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W. Zak

Name : W. Zak Service Number : P1390

Flight Officer W.Zak from Poland of No 303 Squadron was wounded on September 27th 1940. He baled out of his Hurricane I (V7289) with burns over Horsham.

COMBAT REPORTS

303 Squadron Operational Record Book – 27 September 1940 09:00 hours 11 Hurricanes left Northolt at 09:00hours. Squadron working with No. 1 Canadian Squadron were sent out and encountered the enemy in the Horsham area at 15,000 feet. The enemy consisted of 30 He111 protected by 50 to 60 Me109s. Bombers in vics of 3 line astern stepped up behind. It was noticed that the majority of the He111s had a vertical white stripe on the tail fin and from a distance they gave the impression of friendly aircraft. The squadron attacked the bombers from astern and were themselves engaged by enemy fighters which fled in disorder. In the meantime the bombers had wheeled and were heading south and the squadron went in to attack from astern. Vics of bombers maintained formation throughout, closing up when one or more were shot down. Other Hurricanes came in to attack the bombers and immediately afterwards the squadron noticed about 40 Do17s approaching head on in single line astern formation supported by Me109s above. Upon going in to attack the bombers formed a defensive circle and the enemy fighters formed a similar circle above. Only one pilot attacked Hes and Dos and succeeded in shooting one down on land. Two other squadrons of Hurricanes came in and attacked the Dos as far as is known broke them up and inflicted heavy casualties. Our fighter did not follow down the individual e/a claimed as destroyed but it is believed that almost all were shot down on land. Enemy casualties: 4 Me109, 4 He111, 1 Do17, 1 Me 110 – destroyed 1 Me109 – probable, 1 He111 damaged. Our casualties: FO Paszkiewicz crashed at Borough Green, pilot killed in the air. Sgt. Andruszkow crashed at Cowden, pilot killed in air. FO Zak baled out near Leatherhead and taken to Leatherhead Hospital suffering from burns to face and hands. 1 Hurricane cat. 3. As on 26 September, just before going in to attack the Squadron received orders on the R/T “apany leader pancake�. This was not given by controllers at this station but was given in good English and in an authoritative manner.

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
No.303 Sqn RAF	Flight Officer	unknown	unknown	27th September 1940	Hurricane

Known Individual Aircraft :
Type	Serial	Codes	First Flew	Squadron History	Aircrew History	History Notes	Engine	Factory
Hurricane I	V7289		-	details	details	details

Aircraft for : W. Zak
A list of all aircraft associated with W. Zak. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Hurricane Click the name above to see prints featuring Hurricane aircraft. Manufacturer : Hawker Production Began : 1936 Number Built : 14533	Hurricane Royal Air Force Fighter, the Hawker Hurricane had a top speed of 320mph, at 18,200 feet and 340mph at 17,500, ceiling of 34,200 and a range of 935 miles. The Hurricane was armed with eight fixed wing mounted .303 browning machine guns in the Mark I and twelve .303 browning's in the MKIIB in the Hurricane MKIIC it had four 20mm cannon. All time classic fighter the Hurricane was designed in 1933-1934, the first prototype flew in June 1936 and a contract for 600 for the Royal Air Force was placed. The first production model flew ion the 12th October 1937 and 111 squadron of the Royal Air Force received the first Hurricanes in January 1938. By the outbreak of World war two the Royal Air Force had 18 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. During the Battle of Britain a total of 1715 Hurricanes took part, (which was more than the rest of the aircraft of the Royal air force put together) and almost 75% of the Victories during the Battle of Britain went to hurricane pilots. The Hawker Hurricane was used in all theatres during World war two, and in many roles. in total 14,533 Hurricanes were built.

Squadrons for : W. Zak
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by W. Zak. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
No.303 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 22nd July 1940 Fate : Disbanded 11th November 1946 Polish - Kosciuszko Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.303 Sqn RAF	No.303 Sqn RAF Flew Mustangs from April 1945.

Last edited : 13:17, April 17, 2013
Last editor : DataStream

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