Aleksander Klemens Gabszewicz (6 December 1911 – 10 October 1983) was a Polish fighter pilot and a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

, with a score of 9½ confirmed and 2 probable kills.

Biography

Born in

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different ...

, then in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

(now Lithuania), in 1931 he joined the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history str ...

. Initially serving as an infantry NCO, in 1938, he graduated from the

Dęblin Dęblin is a town at the confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which altogether has over 100 000 inhabitants. The population ...

-based ''Eagles' School'' and was attached to the air wing of the

Border Defence Corps The Border Protection Corps ( pl, Korpus Ochrony Pogranicza, KOP) was a military formation of the Second Polish Republic that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits. Other b ...

. Just before

he was a tactical officer of the IV/1 Fighter Group.Krzystek 2012, p. 185. After the outbreak of the

Polish September Campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

on 1 September 1939, around 9 AM, he scored his first kill, a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a " wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after t ...

of 5.(K)/LG 1 unit over

Ciechanów Ciechanów is a city in north-central Poland. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Ciechanów Voivodeship. Since 1999, it has been situated in the Masovian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 43,495. History The ...

.Sikora 2014, p. 200. According to some authors, it was the first kill of a German plane in World War II. Downed the same day, he made it to France where he became the commanding officer of the 5th key of Groupe de Chasse III/10 covering

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerla ...

.Belcarz 2012, p. 8. There, while piloting a

Bloch 151 The Bloch MB.150 (later MB.151 to MB.157) was a French fighter aircraft developed and produced by '' Société des Avions Marcel Bloch''. It featured an all-metal construction, complete with a retractable undercarriage, low cantilever wing and ...

, he downed a

Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing ...

. After the capitulation, he made it to the United Kingdom, where he served in the ranks of

No. 607 Squadron RAF No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron is an auxiliary squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1930 as a bomber unit in the Auxiliary Air Force and changed in 1936 to the fighter role. It fought in that role during the Second World War in ...

and

No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron No. 303 Squadron RAF, also known as the 303rd "Tadeusz Kościuszko Warsaw" Fighter Squadron, was one of two Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain, Polish squadrons that fought during the Battle of Britain along with No. 302 Polish Fight ...

.Zieliński 1994, p. 20. In December 1940 he was posted as a flight commander in

No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron No. 316 "City of Warsaw" Polish Fighter Squadron ( pl, 316 Dywizjon Myśliwski "Warszawski") was a Polish fighter squadron formed in Great Britain as part of an agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the United Kingdom in 1941. It ...

. He became the commanding officer in November 1941.Zieliński 2005, p. 50. He was posted to 11 Group HQ in June 1942, and then as an instructor to 58 OTU until June 1943. He was then made wing commander/flying of the 2nd Polish Wing and finally the

1st Polish Wing First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. He was also attached to the 56th USAAF Fighter Group in December 1943, and then commanded 131 Wing RAF in February 1944, leading the wing during the invasion of Normandy. He became the commanding officer of

RAF Coltishall Royal Air Force Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall , is a former Royal Air Force station located North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, which operated from 1938 to 2006. It was a fighter air ...

in February 1945.Zieliński 2005, p. 51. He ended the war in the Polish rank of ''

generał brygady Generał brygady (, literally '' General of a brigade'', abbreviated gen. bryg.) is the lowest grade for generals in the Polish Army (both in the Land Forces and in the Polish Air Force). Depending on the context, it is equivalent to both the m ...

'' and remained in exile in the United Kingdom. He died in

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an el ...

in 1983. His ashes were brought to Poland in 1992 and dispersed over Warsaw and Dęblin.Krzystek 2012, p. 185.

Legacy

The

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events co ...

's Spitfire ''TE311'' is painted to represent the aircraft flown by Gabszewicz in Germany from April to June 1945.

Decorations

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typi ...

(with

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

) :

Distinguished Flying Cross : Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

(France) : POL Virtuti Militari Złoty BAR

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

(Golden Cross) : POL Virtuti Militari Srebrny BAR

(Silver Cross) : POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski ZG BAR

Commander's Cross with Star of the

Order of Polonia Restituta , image=Polonia Restituta - Commander's Cross pre-1939 w rib.jpg , image_size=200px , caption=Commander's Cross of Polonia Restituta , presenter = the President of Poland , country = , type=Five classes , eligibility=All , awar ...

Cross of Valour, four times

References

*
Short biography
*
extended biographical note at Myśliwcy web page

;Citations ;Bibliography * Tadeusz Jerzy Krzystek, Anna Krzystek: ''Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii w latach 1940-1947 łącznie z Pomocniczą Lotniczą Służbą Kobiet (PLSK-WAAF)''. Sandomierz: Stratus, 2012, p. 185. * Piotr Sikora: ''Asy polskiego lotnictwa''. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza Alma-Press. 2014, pp. 199–208. * * Józef Zieliński: ''Lotnicy polscy w Bitwie o Wielką Brytanię''. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza MH, 2005, pp. 50–51. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabszewicz, Aleksander Klemens 1911 births 1983 deaths People from Šiauliai People from Shavelsky Uyezd Polish World War II flying aces Polish generals Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Gold Cross of the Virtuti Militari Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Royal Air Force officers The Few Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom