Spitfire Pilot Flight Lieutenant Julian Zuromski

Julian Zuromski was on the verge of becoming a fighter pilot when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. He witnessed the Luftwaffe's bombings and the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, eventually escaping to Romania. After being imprisoned, he fled to France, where he fought in the Battle of France before escaping to Great Britain after France's surrender. There, he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Zuromski served as an instructor at RAF Dumfries and later flew operational patrols, claiming his first aerial victory in 1942 while flying a Spitfire with 308 Squadron. He went on to achieve two more victories, including the destruction of a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 with 66 Squadron in 1943. On that same day, Zuromski was shot down, captured, and sent to Dulag Luft, where he wrote anti-Bolshevik propaganda, later being moved to a special camp in Berlin. Zuromski escaped captivity during an Allied bombing raid, eventually making his way to Poland and reuniting with his fiancee. Although suspected of collaboration due to his wartime activities, he was exonerated and later served in the Royal Pakistan Air Force. This book also explores the fate of Zuromski's father, a victim of the Katyn massacre, and the contributions of other Polish pilots in WWII. AUTHOR: Colin Pateman grew up in the South of England and spent the majority of his working life as a police officer. His key roles were in handling specialist search dogs and acting as a Police Search Advisor. He became a fully qualified instructor within the 'Dog Unit' and felt privileged to have trained and worked in operational Policing for over thirty years. An avid collector of aviation memorabilia, Colin gained great satisfaction from the gathering and preservation of personal accounts of Second World War pilots and aircrews. The quality of research within his books reflects both empathy and respect to the subject of Second World War aviation history. Please see: www.colinpateman.com 20 b/w illustrations