Feliks Gazda

Feliks Gazda was born on 6 May 1903 at Zakrzów near Lublin, at the time under Russian occupation, subsequently in the Opole County of the Lublin Province in Poland. His parents, Jan Gazda and Aniela née Morek, were farmers. Feliks graduated from the State Teachers’ College for Men (Państwowe Seminarium Nauczycielskie Męskie) at Solec nad Wisłą and started to teach at a primary school at Hrubieszów.

He was drafted for his military service on 1 September 1924 and joined the Infantry Officer Cadet School (Szkoła Podchorążych Piechoty) in Warsaw. Following a year at the school, on 1 July 1925, with the rank of Lance Sergeant Officer Cadet (kapral podchorąży), he transferred to the Polish Air Force Officers’ School (Oficerska Szkoła Lotnictwa) at Grudziądz, where he completed an air observer’s training (the school moved to Dęblin in 1927). He was posted to the 35th Line Flight (35 Eskadra Liniowa) of the 3rd Air Regiment (3 Pułk Lotniczy) in Poznań as a Sergeant Officer Cadet (sierżant podchorąży) on 15 September 1927. He flew Potez XXVII biplanes there. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (podporucznik) on 15 February 1928.

Gazda then volunteered to undertake pilot’s training, for he first completed a glider flying course. Subsequently, between May and September 1929, he completed an elementary flying course at the Polish Air Force Officers’ Training Centre (Centrum Wyszkolenia Oficerów Lotnictwa) at Dęblin. He then completed an advanced flying course at the 2nd Air Regiment (2 Pułk Lotniczy) in Kraków in October 1929. Upon return to Poznań, he was re-posted to the Spad 61-equipped 132nd Fighter Flight (132 Eskadra Myśliwska) of the III/3 Fighter Squadron (III/3 Dywizjon Myśliwski). He was the acting commander of the flight between 10 October 1932 and 25 March 1933. He was re-posted to the PWS-10-equipped 133rd Fighter Flight (133 Eskadra Myśliwska) in September 1933, appointed to the post of its engineer officer (held by pilots at the time). He was the acting commander of the 133 Flight from 2 September 1934 (with short breaks), and was appointed to command it on 20 March 1935. That same year the unit re-equipped with PZL P.7 fighters.

In connection with the reorganisation of the Polish Air Force, the 133rd Flight was disbanded on 15 September 1937, and the 162nd Fighter Flight (162 Eskadra Myśliwska) was formed from its elements in Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine). Gazda was transferred to the Polish Air Force NCO School for Minors (Szkoła Podoficerów Lotnictwa dla Małoletnich) in Bydgoszcz. Initially, he commanded a platoon there, and then a flight. He was then posted to Krosno on 12 October 1938, as the school commenced a move to that base. At the time, he commanded the 2nd Special Training Flight (2 eskadra szkolna specjalna) of the 3rd Training Squadron (III Dywizjon Szkolny). He was appointed commanding officer of the 3rd Training Squadron on 22 July 1939, and held the post when the war broke out.

In September 1939 he was responsible for the evacuation of a group of pupil pilots training at the Moderówka airfield. He took his charges to Rudnik nad Sanem, and then via Zwierzyniec and Łuck (now Lutsk, Ukraine) to the South East of Poland. They mostly travelled by rail, although they had to cover some sections on foot. After the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September 1939, he and his men crossed the border to Romania at Śniatyń at the orders of his superiors. He was interned at Slatina where he became the Polish commander of the camp. He escaped on 1 October, and made his way to the Black Sea coast. He then went by sea from the port of Balcic to France, travelling on ‘Patris’ via Malta and arriving in Marseille on 12 November 1939.

Gazda was posted to the Polish Air Force Training Centre (Centrum Wyszkolenia Lotnictwa, CWL) in Lyon on 26 November 1939. He was the Deputy Head of Flying Training at the CWL between 15 March and 17 June 1940. He took part in the conversion training of Polish pilots on French aircraft. Following the German attack on France in May 1940, he participated in operational missions against German bombers, flying MS-406 fighters of the CWL’s Fighter Training Flight (Szkolna Eskadra Myśliwska). Evacuation of the CWL commenced on 17 June, after France offered an armistice to the Third Reich. Gazda, together with Capt. Mieczysław Wiórkiewicz and Lt Stanisław Zieliński, flew the flight’s aeroplanes to Perpignan near the Spanish border. There, they joined the group under Capt. Tadeusz Rolski, who planned to fly to North Africa. A few days later, on 23 June, Gazda flew from Perpignan to Oran in Algeria in a Caudron C.440 Goéland passenger-cargo aeroplane flown by W/O Stanisław Płonczyński. He was then sent in a large group of aviators by rail via Rabat to Casablanca in Morocco, for evacuation to Britain. He embarked a ship on 2 July, reaching Liverpool via Gibraltar two weeks later.

He was recorded by the exiled Polish Air Force in Britain with the service number P-0414. His initial posting was to the Polish Air Force Depot at Blackpool, awaiting training on British aircraft. He was posted to No. 1 School of Army Cooperation on 14 October 1940, where he flew Hector and Tiger Moth aircraft and where he was going to be an instructor. The plans changed, however, and he was re-posted to HQ Service Ferry Pools on 9 November 1940, where he flew more types: the Master, Magister and Hurricane, and the twin-engined Oxford. On 21 January 1941, he was detached to Air Transport Auxiliary, a civilian ferry organisation, at White Waltham. He underwent further training there that prepared him for ferry duties, and was introduced to the Blenheim.

In April 1941, he was sent to West Africa to join the Polish pool at Takoradi (reporting to No. 1 Aircraft Delivery Unit). He sailed from Britain on 9 May, and arrived at the Gold Coast (now Ghana) on 31 May. He joined a group that ferried aeroplanes from Takoradi to Egypt for the North African front. The aircraft were shipped by sea in crates to Africa, assembled and test flown there, and flown in convoys across Central Africa and Sudan. The pilots returned from Egypt to Takoradi in passenger aircraft. Gazda flew across Africa for the first time in a Hurricane shortly after his arrival, on 4 June 1941. He had flown six more times across Africa by the end of the year, ferrying Hurricanes and Blenheims. On many occasions he flew as convoy leader, responsible for navigation and safe passage of multiple aircraft at a time.

Towards the end of 1941, he was among Polish pilots who volunteered to fly on operations at the African Front. He was the most experienced fighter pilot in the group. He was posted to No. 71 Operational Training Unit at RAF Gordon’s Tree near Khartoum on 2 December 1941, where he refreshed his fighter pilot skills on Hurricanes and Tomahawks. He was posted to No. 112 Squadron with eight other Poles on 9 February 1942. The squadron was based at Gambut in Libya and was equipped with Kittyhawks. Gazda flew six combat sorties in these aircraft at the Libyan Front: patrols, fighter sweeps, and interceptions.

He left the squadron on 5 May 1942, and for a short time he joined No. 108 Maintenance Unit, where he test flew several Blenheims. He returned to Takoradi on 16 June 1942, and in August he resumed flying Kittyhawks, Blenheims and Baltimores to Egypt. Altogether, he flew 23 times across Africa between 1941 and 1943. He contracted malaria during this time, and suffered eleven bouts of the illness. He was hospitalised several times, including at Abassia and Heliopolis (Egypt), and Lagos (Nigeria), and he also spent some time at a convalescent home in Cairo.

Upon the disbandment of the Polish pool at Takoradi, Gazda (similar to other pilots) was re-posted in September 1943, to No. 3 Aircraft Delivery Unit, a British ferry unit controlled by No. 216 (Air Transport & Ferry) Group in Egypt. This changed the scope of his duties, as he then ferried aircraft in North Africa and the Mediterranean (Sicily, Italy, Gibraltar), adding Spitfires, Mustangs, Beaufighters, Ansons, Dakotas and Wellingtons to his flying log.

He left No. 216 Group at his own request in November 1944, and returned to Britain. He was initially posted to HQ Transport Command RAF, and from 7 March 1945, he was the Polish Liaison Officer to HQ No. 44 (Transport) Group RAF, the formation including Polish pilots who ferried aircraft from Britain to the Mediterranean and India. He was re-posted to the Polish Air Force Depot at Dunholme Lodge on 28 December 1945. He was then posted to Germany on 6 February 1946, and was attached to No. 411 Repair and Salvage Unit there between 13 February and 12 July 1946. He subsequently served as an administration officer at HQ No. 84 (Composite) Group RAF, which controlled No. 131 (Polish) Wing, among others. He returned to Britain at the end of 1946, and was posted to RAF Hethel, where he then served until the disbandment of the exiled Polish Air Force. He joined the Polish Resettlement Corps in early 1947. His postings there included No. 2 Polish Resettlement Unit at Castle Combe, No. 3 Polish Resettlement Unit at Dunholme Lodge, and RAF St Athan.

Feliks Gazda concluded his service with the Polish Air Force holding the Polish rank of Major (major) and the British rank of Flight Lieutenant (having served temporarily as Acting Squadron Leader). His decorations included the Cross of Valour (Krzyż Walecznych), the Silver Cross of Merit with Swords (Srebrny Krzyż Zasługi z Mieczami), the Polish Air Medal (Medal Lotniczy), the Operational Pilot’s Wings (Polowy Znak Pilota; No 1036), and British campaign medals.

He decided to emigrate to Argentina. He sailed there aboard ‘Cordoba’, arriving on 27 February 1949. He settled at Quilmes near Buenos Aires. He earned his living as a pilot initially, but after a short while he was forced to find employment as a building construction labourer. Thanks to financial support of other Polish aviators living in Argentina and Canada, he immigrated to Montreal in October 1953. He was immediately employed by Canadian Aviation Electric, where his job involved ground testing of aircraft instruments. He took early retirement due to serious symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, which manifested themselves in 1964, and moved to Rosemere, a suburb of Montreal.

In December 1953, shortly after his arrival in Montreal, he and several other Polish pilots founded No. 310 ‘Wilno’ Wing, an association of Polish WWII veterans within the RCAF Association.

He was married to Ludomira Gazda née Leja, they had two children.

Flight Lieutenant Feliks Gazda died on 9 May 1970 at St Jerome, Quebec, aged 67. He was buried in the Field of Honour veterans’ cemetery at Pointe Claire, Canada.

Wojciech Zmyślony
(translation by Wojtek Matusiak)