Skalski: Against All Odds by Franciszek Grabowski

Author:Franciszek Grabowski [Grabowski, Franciszek]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781781555491
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Published: 2017-06-11T04:00:00+00:00

I said it would be fine, but while there would be no trouble with the officers, I had five non-commissioned officers. Broadhurst answered that it was just the matter of a phone call, twenty-four hours, and then they would all be officers.

I returned and called my pilots. As I have previously noted, they were a great bunch who did not care about positions—only more combat. They said that they did not care about positions. Even the non-commissioned officers said they had no desire to become officers. They wanted to either stay together or return to England together—they would not agree to being broken up.73

Skalski ended this tour by completing forty-one operational sorties in a total time of forty-seven hours. He was credited with 3-0-1 victories during the period.

Skalski was posted to 244 Wing on 30 June 1943. A day later he was awarded a second bar to his DFC, becoming the only Pole to be so decorated. The citation read:

Squadron Leader Skalski has continued to display inspiring leadership, courage and devotion to duty which have contributed largely to the successes achieved by his Squadron. Whilst serving with his present Squadron, Squadron Leader Skalski has destroyed three enemy aircraft and damaged another.77

On 4 July 1943, Polish Commander-in-Chief and Prime Minister, gen. Władysław Sikorski was killed in a suspicious crash at Gibraltar. Skalski’s fellow pilot, Ludwik Martel, was planned meant to board the plane but replaced at the last moment by another passenger. The death of Sikorski, following the revelation of the ‘Katyń massacre’ and the subsequent deterioration of diplomatic relations between Poland and the Soviet Union, was a hard moment for many Polish soldiers, who started to fear if they would be able to return back home.

Meanwhile, following just two missions with 601 Sqn, Skalski made eight more with 145 Sqn. After Sqn Ldr John Stuart Taylor DFC & Bar, commander of 601 County of London Sqn, was downed by an Italian Ju 87 on 12 July, Skalski was appointed the new OC. He took command of the unit on 15 July, although he had been leading the unit the day previously. While in this position, he took part in the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy, meeting non opposition in the air, which left his scorecard unchanged. Nonetheless, his air-command abilities received much praise from his fellow pilots, including from FO William Murdoch Matheson, a pilot in the unit.

Sqn Ldr Skalski was an outstanding fighter pilot and leader. He seemed a quiet and unassuming man, (even a little withdrawn) but then he was older than most of us, and did not know us well. He was always a very careful pilot and never did anything flash or reckless, but was aggressive in action. He taught me how to see what was going on in the air. I was inexperienced and I think inclined to fly rather wildly. He took me aside and instructed me as his number two to weave only slowly from side to side and make sure there was nothing behind or above us.

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