Operation: SOE - Neon 3, Poland

Date: 16th/17th September 1943 (Thursday/Friday)

Unit No: 138 Squadron (SD), 38 Group

Type: Halifax II

Serial: BB309

Code: NF:T

Base: RAF Tempsford, Bedfordshire.

Location: Slaglille, Denmark

Pilot: Flt Sgt. Tadeusz Miecznik 793802 PAF Age 28. Evader (1)

2nd Pilot: Flt Sgt. Eugeniusz Paul Kasprzak 783202 PAF Age 21. KiA (1)

Flt Eng: Flt Sgt. Wladyslaw Barzdo 782464 PAF Age 27. KiA

Nav: Fg Off. Wincenty Stefan Wasilewski P-0839 PAF Age 27. KiA

Obs: Sgt. Wladyslaw Stanislaw Patlewicz 780909 PAF Age 28. KiA

WOp/Air Gnr: FltSgt. Julian Michalski 793235 PAF Age 35. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Roman Puchala 793808 PAF Age 27. PoW No: 539 * (2)

* Stalag Luft 7, Bankau nr. Kreuzburg O.S." (O.S. standing for Oberschlesien, Upper Silesia). Today called Bąków nr. Kluczbork (Poland).

Above left to right: Flt Sgt. Michalski, Flt Sgt. Kasprzak, Fg Off. Wasilewski, FltSgt. Barzdo, Sgt. Patlewicz and Sgt. Puchala ('Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945’ - see credits)

REASON FOR LOSS:

Took off at 18.29 hrs from RAF Tempsford to drop 2 agents (see serial 3) by into Poland on Operation Neon 3 and also to drop six containers and one ‘package’ on target at the dropping zone Obraz 108 DZ, Poland. This they did with great success.

Weapon containers used for these drops and right Flt Sgt. Kasprzak (courtesy Peter Piotrus)

Returning to base they were attacked by a German night fighter. BB309 was claimed by Lt. Richard Burdyna from 11./NJG3, his 1st Abschuss, flying Ju88 C-6 D5+CW (wrk #360167) west of Ringstedt, Seeland Island at 100 m. at 04:45 hrs.

In the engagement Lt. Burdyna was killed by return fire. His Ju88 crashed at Slagille in the Bjernede forest at 04:47 hrs. His two crew members, Ogefr. Fritz Merten and Leo Klotz, were severely injured and died shortly after being admitted to Ringstedt hospital. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (23 June - 22 September) 1943 Part 2 - Theo Boiten)

All three were buried at the German War Cemetery Copenhagen West (Vestre Kirkegård)

Ju 88-C (courtesy Bundesarchive)

The Halifax was also damaged in the engagement and the pilot tried to make a forced landing in the same area. At 04.45 hrs the Halifax slid several hundred yards before impacting a farmhouse and catching fire. Tragically, the owner of the farmhouse Laurits Christensen was killed along with his wife, Mary with 2 of the family's children. 4 of the Polish crew also died in the fire.

(1) Flt Sgt. Miecznik also taken to the same hospital as the Luftwaffe crew and Flt Sgt. Kasprzak. He had suffered a broken leg and arm. With help from locals escaped from the hospital on 7th November 1943 and via Copenhagen and Sweden returned to England in December. Flt Sgt. Kasprzak died later the same day. Some websites have his middle name as Peter, however, we have seen his birth certificate.

(2) Sgt. Puchala managed to jump from the aircraft as it was sliding towards the farmhouse. He then ran away from the scene only to be captured by the Germans on a nearby farm. He was sent to Stalag Luft 1 at Barth-Vogelsang where he remained until the 8th November 1943.

He was then transferred to Stalag 4B Mühlberg in Sachsen, Germany where he remained until the 12th March 1944. During his time at the camp he escaped whilst on a wood cutting party and hid in fields but was captured after 5 days on the run by the German Police.

Whilst here he was promoted to Warrant Officer (WO) which was probably the reason for his transfer to Stalag Luft 6 at Heydekrug.

In early 1944 the Russian Army were advancing into the Baltic States from the North and the East preparation for evacuating the camp was being made. PoWs from Stalag Luft 6, the camp closest to the Russian advance, were in the "northern route" of the force-marches, and were transported to Stalag 20A by train in July 1944, and from there took part in the forced-march.

It was estimated that 100,000 PoWs took the “northern route”. It went to Stalag Luft 4 at Groß-Tychow in Pomerania then via Stettin to Stalag 9B at Bad Orb-Wegscheide in Hesse, Germany and Stalag 357 at Fallingbostel. Some prisoners were marched from here at the end of the war towards Lübeck, however, for most, Fallingbostel was their final destination. The camp was commonly referred to as Stalag 357 Fallingbostel, however, it was officially designated as Stalag 357 Oerbke.

In early April 1945 the PoWs were informed by the Commandant Oberst Hermann Ostmann that 12,000 British PoWs were being evacuated from the camp in the face of the Allied advance. On the 7th April 1945 Sgt. Puchala was amongst the men who were marched from the camp in columns of 2,000.

On the 14th April he escaped from the column and he ran into some woods. He eventually came across elements of the 2nd British Army and was liberated. He was interviewed on the 25th April 1945.

Roman Puchala was born on the 12th June 1916 in Szymanów. He was employed as Fitter prior to enlisting in RAFVR in November 1940.

(3) The two agents, 2nd Lt Miroslaw Kryszczukajtis Age 31 (‘Szarzy’) and Bernard Augustyn Wiechula Age 23 (‘Maruda’ translated: Loss of time). Bernard had a twin brother Louis, who served in the Polish Army in France, after the fall of France escaped via the ship ‘Batory’ to England.

Above: 2nd Lt Miroslaw Kryszczukajtis (‘Szarzy’), Bernard Augustyn Wiechula (‘Maruda’) (courtesy Peter Piotrus)

Gabriela Wiechula Byron contacted Aircrew Remembered with the following information about her father Bernard Wiechula (Maruda):

Both Bernard Wiechula (Maruda) and his twin brother Ludwik (Jelen) also SOE survived the war, stayed briefly in England where they obtained engineering degrees, and emigrated to Canada with their families in the 1950's. Ludwik lived with his wife and two daughters in Montreal and died in 1987. Bernard lived with his wife, two sons and one daughter in Sarnia where he worked as a chemical engineer. Following the death of his first wife, Margaret, in 1983, he remarried and moved to Hamilton where he lived until his death in 2000.

Burial Details:

Above left: Grave marker and right: Grave today (courtesy Peter Piotrus)

All are buried at Slaglille Cemetery, 2 miles from Soro, Sjealland, Denmark. The Next of Kin details for the crew are currently not available - are you able to assist completion of these and any other information?

Flt Sgt. Eugeniusz Paul Kasprzak. Slaglille Cemetery. From Lublin, Poland.

Flt Sgt. Wladyslaw Barzdo. Slaglille Cemetery. From Podbrodzie district Święciany, now Litwa, Poland.

Fg Off. Wincenty Stefan Wasilewski. Slaglille Cemetery. From Lipnie, Dobrzyn, Poland.

Sgt. Wladyslaw Stanislaw Patlewicz. Slaglille Cemetery. From Czergowa, Poland.

Flt Sgt. Julian Michalski. Slaglille Cemetery. From Radom, Poland

Researched for the cousin of Flt Sgt. Kasprzak, Peter Piotrus (Who also supplied us with extensive research material for this loss). Peter also has a website where he has recorded his research work. With thanks to the following, Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Jerzy Cynk for some of the information used. Thanks to Gabriela Wiechula Byron for the information about her father added with other updates by Aircrew Remembered (Aug 2024).

Other sources listed below:

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