Aleksander Gabszewicz

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German MG 15 aerial machine gun, pilot's cap and some debris of a German Heinkel He-111 downed by Aleksander Gabszewicz on September 1, 1939

Aleksander Klemens Gabszewicz (December 6, 1911 – October 10, 1983) was a Polish fighter pilot and a World War II fighter ace, with a score of 9½ confirmed and 2 probable kills.

[edit] Biography

Born in Szawle, then in Russian Empire, in 1931 he joined the Polish Army. Initially serving as an infantry NCO, in 1938 he graduated from the Dęblin-based Eagles' School and was attached to the air wing of the Border Defence Corps. Just before the World War II he was a tactical officer of the IV/1 Fighter Group.

After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War on September 1, 1939, around 9 AM, he scored his first kill, a Heinkel He 111 of 5.(K)/LG 1 unit over Ciechanów. According to some authors, it was the first kill of the German plane in World War II.^[1]

Downed the same day, he made it to France where he became the CO of the 5th key of Grouppe de Chasse III/10 covering Besançon. There, while piloting a Bloch 151, he downed another Heinkel.

After the capitulation he made it to the United Kingdom, where he served in the ranks of the No. 607 Squadron RAF and then the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron. Since 1941 he commanded an escadrille within the No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron; then he commanded the entire 2nd Polish Wing and finally the 1st Polish Wing. He also served as a CO of the 56th USAAF Fighter Group and the 131st Fighter Wing RAF.

He ended the war in the rank of generał brygady and remained in exile in London, where he died in 1983. His ashes were brought to Poland in 1992 and dispersed over Warsaw and Dęblin.