Janusz Żurakowski
| Janusz Żurakowski | |
|---|---|
Janusz Żurakowski c.2003
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| Born |
12 September 1914 Ryzawka, Russia |
| Died | 9 February 2004 (aged 89) Barry's Bay, Ontario |
| Occupation | Aviator Lodge owner |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Żurakowska |
| Children | George Żurakowski and Mark Żurakowski |
| Parent(s) | Adam Żurakowski and Maria Antonina Szawłowska |
| Awards |
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Janusz Żurakowski (12 September 1914 – 9 February 2004) was a Polish fighter and test pilot. At various times in his life he lived and worked in Poland, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Żurakowski was born in 1914 to Polish parents in Ryzawka, which had been a city of the Russian Empire since 1793 when it was removed from Poland in the Second Partition. In 1921, following the Polish-Soviet War, the Treaty of Riga established the frontier between Soviet Russia and the Second Polish Republic. The new border placed Ryzawka in Soviet territory. So the Żurakowski family left their home and escaped into the newly established Polish Republic.
Żurakowski was educated at a high school in Lublin, where he learned to fly gliders. In 1934, he joined the Polish Air Force and entered the Polish Air Force Officers' School. After learning to fly powered aircraft, he graduated in 1935 as a sub-lieutenant. He went on to serve as a fighter pilot posted to 161 Fighter Squadron in Lwów, and in 1939 he served as a flying instructor at Dęblin.
In September 1939, "Black September", Żurakowski had his combat debut in an outmoded PZL P.7 trainer against a squadron of seven German Dornier 17s attacking Deblin on 2 September. He was able to damage one of the Do17s but was forced to break off combat when his guns jammed.
Following the defeat of Poland, Żurakowski made his way to England via Romania and France. Like many of his compatriots, he was smuggled out of the war zone with false documents and a new identity as a forester. Thousands of the Polish Air Force pilots who had made their way to France fought against Luftwaffe forces in the Battle of France. Żurakowski was originally posted to a fighter unit in France before he was selected to train as a bomber pilot in England. Once he arrived in England, the RAF changed its mind and sent him and the first group of Poles to fighter squadrons which were rapidly being deployed in anticipation of an attack on Britain in 1940.
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Wikipedia