Mirosław Ferić (17 June 1915 – 14 February 1942), was a Polish-Croatian fighter pilot, a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

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 ...

Early life

Ferić was born in

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, his father was a

Bosnian Croat The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats (), are native to Bosnia and Herzegovina and constitute the third most populous ethnic group, after Bosniaks and Serbs. They are also one of ...

(who died during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

) and his mother was a Pole. In 1919 his family moved 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 ...

.Krzystek 2012, p. 176. He graduated in 1938 from the

Polish Air Force Academy The Polish Air Force Academy ( Polish: ''Wyższa Szkoła Oficerska Sił Powietrznych'' (1994-2018); ''Lotnicza Akademia Wojskowa'' (since 2018)) is located in Dęblin, eastern Poland. Established in 1927 during the interwar period, the Polish Air ...

Dęblin Dęblin is a town at the Confluence (geography), 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 together have over 100,000 inhabitan ...

as a fighter pilot, and served with fighter escadre No. 111 with a rank of '' podporucznik pilot'' (2nd Lt. pilot).Pawlak 2009, p. 177.

War service

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 ...

in 1939, he served with Escadre No. 111, assigned to the Pursuit Brigade (''Brygada Poscigowa'') and defending the

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

area.Sikora 2014, p. 213. On 3 September his

PZL P.11 The PZL P.11 is a Polish fighter aircraft, designed and produced in the early 1930s by Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze. Possessing an all-metal structure, metal-covering, and high-mounted gull wing, the type held the distinction of being widely cons ...

c fighter was damaged in combat but he successfully bailed out.Pawlak 1991, p. 24. During the campaign he shot down a Hs 126 on 8 September as a 'shared' victory (other sources also credit him with a Bf 110 shared with others, but this victory was not officially credited).Pawlak 1991, p. 26. On 17 September he and other pilots were ordered to evacuate to

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

. There he was interned, but escaped and travelled to

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 ...

by sea. After training on French aircraft, he was assigned to a flight commanded by Kazimierz Kuzian flying Morane MS-406 fighters protecting aircraft works around

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. However, Ferić saw no air combat.Sikora 2014, p. 214. After the fall of France, Ferić evacuated in June 1940 to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

.Zieliński 1994, p. 38. After advanced training at an RAF OTU he was assigned to the newly formed Polish

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 during the Second ...

, based at

RAF Northolt Royal Air Force Northolt or more simply RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station in South Ruislip, from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, western Greater London, England, approximately north of ...

flying

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

s and entering service in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () 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 defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

on 31 August 1940.Zieliński 2019, p. 6. On his first day of combat he shot down a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

. On 2 September he probably shot down another one, but his plane was damaged and he made a forced landing.King 2012, p. 92. On 6 September he shot down another Bf 109, and on 15 September a Bf 109 and Bf 110. On 27 September he shot down a Bf 109 and a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium 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 a ...

, and on 5 October a Bf 109.Sikora 2014, p. 215. After an operational break the squadron was back in combat in January 1941, flying

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

s on missions over France. On 22 June during a bomber escort he shot down a Bf 109, and on 27 June damaged another. In October he was sent to a six-month rest tour to an Operational Training Unit as an instructor, but after three months he volunteered to return to a combat posting. Ferić returned to No. 303 Squadron in January 1942. On 14 February, he was killed at RAF Northolt after his Spitfire (BL432) broke up at and the resulting

G-force The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...

s as the aircraft corkscrewed held him inside and prevented him bailing out. He is buried in Northwood Cemetery, London. Mirosław Ferić was the 11th ranked Polish

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

with 8 and 2/3 confirmed kills and 1 probable kill. From September 1939 he had kept a personal diary, which became No.303 Squadron's unit history.

Honours and awards

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 (18 September 1940) : Cross of Valour, twice : 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 British Armed Forces, services, and formerly to officers of other ...

(15 December 1940)

References

Bibliography

* Bristow, Mark. (2005) ''A History of Royal Air Force Northolt''. RAF Northolt: No. 1 AIDU * Wacław Król: ''Myśliwcy''. Warszawa: Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej, 1980, pp. 230–256. . * Richard King: ''Dywizjon 303 walka i codzienność''. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo RM, 2012, p. 39. . * 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. 176. * Jerzy Pawlak: ''Polskie eskadry w Wojnie Obronnej 1939''. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Łączności, 1991 * Jerzy Pawlak: ''Absolwenci Szkoły Orląt: 1925-1939''. Warszawa: Retro-Art, 2009, p. 177. * Piotr Sikora: ''Asy polskiego lotnictwa''. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza Alma-Press. 2014, p. 213-217. * Józef Zieliński: ''Asy polskiego lotnictwa''. Warszawa: Agencja lotnicza ALTAIR, 1994, p. 38. ISBN 83862172. * Józef Zieliński: ''Lotnicy polscy w Bitwie o Wielką Brytanię''. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza MH, 2005, pp. 46–47. * Józef Zieliński: ''303 Dywizjon Myśliwski Warszawski im. Tadeusza Kościuszki''. Warszawa: Bellona, 2003

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feric, Miroslaw 1915 births 1942 deaths People from Travnik Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Croatian descent Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Polish descent Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England Polish World War II flying aces Polish Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II The Few Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1942