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Longin WINSKI

Polish Air Force

Longin Marian Wińsk was born to Benedykt and Aleksandra (nee Usewicz) on 10 September 1921 in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were Polish immigrants. His father came from the village of Sokółki in Mazovia, Poland. His mother was from the village of Pogiry (now in Lithuania). Longin was the fourth of five children and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In 1941, he enlisted as a volunteer in the Polish Armed Forces, reporting to the Polish Army Recruitment Center in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He underwent initial training at Camp Tadeusz Kościuszko at Owen Sound. He was given the rank of private 1st class and assigned the service number 709537.

While still in Canada, he began pilot training. The theoretical course took place at No. 3 Initial Training Wing at Victoriaville, Quebec. Then he attended a practical training course at No. 31 Elementary Flying Training School at De Winton, Alberta. He then  completed No. 32 Service Flying Training School at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where he flew Harvard single-engine training aircraft. Having qualified as a pilot, he was sent to Britain for combat training and then a posting to an operational unit.

In England, he was posted to No. 7 Personnel Reception Centre at Harrogate. Then, like other Polish pilots trained in Canada, he was posted to No. 5 Pilots Advanced Flying Unit at Ternhill for training and additional flight experience. Then, he joined No. 2 Air Gunners School at Dalcross, where he flew air gunners on training flights. He was then sent to a Spitfire fighter course at the Polish Fighter School, operating at No. 58 Operational Training Unit RAF at Grangemouth.

On completion, Wiński was posted to No. 317 'Wilno' Squadron. In August 1943, No. 317 Sqn moved to Fairlop near London, and in September 1943 to Northolt, where the Squadron joined the 1st Polish Wing, which was the main tactical unit of the Polish fighter force. At the turn of 1943, the 1st Wing was reorganized so that it was able to operate in field conditions in connection with the planned invasion of Europe. In the Allied structure, it was also given a new number-plate: No. 131 Wing. On a daily basis, it was busy conducting flights over the continent, mainly covering USAAF bombers over the English Channel during the departure and return from bombing missions. In the first half of 1944, the Squadron was based at airfields in England: Deanland, Chailey, Appledram and Ford, which was a practical exercise before transferring to the continent.

In June 1944, No. 131 Wing, including No. 317 Squadron with Wiński, participated in the invasion of Normandy and the opening of a new front in Europe.

The Allied landings in France drew substantial German forces to the shore of the English Channel, which offered the first real prospect in a long time of fighting the enemy in the air. On June 20th, 1944, No. 317 Squadron engaged several German Fw 190 fighters from Jagdgeschwader. After the fight, Wiński rejoined his squadron and flew over the front line to intercept more German aircraft. There, his Spitfire was damaged by anti-aircraft fire, which in turn forced him to land at Cardonville.

In the summer of 1944, Longin moved to the continent and operated from airfields in France (Plumetot, Fresnoy-Folny and Lille-Vendeville) and Belgium (Antwerp-Deurne and Sint-Denijs-Westrem). During this period, he flew primarily strafing and bombing ground attack missions.

On July 27th, 1944, he was promoted to the RAF rank of Warrant Officer, and on September 1st, 1944, to the Polish rank of Lance Sergeant, and in these ranks, he ended his service with the Polish Air Force. He applied for a transfer to the US forces and on October 11th, 1944, he was posted to the Polish Air Force Depot at Blackpool, and then discharged from the Polish Air Force. He was one of the last volunteers from the United States who transferred from the Polish Air Force to the USAAF.

During his service with the Polish Air Force, he was awarded the the Cross of Valour with bar, and the Operational Pilot Badge; No. 1571. At the end of the war, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in the Polish Air Force. He had flown 97 combat and 6 operational sorties with the Polish Air Force.

On November 1st, 1944, Wiński officially joined the USAAF as a Second Lieutenant, and was posted to the 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group USAAF stationed at Little Walden. Lt. Michał Murayda (Michael Murayda) from Akron, Ohio, who had served with No. 302 “Poznań” Squadron of the Polish Air Force, was transferred with him. Two more Poles served with the 61st Fighter Squadron USAAF at that time: Cpt. Bolesław Gładych and Lt. Witold Łanowski, making the largest group of pilots of the Polish Air Force in the USAAF.

Unfortunately, Wiński's posting took place at a time when this unit was being re-equipment with a new version of the Thunderbolt, the P-47M, which caused numerous technical problems. This significantly limited the activity of the unit, unable to dispatch the full number of aircraft for combat missions. Wiński did not encounter the enemy in the air again.

The 61st Fighter Squadron USAAF util it was disbanded at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey but Longin went back to Europe, serving with the 85th Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group USAAF, at Hörsching near Linz in 1946. The unit flew the Thunderbolt fighters well-known to him and was part of the American occupation forces in Austria.

On May 24th, 1946, a practice flight was scheduled for Lt. Johnny O. Crowell, Lt. Robert E. Coad and Lt. Longin Wiński. The pilots practiced formation flying. At one point Wiński's P-47D-30RE X11 (44-20867) dived into the ground. After an investigation, it was found that the accident was due to a dynamic stall in inverted flight at an altitude not sufficient for the recovery of the aircraft. At the same time, it was noted that the primary cause of the crash could not be determined.

Lieutenant Longin Wiński was buried at Rosedale Memorial Park Cemetery at Tallmadge Township, Michigan, USA. He was 24 at the time of his death.

 

Excerpted from: https://www.polishairforce.pl/winskieng.html

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