France 1940 Mission 11 Offensive Patrol Montbéliard 01/06/1940
After seven days of training at Avelanges, the French and Polish airmen of Group de Chasse II/7 were comfortable in their new Dewoitine D.520C-1 fighters. Indeed 'new' was a very appropriate description for the D.520s issued to the escadrille were factory fresh. For the men of the 'Patrouille Polonaise' they were the first brand new military aircraft they had ever flown. They were also by far the fastest machines any of them had ever piloted, with the Dewoitine a good 40 knots faster than their old Moranes. Their delight at the speed and increased firepower of one 20mm cannon and four machine guns of their new mounts had largely offset the disappointment as being withdrawn from the fighting at this critical time.
So it was a call to Avelanges on the afternoon of 1 June 1940 that a Luftwaffe formation had just bombed the railway station at Dijon and was heading east back towards Germany brought the 'Patrouille Polonaise' a welcome return to action. Sous Lieutenant Władysław Gnyś in D.520 'Red3', Sous Lieutenant Tadeusz Kowalewski in 'Red 4' and Adjutant Władysław Chciuk flying 'Red 5' had already been kitted up for a final training flight, and now took off setting a course to intercept the German bombers.
From right to left, Paul, Rod and Wayne are readying their D.520s to intercept a couple of Heinkel He 111P-4s run by yours truly.
The Polish Flight opened the throttles on their Dewoitines, easily climbing to 5000 metres mush more quickly than they could have managed in their MS.406 machines.
Over the town of Montbéliard just a few kilometres from the Swiss border they caught up with two Heinkel He 111 bombers.
S-Lt. Gnyś in 'Red 3' and Adj. Chciuk in 'Red 5' closed on the left hand Heinkel, while S-Lt. Kowalewski lined up the other German bomber.
At the approach of the Poles the right hand Heinkel too evasive action, drawing out of range of Kowalewski's guns.
It was now the Polish officer could see just how close they were to Switzerland, as a formation of Messerschmitt Bf 109s bearing the white cross of the Schweizer Luftwaffe shadowing their progress just a few kilometres to the south. [Ed note - this mission was based on an historical incident - if any aircraft left the south edge of the board they were considered shot down by the Swiss and interned].
First Sous Lieutenant Władysław Gnyś and then Adjutant Władysław Chciuk opened fire on the other Heinkel. Their first bursts went wide but they soon got the range, with Chciuk damaging the Heinkel's rudder. Gnyś fired from dead astern, raking the fuselage with cannon and machine gun fire. The result was devastating with the waist gunner Uffz. Herbert Blasche and the observer/forward gunner Ltn. Wilhelm Eifler both wounded. On the dorsal gun Uffz. Julius Dehler did his best to keep his enemies at bay, with an accurate burst of 7.92mm rounds damaging the engine of 'Red 3' flown by S-Lt. Gnyś.
As a string of blasphemous Polish curses uttered by Władysław Gnyś assaulted his ears over the radio, S-Lt. Kowalewski closed to firing range on the right hand bomber. On his second burst a thin stream of white smoke began trailing behind the Heinkel, a sure sign he had hit the fuel tank or the coolant system.
As Władysław Gnyś in 'Red 3' was forced to drop back due to his damaged engine, Władysław Chciuk in 'Red 5' moved up and continued to fire burst after burst at the Heinkel from the bomber's seven o'clock.
Ignoring the return fire which Chciuk could hear striking his aircraft, the Polish airman moved into the tail shadow of the Heinkel and opened fire. At the same time S-Lt. Gnyś entered a shallow dive to gain some distance on the Heinkel, lifting his nose at the last moment to deliver a burst which struck the German bomber's port engine. But it was Adj. Chciuk's last burst at close range that finally destroyed the He 111, cannon shells ripping the aircraft to pieces.
As the Heinkel entered its final dive the radio operator Ltn. Johann Schmidt and the dorsal gunner Uffz. Julius Dehler managed to bail out. The pilot Hptm. Werner Tronicke refused to jump and leave two wounded men onboard, so tried to bring in the stricken bomber as best his could. The aircraft crashed in trees, with Hptm. Tronicke escaping injury. He pulled the other two crewman from the wreckage and gave them what treatment he could waiting for French troops to arrive. The observer Ltn. Wilhelm Eifler survived but spent the next month in hospital. Nothing could be done for Uffz. Herbert Blasche, who was killed in the crash.
As S-Lt. Kowalewski was hammering away at the second Heinkel, Adj. Chciuk banked in and also opened fire. His burst ignited the thin stream of fuel vapour trailing behind the German bomber, causing the Heinkel to burst into flames.
Immediately the Heinkel pilot Oblt. Hermann Hogeback ordered the crew to bail out, but only Ltn. Gerd Strumpf managed to hit the silk before the bomber was rocked by a stream of cannon fire from S-Lt. Kowalewski's 'Red 4'. Hogeback managed to crash land his flaming aircraft and the crew survived with only the radio operator Fw. Johann Hildebrandt sustaining serious injuries.
With both Heinkels shot down the Polish Flight reformed and returned to Avelanges, where Kowalewski and Chciuk had their second and third respective victories confirmed. That evening the commander of GC II/7 Commandante Durieux advised S-Lt. Kowalewski that he had been recommended for the Medaille militaire in recognition of his two confirmed kills in the service of France.
The ground crew got to work immediately on the Polish Flight's damaged Dewoitines. The escadrille was fortunate in having plenty of spares for the new aircraft. Kowalewski's 'Red 4' was flight ready within 48 hours, although the damaged engine on 'Red 3' put that D.520 out of action until 5 June. Adj. Chciuk's 'Red 5' had suffered the most damage and would not be ready for operations until 8 June 1940.
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