Robert Hirszbandt

[keith A]

Eugeniusz Horbaczewski served under th is pilot in France. Was he French or Polish, and what unit did he command? It could be a chimney flight or a training unit.

regards

[VoyTech]

You seem to be doing quite some research into Horbaczewski's biography!

Col. Robert Juliusz Hirszbandt OBE DFC, P-1399. Born 11 September 1899 in Warsaw. Graduated from the Warsaw Technical University. From 1928 he worked in the Armament Section of IBTL (later ITL, Polish equivalent of AAEE and/or RAE). From 1929 to 1939 he was the head of the section. He designed bomb sights used in the PZL 23 Karas and PZL 37 Los bombers, and developed a modification to the Vickers machine gun that prevented it freezing at high altitudes. After Polish campaign in 1939 he arrived in France. From March 1940 he led a group of airmen undergoing training at Bordeaux-Merignac. He arrived in Britain in August 1940. Initially flew as a pilot in No. 6 AACU. He then volunteered for bomber service. Trained at No. 3 SFTS and then at No. 18 OTU. In November 1941 posted to No. 305 Sqn. Offered a posting to the RAE Farnborough, he decided to complete his combat tour first. On the night of 1 June 1942 he flew Wellington II Z8583 SM-Z on a raid to Essen. During the return flight the aircraft (one of its engines damaged by Flak) crashed during a forced landing at Billingford, some 4 miles North of East Dereham, Norfolk, killing the entire crew.
Robert Hirszbandt was buried at Chorlton-cum-Hardy cemetery in Manchester, grave no. 228 Q.
His OBE was awarded for the Vickers machine gun modification (which he handed to the British). He was also awarded the DFC and the Polish Cross of Valour and bar, and posthumously the Silver Cross of Virtuti Militari.

[keith A]

Cheers Voytech,

My college is putting up a memorial to the Poles who trained with 58 OTU, so I have been looking over my old Polish research and trying to add a detail here or there for a display. Horby has been a pet project for a number of years, I have a Polish father-in-law and one day...maybe ...when my kids have grown up, and I'm not working all hours I will get an article together! I note that he an Zumbach are supposed to have fallen out over a woman which prompted his transfer to 302. With incidents like that it's no wonder I am fascinated by the Poles!

thanks for your help, chum

[VoyTech]

Does it mean there's a chance we'll meet at Grangemouth on 13th September?
Never heard that story about a woman. But there were quite a few things that prompted his transfer to 302...