Bogusław Dionizy Krawczyk (15 May 1906 – 19 July 1941) was a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

commander of the

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

He was the son Władysław and Michalina Witkowska. He graduated in 1925 in

Hrubieszów Hrubieszów (; ; , or ) is a town in southeastern Poland, with a population of around 18,212 (2016). It is the capital of Hrubieszów County within the Lublin Voivodeship. Throughout history, the town's culture and architecture was strongly shaped ...

, in the same year he entered the

Polish Naval Academy The "Battle of Westerplatte, Heroes of Westerplatte" Polish Naval Academy (PNA) is a naval university supervised by the Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland, with a history, uninterrupted b ...

where he graduated, valedictorian in 1928. He was sent to complete his education in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the ''École d'Application des Enseignes de Vaisseau'' during which he took an instructional cruise on the French

armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

''Edgar Quinet''. In 1929 he came back to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and was assigned to the Pinsk Flotilla. In 1930 he served in the command of the Navy, in the years 1931–1932 he completed the submarine navigation course in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

and in 1934 the underwater weapons training. He served on the submarines and . In 1938 he took command of ''Wilk''. He had a reputation as one of the best submarine officers in the Polish Navy with a high knowledge, culture and abilities to command. He spoke four languages fluently, played piano, painted, wrote poems and sailed. During the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, ''Wilk'' patrolled the

Gdańsk Bay Gdańsk Bay or the Gulf of Gdańsk is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the adjacent port city of Gdańsk in Poland. Geography The western part of Gulf of Gdańsk is formed by the shallow waters of the Bay of Puck. The so ...

, and on 3 September deployed her mines as planned. The submarine was attacked several times, Krawczyk decided to join

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and arrived at

Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...

on 20 September.Twardowski, M. After the reparations in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, ''Wilk'' was assigned to the 2nd Submarine Flotilla patrolling on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. On 3 May 1940 he was promoted ''komandor podporucznik'' (

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

) soon after he was sent on a secret mission to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

to negotiate the release from internment of three Polish submarines (, and ) interned in September 1939. However, due to the allied defeat in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the collapse of the French front and increasing German pressure on Swedish government, the mission ended in failure. Krawczyk returned empty handed. On 19 July 1941 Bogusław Krawczyk committed suicide, the reasons for which are not fully known.

Awards and decorations

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

, Silver Cross
Cross of Valour
POL Medal Morski BAR

Navy Medal (''Medal Morski'')
Dso-ribbon

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

Military promotions

Notes

References

* Marek Twardowski (in Polish): ''"Podwodne drapieżniki" – stawiacze min typu Wilk'' ("Undersea predators" – Wilk class minelayers), in: Morza, Statki i Okręty nr. 3/1998, p. 23–26 {{DEFAULTSORT:Krawczyki, Bogusław 1906 births 1941 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Polish military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Gold Cross of the Virtuti Militari Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Polish submarine commanders Polish Navy officers 1941 suicides Suicides in Scotland