Born on January 14, 1915. In 1935, he joined the army, serving initially in the infantry. From early 1936, he transferred to aviation. Starting in November 1938, he served with the 123rd Fighter Squadron.
He met the war as part of a flight assigned to the IV/1 Dyon Myśliwskiego Brygady Pościgowej. On September 5, along with Erwin Kawnik and Tadeusz Kratke, he shot down an unidentified German bomber (an He-111 according to German data). On the 17th, he flew to Romania, to the Iasi airfield, in one of the squadron’s four remaining P.7s.
Service in France and Early Engagements
He was detained by the police but soon released. He sailed to Marseille aboard the Greek ship “Patrisa.” He was among 21 Polish pilots sent for training in Montpellier. At the front from March 29, 1940, he formed a Polish flight within Groupe de Chasse I/2, alongside Lieutenant Józef Brzezinski and Anton Breda. He participated in several aerial battles.
On May 17, his aircraft was shot down by ground fire, and the pilot sustained minor injuries, being hospitalized until May 22. On June 2, 1940, he participated in an attack on an He-111; although the pilots did not observe the results, the victory was shared among three. On the 8th, he shot down a Bf-109, and during a second sortie that day, one Ju-87 solo and another shared with a pair of French pilots.
Hero of the Battle of Britain
On June 23, he arrived in England aboard the “Arandora Star” and was assigned to the 302nd Squadron. On August 21, 1940, over Bridlington, he severely damaged a Ju-88, recorded as a probable victory. However, his own aircraft was also damaged, and during the forced landing, the pilot hit his head on the instrument panel. On September 15, 1940, during one of the most famous battles of the “Battle of Britain,” he shot down a Do-17 and, presumably, another Do-215.
Post-War Life and Accolades
On July 24, 1944, he was withdrawn from the front and became an instructor at the 16 SFTS. He was demobilized in 1946. He was awarded the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari (No. 8993), the Krzyż Walecznych (Cross of Valor), and the Croix de Guerre (submitted in 1940 and awarded on October 13, 2000, at the French Embassy in Krakow).
After the war, he lived in England and then in Canada. In 1995, he returned to Poland and lived in Krakow. He passed away on April 24, 2004, at the age of 89, and was buried in the Prokocimiu cemetery in Krakow.