Antoni Głowacki Antoni ( Toni ) Głowacki DFC , DFM , was a Polish Second World War fighter pilot flying with Polish Squadrons attached to the RAF , who is notable for shooting down five German aircraft on 24 August 1940 during the Battle of Britain , becoming one of only three pilots who gained " Ace - in - a - day " status during that battle , the other being New Zealander Brian Carbury and Scot Archie McKellar . Early years . Głowacki was born on 10 February 1910 in Warsaw , attending a local primary school and graduating from the Radio Engineering School . He attended the Wawelberg and Rotwand Advanced Constructing and Electronics School , a technical school and between 1928 and 1930 he was the head of the laboratory in the Philips plants in Poland . After enrolling in basic military training , Głowacki entered air training at Lublinek airfield near Lodz . After 1935 , he became an officer serving in 1 Air Wing in Warsaw . In 1938 , Głowacki completed a specialist course at the Air Force Training Centre No . 1 in Deblin , and was retained there as a flying instructor , as the Polish Air Force was in great need of new recruits . He joined other instructors such as Jan Zumbach and Janusz Żurakowski . Second World War . During " Black September " , ( September 1939 ) , the Deblin unit was unable to mount a defence and Glowacki joined a reconnaissance platoon of the Warsaw Armoured - Motorised Brigade , commanded by Flight Lieutenant Julian Lagowski . At the collapse of the Polish resistance in late September , Głowacki fled to Romania where along with thousands of other Polish soldiers and airmen , he was interned . He made his way to France via the sea , as the Battle of France was imminent , and was ordered to join the first 100 pilots selected to train as a bomber pilot in England . On arrival in England on 28 January 1940 , they were transferred by the RAF to fighter squadrons which were rapidly being deployed in anticipation of an attack on Britain in 1940 . After initial training at 6 OTU in Sutton Bridge , Głowacki was posted to No . 501 RAF " County of Gloucester " Fighter Squadron on 5 August 1940 as a sergeant pilot flying Hawker Hurricane s . Battle of Britain . Głowacki was immediately involved in uneventful daily sorties for 10 days ( building up his total flying time on Hurricanes to 50 hours ) , until 15 July when the squadron intercepted Junkers Ju 87 dive - bombers . His first combat sorties in Hurricane I , SD - A ( VZ124 ) resulted in a Ju 87 and later in the same day , a Dornier 215 destroyed . His squadron was deployed four times throughout the day , intercepting raiders over Dover . Unlike other RAF pilots , Głowacki preferred to fly one aircraft exclusively , SD - A ( VZ124 ) , which he considered his " lucky Hurricane . " During three sorties on 24 August 1940 , flying SD - A , Głowacki shot down three Bf 109s and two Junkers Ju 88 bombers over Ramsgate , to become the first " One - day Ace " of the Battle of Britain . On 28 August 1940 Głowacki shot down another Bf 109 when flying SD - O ( VZ234 ) . On 31 August 1940 , during an attack on group of Dornier Do 17 bombers , he claimed a bomber that dived out of the formation ( although the claim was later reverted to a probable ) , but he was shot down over Gravesend and was injured when his Hurricane SD - P ( P3208 ) crashed and was burnt out . After returning from hospital , he was again rotated into regular duty , but had a difficult time regaining his scoring touch . Głowacki was promoted to Pilot Officer and on 10 February 1941 was posted to 55 OTU at Usworth , where he was a flying instructor specialising in combat tactics . European Theatre . On 7 November 1941 , along with other Poles who had been attached to RAF squadrons , Głowacki was transferred to No . 303 Polish Fighter Squadron where he eventually flew Supermarine Spitfire s . On 27 April and 19 August 1942 , Głowacki had two probables over Dieppe , claiming Focke Wulf Fw 190 s . He also shared in the downing of a Heinkel He 111 . On 7 February 1943 Squadron Leader Głowacki was transferred to No . 308 " City of Kraków " Polish Fighter Squadron ( Krakowski ) , serving as flight commander until 22 February 1944 . After an exchange posting with the USAAF in May 1944 , he was posted to 61 OTU . From 9 September 1944 till 16 July 1945 , Głowacki was the commanding officer at No . 309 " Land of Czerwień " Polish Fighter - Reconnaissance Squadron ( Ziemi Czerwieńskiej ) . The squadron was equipped with long - ranging North American Mustang Mk III fighters . From 23 July 1945 he served in 60 OTU and between October and November 1945 he served in No . 307 " City of Lwów " Polish Fighter Squadron ( Lwowskich Puchaczy ) . Postwar . From 1 December 1945 Glowacki was a liaison officer to 13 RAF Fighter Group . At the end of 1946 , Głowacki was the commanding officer of No . 302 " City of Poznań " Polish Fighter Squadron ( Poznański ) . His last rank in the Royal Air Force was Squadron Leader . Głowacki ' s wartime victories involved a number of disputes but he is credited with eight victories , one shared , three probable and three damaged . After the war , he completed his memoirs which detailed his combat missions . After demobilisation , Głowacki emigrated to New Zealand where he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force . As a Flight Lieutenant he was an instructor at OTU at Ohakea Air Base , converting new pilots from piston - engined trainers to Vampire jets . He retired from the RNZAF in 1960 and became an airfield inspector with the New Zealand Department of Civil Aviation where he was responsible for sport and executive aviation . Głowacki died on 27 April 1980 in Wellington , New Zealand . Honours and tributes . In recognition of his service in the Battle of Britain and later campaigns , Głowacki received several awards :