The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

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Spitfire Mk Vb, EN951 'RF-D', Sqn Ldr Jan Zumbach, and a short history of No 303 (Kosciuszko) Squadron

EN951 'RF-D' of 303 Squadron No 303 (Kosciuszko) Squadron was formed at RAF Northolt on 2 Aug 1940 under Sqn Ldr R G Kellet and was the second Polish fighter Squadron to form in the RAF. Kosciuszko Squadron had initially formed in the Polish Air Force in 1920 by American volunteers who came to fight in the war against Communist Russia. The Squadron naturally evolved into a Polish unit No 111 Eskadra until 1939. Thus when 303 Squadron adopted the name 'Kosciuszko', it served to show that the Polish Air Force was not defeated, but continued to fight for their freedom and ours. Predominately formed from Polish personnel evacuated from France, it became fully operational on Hurricanes by 24th Aug. It took part in the Battle of Britain until mid-October, when it was withdrawn to Yorkshire for defensive duties. No 303 Sqn was undoubtedly the most successful Hurricane equipped fighter squadron during the Battle,
scoring in the order of 50 confirmed victories. (303 Sqn were officially credited with 126 victories at the time, but in recent publications, historians quote between 44 and 58 kills that can be verified).

In January 1941 it returned to Northolt to re-equip with Spitfires and began offensive sweeps over France. In July 1941 it moved to Speke for a 3 month respite defending Merseyside before returning south in October to resume offensive operations. In June 1942, No 303 moved to Lincolnshire under 12 Group before being detached to Redhill for Ops over Dieppe – 5 and one shared Fw190s, 2 Ju88s and 2 He111s were destroyed for the loss of one 303 Sqn pilot. In February 1943, 303 Sqn returned once again to the London area for more offensive operations. November 1943 saw the squadron transferred to Northern Ireland where it provided protection for shipping in the Clyde and Irish Sea region. In April 1944, 303 joined the Second TAF in preparation for the Normandy landings flying mainly beachhead and anti-shipping patrols. The Squadron also flew fighter escort for Bomber Command raids, carried out armed reconnaissance missions over the Netherlands and flew ‘Jim Crowe’ missions, searching for enemy midget submarines. In April 1945, No.303 converted to Mustangs but flew only two operations with these before the end of the war. The Squadron remained as part of the post-war Fighter Command before finally being disbanded on 11 December 1946. Kosciuszko Squadron is still active in the modern Polish Air Force, flying Mig 29 Fulcrums.

Pilots of 303 Squadron with EN951 Group Captain John A Kent DFC, AFC, Virtuti Militari - a 303 Sqn Flight Commander during the Battle of Britain later wrote: "I cannot say how proud I am to have been privileged to help form and lead No 303 Squadron and later to lead such a magnificent fighting force as the Polish Wing. There formed within me in those days an admiration, respect and genuine affection for those really remarkable men which I have never lost. I formed friendships that are as firm as they were those 25 years ago and this I find most gratifying. We who were privileged to fly and fight with them will never forget and Britain must never forget how much she owes to the indomitable spirit and sacrifice of those Polish fliers. They were our staunchest allies in our darkest days; may they always be remembered as such."

Zumbach in the cockpit of EP594 after his Dieppe victories. One of those most staunch allies was Jan Zumbach. Zumbach was born in Poland on 14 April 1915, the son of Polish-born Swiss parents, and was registered as a Swiss citizen. Concealing his nationality he joined the Polish Army in 1934, serving in the infantry before being accepted into the Air Force in Jun 1936. Graduating from flying training in 1938 he was posted to 111 Eskadra Mysliwska. In the summer of 1939 he suffered multiple fractures to his leg in a flying accident and thus did not fight during the German invasion. Managing to reach his unit just prior to evacuation he escaped via Rumania and eventually made it to France. Passed fit to fly, he joined GCII/55 flying the Morane 406 and Curtis Hawk 75 fighters. As France was about to fold and after several attempts to get away by air, Zumbach finally boarded a boat bound for England in June 1940. On 2nd August he was posted to become one of the founding members of No 303 Sqn, the unit in which he scored all of his wartime victories barring one probable.
During the Battle of Britain, he claimed 8 victories and one probable, the majority of them being Bf109E fighters, becoming one of this unit’s more successful pilots. However, it wasn’t always one-way traffic and Jan was himself shot down by a Bf109 on 9th May 1941 - baling out, unharmed, over Dover while returning from a 'Sphere' mission. On 13th October, Zumbach claimed to have damaged a 'single radial-engined fighter' in combat. This was one of the first FW190s to be encountered and the German pilot probably should also have claimed a damaged, as Zumbach was slightly wounded during the dogfight.

BM144, RF-D taken at Lindholme on 25 April 42 while Zumbach was a Flight Commander On 4th December 1941, Jan was posted to be an instructor on No 58 OTU as a rest from operations, but by March the following year he was posted back to 303 as a Flight Commander. Only 2 months later he was promoted to Squadron Leader and appointed to command the Squadron, a duty he performed from May until December 1942.
It was during this period Zumbach had 3 personal Spitfires, all of them Mk Vbs coded RF-D, and all adorned with a Donald Duck symbol in front of the cockpit on the Left Hand Side. Similarly, his personal tally was marked by crosses on the left hand side, confirmed kills being outlined in white, probable in red and damaged without outline. The first was BM144, in which Jan claimed a probable FW190. The second was EP594, which Jan chose in mid-August, BM144 being re-coded as RF-H. In EP594 on 19th August 1942, he flew several sorties over the infamous Dieppe raid, achieving a confirmed kill on a FW190, with another probable and a 1/3 share of a confirmed kill on a HE111. According to British records on 12th September 1942, EP594 suffered a serious accident with Sqn Ldr Zumbach at the controls, but this is not recorded in the 303 Sqn records – perhaps out of deference to their Boss. Nonetheless, no further mention of this Spitfire exists that year on 303 Sqn. She eventually returned to the unit in December 1943.

Jan’s next mount was EN951, the colours in which our Mk Vb, AB910, now flies. It was late September by the time that EN951 first appeared on 303 Sqn records. As the third ‘Donald’, the artwork was unsurprisingly larger and more detailed than on the previous 2 machines. One other individual feature of Zumbach’s Donalds is the rear view mirror – he had an especially tall mirror mounted on all aircraft and we are trying to source one for AB910.

EN951 with Zumbach, left, Wg Cdr Witorzenc and Flt Lt Bienkowski in late Sep 1942 Prior to 303 Sqn, EN951 had served on 133(Eagle) Sqn, the last of the 3 squadrons formed by American volunteers prior to the US joining the war. During her time on 133, she was flown on no less than 27 operational missions by the renowned American ace Flt Lt Don Blakeslee, one of the outstanding pilots of WWII. Indeed he attacked 4 aircraft over Dieppe on 19th August 1942, resulting in one FW190 and a Do217 confirmed destroyed and two FW190s probably destroyed, appropriately the same unit on which AB910 served on that very day – AB910 herself is credited with one confirmed and one probable Do 217 over Dieppe on 19th August 1942. Zumbach continued to command No 303 Sqn until December 1942 when he handed over to Sqn Ldr Bienkowski. Subsequently EN951 continued to serve on 303 until she was transferred to 315 Sqn in June 1943. She then moved to No 19 Sqn and no certain records exist after she was damaged on 20th June 1943.

After relinquishing command, Zumbach spent the next year on various staff tours, including attending the Polish Air Force Staff College, before once again returning to flying duties, culminating in his command of the 2nd Polish Air Wing (No 133 Wing). During this command, while flying Mustang IIIs he claimed his last victory, a probable kill on a FW190 over Arnhem on 25th September 1944. Having finished another flying tour, Jan was posted on 30th January 1945 to HQ No 84 Group. During this, his final, tour of the war Jan occasionally managed to scrounge an aircraft to visit various units on the front line, and it was on one such occasion that following a navigational error he ran out of fuel in an Auster and ended up coming down on the wrong side of the lines, spending the last month of the war as a POW.

He finished with 13 1/3 credited victories with a further 5 probables and one damaged. For his wartime achievements, Zumbach was awarded, among others, the Silver Cross of Virtuti Militari, the Polish Cross of Valour and 3 Bars and the DFC and Bar.

Zumbach was demobbed in October 1946 and continued to lead a life full of excitement. Initially, under a Swiss passport, he flew contraband around southern Europe and the Middle East. In 1962 he was recruited to form an air force for the breakaway state of Katanga in the Congo. Subsequently he went on to deal in second-hand aircraft before once again becoming a mercenary, flying B-26 Invaders for the Biafran government against the invading Nigerians. During these mercenary activities he used the Nom de Guerre 'John Brown', under which he published his autobiography, On Wings of War. After his actions in Biafra he returned to France, where he lived a more settled life until his death in 1986.

BBMF are proud to present AB910 in the colours of Jan Zumbach of 303 Sqn for our 50th anniversary season, paying tribute to one of the finest fighter Squadrons of WWII, an exceptional fighter pilot and highly decorated leader, and acknowledging the huge debt this country owes to the Poles who fought alongside us in our darkest hour.