Aleksander Gabszewicz

Aleksander Gabszewicz
Born	(1911-12-06)6 December 1911 Šiauliai, Russian Empire (now Lithuania)
Died	10 October 1983(1983-10-10) (aged 71) Malvern, Worcestershire, England
Service/branch	Polish Land Forces Royal Air Force
Rank	Generał brygady
Service number	P-0163
Unit	Border Defence Corps No. 607 Squadron RAF No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron
Commands held	No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron 2nd Polish Wing 1st Polish Wing 56th USAAF Fighter Group
Battles/wars	Second World War

German MG 15 aerial machine gun, pilot's cap and some debris of a German Heinkel He 111 downed by Aleksander Gabszewicz on 1 September 1939

Aleksander Klemens Gabszewicz (6 December 1911 – 10 October 1983) was a Polish fighter pilot and a World War II fighter ace, with a score of 9½ confirmed and 2 probable kills.

Biography

Born in Šiauliai, then in the Russian Empire (now Lithuania), in 1931 he joined the Polish Army. Initially serving as an infantry NCO, in 1938, he graduated from the Dęblin-based Eagles' School and was attached to the air wing of the Border Defence Corps. Just before World War II he was a tactical officer of the IV/1 Fighter Group.

After the outbreak of the Polish September Campaign on 1 September 1939, around 9 AM, he scored his first kill, a Heinkel He 111 of 5.(K)/LG 1 unit over Ciechanów. According to some authors, it was the first kill of a German plane in World War II.

Downed the same day, he made it to France where he became the commanding officer of the 5th key of Groupe de Chasse III/10 covering Besançon. There, while piloting a Bloch 151, he downed a Dornier Do 17.

After the capitulation, he made it to the United Kingdom, where he served in the ranks of No. 607 Squadron RAF and No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron. In December 1940 he was posted as a flight commander in No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron. He became the commanding officer in November 1941. He was posted to 11 Group HQ in June 1942, and then as an instructor to 58 OTU until June 1943. He was then made wing commander/flying of the 2nd Polish Wing and finally the 1st Polish Wing. He was also attached to the 56th USAAF Fighter Group in December 1943, and then commanded 131 Wing RAF in February 1944, leading the wing during the invasion of Normandy. He became the commanding officer of RAF Coltishall in February 1945.

He ended the war in the Polish rank of generał brygady and remained in exile in the United Kingdom. He died in Malvern in 1983. His ashes were brought to Poland in 1992 and dispersed over Warsaw and Dęblin.

Legacy

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Spitfire TE311 is painted to represent the aircraft flown by Gabszewicz in Germany from April to June 1945.

Decorations

Distinguished Service Order (with Bar)

Distinguished Flying Cross

Croix de Guerre (France)

Virtuti Militari (Golden Cross)

Virtuti Militari (Silver Cross)

Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta

Cross of Valour, four times

References

• (in Polish) Short biography
• (in Polish) extended biographical note at Myśliwcy web page
• Aleksander K. Gabszewicz

Citations

Bibliography

• Tadeusz Jerzy Krzystek, Anna Krzystek: Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii w latach 1940-1947 łącznie z Pomocniczą Lotniczą Służbą Kobiet (PLSK-WAAF). Sandomierz: Stratus, 2012, p. 185. ISBN 978-83-61421-59-7
• Piotr Sikora: Asy polskiego lotnictwa. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza Alma-Press. 2014, pp. 199–208. ISBN 978-83-7020-560-7
• Zieliński, Józef (1994). Asy polskiego lotnictwa (in Polish). Warsaw: Agencja Lotnicza ALTAIR. p. 20. ISBN 83-86217-2. LCCN 95149065. OCLC 34751125. OL 865104M.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
• Józef Zieliński: Lotnicy polscy w Bitwie o Wielką Brytanię. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza MH, 2005, pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-83-906620-4-6