SEAN FEAST PROFILES EUGENIUSZ NOWAKIEWICZ, A POLISH FIGHTER ‘ACE’ WHO GAVE NO QUARTER
POLISH ACE
100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
When the German army poured into Poland on September 1, 1939 the Polish Air Force fought a brief yet heroic action against overwhelming odds. Within days, it had ceased to exist as a military force, although many of its pilots managed to escape, to fight another day with their newly found allies.
Among them was one of the lesser known, yet most ferocious of all Polish fighter pilots. His name was Eugeniusz Jan Adam Nowakiewicz.
‘Gienek’ Nowakiewicz was the son of a butcher, born on January 2, 1920 in the town of Jasło in the southeast of Poland. His father was a noted breeder of St Bernard dogs, but died while Gienek was a small boy. The youngster was fortunate when his mother re-married, and his stepfather proved equally kind and loving.
