Eugeniusz Horbaczewski Eugeniusz Horbaczewski ( 28 September 1917 - 18 August 1944 ) was a Polish fighter pilot , a flying ace of World War II , also known as " Dziubek " ( literally is the diminutive of ' the beak ' in Polish ) . According to official lists , Horbaczewski was the third highest scoring Polish fighter ace , with 16 . 5 confirmed kills ( 16 individual and one shared ) and one probable kill . He was awarded several decorations , among others Virtuti Militari IV class ( posthumously ) and V class , four times Polish Cross of Valour , Distinguished Service Order ( posthumously ) and Distinguished Flying Cross ( twice ) . Biography . Horbaczewski was born in Kiev , then his family moved to Brest . At school , he compleed a gliding course . In 1938 he entered cadet flying school in Dęblin , from which he graduated in 1939 . During the Invasion of Poland in 1939 he was made a Podporucznik ( 2nd Lieutenant ) but he saw no combat . He was evacuated through Romania , Yugoslavia and Greece to France . Still without a combat assignment he then evacuated in June 1940 to the Britain . After training on RAF aircraft , on 21 August 1941 he was posted to the Polish No . 303 Squadron , flying the Spitfire Mk . V . He probably shot down his first aircraft , a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter on 6 November over France . His first confirmed kill was a Focke - Wulf Fw 190 on 4 April 1942 . He shot down a Bf 109 on 16 April and a Fw 190 on 19 August . In February 1943 he volunteered for the Polish Fighting Team , also known as the " Skalski ' s Circus " , attached to the Desert Air Force . Fighting from March 1943 in the Tunisia Campaign , the flight were attached to No . 145 Squadron RAF . On 28 March he shot down a Junkers Ju 88 , then four Bf 109 ' s ( on 2 April , 6 April , and two on 22 April ) . On 6 April his Spitfire Mk . IX was hit and started burning , but as he prepared to jump the wind extinguished the fire and he managed to land on an airfield . Remaining in Africa after the Flight was disbanded he was transferred to No 601 Squadron , prior to becoming a flight commander in No . 43 Squadron RAF . He commanded the flight from May 1943 then in August he became a Squadron Leader ( being one of three Poles commanding British squadrons ) . He fought with No . 43 squadron over Malta , Sicily and Italy . On 4 September he shot down a Fw 190 and on 16 September two more . In October he handed over command and returned to Britain . On 16 February 1944 Horbaczewski took command of the Polish No . 315 Squadron , flying the new P - 51 Mustang Mk . III . On 12 June [ 1944 ] he shot down a Fw 190 , and on 30 July one Bf 109 individually and one with his wing man ( counted as 0 . 5 ' share ' ) . At this time , he also shot down four V - 1 flying bomb s . Death . On 18 August 1944 Horbaczewski led his squadron of 12 aircraft over France on a ' Rodeo ' mission , despite being ill with flu . The Poles , using an element of surprise , attacked a group of 60 Fw 190s of " Jagdgeschwaders " 2 and 26 , over an airfield near Beauvais . Horbaczewski quickly shot down three Focke - Wulfs , but went missing during the dogfight . In 1947 the wreck of his Mustang with his body was found crashed near Valennes . Exact circumstances are unclear ; he was probably shot down in combat by an aircraft of II . / JG 26 . The Poles were credited with shooting down 16 aircraft in this encounter , with the only loss their Squadron leader ( according to German documents , eight Fw 190 of JG 26 and four of JG 2 were destroyed ) . Awards . Virtuti Militari IV class ( posthumously ) < br >