Tadeusz Władysław Sawicz (13 February 1914 – 19 October 2011) was a Polish World War II fighter pilot. He served in the

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...

, and after the fall of Poland, he served in the Polish and allied units in France and United Kingdom. He was the commander of several air units, including the No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron, 1st Polish Fighter Wing,

3rd Polish Fighter Wing The 3rd Polish Fighter Wing () was a mainly Polish formation of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, that flew Supermarine Spitfires. It was part of the Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain. It was formed in June 1943, as t ...

, 131st (Polish) Fighter Wing and 133rd Fighter Wing. He participated in 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 ...

and was ranked as the 82nd highest scoring Polish fighter pilot of the war. In addition to receiving Poland's highest military decoration, the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

, he was awarded a British Distinguished Flying Cross, an American Distinguished Flying Cross and the Dutch equivalent, the

Airman's Cross The Airman's Cross () is a military decoration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands created in 1941. The cross is awarded to members of the Dutch military who display initiative, courage, and perseverance against the enemy or during hostile actions d ...

or ''Vliegerkruis''. In 2006 Sawicz was appointed honorary brigadier-general in the Polish Air Force. After the war, he emigrated to Canada. At his death, he was believed to have been the last surviving Polish pilot to have fought in the Battle of Britain.

Biography

In Poland and France

Sawicz was born on 13 February 1914 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. In 1934, he joined the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, as an officer and in 1934, began training in the air force. In August 1936, he received the rank of

podporucznik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, , , , , ) is the most junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in English ...

and joined the 111th Fighter Escadrille. In 1937, he was transferred to the 114th Fighter Escadrille.Those Other Eagles; Shores (Grub Street 2004), page 522 During the

Polish September Campaign The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

in September 1939 he served (from 5 September) as the deputy commander of the 114th Escadrille, which together with several other air units was a part of the

Pursuit Brigade The Pursuit Brigade () was a Polish World War II unit of the Polish Air Force. It took part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939 as the main aerial reserve of the commander in chief and was used for air cover of the Polish capital of Warsaw. It was ...

. He claimed a half-share in damaging a German

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 ...

on the first day of the war, while flying a

PZL P.11 The PZL P.11 is a Polish fighter aircraft, designed and produced in the early 1930s by Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze. Possessing an all-metal structure, metal-covering, and high-mounted gull wing, the type held the distinction of being widely cons ...

c. Over the next week he was reported to have shot down two Dorniers Do 17 bombers, damaging two more. On 14 September, he was assigned a courier mission, delivering messages to General

Juliusz Rómmel Juliusz Karol Wilhelm Józef Rómmel (; 3 June 1881 – 8 September 1967) was a Polish military commander, a general of the Polish Armed Forces. He graduated from the Corps of Cadets in Pskov and later from Кonstantin Artillery School at St. Pe ...

, and Marshal

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz also called Edward Rydz-Śmigły, (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941) was a Polish people, Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces, as well as a painter and ...

, flying into the encircled pocket at Młynów. After the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

on 17 September, the Polish government decided to evacuate the country and ordered the remaining airforce to evacuate as well. Travelling via Romania, Yugoslavia and Italy, Sawicz eventually reached France where he was assigned to the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

(see also Polish Army in France). After training in Lyon, on 1 June 1940 he was assigned to Groupe de Chasse III/10 stationed in

Deauville Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...

In Great Britain

After the

fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

, like many other Polish pilots he did not surrender and took a

Bloch MB.152 The Bloch MB.150 (later MB.151 to MB.157) was a French fighter aircraft developed and produced by ''Société des Avions Marcel Bloch''. It featured an all-metal construction, complete with a retractable undercarriage, low cantilever wing and a ...

across the Mediterranean to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, from where he went to

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and via Gibraltar to Great Britain, arriving on 17 July. After four months training at No.5 OTU at Aston Down, he joined the newly recreated Polish Air Force in the Great Britain. In Great Britain he was assigned on 20 October to

No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron No. 303 Squadron RAF, also known as the 303rd "Tadeusz Kościuszko Warsaw" Fighter Squadron, was one of two Polish squadrons that fought during the Battle of Britain along with No. 302 Squadron, of 16 total Polish squadrons during the Second ...

during the

. On 22 February 1941m he was transferred to No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron. On 9 April he shot down a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...

bomber, which was reported as the new squadron's first confirmed kill. In July he was awarded the first Cross of Valour and promoted. From 9 November 1941 he served as commander of the Escadrille A of the No. 316 Squadron. From June 1942, he served as a flight instructor with No. 58 OTU. On 25 September 1942, he became commander of No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron. During his time with 315 Squadron he damaged a

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...

on 4 April. On 16 April 1943, he became the deputy commander of the 1st Polish Fighter Wing, and was awarded the Poland's highest military decoration, the

. From June 1943, he was a liaison officer with

No. 12 Group RAF No. 12 Group RAF (12 Gp) of the Royal Air Force was a group, a military formation, that existed over two separate periods, namely the end of the First World War when it had a training function and from just prior to the Second World War until t ...

. From 18 October 1943, he served in a training capacity at

Rednal Rednal is a residential suburb on the south western edge of metropolitan Birmingham, West Midlands, England, southwest of Birmingham city centre and forming part of Longbridge parish and electoral ward. Historically it was part of Worcestershir ...

. On 3 April 1944, he was attached to the headquarters of the

9th Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

of the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as liaison officer. He was then assigned to the 56th Fighter Group, under

Polish-American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

Francis Gabreski where he formed a Polish section. For his time with the 56th Group, he was awarded the US

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

and Distinguished Flying Cross. On 14 June 1944, he was given the command of the

, and on 10 October 1944, became commander of the 131st (Polish) Fighter Wing. Soon after taking the command, he was injured in a crash. On 16 July 1945, he returned to duty as the commander of the Polish 3rd Wing. Later he commanded the 133rd Fighter Wing. During the war he had claimed 3 confirmed victories and 3 and a half "damaged". He is ranked (on Bajan's list) as the 82nd highest scoring Polish fighter pilot of the war.

After the war

He was demobilized in January 1947 with the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. He chose not to return to Poland, where the new

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

government was hostile towards those who had served in the

Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish Armed Forces, Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Allies of World War II, Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its Axis powers, allies during World War II. Poli ...

. In 1957 he emigrated to Canada, where he worked in the air industry, living in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

. In 2006 Sawicz was appointed honorary brigadier-general by then-Polish president

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...

. At his death on 19 October 2011 he was believed to have been the last surviving Polish pilot to have fought in the

Decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawicz, Tadeusz 1914 births 2011 deaths Polish World War II pilots Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Airman's Cross Royal Air Force officers United States Air Force officers The Few Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Polish emigrants to Canada