Fly Past

24 FLYPAST September 2018

FEARLESSFEARLESS

1918 2018

Eskadra (squadron) as part of the

Brygada Pościgowa (Pursuit Brigade).

Under the command of Mieczysław

Olszewski, the unit was equipped with

the PZL P.7 high-wing monoplanes

for the defence

of Warsaw.

Gienek was with this unit when the

Germans invaded. The CO,

Olszewski, was killed on the first

day of combat. While the initial

response from the Polish Air Force

was strong, the structure of its

defences collapsed once the front line

was overrun.

The pilots and their leaders clung

to the hope that the British and

French would come to their rescue,

but this very soon evaporated. With

Soviet forces invading to the east, on

September 17 the unit’s senior

commanders and their young cadets

realised they had little option other

than to flee.

MONTPELLIER SET

Gienek and his surviving

compatriots flew to Cernăuţi in

Romania, where the vague hope

remained that help would be

forthcoming and allied aircraft

made available to them. It was little

more than a dream.

Fearful of being interned, Gienek

headed west to join up with the

French and was soon absorbed into

the Armée de l’Air, the French Air

Force. As part of the ‘Montpellier

Set’, as the intrepid airmen came to

be known, he flew in a Polish section

attached to Groupe de Chasse

(fighter group) GC II/7 led by

Władysław Goethel.

Having converted to the Morane-

Saulnier MS.406, Gienek was soon

in the thick of the action. By May

1940, and with the passing of the

so-called ‘Phoney War’, the services

of GC II/7 were much in demand.

Operating from Luxeuil-St Sauveur,

the main task was escorting Potez

light bomber and reconnaissance

aircraft as they sought to counter the

German advance.

In a few short weeks of fighting,

during which time they were

constantly in retreat, the

‘Montpellier Set’ claimed 27 enemy

aircraft destroyed and another ten as

‘probables’. Gienek accounted for

three, including a Henschel Hs 126

parasol-winged reconnaissance type,

and a further two shared victories.

According to official Polish Air

Force records, this made him one

of the most successful pilots in

that theatre.

For most of the time he flew the

French Dewoitine D.520. Unlike

the MS.406, this machine could

compete with most German fighters

on equal terms. The ruthlessness

SEAN FEAST PROFILES EUGENIUSZ NOWAKIEWICZ, A POLISH FIGHTER ‘ACE’ WHO GAVE NO QUARTER

Right

A relaxed Gienek

during training

in Poland.

Right centre

Cadets embarking for

training; Gienek on

far right.

W

hen the German army

poured into Poland on

September 1, 1939 the

Polish Air Force fought a brief yet

heroic action against overwhelming

odds. Within days, it had ceased to

exist as a military force, although

many of its pilots managed to

escape, to fight another day with

their newly found allies.

Among them was one of the lesser

known, yet most ferocious of all

Polish fighter pilots. His name was

Eugeniusz Jan Adam Nowakiewicz.

‘Gienek’ Nowakiewicz was the son

of a butcher, born on January 2, 1920

in the town of Jasło in the southeast

of Poland. His father was a noted

breeder of St Bernard dogs, but died

while Gienek was a small boy. The

youngster was fortunate when his

mother re-married, and his stepfather

proved equally kind and loving.

At school, Gienek excelled and

won a scholarship to the air force

non-commissioned officer school at

Bydgoszcz, where he learned to fly.

This was a happy time for the

fledgling pilot – as well as the

training, there was considerable

emphasis placed on sport and

fitness, and he formed firm

friendships with his fellow pupils.

Graduating in 1939, he was posted

to 2 Pułk Lotniczy (2 Air Force

Regiment) in Kraków, joining 123