Mieczysław Adamek (18 September 1918 – 18 May 1944) DFC was a Polish

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 ...

of the

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with 5 confirmed kills, 2 shared and 1 probable. He was awarded the Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war, on 20 February 1941 and fought in the Polish Defensive War, the Battle of France, and the Allied invasion of continental Europe, before being killed in action on 18 May 1944.

Biography

Early life

Mieczysław Adamek was born in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

to Polish parents on 18 September 1918. After the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the rebirth of the Polish State, Adamek returned to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

with his family, where he grew up, graduating high school before attending the Crafts and Industrial School in Przemysl.

Flying career

In 1936, he entered the Air Force Non-Commissioned Officer's School for minors in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

, Poland. After his graduation in 1939 he was assigned to the Polish 113th Fighter Escadrille.Kubit 2019, p. 449. On the first day of

(1 September 1939) he scored a shared victory on a

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 th ...

.Sikora 2014, p. 351. On 6 September, Adamek intercepted a number of Ju. 87 aircraft and, alongside his fellow pilots, shot one down. It has been reported that Adamek, with no fuel remaining in his aircraft, was forced to land next to the downed Ju. 87, and together with locals captured the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

pilot. On 18 September, Adamek was evacuated to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

via

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. After training on a Bloch MB.150, Adamek took part in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, flying under the orders of Commander Eugeniusz Wyrwcki in the 4th Polish Squadron. On 22 June 1940 he flew across the Mediterranean to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, and then via

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

and

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

reached Britain in July.Sikora 2014, p. 352. After training in different British schools Adamek was posted to the

No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron No. 303 Squadron RAF, also known as the 303rd "Tadeusz Kościuszko Warsaw" Fighter Squadron, was one of two Polish squadrons that fought during the Battle of Britain along with No. 302 Squadron, of 16 total Polish squadrons in the Royal Air ...

. On 23 June 1941 he shot down a

Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

in a confirmed victory, and had a probable victory with another

. Adamek shot down a further

on 12 July 1941, and another on 12 October 1941. On 8 December 1941 he downed an Fw 190. The next year, on 14 April 1942, he shot down a

, this being his fifth individual victory, and enough to give him the honorary title of

.Krzystek 2012, p. 65. In April 1943 he was transferred to No. 58 Operational Training Unit at RAF

Grangemouth, Scotland Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the Counties of Scotland, county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the ...

where he served as an instructor. In November 1943 he was ordered to the

No. 317 Polish Fighter Squadron No. 317 "City of Wilno" Polish Fighter Squadron ( pl, 317 Dywizjon Myśliwski „Wileński") 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 ...

, based at RAF Chailey in East Sussex, an Advanced Landing Ground designed to support the invasion of continental Europe by Allied Forces.Zieliński 1994, p. 60.

Death

On 18 May 1944, while particIpating in a 'Ranger' mission over Fecamp, France as Flight Commander, Adamek's Spiftire Mk IX was hit by flak. Adamek struggled to maintain altitude and was unable to return to base at RAF Chailey. His squadron leader ordered him to abandon the aircraft, which Adamek did over the English Channel. However, his parachute became caught on the tail of his aircraft, and he drowned. There have also been unconfirmed rumours that Adamek was ultimately shot down by British

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

defences. It is not clear whether, if so, this was in addition to flak received over France, or the only hit the aircraft received that day. Adamek is memorialised at a monument which can be found at RAF Chailey, alongside Flight Lieutenant Jan Kurowski of 308 Squadron, who was killed in action three days later. The monument carries a quote from Josef Chielnicki of RAF Poland: "A Nation will always live, if there are people ready to die". Adamek and Kurowski were the only two airmen to have been lost from this base. Adamek is buried in Northwood Cemetery, London, UK.

Aerial victory credits

Confirmed kills ** ¹ / ₄

- 1 September 1939 ** ¹ / _{of 5}

Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Cond ...

- 6 September 1939 **

- 23 June 1941 **

- 12 July 1941 **

- 12 October 1941 ** Fw 190 - 8 December 1941 **

- 14 April 1942 Probable kill *

- 23 June 1941

Awards

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 ...

, Silver Cross
POL Krzyż Walecznych (1940) 4r BAR

Cross of Valour (Poland), four times
DistinguishedFlyingCrossUKRibbon

Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 to other ranks, of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countri ...