Alf Francis (born Alfons Kowaleski or Alphons Kowalewski 18 June 1918 – 28 June 1983) was a motor racing mechanic and racing car constructor. Francis was born in Danzig but left during

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 ...

, first for Portugal, then by sea to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the UK, where he joined the

Polish 1st Armoured Division The Polish 1st Armoured Division (Polish ''1 Dywizja Pancerna, Pierwsza Dywizja Pancerna'') was an armoured division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. Created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland, it was commanded by M ...

. After World War II, he changed his nationality to British, and his name to Alf Francis. He became a racing mechanic for

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...

and the Chief Mechanic at

Rob Walker Racing Team Rob Walker Racing Team was a Privateer (motorsport), privateer team in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded by Johnnie Walker heir Rob Walker (1917–2002) in 1953, the team became F1's most successful privateer in history, being the ...

, he maintained many

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

cars including Cooper-Climax and

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, and helped developing the team's own

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

car called Walker Special. Working with transmission engineer and designer

Valerio Colotti Valerio Colotti (19 April 1925 – 19 January 2008) was an Italian automotive engineer, known for his early work with Ferrari and Maserati chassis and transmission systems. Born in Modena, Colotti joined Ferrari in 1948, working under Aurelio Lam ...

, he became a partner of

Colotti-Francis Colotti Trasmissioni (Colotti Transmission) is an Italian mechanical engineering firm located in Modena, Italy. It specializes in gears, limited-slip differentials and transmission (mechanics), transmission systems for racing cars. History 1958-1 ...

, and moved to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 1963 he returned to England, where he was involved in the unsuccessful

Derrington-Francis Derrington-Francis Racing Team was a short-lived Formula One team from Britain. It was founded by Stirling Moss' former chief mechanic, Alf Francis, and engine tuner Vic Derrington, acquiring an old Automobili Turismo e Sport Tipo 100 car af ...

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

project. He subsequently immigrated to the US, where he built cars for lower racing formulae. He died in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

in 1983. In 1957 he authored his biography ''Alf Francis: Racing Mechanic'' with journalist Peter Lewis.

References

1918 births 1983 deaths Engineers from Gdańsk Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom People from West Prussia Formula One team owners Formula One engineers Formula One mechanics 20th-century Polish engineers 20th-century British engineers Polish military personnel of World War II Mechanics (people) {{F1-stub