Aleksander Klemens Gabszewicz
Military
British Official photo from the Ministry of Information and Documentation of the Polish government in exile at the Polish National Archives
Object Number - UPL 54671 - Aleksander Gabszewicz
Aleksander Gabszewicz joined the Polish Army in 1931, he trained as a pilot and joined the Air Wing of the Polish Defence Corps. He claimed his first aerial victory on 1 September 1939 during the invasion of Poland, some have suggested this was the first German aircraft to be shot down during the Second World War.
Gabszewicz fled to France following the fall of Poland, where he joined the French L'Armee de L'Air. After the capitulation of France, Gabszewicz joined the RAF, where held a number of commands, he also met and married Elizabeth Bullimore. He was temporarily assigned as a commanding officer of the 56th Fighter Group from December 1943 to February 1944.
Gabszewicz remained in the UK following the war.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Holton
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Szawle, Russian Empire | 6 December 1911 | |
|
Based |
Halesworth | 12 December 1943 | Assigned to 56th Fighter Group |
|
Died |
Malvern | 10 October 1983 | |
|
Buried |
Warsaw | Ashes scattered in Warsaw and Deblin | |
|
Buried |
Deblin | Ashes scattered in Warsaw and Deblin |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / www.56thfightergroup.co.uk/personnel.htm
