Polish Flying Tiger

[Tomahawk]

Hey. I'm looking for an information about Witold Urbanowicz as he fight in 23 FG. He flew in 75 FS. He was the only polish pilot, wchich fought against the Japan. Polish aircraft statistic says, that he shot down 2 Ki-43 near Nanchang on 11 december 1943r. But in his memorials he wrote, that he shot down 5 planes and wrecked 6 on the ground. But he never demend to credit this victories.

I read Molswort "23 FG" and his memorials. And these books (very interesting) didn't satisfy me. I'm looking for some more information. Maybe someone know more about Urbanowicz and his China episode. Maybe somone has got 23 FG Chronicle.

Geetings
Tomahawk

[Michael Emrys]

Dan Ford has written a history of the Flying Tigers that he extensively researched. He might have something in his book about it.

http://www.historicaviation.com/histori ... t)?ID=1303

[Goldfish]

Sadly, there isn't much written on the 23rd Fighter Group. Also, since he was not a member of the American Volunteer Group, he was not technically a "Flying Tiger" and thus may not be mentioned in books about the "Flying Tigers". I will look through my books and let you know what I find out.

[Goldfish]

Here is an excerpt from Martha Byrd's Chennault: Giving Wings to the Tiger, p. 270, in which she relates a story that Urbanowicz told her in an interview:

Another glimpse into Chennault's thinking [about communism] comes from Witold Urbanowicz, a Polish ace whom he met in Washington in 1943 and who subsequently spent some months (without pay or official status) flying with the Fourteenth Air Force. He and Chennault spent long hours in talk during the evenings. The tortured history of Poland and Russia was a frequent topic, and Chennault especially enjoyed hearing a tale about Tsarist times, when Jews were not allowed to live in Moscow without permission. As Urbanowicz told the story, one day a gendarme spotted two Jews on a street corner. The Jews saw him too. One of them had a permit to live in the city; the other did not. The one with the permit started to run away. The policeman followed him, caught up with him, and asked for his permit. The man showed it. In the meantime the other Jew got away.

"Why were you running away when you have a permit?" demanded the gendarme.

"I am running for my health," the Jew replied.

"Why didn't you stop when I called you?" pursued the gendarme.

"Because I thought you have the same doctor, and he prescribed running for you also."

The story appealed to Chennault's sense of humor, and he sometimes asked Urbanowicz to tell it to others, but in private he and his Polish friends dwelled on the topic persecution and of Russia's past and present policies. Chennault had no illusions about Communist Russia's benevolence, to Jews or anyone else.

Also, Carl Molesworth's P-40 Warhawk Aces of the CBI credits Major Witold Urbanowicz with 2 victories in the P-40 and 17 in RAF Hurricanes.

[han_1976]

Dan Ford has written a history of the Flying Tigers that he extensively researched. He might have something in his book about it.

http://www.historicaviation.com/histori ... t)?ID=1303

Yes he write 3 books one was Fire Over the China

[Sheldrake]

His Wikipedia entry includes his Battle of Britain record as one of the top aces - 15 kills and one probable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Urbanowicz

[forttravel]

Here you are. He is on left side wearing battle-dress.