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![]() Douglas A/B-26 Invader The Michael J.Dobrzelecki collection |
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On one of my research trips
regarding Polish pilot, Witold Urbanowicz (2nd top scoring Polish ace of WWII and the only Polish pilot to serve in Asia and
be credited with two Japanese fighters shot down), I was invited to attend the reunion of the 75th F.S., 23rd F.G., 14th
AF in Tuscon several years ago. One of their members was none other than Bob Denny, who realted to me that he was
one of On Mark's executives. During the reunion, they had a guided tour of the Pima Air Museum, which has an On
Mark B-26 on display.
I have a great photo of Bob
Denny standing in front of the On Mark B-26 alongside none other than Tex Hill, famous A.V.G. ace and former 75th F.S. commander. They
told me a story of how they used former 75th F.S. pilots to ferry some of the On Mark B-26's.
Does Bob Denny's name feature in any of the info you have on On Mark? He hosted a great
dinner at his house during the 75th FS reunion. He lived in an exclusive gated community in Tuscon and had a One-Hole golf
course putting green in his back yard - very professional - cup, flag and all. They had a combo performing at his house, with
some of musically gifted 75th FS vets forming part of the band. I was dancing with my wife, when I had a bit of an epiphany.
I looked around the yard at a veritable Who's Who of famous WWII aces all dancing with their wives to 1940's music and it
was like a scene out of countless war movies of similar gatherings just before the war started.
One of Bob Denny's other friends
at that party was none other than Ken Taylor, one of the USAAF pilots who got off the ground (with George Welch) from the
auxiliary field at Haleiwa and shot down Japanese aircraft during the Pearl Harbor Air Raid.
This is the
first in a series of emails transmitting the photos you requested. I'm leaving the photos at full resolution.
The photos from the 75th Fighter Squadron reunion in Tuscon AZ October 1997 are digital photos I shot of the original 35mm prints - some came out better than others.
Each photo is identified by the jpeg's name to help you in identifying the people and circumstances. Feel free to add
them to your website - crediting me is all I ask.
If
you want, you can condense the story I related on how I met Bob Denny.
Bob Denny told me he used WWII 75th FS pilots, who were friends of his, to ferry On
Mark B-26's, Tex Hill being one of the possibilities
Today’s
Quiz: What does the Polish Air Force, King Kong, the A.V.G., the USAAF 75th Fighter Squadron and the Air Raid on By
Mike Dobrzelecki
From
time to time I have written various stories from my aviation research projects. Once
in awhile a really bizarre set of coincidences linking seemingly unrelated aspects of aviation history come together that
can not be duplicated. My research regarding the 2nd top-scoring Polish Air Force
ace of World War II, Witold Urbanowicz, presented such a case of true synchronicity. Urbanowicz
began his service in the Polish Air Force in the 1930’s. He started out as an Observer in a bomber squadron, but his
skills as a pilot soon paved the way for his re-assignment to No. 111 Kosciuszko Eskadra (Squadron) in the 1st
Air Regiment. In 1936 while flying a PZL P.11a gull-wing fighter, Urbanowicz
encountered a Soviet R5 recon biplane photographing Polish positions. The standing
orders were that Polish fighters were not to fire on intruders, but rather escort them back over the border into Soviet territory.
Apparently the Soviet crew did not get that particular memo, as they opened fire on Urbanowicz with the oberserver’s
gun. Urbanowicz easily avoided the attack and once again used hand signals to instruct the crew to turn back. To Urbanowicz’s
amazement, the Soviet crew fired on him a second time. Having had quite enough of this, Urbanowicz swung around and promptly
shot down the R-5 with his twin 7.9mm machine guns. Upon landing back at base
Urbanowicz was content in the satisfaction that he had done a fighter pilot’s duty. The Polish government and Polish
Air Force unfortunately did not see it that way. His downing of the intruder had become a heated diplomatic incident and instead
of a medal, Urbanowicz was transferred to a training unit as an instructor, where he bided his time until On
the first day of the war, he was aloft with a cadet teaching him aerial gunnery. They had barely made it to their assigned
training area, when Urbanowicz saw tracers zipping over his PZL P.7a fighter-trainer. As with the Soviet recon plane’s
attack, he easily avoided the fire. Urbanowicz was truly perturbed thinking that his trainee had accidentally fired on him.
On the way back to base he contemplated the details of punishment he was going to mete out to the errant Airedale. Upon landing and relating the story to his fellow instructors, they told Urbanowicz to go to the chapel
instead and light a meter-high candle and say a prayer of thanks for not being shot down by the Luftwaffe Bf-109E-1 that almost
got him. Urbanowicz
escaped Upon
arrival at his posting at Northolt, he discovered to his surprise that 303 was commanded by his old 111 Eskadra leader, Krasnodebski,
the very same gent who bounced him down to flight instructor. Time and war heals all wounds, though, and Urbanowicz began
the next phase of his service. Within a week of posting to 303, Krasnodebski was shot down and wounded, and Urbanowicz took
over as the Polish Squadron Commander of 303, a duty he shared with a British
pilot (yes, the Brits still did not fully trust the Poles). Urbanowicz and his squadron mates flew and fought well during September and October 1940. Urbanowicz was
credited with 15 confirmed kills, making him the top scoring Polish ace of the Battle of Britain; and the 303 Kosciusko Squadron
was the top-scoring RAF unit during the Battle of Britain with 126 kills, despite the fact that they only joined the air battle
more than half way through. Urbanowicz
was posted to headquarters duty after he departed 303 Squadron in October 1940. His personality did not blend well with the
stuffy atmosphere in HQ and he was reassigned to go on public relations missions to Cooper
was one of two founders of the original Polish Koscuiszko Squadron in 1919, a unit that was comprised of American volunteer
pilots and Poles. The unit was named in honor of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Polish patriot
and military engineer that served on the colonial side during the American Revolutionary War, and was most famous for designing
the defenses at the Battle of Saratoga and The
Kosciuszko Squadron served with distinction during the Polish – Soviet War of 1919-1920. Never heard of this war? Not
surprising, not many have. The
Polish-Soviet War was unique, with none of the static trench warfare that characterized the First World War. Rather, the conflict
saw vast cavalry armies sweeping back and forth across the steppes, with the fledgling Polish Air Force in the middle of it. The
Kosciuszko squadron flew Austrian Oeffag Albatros 253 fighters and Italian Ansaldo A.1 Balilas. Cooper was shot down and eventually
captured. The Bolsheviks normally executed officers, especially foreigners, but Cooper was spared because he was wearing the
uniform of a corporal with a different name. Cooper later escaped and made an
epic journey back to the Polish lines. By the summer of 1920, the Soviets had driven the Poles back to the gates of Merian
C.Cooper, enshrined as a hero to the Polish nation, returned to Urbanowicz
arrived in I
met Urbanowicz as a result of my work creating exhibits for the Intrepid Sea-Air Space Museum in These
squadron reunions are somewhat similar to the format of IPMS model conventions, in that they include hospitality suites, dinners,
lunches, banquets, parties and field trips to museums, events and air bases. The 75th FS reunion was one of the best I attended.
You could not throw a rock without hitting two or three famous aces - the 75th boasted more of original AVG aces than any
other fighter unit in the 23rd F.G., too. The conversations I had during the hospitality suite get-togethers were fascinating.
Alcohol flowed freely and everyone kept well-fed on sausages made by Tex Hill from wild boar and deer he hunted. Johnnie Alison
was there, Ed Bolen, Phil Lufbourrow, Rodey Rodewald and Clyde Slocumb, the latter one of the founding members of the Thunderbirds,
just to name a few. On
the Thursday of that week-long reunion, a party was hosted by one of the squadron members, Bob Denny, who lived in a swanky
gated community in The
next day the reunion group took a field trip to the The
epilogue to the story was typical I
have come to realize that I love researching projects more than producing the actual final product. And the game was certainly
afoot that week, so much so, that even Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson would have had their interest piqued. Leads often produce
connections that were not necessarily the original point of the process, but that’s what makes the hunt an exciting
process unto itself. How else could have a connection been made between the Polish
Air Force, King Kong, The Air Raid on Pearl Harbor, the 75th Fighter Squadron in the Bob
Denny, Tex Hill, Ken Taylor and Johnnie Alison all have since passed away, as have many of the aces I met that week - a week
which I'll always remember; and part of which I share today.
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