Bolesław Michal Gladych

Military
Polish officers, who flew with the 61st Fighter Squadron, 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 Boles?aw Micha? G?adych, Flight Lieutenant Tadeusz Sawicz, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis S. Gabreski, Flight Lieutenant Zbigniew Janicki, Flight Lieutenant Tadeusz Andersz and Flight Lieutenant Witold Lanowski. media-377453.jpg FRE 209 Polish officers, who flew with the 61st Fighter Squadron, 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 Boleslaw Michael Gladych, Flight Lieutenant Tadeusz Sawicz, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis S. Gabreski, Flight Lieutenant Zbigniew Janicki, Flight Lieutenant Tadeusz Andersz and Flight Lieutenant Witold Lanowski. Roger Freeman Collection

Corrected spelling of Gladych's name in caption and added connection to him

Object Number - FRE 209 - Polish officers, who flew with the 61st Fighter Squadron, stand with Lieutenant-Colonel Frances S. Gabreski, CO of the 61st FS, 56th Fighter Group,...

Gladych was commissioned into the Polish Air Force on 1 September 1939, too late to see active service during the invasion of Poland, he escaped to Romania, and eventually France where he joined the Armee de l'Air. After reaching the UK in 1940, he joined No 303 Polish Fighter Squadron. He was grounded by the RAF in the Autumn of 1943, for almost shooting down an aircraft carrying Winston Churchill.



In January 1944 Gladych and Witold Lanowski arranged an unofficial secondment for themselves to the 56th Fighter Group, where they helped to organise training for replacement pilots. Upon learning of their posting, Polish authorities temporarily expelled Gladych from the Polish Air Force from June to October 1944. Gladych claimed 10 kills while serving with the 56th Fighter Group, and a total of 17 throughout the war.



8 March 1944 - Baled out on the return from operations due to battle damage and P-47D 42-75410 crashed SW of Lodge, Hollesly. RTD.

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Units served with

Revisions

Date
ContributorEmily
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Century of Flight

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Contributorgeneral ira snapsorter
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Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces

Date
Contributorgeneral ira snapsorter
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Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia;
- www.56thfightergroup.co.uk/personnel.htm

Date
ContributorAAM
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Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list

Bolesław Michal Gladych: Gallery (1 items)

Polish officers, who flew with the 61st Fighter Squadron, 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 Boles?aw Micha? G?adych, Flight Lieutenant Tadeusz Sawicz, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis S. Gabreski, Flight Lieutenant Zbigniew Janicki, Flight Lieutenant Tadeusz Andersz and Flight Lieutenant Witold Lanowski.

Object number: FRE 209 - Polish officers, who flew with the 61st Fighter...