Accounts Polish aircrew of ditched Wellington

[Hans Nauta]

Dear all,

In the night of 11/12th June 1941 Wellington W5666 of 300 Squadron had to ditch on the North Sea, about West of the Isle of Texel. The crew consisted of:

Pilot F/O Stanislaw Tadeusz SEDZIK, P.0479, POW
2nd Pilot Sgt Ludwik MACIEJ, P.792369, POW
Observer P/O Walerian SOJKA, P.1449, POW
W.OP/Air gunner Sgt Zygmunt Jan CHOWANSKI, P.780821, MIA
Front gunner Sgt Waclaw WEINBERG, P.781630, POW
Rear gunner Sgt Stanislaw KRUK SCHUSTER, POW and repatriated? No service number.

I wonder if one of the crew members has ever made an account of their ditching in one or another (Polish?) article or publication.

There's not much more information in The Polish Air Force At War by Jerzy B. Cynk and I also have some Liberation Questionnaires of three of the crew from The National Archives in London, but these don't contain detailed information of their last flight.

Hope someone has a link on file or on his shelves.

Thanks in advance and best regards,
Hans Nauta

[Franek Grabowski]

Hans
I am afraid that chances of finding such an account are slim to say the least. Herewith enclosed some data on the airmen. Although I have none listed as dead, I am afraid that in most cases they have passed away.

Pilot F/O Stanislaw Tadeusz SEDZIK, P.0479, POW

Born 1908 and last living in UK.

2nd Pilot Sgt Ludwik MACIEJ, P.792369, POW

Born 1915 and last living in the USA.

Observer P/O Walerian SOJKA, P.1449, POW

Born 1916, further fate unknown.

Front gunner Sgt Waclaw WEINBERG, P.781630, POW

Born 1919, further fate unknown.

Rear gunner Sgt Stanislaw KRUK SCHUSTER, POW

Born 1921, further fate unknown.

[Hans Nauta]

Hello Franek,

Thanks for your reply. Nice to see you attributing everytime when it comes to Polish matters!

Frankly, I had very little hope that an account of one of the crew was ever published in an Polish article, newspaper or whatever, unknown in W-Europe. But if you don't ask...

Best regards,
Hans Nauta

[VoyTech]

Originally Posted by Hans Nauta

Wellington W5666

code BH-H

Pilot F/O Stanislaw Tadeusz SEDZIK, P.0479, POW

P.0497, not "479"; died 4/42006 in Kettering, UK.

2nd Pilot Sgt Ludwik MACIEJ, P.792369, POW

He died 12/3/2007 in San Pedro, California, USA. I believe he wrote about this flight in a letter to a friend. I will check if I can access that letter.

Rear gunner Sgt Stanislaw KRUK SCHUSTER, POW and repatriated? No service number.

service no. 780474; died in June 1983 at Blackpool, UK.

[Hans Nauta]

Hi Voytech,

Thanks a lot for the additional info, especially the corrected service number of F/O Sedzik and added number of Sgt Kruk-Schuster.

I would be very interested in the contents of that possible letter!

Best regards,
Hans Nauta

[andrew.maciej]

Originally Posted by Hans Nauta

Dear all,

In the night of 11/12th June 1941 Wellington W5666 of 300 Squadron had to ditch on the North Sea, about West of the Isle of Texel. The crew consisted of:

Pilot F/O Stanislaw Tadeusz SEDZIK, P.0479, POW
2nd Pilot Sgt Ludwik MACIEJ, P.792369, POW
Observer P/O Walerian SOJKA, P.1449, POW
W.OP/Air gunner Sgt Zygmunt Jan CHOWANSKI, P.780821, MIA
Front gunner Sgt Waclaw WEINBERG, P.781630, POW
Rear gunner Sgt Stanislaw KRUK SCHUSTER, POW and repatriated? No service number.

I wonder if one of the crew members has ever made an account of their ditching in one or another (Polish?) article or publication.

There's not much more information in The Polish Air Force At War by Jerzy B. Cynk and I also have some Liberation Questionnaires of three of the crew from The National Archives in London, but these don't contain detailed information of their last flight.

Hope someone has a link on file or on his shelves.

Thanks in advance and best regards,
Hans Nauta

Hello Hans,

I came across this website and realised that you were talking about my father's crew. My father was the 2nd pilot, Ludwik Maciej (792369) My father passed away on 12 March 2007, in San Pedro, California, USA. His ashes were burried at his parents' grave, in Czechowice-Dziedzice, Poland.
Jan Chowanski was found missing after the plane ditched in the North Sea and he is remembered at the Polish War Memorial in Northolt, England, together with my father's good friend who also was missing in action by the name of Mieczyslaw Sloma, who was a friend from flying school from Krakow, Poland.
Any more details on my father you can contact me on e mail on andrew.maciej@virgin.net

Kind regards,

Andrew Maciej

[Henk Welting]

Hans, Wojtek,
Strange that CHOWANSKI is listed as a PoW in Oliver Clutton-Brock's "Footprints on the sands of time", although without any PoW-info.
Regards,
Henk.