Zdzislaw Krasnodebski is born in Wola Osowinska, Poland on 10 July 1904. After schooling in Siedlce, Łomża and Warsaw in Poland, he began his military service at the age of 16 in the Warsaw 201 Infantry Regiment in 1920 as a volunteer during the Polish-Soviet War. After leaving military service he joined Cadets Corp No. 1 in Lwów, where he passed matura (high school graduation certificate). After graduation, he was accepted to the Officer's Flight School in Grudziądz, which was subsequently relocated to Dęblin.

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Zdzislaw graduated on 15 August 1928 as a Second Lieutenant observer and joined the 1st Flight Regiment in Warsaw. In Spring 1929 he completed his basic flight training in Dęblin. In May 1930 he completed advanced flight training in the 2nd Flight Regiment fighter wing in Kraków. Eventually he was assigned to Tadeusz Kościuszko 111th Fighter Squadron of the 1st Flight Regiment in Warsaw.

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Zdzislaw continued his career in the Warsaw regiment, spending a few years as second lieutenant, and later as a unit commander, actively participating in his unit's actions. In October 1933 he was among the pilots of the 111th visiting Bucharest. In May 1935, he was a member of delegation of the 1st Flight Regiment to Marshal Józef Piłsudski's funeral. Five months later, as Lieutenant, Krasnodębski participated in a fighter pilot competition in Grudziądz.

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In November 1935, Zdzislaw assumed command of the 111th Fighter Squadron. In the mid-1930s, Polish airspace was frequently violated by unauthorised foreign aircraft incursions. In 1936 Krasnodębski's squadron moved to the airfield at Sarny.

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On 1 September 1939 Captain Zdzislaw was the commander of III/I Fighter Squadron. During the last days of August, the squadron was based at an airfield in Zielonka near Warsaw. Predictions said that the squadron's mother airfield, Okęcie, would be heavily bombarded on the first day of World War II.

 

Zdzislaw continued to command III/I Squadron, until the Soviet invasion on Poland on 17 September 1939. He led nine serviceable planes to cross the border with Romania, together with other Polish pilots. The Warsaw Pursuit Squadron destroyed 34 Luftwaffe planes and damaged 29 more, but at a cost of 36 of its own planes.

 

July 1940, Zdzislaw was appointed as the first leader of Polish 303 Squadron in the UK. The choice was an obvious one, since he had previously commanded Polish pilots during the defense of Poland and France from German invasion. Krasnodebski shaped 303 Squadron into an organized fighting unit, which became the highest-scoring fighter squadron of the Battle of Britain.

 

He scored one shared combat victory on 3 September 1940, before being shot down a few days later on 6 September with severe burns. Due to his injuries, he was retired from flight service and served as an instructor and station commander until WWII’s end.

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303 Squadron ace Witold Urbanowicz later said about Krasnodebski, “He didn’t score many victories in the air, his victory was on the ground—in the training and upbringing of the young officers in his command.”

 

After the war, Zdzislaw moved to Canada his wife Wanda, where he lived until his death in 1980. He was awarded the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari, and the Cross of Valour.

 

Krasnodębski died on 3 July 1980 in Toronto at the age of 76 years.

 

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Source : Aquila Polonica Facebook post

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