Article: A Hero To Remember

Oct 31, 2025Ace fighter pilots

A Hero To Remember

On April 15, 1915, Jan Zumbach was born to his Polish-born Swiss parents in Ursynów, a district in Warsaw, Poland. His family moved to Bobrow, a village East of Krakov, when young Jan was just 7 years old. This is where his education began.

In 1928 Zumbach attended an airshow in Brodnica, and from that experience he developed a love for airplanes and a desire to pursue a career as a pilot. When Zumbach turned 21 he forged his mother's signature on his consent document to join the army. When Jan was born he was registered as a Swiss citizen, but he hid his nationality in order to join the Polish army in 1934. He completed his service in the infantry in 1936 and then transferred to the Polish Air Force where he enrolled in the Aviation Cadet School in Deblin, Poland.

Two years later in 1938 Jan Zumbach completed his initial flight training and graduated from the Aviation Cadet School as a 2nd Lieutant. This was followed by a posting to the 111 Eskadra Mysliwska (111th Fighter Squadron).

The cadets were initially trained in a Polish designed PZL P.11c aircraft which was a single seat fighter. As the aircraft were built and produced in Poland they also became the training aircraft for the Romanian Air Force.

A domestically produced fighter plane in Poland in 1939 called a PZL P.11

Specifications:

Crew: 1 pilot;
Length: 24 feet 9 inches;
Wingspan: 35 feet 2 inches;
Height: 9 feet 4 inches;
Empty weight: 2,529 pounds;
Gross weight: 3,968 pounds;
Powerplant: Bristol Mercury V.S2 9-cylindar air-cooled radial 560 shp piston engine;
Maximum speed: 240 mph;
Stall speed: 61 mph;
Range: 430 miles;
Service ceiling: 26,000 feet.

During the summer of 1939 Zumbach had a flying accident in which he broke his leg. He was then sent for rehabilitation to a rehab center in Zaleszcyki. As a result, Zumbach could not fly during the German invasioin of Poland, and the invasion marked the outbreak of World War II. During the invasion the Germans straffed and bombed the Aviation Cadet School and it's airfield.

After leaving rehabilitation Zumach began searching for his squadron, but he had no luck in locating the squadron. So, on September 17, 1939, Zumbach went to Romania, but found that he was not welcome there. The Romanian government was afraid to aid the Polish refugees for fear of the Germans. However, the Poles evaded arrest through bribes of Romanian officers. From Romania Zumbach fled first to Beirut, Lebanon, and then he continued on to France in an effort to continue his flight training.

After safely arriving In France he was sent to the Polish Aviation Training Center where he flew the Morane 406 and Curtiss Hawk 75 with GCII/55 (Groupe de Chasse II/5). This was a fighter group of the French Air Force that inherited the tradition of the Lafayette Escadrille from World War I. In September 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, the unit was stationed at Toul-Croix de Metz and commanded by Commandant Marcel Hugues.

On June 19, 1940, Zumbach was evacuated from Bordeaux, France, on a Polish merchant ship called the "S.S. Kmicic," to Great Britain, arrving on June 22 at Falmouth. The ship struggled to avoid mine fields at Gironde, France, sailing deep into the Atlantic Ocean to avoid German U-Boats, and then sailing East to Falmouth.

In 1940, a year into World War II, an agreement was reached between the Polish and the British governments, to form a Polish fighter squadron. The Polish squadron was to be designated as the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron.

The squadron was finally activated on August 2, 1940, and named after the Polish and U.S. hero General Tadeusz Kosciuszko. He was a military engineer and defensive mastermind who fought in the American Revolutionary War, as well as an uprising in his home country. He was well liked and known for his bravery, kindness, patriotism, likeability, andunwavering strength of character.

Initially the squadron was comprised of just 156 Polish military personnel, 8 of which were pilots. On August 2nd, 1940, Zumbach received a posting to the squadron, and he became one of the founding members at the base at RAF Leconfield in Yorkshire, far North of London. Their training started right away, but one of the hurdles faced by both sides was the languish barrier.

Despite of that the Poles quickly picked up the necessary military terminology they needed and were soon ready to go up and fight. One of the more interesting parts of this story is about the painting of Donald Duck on Zumbach's aircraft. The anglicization of his first name was "Donald," and due to his sloping nose with its oddly upturned tip it reminded people of Donald Duck's bill, thus the painting on his aircraft.

Initially the poles were supplied with Hawker Hurricanes to fly. It was a British single-seat fighter of the 1930-40s, and became overshadowed by the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

A photograph of Zumbach flying a Supermarine Spitfire in World War II.

Specifications:

Crew: 1;
Length: 29 feet 14 inches;
Wingspan: 36 feet 13 inches;
Height: 9 feet 14 inches;
Empty weight: 4,998 pounds;
Maximum Take Off Weight: 6,418 pounds;
Engine: 1 Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 liquid-cooled V-12 inline piston engine developing 1,478 hp with either a 3 or 4 bladed propeller;
Speed: 369 mph;
Range: 423 miles;
Ceiling: 36,499 feet.

The Spirfires had a variety of different wing guns, depending upon the model:

A-model: 8 each 7.7mm Browning machine guns;
B-model: 2 each 20mm Hispano cannons and 4 7.7mm Browning machine guns;
C-model: 4 each 20mm Hispano cannons;
E-model: 2 each Hispano 20mm cannons and 2 each 12.7mm Browning heavy machine guns.

A total of 20,351 Spitfires were built during WW II.

Polish flying skills were well-devloped from the invasion of Poland, and being highly motivated by patriotism for revenge, the pilots were regarded as fearless and sometimes bordering on reckless. Their success rates were very high in comparison to the less experienced British Commonwealth pilots.

During the Battle of Britain Zumbach scored eight confirmed and one probable kill, mostly against Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. Unfortunately, on May 9, 1941, while returning from a mission, Zumbach was shot down over Dover, but he bailed out unharmed.

Zumbach took over command of the squadron on May 19, 1942 until November 30, 1943. This was followed by a year in staff assignments, including at the Polish Air Force Staff College at RAF Weston-super-Mare. The Polish Air Force Staff College was established in the United Kingdom during World War II to train Polish airmen and was operational until April 1946. It provided advanced education and training for officers of the Polish Air Force, particularly after the Polish forces gained more autonomy in 1944.

On September 25, 1944, Zumbach scored his final victory of the war, a probable kill against a Fw 190 over Arnhem. Zumbach was one of the first Allied pilots to experience combat against the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190. His final victory tally was 13 confirmed kills, five probables, and one damaged.

Zumbach was awarded the Silver Cross of the Viruti Military, the Polish Cross of Calor with 3 bars, and the Distinguished Flying Cross with one bar.

After The War

Zumbach was demobilized in October of 1946, but he contined to fly for a living. Under a Swiss passport he and 2 other ex-RAF pilots started a charter air transport company which became a cover for a bank note smuggling operation. It's activites soon expanded to a wide range of illegal goods from vaious countries.

Soon, though, Zumbach married, settled down, had a child, and stopped illegal smuggling. In 1962 he put together a primitive air force in Katanga (the Democratic Repblic of the Congo) which he ran until December of that same year.

He then went on to deal in second-hand aircraft before becoming a mercenary pilot who organized and ran the air force of Biafra, a separatist group in Nigeria attempting to restore the Republic of Biafra. Zumbac flew a vintage B-26 from which he and his bombardier dropped homemade explosives from on Nigeria during bombing raids.

However, Zumbach came to a sad end when he mysteriousely died in Paris on March 1, 1986. He was 70 years of age, and no one knew why he died, but his friends were convinced that he had met with foul play. But he left a legacy of one of the most celebrated Polish pilots of World War II.

Zumbach was buried in the Military Cemetery in Warsaw.

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