Prof. Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski
Brigadier Genaral Stanisław Skalski
Stanisław Skalski, of Polish noble land owners family, was born on
October 27 1915 in
Kodyma, near
Odessa, Russian Empire. After completing Pilot
Training School in 1938 in Poland, Skalski was
ordered to the 142nd Fighter Squadron in Toruń (142 eskadra
"Toruńska"). On September 1 1939, after the
beginning of German invasion of Poland,
he attacked a German Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance
aircraft, eventually shot down by Marian Pisarek, and
then landed next to it and helped to bandage a crew member. By 16 September Skalski reached "ace" status, by claiming a total
of six German aircraft, making him famous as the first allied air ace of World
War II: one Junkers Ju 86, two Dornier
Do 17, one Junkers Ju 87, two Hs 126s and one Hs 126
shared (official list credits him with four aircraft: two Do 17s, one Hs 126,
one Ju 87 and one Hs 126 shared). Soon after he fled
the country with other Polish pilots to Romania,
and from there via Beirut to France, and after France was defeated he went on to
fight with the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain.
In August 1940,
Pilot Officer Skalski joined 501 Squadron. From
August 30 to September 2 1940, he shot down a He 111 bomber and three Messerechmitt Bf 109. On September 5 1940, Skalski himself was shot down. Skalski
bailed out with severe burns that hospitalized him for six weeks in England. He
returned to his unit in late October 1940. During the Battle of Britain, Skalski was credited with four planes shot down and one
shared.
In March 1941 he was
assigned to the 306 Polish Squadron, flying in “Circus” operations. missions over France. On March 1 1942, he became
a flight commander in 316 Polish Squadron. On April 29 1942, Flight Lieutenant Skalski was made Commanding Officer of the 317 Polish
Squadron for five months. From November 1942 he was an instructor in No. 58
Operation Training Unit.
In October 1943 he
was given command of the Polish Fighting Team (PFT), or so called "Cyrk Skalskiego" (Skalski's Circus) - a Squadron consisting of the best
Polish fighter pilots selected from volunteers. The Poles arrived at Bu Grara airfield, west of Tripoli in March 1943. They at first were
attached to 145 Squadron. The PFT took part in actions in Tripolitania
and in Sicily.
On May 6 1943, the "Skalski Circus" fought
its last combat. During its two months of operations, the Polish pilots had
claimed a total of 26 German and Italian aircraft shot down. Flight Lieutenant Skalski scored four aircraft, and Pilot Officer Eugeniusz Hrobaczewski claimed
five confirmed victories.
Skalski
then became commander of 601 County of London
Squadron, the first Pole to command an RAF Squadron. He then took part in the
invasion of Sicily and invasion of Italy. From
December 1943 to April 1944, Wing Commander Skalski
commanded 133(Polish) Fighter Wing. On April 4 1944, he was appointed commander
of the Polish Fighter Wing; No. 133. On June 24 1944, Skalski
scored two air victories over Rouen.
After the war he
returned to Poland
in 1947 and joined the Air Force of the Polish Army. In 1948 however he was
arrested and tortured during interrogations by agents of Jakub
Berman, the head of the terror apparatus of the communist regime under the
false charge of espionage. Sentenced to death, he spent three years awaiting
the execution until his sentence was changed to life imprisonment in Wronki Prison, thanks to British diplomatic intervention.
After the end of
Stalinism in Poland,
in 1956 he was released, “rehabilitated,” and allowed to join the military. He
served at various posts in the Headquarters of the Polish Air Forces. He wrote memoires of the 1939 campaign Czarne krzyże nad Polską ("Black crosses over Poland", 1957). On May 20
1968, he was nominated the secretary general of the Aeroklub
Polski and on April 10 1972, he retired. On September
15 1988, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. In 1990 he met with
the German pilot he had rescued on the first day of war.
Stanisław Skalski died in Warsaw
on November 12 2004.
6 maja 2010 r. prof. Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski
Blacksburg, US www.pogonowski.com