Operation: Ramrod 191, France

Date: 9th August 1943 (Monday)

Unit No: 316 Squadron (Polish)

Type: Spitfire IX

Serial: BS302

Code: SZ:E

Location: Montreuil, France

Pilot: Fg Off. Michael Miroslaw Maciejowski VM, DFC, DFM, P-1912 / 780485 PAF Age 21. PoW No: 2021 *

Fg Off. Michael Miroslaw Maciejowski VM, DFC, DFM (courtesy Peter Sikora)

* Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland

REASON FOR LOSS:

Collided at 18:30 hrs with 316 Sqn Spitfire IX, BS457 SZ:R and baled out to become a PoW.

Earlier he escaped injuries whilst with 317 Sqn. Flying Spitfire Vb BL927, aircraft suffered damage Cat 'B'. We don’t have any other details on this, except that it was during a Recce patrol on the 19th of August 1942.

After the statutory interrogation and solitary confinement he was transferred to Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia.

On the night of the 27th January 1945, with Soviet troops only 26 km (16 mls) away, orders were received to evacuate the PoWs to Spremberg which is to the West in Germany. The PoW’s were informed of the evacuation, which was on foot, at about 22:00 hrs the same night and were given 30 mins to pack and prepare everything for the March. The weather conditions were very difficult, with freezing temperatures, and it was snowing accompanied by strong winds. There was 15 cm (6 in) of snow and 2000 PoWs were assigned to clear the road ahead of the main groups.

After a 55 km (34 mls) march, the PoWs arrived in Bad Muskau where they rested for 30 hours. The PoWs were then marched the remaining 26 km (16 mls) to Spremberg where they were housed in empty garages, storerooms and in military barracks. There they were provided with warm soup and bread.

During next days, PoWs were divided up according to Compounds, and they were led to railway sidings and loaded into tightly packed carriages. On the 2nd February he was amongst the the North, East and remaining West compound PoWs who were sent to Marlag und Milag Nord at Westertimke

Marlag is an acronym for Marinelager (Navy PoW camp), Milag is short for Marine-Interniertenlager (Marine internment camp), and Nord is German for ‘north’

On the 2nd April 1945 the Commandant announced that he had received orders to leave the camp with most of his guards, leaving only a small detachment behind to hand over the camp to Allied forces, who were already in Bremen.

However, that afternoon a detachment of over a hundred SS-Feldgendarmerie entered the camp, mustered over 3,000 men and marched them out, heading east. The next day, at around at 10:00 hrs the column was strafed by RAF aircraft, and two PoWs were killed.

Over the next few days the column was attacked from the air several times. Finally the Senior British Naval Officer (SBNO), who was later killed in a strafing attack by RAF aircraft, offered the Germans the PoW’s parole, in return for being allowed to rest during the day and march at night. The Germans agreed.

On the 9th April 1945 the guards at Marlag-Milag moved out and were replaced by older men, presumably local Volkssturm. Meanwhile, the column slowly headed east, finally crossing the River Elbe, north of Hamburg, on the 18th April. The next day, the 28th April, the column finally arrived at Lübeck on the Baltic coast. They were liberated by the British 11th Armoured Division on the 1st May 1945. Flt Lt. Maciejowski was interviewed on the 2nd May 1945.

Michael Miroslaw Maciejowski served with the Polish Air Force (PAF) prior to the outbreak of war, escaping in 1939 to France, where he flew Breguet 693 attack aircraft. In June 1940, with three other Poles, he flew to England in a stolen aircraft and joined the Free Polish Air Force. Initially he was posted to 111 Sqn and then in October 1940 to 249 Sqn, where he enjoyed some considerable success in a short period. In February 1941 he was posted to 317 (Polish) Sqn, where in April he was awarded a Cross of Valour and Bar, followed by a second Bar in July and a DFM in October. In May 1942 came the award of the Virtuti Militari, whilst in June he was commissioned. He claimed two and one shared victories over Dieppe during the landings there on the 19th August, but six (6) days later was posted to 58 Operational Training Unit (OTU) as an instructor. Here he received a third Bar to his Cross of Valour and a DFC, both awarded on the 15th November. He began a second tour on the 23rd March 1943 with a posting to 316 Sqn, claiming further success here. He claimed ten (10) enemy aircraft destroyed, one (1) Shared destroyed, one (1) Probable and one (1) damaged. Upon release at the end of the war, he returned to duty, attending a refresher course at 16 Flying Training School (FTS) in June 1945 and then joined 309 Sqn. He was demobilised in January 1947 as a Flt Lt. and he settled in England and changed his name to Manson. He was appointed to a commission back into the RAF in 1951 and finally retired in October 1972. (Shores, Christopher; Williams, Clive. Aces High, Volume 1: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces of WWII (pp. 1273-1274)).

He lived in England until the death of his wife Christine then moved to Winnipeg, Canada in 1987 and changed his name to Mason and lived with his only daughter, Karen Schmidt.

He will be greatly missed by his daughter Karen, his best friend Novilla Cohan, his dog Mattie and his many friends. Michael enjoyed life and lived it to the fullest, travelling, square dancing, carpet bowling, playing Bridge, cooking and gardening.

A memorial service was held on Wednesday, 2nd May 2001 at 11:00 hrs. at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Silver Avenue at Whytewold Road. In lieu of flowers, donations in Michael's memory may be made to the Winnipeg Humane Society, 5 Kent St., Winnipeg, Man., R2L 1X3, or a charity of choice. NEIL BARDAL INC. 949-2200 (As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 28, 2001)

Michael Miroslaw Maciejowski was born on the 29th October 1913 at Gródek Jagiell, Poland (now Ukraine). Michaeldied peacefully at home at the age of 87 in Winnipeg, Montreal 26th April 2001.

Burial details:

None, Survived the war

With thanks to Peter Sikora, Henryk Juszczak, Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945’. Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii'. With additional details from Aircrew Remembered archives. With thanks to Henryk Juszczak for the corrected information (Apr 2022). Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered (Jan 2026)

Other sources listed below:

Andrew Mielnik Memorial Archiwum Database

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