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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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317 squadron badge
12.05.1943 No. 317 Squadron Spitfire Vb AD124 JH-G F/O. Elmerych

Operation: Scramble

Date: 12th May 1943 (Wednesday)

Unit: No. 317 squadron (Polish)

Type: Spitfire Vb

Serial: AD124

Code: JH-G

Base: RAF Martlesham Heath, Suffolk.

Location: North Sea, 5 miles East of Leiston, Suffolk.

Pilot: F/O. Stanisław Elmerych P-1718 Polish Air Force Age 30. Missing

REASON FOR LOSS:

06:00 hrs scrambled from RAF Martlesham Heath along with Sgt. Bartys to carry out a defence patrol over the English Channel.

They were ordered to fly at sea level and F/O. Elmerych's aircraft hit the water at 06:45 hrs. Sgt. Bartys circled over the area some 5 miles off the Suffolk coast but no sign of the pilot or aircraft.

Note: Spitfire AD124 was built at the Castle Bromwich Factory and fitted with the Merlin 45 engine.

Course No. 15, 58 O.T.U. Grangemouth, Scotland: - Front row: Sgt. Corbett, Sgt. Sekkerling, Sgt. Kotlarz, Sgt. Madej, Sgt. Szelestowski, Sgt. Krakowski, Sgt. Polek, Sgt. Kolezynski, Sgt. Elmerych, Sgt. Grobelny, Sgt. Rutecki, Sgt. Szymanski - Second row: P/O. Hunter, P/O. Loree, P/O. Frith, P/O. Deytrikh, F/O. Gastula, Fl/Lt. Walendowski, P/O. Davies, P/O. Phelan, P/O. Tonge. F/O. Godlewski, P/O. Wigston, P/O. Zakrzewski - Third row: Sgt. Powers, Sgt. Watkin, Sgt. Vance, Sgt. Machan, Sgt. McGready, Sgt. Taggart, Sgt. Oliver, Sgt. Shaw, Sgt. Kippan, Sgt. Moeser, Sgt. Matthewman - Back row: Sgt. Hunt, Sgt. Julian, Sgt. Watson, Sgt. Little, Sgt. Nicoll, Sgt. Kaye, Sgt. Allingham, Sgt. Miller, Sgt. Davies, Sgt. Jowett, Sgt. Rawson, Sgt. Cleaver, Sgt. Burley. (photo available at a higher resolution to relatives - names listed to assist others searching for aircrew within)

Burial Details:

F/O. Stanisław Elmerych. None - missing. Commemorated on the Polish Memorial at Northolt and the Warsaw Airmans Memorial in Poland. Born 23rd July 1912 in Garwolin, Poland. Next of Kin details not yet available.

Researched for relatives of the pilot with thanks for further information to the Grangemouth Air Cadets and the Grangemouth Spitfire Memorial Trust who provided me with so much information and assistance during my visit, Polish Squadron O.R.B. 'website', Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945'. 

Pages of Outstanding Interest
History Airborne Forces •  Soviet Night Witches •  Bomber Command Memories •  Abbreviations •  Gardening Codenames
CWGC: Your Relative's Grave Explained •  USA Flygirls •  Axis Awards Descriptions •  'Lack Of Moral Fibre'
Concept of Colonial Discrimination  •  Unauthorised First Long Range Mustang Attack
RAAF Bomb Aimer Evades with Maquis •  SOE Heroine Nancy Wake •  Fane: Motor Racing PRU Legend
Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and MWO François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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