70 FLYPAST January 2018
1918 2018TIGERTIGER
ANDY HAY ARTWORK OF AN RAF SPITFIRE FLOWN BY A POLISH ACE IN THE
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
F
g Off Henryk Szczęsny of 74
‘Tiger’ Squadron downed a
Dornier Do 17 on August 13,
1940, while at the controls of our
subject, Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I
K9871.
In his combat report the Polish pilot
wrote: “I saw three Do 17s in front
of me. One of the machines was out
of formation and I attacked it from
astern. At this point it dropped several
bombs in the sea. I got a good burst in
from very close range and it started to
dive towards the sea. He tried to landthere, but as he flattened out he burst
into flames and toppled straight into
the water.”
Born on March 27, 1909, Henryk
joined the Polish Air Force in 1931
and eventually made his way to
Britain after Poland fell to the German
invaders. After converting to Spitfires
at Aston Down he joined 74 Squadron
at Hornchurch on August 5, 1940. His
Commonwealth colleagues nicknamed
him ‘Sneezy’ because they couldn’t
pronounce his name. After shooting
down the Dornier, Henryk claimedseveral more ‘kills’ that year, including
a Bf 109 on December 1. He later
flew with other units, including 317
‘Wilno’ Polish Fighter Squadron, with
which his score increased.
Henryk was taken prisoner in 1943
after baling out over France. He
stayed in the post-war RAF after being
liberated in 1945, and retired with the
rank of squadron leader in 1965. He
died on July 25, 1996.70 FLYPAST January 2018
1940, while at the controls of our
subject, Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I
K9871.
In his combat report the Polish pilot
wrote: “I saw three Do 17s in front
of me. One of the machines was out
of formation and I attacked it from
astern. At this point it dropped several
bombs in the sea. I got a good burst in
from very close range and it started to
dive towards the sea. He tried to landBorn on March 27, 1909, Henryk
joined the Polish Air Force in 1931
and eventually made his way to
Britain after Poland fell to the German
invaders. After converting to Spitfires
at Aston Down he joined 74 Squadron
at Hornchurch on August 5, 1940. His
Commonwealth colleagues nicknamed
him ‘Sneezy’ because they couldn’t
pronounce his name. After shooting
down the Dornier, Henryk claimed‘Wilno’ Polish Fighter Squadron, with
which his score increased.
Henryk was taken prisoner in 1943
after baling out over France. He
stayed in the post-war RAF after being
liberated in 1945, and retired with the
rank of squadron leader in 1965. He
died on July 25, 1996.TIGERTIGERTIGER
POLAND’S
Artwork
Supermarine Spitfi re
Mk.I K9871 ‘ZP-O’ of 74
Squadron fl own by Fg
Off Henryk Szczesny
from Hornchurch in
August 1940.
ANDY HAY-2017