Jan Eugeniusz Ludwig Zumbach (14 April 1915,

Ursynów Ursynów () is the southernmost district of Warsaw. With a surface area of , it is the third largest district in Warsaw, comprising 8.6% of the city. The district has a population of over 150,000, and is one of the fastest-growing neighbourhoods ...

, Congress Poland,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the 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 the Great Northern War. ...

– 3 January 1986,

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 ...

) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

- Swiss fighter pilot who became an

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

and squadron commander during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. During the Cold War, he became a mercenary in Africa and played a key role in forming the

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

forces of the breakaway states of Katanga and

Biafra Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...

Early years

The son of Eugeniusz Zumbach and Halina née Gorzechowska from a family of

landowners In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...

hailing from the region of

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

. Zumbach was registered as a

Swiss citizen Swiss citizenship is the status of being a citizen of Switzerland and it can be obtained by birth or naturalisation. The Swiss Citizenship Law is based on the following principles: * Triple citizenship level (Swiss Confederation, canton, and mun ...

(his paternal grandfather of Swiss origin settled in Poland at the end of the 19th century). 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 stre ...

in 1935 and served as an infantryman until 1936 when he transferred to the Polish Air Force. After graduating from flying training in 1938 he was posted to '' 111 Eskadra Myśliwska''.

Second World War

Zumbach did not fly during the

German invasion of Poland 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 afte ...

due to a broken leg from a flying accident during the summer of 1939. He returned to his unit only to be evacuated to France via Romania. While in France, Zumbach flew the Morane 406 and

Curtiss Hawk 75 The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation ...

with GCII/55. On 10 June, he was one of several pilots shot down by Bf 109s, but escaped unscathed. On 18 June 1940, he travelled to England by boat and on 2 August was posted as one of the founding members of the newly formed No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron. 303 Squadron pilots

During the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

, Zumbach scored eight victories and one probable, mostly against Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. Zumbach was shot down by a

JG 3 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 3 (JG 3) "Udet" was a '' Luftwaffe'' fighter wing of World War II. The ''Geschwader'' operated on all the German fronts in the European Theatre of World War II. It was named after Ernst Udet, an important figure in the dev ...

Bf 109 over Dover on 9 May 1941 when returning from a mission, but he was again able to bail out unharmed. Zumbach became one of the first Allied pilots to engage in combat with a German Focke-Wulf Fw 190, which he damaged; in return, his aircraft was damaged by a "single radial-engined fighter" on 13 October 1941. In December 1941, Zumbach was posted to 58 OTU, and in March 1942 returned to 303 Squadron as a flight commander. In May, he was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

and took command of the squadron, a post Zumbach held from 19 May 1942 until 30 November 1943. Spitfire mark5b ab910 of the bbmf arp

During this period, Zumbach flew three Supermarine Spitfire VBs, serial numbers BM144, EP594 and EN951. All these aircraft carried the same code, RF-D, "RF" being the squadron code for 303 Squadron and "D" the individual aircraft code. All three aircraft carried a cartoon of Donald Duck on the port side of the fuselage, slightly forward of the cockpit. Zumbach's victory tally was marked with German crosses under the cockpit on the port side; confirmed kills were outlined in white, probable kills in red, and damaged aircraft with no outline. After handing over command of 303 Squadron to Squadron Leader Bieńkowski, Zumbach spent a year in staff appointments, including the Polish Air Force Staff College. He returned to flying duties as the commander of the 2nd Polish Air Wing, No 133 Wing. On 25 September 1944, he scored his final victory of the war, a probable kill over a

JG 26 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 26 (JG 26) ''Schlageter'' was a German fighter-wing of World War II. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran, Freikorps member, and posthumous Nazi martyr, arrested and executed by the French for ...

Fw 190 over

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

. On 30 January 1945, Zumbach was posted to HQ, No. 84 Group. While flying an

Auster Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.Willis, issue 122, p.55 History The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited, ma ...

that was used to visit units under the Group's command, he made a navigational error and ran out of fuel. He force-landed in enemy territory and spent the final month of the war as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

. Zumbach's final victory tally was 12 (and two shared) confirmed kills, five probables and one damaged.

Post-Second World War

Zumbach was

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

in October 1946 but continued to fly for a living. Under a Swiss passport, he flew contraband around

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. In January 1962, Zumbach was contracted to organise and command Avikat, the air force of Congolese breakaway state of Katanga, commanding it until December 1962. He went on to deal in second-hand aircraft before again becoming a

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

in 1967, as he organised and commanded the air force of

, flying the B-26 Invader, using the '' nom de guerre'' of John Brown. Operating out of Enugu, he became well-known among the locals. During that time, he also partook in Biafran air force raids, including killing a Nigerian army chief of staff during an attack on Markudi airfield he himself led. In 1975, Zumbach published his autobiography, originally available in French under the title ''Mister Brown: Aventures dans le ciel'', it was subsequently published in German, English under the title ''On Wings of War: My Life as a Pilot Adventurer'', and Polish under the title ''Ostatnia walka: Moje życie jako lotnika, przemytnika i poszukiwacza przygód.'' (''The final battle: My life as a pilot, smuggler, and adventurer''). Zumbach died in unclear circumstances on 3 January 1986 in

, and was buried at

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 ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland. The investigation into his death was closed by order of the French authorities without public explanation.

Decorations

Virtuti Militari Crosses are the most prestigious Polish military awards. POL Virtuti Militari Srebrny 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 St ...

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

, 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 countrie ...

& Bar

In popular culture

Jan Zumbach was portrayed by

Iwan Rheon Iwan Rheon (, ; born 13 May 1985) is a Welsh actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Bellamy in the E4 series '' Misfits'', Ramsay Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', and Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Ma ...

in the 2018 film '' Hurricane: 303 Squadron''.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Matusiak, Wojtek. ''Zumbach's Donalds''. Rossagraph. . * Olson, Lynne and Stanley Cloud. ''A Question of Honor: the Kościuszko Squadron in World War II''. New York: Random House, 2003. . * Shores, Christopher and Clive Williams. ''Aces High.'' London: Grub Street, 1994. . * Zumbach, Jan. ''Ostatnia Walka (The Final Battle)''. Warsaw: Echo, 2000. . * Zumbach, Jean (sic). ''On Wings of War: My Life as a Pilot Adventurer''. London: Corgi, 1977. .

External links

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 c ...

2007 Official Program. Se
BBMF official webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zumbach, Jan 1915 births 1986 deaths Military personnel from Warsaw Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Polish mercenaries Polish World War II flying aces Polish prisoners of war Royal Air Force officers Smugglers Polish people of Swiss descent The Few Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Polish Royal Air Force pilots of World War II People of the State of Katanga People of the Congo Crisis Polish emigrants to France