Stanisław Skalski

Stanisław Skalski, DSO, DFC & Two Bars (27 November 1915 – 12 November 2004) was a Polish aviator and fighter ace who served with the Polish Air Force and British Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Skalski was the top Polish fighter ace of the war and the first Allied fighter ace of the war,[1] credited, according to the Bajan's list, with 18 11/12 victories and two probable. Some sources, including Skalski himself, give a number of 22 11/12 victories. He returned to the Polish Air Force after the Second World War and rose to the rank of brigadier general.

Stanisław Skalski
Born(1915-11-27)27 November 1915
Kodyma, Russian Empire
Died12 November 2004(2004-11-12) (aged 88)
Warsaw, Poland
AllegiancePoland
United Kingdom
Service/branchPolish Air Force
Royal Air Force
Years of service1938–1945
1956–1972
RankGenerał brygady
Commands heldNo. 133 Polish Fighter Wing
No. 131 Polish Fighter Wing
No. 601 (County of London) Squadron
Polish Fighting Team
No. 317 (Polish) Squadron RAF
Battles/warsPolish Defensive War
Second World War
AwardsGolden Cross of the Virtuti Militari
Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Cross of Valour (4)
Order of the Cross of Grunwald
Distinguished Service Order (United Kingdom)
Distinguished Flying Cross & Two Bars (United Kingdom)

Early life and career

Stanisław Skalski was born on 27 November 1915 in Kodyma in Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire (now in Ukraine). After completing Pilot Training School in 1938, Skalski was ordered to the 142nd Fighter Squadron in Toruń (142 eskadra "Toruńska"). On 1 September 1939 he attacked a German Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft, which was eventually shot down by Marian Pisarek. Skalski then landed next to it, helped to bandage wounded crew members and arranged for them to be taken to a military hospital. The following day, nine PZL P-11s of the 142 Squadron, led by Major Lesnievski, intercepted two formations of Dornier Do 217 on River Vistula. [2] Attacking head on, the Polish pilots managed to shoot down seven twin-engined bombers, two of them credited to Skalski. [3] By 16 September Skalski reached flying ace status, claiming a total of six German aircraft and making him the first Allied air ace of the Second World War.[1]

Skalski's claims consisted of one Junkers Ju 86, two Dornier Do 17, one Junkers Ju 87, two Hs 126s and one Hs 126 shared (official list credits him with four aircraft: two Do 17s, one Hs 126, one Ju 87 and one Hs 126 shared).[4] Soon after he fled the country with other Polish pilots to Romania, and from there via Beirut to France and after went on to fight with the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain.

RAF service
Stanisław Skalski

In August 1940, Pilot Officer Skalski joined No. 501 Squadron RAF. From 30 August to 2 September 1940 he shot down a He 111 bomber and three Messerschmitt Bf 109s. On 5 September Skalski himself was shot down.[5] Skalski bailed out with severe burns, and was hospitalized for six weeks. He returned to his unit in late October 1940. During the Battle of Britain, he was credited with four planes shot down and one shared.

In March 1941 Skalski was assigned to No. 306 (Polish) Squadron RAF,[6] flying in Circus sorties over France. On 15 August 1941 he crashed while landing Spitfire W3170 after returning from a mission. On 1 March 1942, he became a flight commander in No. 316 (Polish) Squadron RAF. On 29 April 1942 Flight Lieutenant Skalski was made Commanding Officer of the No. 317 (Polish) Squadron RAF for five months. From November 1942 he was an instructor with No. 58 Operation Training Unit.

In October 1942 Skalski was given command of the Polish Fighting Team (PFT), or so called "Cyrk Skalskiego" (Skalski's Circus) – a special flight consisting of fifteen experienced Polish fighter pilot volunteers. The Poles arrived at Bu Grara airfield, west of Tripoli in March 1943 and attached to No. 145 Squadron RAF. The PFT took part in actions in Tripolitania and in Sicily. On 6 May 1943 the "Skalski Circus" fought its last battle. The unit was disbanded after the conclusion of the North African campaign. During its two months on operations, the Polish pilots had claimed a total of 26 German and Italian aircraft shot down. Skalski scored four aircraft, and Pilot Officer Eugeniusz Horbaczewski claimed five confirmed victories.

Skalski with Air Marshal Arthur Coningham (pictured left) and General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (pictured right).
A Mustang flown by Stanisław Skalski, Coolham, June 1944.

Skalski then became commander of No. 601 (County of London) Squadron, the first Pole to command an RAF squadron. He then took part in the invasion of Sicily and invasion of Italy. From December 1943 to April 1944 Wing Commander Skalski commanded No. 131 Polish Fighter Wing. On 4 April 1944 he was appointed commander of No. 133 Polish Fighter Wing, flying the Mustang Mk III. On 24 June 1944 Skalski scored two air victories over Rouen.

Skalski left for a tour of duty in the USA in September 1944, returning in February 1945 to a staff position at No. 11 Group.

Return to Poland and arrest
Stanisław Skalski after arrest by communist political police 1948

After the war Skalski returned to Poland in 1947 and joined the Air Force of the Polish Army. In 1948 however he was arrested under the false charge of espionage. Sentenced to death, he spent three years awaiting the execution, after which his sentence was changed to life imprisonment in Wronki Prison.

After the end of Stalinism in Poland, in 1956 he was released, rehabilitated, and allowed to join the military. He served at various posts in the Headquarters of the Polish Air Force. He wrote memoires of the 1939 campaign Czarne krzyże nad Polską ("Black crosses over Poland", 1957). On 20 May 1968 he was nominated the secretary general of the Aeroklub Polski and on 10 April 1972 he retired. On 15 September 1988 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In 1990 he met with the German pilot he had rescued on the first day of the war.

Stanisław Skalski died in Warsaw on 12 November 2004.

Awards

Virtuti Militari, Golden Cross
Virtuti Militari, Silver Cross
Cross of Valour (Poland), four times
Order of Polonia Restituta, Knight's Cross
Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 3rd class
Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) and two bars
1939-1945 Star with Battle of Britain clasp
Italy Star

Stanisław Skalski's monument, Warsaw (Poland), 30 July 2006
Stanislaw Skalski on the tailfin of a Polish Mikoyan MiG-29 (2016)
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References

Notes
  1. Franciszek Grabowski (29 June 2017). Skalski Against all Odds: The First Allied Ace of the Second World War. Fonthill Media. pp. 59–. GGKEY:A28ADN16W33.
  2. Jackson 1979, p. 27.
  3. Jackson 1979, pp. 28-29.
  4. Note: In this context "ace" means shooting down five or more enemy aircraft.
  5. According to some sources, he shot down a He 111 bomber and two Bf 109s in that flight, but there is no firm evidence, these victories were not acknowledged officially, and several other pilots also claimed these Bf 109s.
  6. Note: 306 Dywizjon Myśliwski "Toruński"; the unit insignia was derived from that of Skalski's original unit, 142 eskadry

Bibliography
  • Cynk, Jerzy Bogdam. Polskie lotnictwo myśliwskie w boju wrześniowym (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 2000.
  • Cynk, Jerzy Bogdam. Polskie Siły Powietrzne w wojnie tom 1: 1939–43 (Polish Air Force in War pt. 1: 1939–43) (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 2001.
    (Updated and revised edition of The Polish Air Force at War: The Official History, Vol.2 1939–1943. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Books, 1998. ISBN 0-7643-0559-X.)
  • Cynk, Jerzy Bogdam. Polskie Siły Powietrzne w wojnie tom 2: 1943–45 (Polish Air Force in War pt. 2: 1943–45) (In Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 2002.
    (Updated and revised edition of The Polish Air Force at War: The Official History, Vol.2 1943–1945. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Books, 1998. ISBN 0-7643-0560-3.)
  • Grabowski, Franciszek. Gen. bryg. pil. Stanisław Skalski. in: "Militaria i Fakty" 2/2005 (Polish)
  • Grabowski, Franciszek. Stanisław Skalski. Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2007. ISBN 83-89450-11-9.
  • Gretzyngier, Robert. Poles in Defence of Britain: A Day-by-day Chronology of Polish Day and Night Fighter Pilot Operations – July 1940 – June 1941. London: Grub Street, 2005. ISBN 1-904943-05-5.
  • Jackson, Robert. Fighter! The Story of Air Combat 1936-1945. London, Artur Barker Limited. 1979. ISBN 0-213-16717-4.
  • Ochabska, Katarzyna. Stanisław Skalski. Gliwice, 2007.
  • Skalski, Stanisław. Czarne krzyże nad Polską (in Polish). Warszawa, Poland, 1957 (New edition: De Facto, 2006).

Further reading
  • Cynk, Jerzy Bogdam. History Of The Polish Air Force 1918–1968. UK: Osprey Publications, 1972.
  • Koniarek, Dr. Jan. Polish Air Force 1939–1945. Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc.,1994. ISBN 0-89747-324-8.
  • Kornicki, Franciszek. Polish Air Force- Chronicle of Main Events. UK: Polish Air Force Association of Great Britain, 1993.
  • Lisiewicz, Mieczyslaw (Translated from the Polish by Ann Maitland-Chuwen). Destiny can wait – The Polish Air Force in the Second World War. London: Heinemann, 1949.
  • Zamoyski, Adam. The Forgotten Few: The Polish Air Force in The Second World War. UK: Leo Cooper Ltd., 2004. ISBN 1-84415-090-9.
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