JOZEF PAWEL MACZYNSKI

Photo courtesy of ARS Group

He was a navigator, born on 14th July 1917 and posted in from RAF Bramcote on 20th June 1941. He was the son of Apolinary and Ludwika Maczynski and had three sisters. They were from Grodno (now Belarus). He was killed when DV423 was shot down by a night fighter on a mission to Wilhelmshaven on 10th January 1942. In Luftwaffe records DV423 was claimed by Oberleutnant Rudolph Schoenert of 5/NJG2 10 kilometres north of Nordeney at 23.15hrs at an altitude of 5,000 metres (about 16,500 feet). He has no known grave but the family believes he may be one of the 158 unidentified bodies buried in the Sage war cemetery in Germany

He had previously survived the crash of X3164 on 30th November 1941 which was ditched in the North Sea 20 miles east of Great Yarmouth. They lost one engine over hamburg and limped home on the other. The crew had only seven minutes to escape before the aircraft sunk.

Polish airmen in front of a Wellington Bomber.  JP Maczynski is 4th from the right

On 13th January 1942 he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari, just three days after his death, so this was obviously for an earlier act of gallantry.

Group photo and Virtuti Militari courtesy of Krzysztof Dabrowski