- Henryk Pietrzak
Henryk Pietrzak (b.
March 6 ,1914 -January 28 ,1990 ) was a Polishfighter ace of thePolish Air Force inWorld War II Biography
During the
Invasion of Poland , Pietrzak pilotedPZL.23 Karaś light bombers and later flew fighters with theFree French Air Force 's GC III/9 squadron.He joined
No. 306 Polish Fighter Squadron on26 August ,1940 , flyingHawker Hurricane s andSupermarine Spitfire s, becoming aSquadron Leader . It was onDecember 31 ,1942 , that while flying a Spitfire Mk IX (number EN128) he scored the 500th victory for thePolish Air Force in WW2 and was later decorated by Polish PresidentWładysław Raczkiewicz . He became a member of315 Polish Fighter Squadron from July 1944 until October 1944, flying Mustang IIIs. All his victims were German fighter planes: 3Messerschmitt Bf 109 s and 4.5Focke-Wulf Fw 190 s.He settled in
England after the war.Awards
* Distinguished Flying Cross
*Krzyż Walecznych , four times
*Medal Lotniczy
*Virtuti Militari , Silver Cross
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