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Allied Air Forces Losses and Incidents Database.

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NOTE ON DATES: IMPORTANT: For consistency, the Date is given as the date the mission TOOK OFF since the precise time of a loss is not always certain. Take Off date is unambigous and fixed in the official records, but obviously in those cases where the incident occurred before midnight UK time, then the Take Off Date will be the same as the Incident Date. Of course, most Bomber Command missions flew through midnight, therefore a Luftwaffe claim against a plane - or a locally generated crash report - may record the incident as occurring on the day following our Take Off Date. Bear this in mind when cross-referencing to our Luftwaffe Victories by Name/Date Database and other Luftwaffe sources. In some cases other sources may quote the date following our date, using locally generated reports as their source. To add to the potential for confusion, remember to take into account a Luftwaffe recorded date will be in local time, 1 hour ahead of UK time. When we discover a validated Incident Date we change our record if necessary



Owing to a restriction placed by our hosting service, searches cannot be made on less than 4 characters. Searching on 3 or less will produce no results.
We are working on techniques to mitigate this restriction.
TO SEARCH ON SQUADRON APPEND 'Sqn', USING FORMAT '72Sqn'
Thanks to Personnel of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain for supplementary data and images (marked with a chequerboard device) related to the Polish Air Force, and many images courtesy of our respected colleagues Wojtek Matusiak and Robert Gretzyngier. Other images from our own archives.
Responding to requests that respects may be paid in this database to a loved one or friend, or someone you want to recognize, an In Memoriam plaque may now be placed next to any entry. See our Donate Page for details. Search for In Memoriam in this database to see examples of plaques which have been placed.

Polish Air Force personnel have a supplementary database containing more information and many more entries. Check the following:
Personel Polskich Sił Powietrznych posiada dodatkową bazę danych zawierającą więcej informacji i wiele innych wpisów. Sprawdź następujące elementy:
Archiwum: PSP 1939 -1947 Database 17,000+ Polish Air Force Entries
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Enter Your search conditions and click Search This (to Search for Squadron append 'Sqn' e.g. 602Sqn. In Archiwum use Polish form e.g. 303DM)

These are the results of your search:

You searched for: “gladych

#Name*First NamesTitleRankRAF Equivalent RankService No.BornNationalityRoleAwardsAir ForceCommandUnitDateofIncident *See NoteAircraftTypeSerialCodeVictories (Fighters)BaseTimeMission                        Incident                        FateCommemoratedPhoto (Click to Expand)Referring Database                        Notes                        Links/Archive Reports
1 GladychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'Flight LtP00001382PolandPilotPAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group61st Fighter Squadron
1944-02-21P-47 Thunderbolt2 Luftwaffe destroyedSource: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)
2 GladychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'Flight LtP00001382PolandPilotPAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group61st Fighter Squadron
1944-03-08P-47 Thunderbolt1 Luftwaffe destroyedSource: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)
3 GladychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'Flight LtP00001382PolandPilotPAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group61st Fighter Squadron
1944-03-27P-47 Thunderbolt1 Luftwaffe destroyedSource: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)
4 GladychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'Flight LtP00001382PolandPilotPAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group61st Fighter Squadron
1944-06-06P-47 Thunderbolt1 Luftwaffe destroyedSource: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)
5 GladychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'Flight LtP00001382PolandPilotPAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group61st Fighter Squadron
1944-06-07P-47 Thunderbolt1 Luftwaffe destroyedSource: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)
6 GladychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'S / LP00001382PolandPilotPAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group61st Fighter Squadron
1944-07-05P-47 Thunderbolt1 Luftwaffe destroyedSource: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)
7 GladychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'S / LP00001382PolandPilotPAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group61st Fighter Squadron
1944-08-12P-47 Thunderbolt1 Luftwaffe destroyedSource: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)
8 GladychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'S / LP00001382PolandPilotPAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group61st Fighter Squadron
1944-09-21P-47 Thunderbolt2 Luftwaffe destroyedSource: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)
9 GladychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'S / LP00001382PolandPilotPAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group61st Fighter Squadron
1944-09-21P-47 Thunderbolt10Source: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)
10 GładychBolesław Kazimierz 'Killer Mike'KapitanFlight LieutenantP-139217.05.1918 WarszawaPolandPilotVirtuti Militari

DFC

Krzyz Walecznych (x3)

Medal Lotniczy

Odznaka Za Rany i Kontuzje (Wound Badge)
PAFFighter303Sqn Polish
1941-06-23SpitfireIIP8330EscortCrash landed near RamsgateWounded. Died 12.07.2011 Marysville, WA, USA Archiwum Polish Database
Polish officers, who flew with the 61st Fighter Squadron USAAF, stand with Lieutenant-Colonel Frances S. Gabreski, CO of the 61st FS, 56th Fighter Group, at Boxted air base. Left to right they are: Squadron Leader Bolesław Michał Gładych, Flight Lieutenant Tadeusz Sawicz, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis S. Gabreski, Flight Lieutenant Zbigniew Janicki, Flight Lieutenant Tadeusz Andersz and Flight Lieutenant Witold Lanowski.
11 ŁanowskiWitold Alexander 'Lanny'Flight LtP00000711Born 08.06.1915 in the city of LwówPolandPilotKrzyz Walecznych (x2) (Polish Cross of Valour)

DFC (USA)

Air Medal
PAF attached USAAF56th Fighter Group302Sqn Polish

61st Fighter Squadron
1944-11-18P-47 Thunderbolt6 (2 with Polish Air Force, 4 with USAAF)
Archiwum MielnikaSource: afhra.maxwell.af.mil
ETO (European Theatre)

Born in 1915 in the city of Lwow. In 1935 he joined the Cadet Military Aviation School in Deblin. After graduation, he became a flying instructor. Łanowski flew one operational sortie during the German invasion, in defense of the Deblin airbase. Hoping to avoid capture, the cadets, instructors, and mechanics evacuated to southern Poland. Just before crossing the Romanian border on September 17, they were captured by Soviet cavalry. Łanowski and a few escaped from the column of PoWs and on September 27 they arrived in Romania. A month later, Łanowski headed for France, where new Polish units were being organized.

Unfortunately, Łanowski dared to criticize the French military command and was imprisoned in May of 1940. He escaped again and landed in Great Britain in July 1940, where he was assigned to retrain on British planes in April 1941. That November he was posted to 308 Polish Fighter Squadron, 'City of Krakow'. In January 1942, he moved to 317 Fighter Squadron, 'City of Wilno.' In December 1942 he arrived in 302 'City of Poznan' Squadron, assigned as leader of A Flight.

After being grounded for criticizing the Polish government-in-exile, Lanowski managed to get an assignment to the 353rd Fighter Squadron of the 354th Fighter Group, where he flew P-51 Mustangs and got the nickname 'Lanny.' After learning that Boleslaw 'Mike' Gladych and Stefan Laszkiwicz had found a new home with the 61st Fighter Squadron of the 56th Fighter Group run by 'Gabby' Gabreski, Lanowski wangled a transfer. After 98 missions with the Polish Air Force, where he is credited with 2 victories, he scored 4 victories during 1944 with the 56th FG. Łanowski flew mission 179, his last of World War II, on April 19, 1945.

After returning to Poland and discovering the fate at communist hands that awaited Poles who had fought in the West, Łanowski once again escaped his homeland and returned to England, where he rejoined the RAF, in which he served until 1957. In 1962, Łanowski joined his wartime comrade Jan Zumbach in a mercenary squadron Zumbach had organized to fight for the breakaway province of Katanga in the Congolese Civil War. Flying for Katanga until the Katangese Air Force was destroyed in 1964, he returned to England via Angola. Łanowski never received any payment for his combat in Africa. He died in September of 1993.

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