Witold Łokuciewski (2 February 1917 – 17 April 1990) was a Polish fighter ace of the Polish Air Force in World War II who was given the nickname Tolo.

Early life and time in the Polish Air Force

He was born to Antoni Łokuciewski in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known ...

in the Russian Empire. His family moved to

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

in 1918. He then graduated from high school Jan Śniadecki in Oszmiana and gained his high school diploma in 1935. He then began studying at the Polish Air Force University in

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 o ...

. After his graduation in 1938 he was assigned to the 112 Fighter Squadron of the 1st Air Regiment located in Warsaw, Poland. As a part of the unit he fought in the defense of Warsaw in 1939 using a PZL P.11 plane. After the invasion of Poland by the USSR he along with the 112 Fighter Squadron escaped into

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

Time in the French Air Force

During the Battle of France Witold Łokuciewski fought in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

starting from 17 May 1940 in a MS 406 fighter aircraft for the Polish air force established in France. He continued to fight for the French people until a radio call from the French Prime Minister,

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

called for a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

on 18 June when his Squadron ended flights. Later being evacuated to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

on 21 June and being given the service number P1492.

Time in the Royal Air Force

On 2 August 1940 he became a pilot in the 303 Squadron a Polish lead squadron fighting for Great Britain being a part of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and began flying missions shortly after. On 20 November 1941 he was given command over a squadron in the 303 Squadron. Łokuciewski saw considerable action through 1940–41. His pseudonym was "Tolo". During a mission taking place over German occupied France on 13 March 1942 his plane became damaged and forced him into an emergency landing. After landing Witold was imprisoned by the Germans and was taken to Stalag Luft III located in

Żagań Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielo ...

. During his time in the camp he took part of The Great Escape in 1944. He managed to escape along with 25 other prisoners. He was recaptured a few days later he was caught again by Germans in Legnica. During May 1945 as the war was ending he was liberated and taken back to England. He was reassigned to 303 Squadron on 29 November 1945. He became commanding officer of No. 303 Squadron in February 1946, until the unit disbanded in December. He was credited with 9 (and 1 shared) kills, and 4 probable kills which enabled him to get the "fighter ace"title. The title derives from World War I, and was given in the French air force to pilots who shot down five enemy's planes. During World War II, it got adopted by the American air force and unofficially - by the Polish air force in the west.

Return to Poland and later life

When he returned to Poland in 1947 he was imprisoned by the Communist authorities, and on release worked as a taxi driver in Warsaw. He joined the Polish Air Force in 1956 after being accepted into military aviation, rising to a senior rank. In 1969–71 he was the Polish military attaché in London. He retired in 1974 and in 1985 was appointed to the Presidium in the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy. Later he became a member in the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martydom Sites from 1988 to 1990 On 11 November 1988 he became a member of the Honorary Committee of Commemoration during the 70th anniversary of National Independence Day of Poland. In 1989 he stood as a parliamentary candidate to the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

(lower house) in the first post-communist elections. And was given an entry in the honorary book of soldiers by Minister of National Defense, General Florian Siwicki. In 1989, nearly half a century after the war, when asked what does a fighter feel like while attacking an enemy, Witold replied: "if it's a rather large attack - firstly fear while going through a fire avalanche, then determination and lastly, if enemy gets shot and is coming down in a panache of smoke and fire - great massive satisfaction". He died on 17 April 1990 and was buried at the

Powązki Military Cemetery Powązki Military Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Wojskowy na Powązkach) is an old military cemetery located in the Żoliborz district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquial ...

in Powązki, Warsaw.

List of kills

Witold Łokuciewski was put on Bajan's list in the 20th position with 8 reliable plane kills and 4 probable kills. These are as follows:

Reliable plane kills

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 ...

on 10 June 1940 while piloting a

MS-406 MS4, or similar, may refer to: * , a possible dwarf planet * MS4 Modeling Environment, a software package * '' Metal Slug 4'', a video game * Mississippi Highway 4 * Mississippi's 4th congressional district * Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System ...

* Do 215 on 7 September 1940 while piloting a

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

Mk. I * Bf 109 on 11 September 1940 while piloting a Hurricane Mk I * Do 215 on 11 September 1940 while piloting a Hurricane Mk I * Bf 109 on 15 September 1940 while piloting a Hurricane Mk I * Bf 109 on 20 April 1941 while piloting a Spitfire Mk IIA * Bf 109 on 18 June 1941 while piloting a Spitfire Mk IIA * Bf 109 on 22 June 1941 while piloting a Spitfire Mk IIB

Possible plane kills

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 ...

on 6 September 1939 he heavily damaged the plane while piloting a P 11c * Do 215 on 7 September 1940 while piloting a Hurricane Mk 1 * Bf 109 on 22 June 1941 while piloting a Spitfire Mk IIB * Bf 109 on 11 July 1941 while piloting a Spitfire Mk IIB

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 St ...

, Silver Cross * POL Krzyż Walecznych (1940) 3r BAR

Cross of Valour (Poland) The Cross of Valour ( pl, Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the fi ...

, three times * POL Polonia Restituta Kawalerski BAR

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

, Knight's Cross * POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski BAR

, Commander's Cross * 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 countrie ...

Croix de Guerre (France)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokuciewski, Witold 1917 births 1990 deaths People from Novocherkassk Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Polish prisoners of war Polish World War II flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Polish People's Army personnel Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Polish Royal Air Force pilots of World War II The Few Polish taxi drivers Polish military attachés Soviet emigrants to Poland