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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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316 Squadron Crest
04.05.1943 No. 316 Squadron Spitfire IX AB525 SZ-Y F/O. Łęgowski

Operation: Ramrod 68

Date: 04th May 1943 (Tuesday)

Unit: No. 316 Squadron (City of Warsaw)

Type: Spitfire F.IX

Serial: AB525

Code: SZ-Y

Base: RAF Northolt

Location: Zaamslag, Zeeland

Pilot: F/O. Tomasz Jerzy Jan Łęgowski P-1800 / 781898 PAF Age 23. PoW No: 1331 Camp: Stalag Luft Sagan

REASON FOR LOSS:

Taking off 17:45 hrs to escort B-17 that were to bomb Antwerp.

Understood to have been shot down at 19:00 hrs by Uffz. Hans Bruno Fay flying a Bf109e from Erla Flugwerks VII based in Antwerp. The pilot taken Pow shortly afterwards.

Also shot down during the same operation:

315 Squadron Spitfire IX EN131 Flown by Fl/Lt. Maciej Jerzy Lipiński P-1358 PAF - killed.
611 Squadron Spitfire IX EN567 Flown by F/O. Victor Stephenson Neill 127166 RAFVR - missing, believed killed.

Above: Course 19-2 58 Operational Training Unit, Grangemouth.

Front row: F/O. Jan Blaszczyk P-0560 (Killed 03/12/1943), P/O. Tomasz Jerzy Jan Legowski P-1800 / 781898, F/O. Kon, F/O. Bernard William John Peathy-Johns (Killed 26/04/1942), F/O. Watts, P/O. Short, P/O. Rowlands.

Rear row: Sgt. Allen, Sgt. Armstrong, Sgt. Tushingham, Sgt. Jan Józef Zimek 780963 (Died 04/12/1980), Sgt. Tadeusz Stanisław Turek P-2217 / 793595 (Died 16/01/1993), Sgt. Tadeusz Siemienczuk 783163 (Killed 17/04/1942), Sgt. Tomasz Szymonski P-0607 (Killed 18/05/1943), Sgt. Bruce.

Burial details:

None - survived the war as a PoW. Born on the 08th March 1920 in Kowalewo, Poland. After the war he settled in England attending the university of Oxford. He moved to Switzerland in 1969, retiring in 2001. Passed away in Pfeffingen, Switzerland on the 28th November 2011 age 91.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot with thanks to Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', other sources as quoted below:

KTY 26.11.2019

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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 Captain 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', Andrew Mielnik: Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Polish graves: https://niebieskaeskadra.pl/, PoW Museum Żagań, 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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