HZ575    3^rd July 1943

This aircraft was probably shot down by German fighters 40 miles North west of Brest, France whilst on Musketry patrol 2.  The entire crew was lost, they were: F/O Jerzy Jozef Blachowski, F/O Marian Nowak, Sgt Jerzy Fedak, Sgt Stefan Pilat, Sgt Roman Strek and Sgt Henryk Szulgin.

HE304    17^th July 1943

Recorded only in the RAF Davidstow Moor Operations Record Book and Dennis Burke’s excellent website on foreign aircraft landings in the Irish Republic.  This Wellington Mk X was returning from an anti-submarine patrol over the Bay of Biscay when it ran out of fuel.  The crew baled out and landed safely in Carlow and the aircraft crashed near Ballickmoylar, Co Laois.  An SOS was picked up at 00.01hrs  and three aircraft were sent out to look for it but found no trace as they did not violate Irish neutrality by searching over the Republic.  All three aircraft were forced to abandon the search because of bad visibility. 

The crew returned to Britain and continued to fight; they were Sgt Stanislaw Kieltyka, Sgt Remigiusz Duszczak, Sgt Karol Stefan Pasieka, Sgt Mieczyslaw Franciszek Salewicz, Sgt Mikolaj Pawluczyk and Sgt Wladyslaw Kaczan.

HZ640 (NZ-W)   26^th July 1943

This aircraft is known to have been shot down by a three seater Junkers Ju88 night fighter flown by Lt Gerhard Blankenberg of V Gruppe, 13KG/40 and crewed by Uffizier Heinz Hommel and Lt Knud Gmelin; this was a long range maritime fighter group on Atlantic deployment.    All the crew were lost, they were: F/Lt Stanislaw Rolinski, F/Lt Wladyslaw Jagiello, F/O Jozef Kulicki, Sgt Stanislaw Ehrlich, Sgt Adam Stanislaw Zawilinski and  Sgt Romuald Zagorowski.  The aircraft came down in the Bay of Biscay, about 200Km north west of Cape Ortegal, North West Spain.  Lt Blankenberg was himself shot down three days later in an unequal contest with three Beaufighters.

HE576 (NZ-K)   29^th July 1943

This aircraft suffered the loss of both engines and crashed at Tresmarrow Farm,  half a mile from RAF Davidstow Moor.  Several sources state that it was just about to land after an anti-submarine patrol in the Bay of Biscay but the Station ORB says that it had just taken off.  Both pilots, Sq/Leader Lech Rodziewicz and F/Lt Zygmunt Janicki, were killed.  Survivors were  F/Lt Kolodziejski,  Sgt Jozwiak,  Sgt Matlak and Sgt Zentar.

HZ638    13^th August 1943

This aircraft was shot down by a Junkers Ju88 fighter flown by Leutnant Dieter Meister of 13/KG40at 13.11hrs during a sea patrol over the Bay of Biscay.  The entire crew were killed, they were: F/Lt Stefan Widanka, P/O Sylwan Jozef Kielan, Sgt Kazimierz Czarnecki, Sgt Jerzy Marian Dangel, Sgt Franciszek Gorka, Sgt Witold Pastwa.

HZ576 (2K)   22^nd August 1943

This aircraft went missing over the Bay of Biscay, shot down by a fighter crewed by Oberleutnant Kurt Necesany and Lt. Lothar Wolff of 14/KG 40 130Km west of Cape Ortegal, Spain.  The whole crew died, they were: F/O Boleslaw Robert Matuszewski, F/O Boleslaw Porebski, F/Sgt Wiktor Walkiewicz, F/Sgt Jan Wojnilowicz,  Sgt Konstanty Gawlik and Sgt Stefan Szczepaniak.

HF150    7^th November 1943

During the course of a Leigh Light exercise, this aircraft suffered engine problems and attempted an emergency landing at RAF Haverfordwest with disastrous results.  The crew are unknown but the pilot was Flight Lieutenant A A Kasprzyk and the co-pilot was Sergeant Karol Polanin.  The aircraft struck a stationary Wellington MP615 from another squadron. (3 OTU) The accident report is difficult to read but the following is a transcript:

EF [Engine Failure] Loss of revs on port engine.  Pilot of HF150  decided to land at strange airfield, [RAF Oakington] overshot and went round again and on final landing struck unlighted a/c 615 close to midway.  Co-pilot could have returned to base.  CO Airfield controller to blame gave 615 green permission to cross runway should have given 150 a red when he saw him coming in to land the second time 1000 yards away.  Pilot of 150 allowed his a/c to drift and did not synchronise his motors.  Did not get a green to land 2nd time.  CO Commanding pilot of 150 to blame AOF Pilot to blame.  Discip action.  A/O CinC agrees with AOC.

The results of any disciplinary action are unknown, but both aircraft were destroyed in the fire that resulted.