Merriam Press Military Monograph 86. Fourth Edition (February
2012). While Waclaw Lapkowski was an experienced pilot who became
one of Poland's aces during the war, his early demise, like that of
so many others, has relegated his achievements to the back pages of
history, making them nearly forgotten. It is the author's hope
that, in some small way, this work will help preserve the memory of
a little known pilot who fought, not only for his own country, but
also for France and England during the early, dark days of World
War II. The second reason for producing this work is the unique use
of official combat and operations reports from the Royal Air Force
(RAF). Many of those who are interested in World War II aviation
and fighter aces have read the biographies, and first-hand accounts
of air combat contained within, of such men as Douglas Bader,
Witold Urbanowicz, Adolph Galland, and Gregory "Pappy" Boyington,
to name just a few. But what of those "aces" that did not survive
to tell their story? How are they to be remembered? In the case of
those who served with the RAF, the answer is, in part, through the
use of official combat reports and related documents. While these
official RAF and Polish Air Force (PAF) records do not sound
particularly exciting, a glance at the surviving records quickly
proves otherwise. Indeed, the title of this book consists of a
borrowed phrase from one such report, and is a small example of the
many dramatic events recorded within, often in the pilot's own
words. While these reports have been an important source for many
works on the RAF and PAF and its achievements during the war, never
before, to the author's knowledge, have official combat reports
been presented to the reading public in their original form. Though
not originally intended for public view, they nonetheless make for
exciting and informative reading and will be of interest not only
to those with a passing interest in World War II aviation, but to
the serious student as well. While the author was unable to obtain
combat reports for all of Lapkowski's flights, those that were
procured for September 1940 and June 1941 are of particular
interest as they highlight all of the "kills" that he made while
serving in the RAF. What the author found out, from the official
combat reports, and various published sources, uniquely combined
with available archaeological artifacts, was fascinating. What
emerged from the records is a story worth telling. Waclaw
Lapkowski, though not famous like such other Polish aces as
Stanislaw Skalski, Jan Zumbach, or Urbanowicz, had an interesting
and distinguished career. He was in the thick of battle at the
outset of the war, when Germany invaded Poland on September 1,
1939, and saw subsequent service during the Battle of France and
the Battle of Britain in 1940. He achieved air victories in two out
of three of these campaigns, and is one of only a handful of men,
less than 150 in number, who served in all three campaigns. To
borrow a phrase from the British, Waclaw Lapkowski truly was one of
"The Few," men whose skill and bravery helped stem the tide of
German aggression and made Allied victory possible, at the cost of
their own lives. Contents: Acknowledgments; Introduction; The
Source-Combat Report Form F; The German Invasion of Poland,
September 1939; The Battle of France, May-June 1940; The Battle of
Britain, August-September 1940; Shot Down over London, September
1940; Cross-Channel Operations, January-May 1941; Achieving Ace
Status, June 1941; Final Flight, July 1941; Battle of Britain
Revisited; Awards for Distinguished Action by Polish Pilots;
Biographies of Polish Pilots; Waclaw Lapkowski's Combat Claims;
Bibliography; 5 illustrations; 30 photos; 18 combat reports;
Pilot's flight log.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!