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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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65 squadron badge
20.11.1942 65 Squadron Spitfire Vb AD544 YT:M Fg Off. Strozak

Operation: Ferry Flight

Date: 20th November 1942 (Friday)

Unit No: 65 Squadron, 11 Group, Fighter Command

Type: Spitfire Vb

Serial: AD544

Code: YT:M

Base: RAF Drem, East Lothian, Scotland

Location: Pooley Bridge, Penrith near Ullswater.

Pilot: Fg Off. Ryszard Józef Stróžak P-1498 PAF Age 26. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Crashed at Pooley Bridge, Penrith near Ullswater, whilst on a Ferry flight in dense fog. No further details available.

Spitfire VB AD544 was built at the Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory and fitted with the Merlin 45 engine.

Above - Course 22A 58 OTU, Grangemouth, Scotland.

Front row: Plt Off. Smith K.J., Plt Off. Draper G.C., Flt Lt. Christoper Cecil McCarthy-Jones, Plt Off. Draper J.W.P., Plt Off. Hawkins J.B., Plt Off. Dunn P.H.

Centre Row: Plt Off. Richard Lander King, Plt Off. Stevenson A.G., Plt Off. Winchester A.G., Plt Off. Jack Douglas Ernst, Plt Off. George Edward Glenwright, Plt Off. Spretzel J.R.

Rear Row: Plt Off. Ryszard Józef Strozak, Plt Off. Ellington P.M.A. Plt Off. Holmes H.C.H. Plt Off. William Manley Butler, Plt Off. Tom Montague Falls, Plt Off. Peppler G.E., Plt Off. Chandler R.J., Plt Off. Stanislaw Podobinsk.

Flt Lt. Christopher Cecil Macarthy-Jones 76590 RAFVR - 504 Sqn Spitfire VB BM145, PoW;

Fg Off. Richard Lander King 119570 RAFVR - 122 Sqn Spitfire IX BS350, MiA;

Plt Off. Jack Douglas Ernst J9755 RCAF - 276 Sqn Lysander II T1696, MiA;

Fg Off. George Edward Glenwright J10264 RCAF - KiA on the 28th December 1942 when his Spitfire VB, ER665 of 152 Sqn was shot down at Souk el Arba. He is buried in Medjez-el-Bab War Cemetery;

Plt Off. William Manley Butler J10151 RCAF - 58 OTU Spitfire IIB P8644, Killed;

Fg Off. Tom Montague Falls J10147 RCAF - 111 Sqn Spitfire VC ER884, MiA;

Plt Off. Stanislaw Podobinski P-1691 PAF - 303 Sqn Spitfire VB EN856, Killed.

Research continues on the remaining pilots from this course.

Burial Details:

Fg Off. Ryszard Józef Stróžak. Silloth (Causewayhead) Cemetery, Holme Low - Cumberland, United Kingdom. Sec R. Grave 1. Born on the 21st July 1916 Lwow, Poland. Julie Whittle's mother (now deceased) was his fiancée at the time of his death. Further Next of Kin details not yet available.

Researched by Kelvin Youngs (Webmaster) for relatives of the pilot with thanks for further information to the Grangemouth Air Cadets and the Grangemouth Spitfire Memorial Trust (Unfortunately now defunct) who provided me with so much information and assistance during my visit, Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Jeff Wilson from Silloth War Graves. (Jul 2015). Thanks to Julie Whittle for the Next of Kin update (Nov 2024). Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered (Nov 2024)

Other sources listed below:

RS 13.11.2024 - Reviewed and updated with new information.

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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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