Flying Officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

Alexander Roman Zatonski (1 November 1915 –

MIA Mia, Mía, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (American band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA. (German band), a German rock/pop band formed i ...

6 December 1941) was an American pilot who flew with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was one of 11 American pilots who flew with RAF

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

between 10 July and 31 October 1940, thereby qualifying for the Battle of Britain clasp to the 1939–45 campaign star. He was posted as missing on 6 December 1941 in north Africa.

Biography

Zatonski was born in Philadelphia on 1 November 1915, the only son of Joseph and Martha Zatonski (who were recent Polish immigrants to America). The family finally settled in

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

in Canada in 1926.Battle of Britain London Monument - P/O A R Zatonski
Zatonski was in Britain just prior to the German invasion of Poland. He was trying to travel to Poland to join the Polish Air Force. He subsequently joined the RAF in September 1939.

Second World War

After training with

No. 2 Flying Training School No.2 Flying Training School is a Flying Training School (FTS) of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It is part of No. 22 (Training) Group that delivers glider flying training to the Royal Air Force Air Cadets. Its headquarters is located at RAF Syers ...

, Zatonski joined No. 79 Squadron at

RAF Acklington Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located southwest of Amble, Northumberland and north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The a ...

on 13 July 1940 as a Pilot Officer. He was in combat in early August 1940 and was on operations against the ill-fated attack on the north-east of England by

Luftflotte 5 Luftflotte 5 (Air Fleet 5) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed 12 April 1940 in Hamburg for the invasion of Norway. It transferred to Oslo, Norway on 24 April 1940 and was the organization respo ...

on 15 August 1940. On 28 August 1940, flying from

RAF Biggin Hill London Biggin Hill Airport is a minor commercial airport serving Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. It specialises in general aviation, handling a spectrum of traffic from private aviati ...

, he was shot down over

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a hamlet in Canada England *The ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

in his

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

P2718, parachuting into the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, badly burned and with a leg injury. He was treated for burns in hospital and then spent time in

RAF Hospital Torquay The RAF Hospital Torquay (also known as the RAF Officer's Convalescent Hospital), was a medical facility run by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Torquay suburb of Babbacombe, Devon, England, during the Second World War. The RAF requisitioned the ...

convalescing. Whilst in Torquay he married Mary Bunce. Zatonski rejoined his squadron on 4 December 1940 and flew with it for most of 1941. In October 1941 he was posted to No. 238 Squadron in North Africa.

Disappearance

On his second flight on 6 December 1941, Zatonski did not return from an engagement with

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

s of I and II/ JG27 over the Cyrenaican border and was reported as

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

. No trace of his plane or body has ever been located and he is remembered on the

Alamein Memorial The Alamein Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the El Alamein War Cemetery, El Alamein, Egypt. The memorial commemorates 11,866 Commonwealth forces members who died during World War II. The memorial was designed by ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zatonski, Alexander Roman 1915 births 1941 deaths American Royal Air Force pilots of World War II American emigrants to Canada American expatriates in England American people of Polish descent Aviators killed by being shot down Canadian people of Polish descent The Few Military personnel from Philadelphia Missing person cases in Libya Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Missing in action of World War II Royal Air Force officers

Biography

Second World War

Disappearance

See also

References