Polish fighter pilot
Jozef Jeka
(1917?1958) was a Polish
fighter pilot
who served in the
Polish Defensive War
and became an
ace
in the
Battle of Britain
. In the
Second World War
he shot down at least eight enemy aircraft, and survived being shot down twice.
In the
Cold War
Jeka worked for the
CIA
. He was killed in 1958 in an air crash on a covert mission in Indonesia.
Biography
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]
Early years
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]
Jozef Jeka was born in
Tupadły
(present-day it is part of the town
Władysławowo
). He was the son of Antoni and Agata Mudlaff.
[1]
[
circular reference
]
Jozef's father was a Polish independence activist.
[2]
[
circular reference
]
Two Jozef's brothers, Alfons and Stanisław belonged to the
Pomeranian Griffin
.
On 1 August 1937 Jozef Jeka entered the Non-Commissioned Officer's School for minors. Then he participated in a course in aircraft maintenance. After completing his flying training
[3]
[
circular reference
]
and then a fighter pilot course, he was assigned to
Polish 141st Fighter Escadrille
.
World War II
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]
During the
September Campaign
Jeka flew a
PZL P.11
fighter. After the
Soviet invasion of Poland
he crossed the border with
Romania
, where he was interned. He escaped to France via Yugoslavia and Greece, on 23 October he arrived in
Marseilles
.
On 23 February 1940 he came to England. After training in
Blackpool
and
Carlisle
[4]
[5]
Jeka was sent to
No. 238 Squadron RAF
. He shot down his first plane on 15 September 1940. He became an ace on 7 October when he downed a
Junkers Ju 88
(it was his 5th victory). On 5 October Jeka himself was shot down and wounded. He was hospitalized till 15 November in
Shaftesbury
. From 15 November 1940 to 15 December 1941 he flew in
No. 306 Polish Fighter Squadron
and destroyed two
Bf 109
. From December 1941 to March 1942 Jeka was an instructor in No. 58 Operational Training Unit based at
RAF Grangemouth
. He came back to his squadron on 25 May 1942.
On 9 December 1942 he entered officers school. He was promoted to
porucznik
(lieutenant) and posted to
No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron
. He later served in
No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron
. On 21 May 1944 Jeka was shot down by flak over France. He parachuted to safety and hid with the help of the
French Resistance
. Two months later, the Allied front reached his hiding place and Jeka returned to his unit. On 25 May 1945
[6]
he was appointed commander of 306 squadron.
On 31 December 1949 Jeka ended his service in the Polish Air Force.
Cold War
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]
After the Second World War ended, Jeka stayed in the RAF and served in
Allied-occupied Germany
. He married a British woman, and had a daughter whom he never met.
[
citation needed
]
In Germany he was invited to work for the CIA. Jeka accepted as an avowed anti-communist. From 1950 he collaborated with British and American intelligence. He flight-tested the
Lockheed U-2
aircraft, and flew missions over Central and Eastern Europe.
[7]
[
circular reference
]
He was considered as a candidate to steal a Soviet
MiG-15
. The mission was cancelled, as on 5 March 1953, the Polish pilot
Franciszek Jarecki
landed his MiG at
Bornholm
.
In the late 1950s Jeka served in the
Angkatan Udara Revolusioner
(AUREV) air force of the
Permesta
rebels on
Sulawesi
in Indonesia. AUREV was covertly equipped and manned by the CIA. On 13 April 1958, Jeka was the pilot of an AUREV
Martin B-26 Marauder
when it crashed on take-off from Permesta's
Mapanget
airbase. Jeka, his Polish navigator Jan I?icky, and his Indonesian radio operator / observer, Minahasan, were all killed.
[8]
Jeka is buried in
Newark-on-Trent
, Nottinghamshire, England. His grave is next to the Polish section of the
CWGC
cemetery.
Virtuti Militari
, Silver Cross
Cross of Valour (Poland)
, four times
Cross of Merit with Swords (Poland)
Distinguished Flying Medal
1939?1945 Star
France and Germany Star
Defence Medal (United Kingdom)
War Medal 1939?1945
Air Force Medal for War 1939?45 (Poland)
Polish Air Force
[
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Royal Air Force
[
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References
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Further reading
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]
- Biszop (12 November 2010).
"As i agent"
(in Polish). p. 1. Archived from
the original
on 15 November 2012
. Retrieved
16 November
2010
.
- Biskup, Mateusz (13 November 2010).
"Polskie Skrzydła: As i agent"
(in Polish). p. 1. Archived from
the original
on 17 November 2015
. Retrieved
17 November
2010
.
- Krzystek, Tadeusz Jerzy; Krsystek, Anna (2012).
Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii w latach 1940?1947 ł?cznie z Pomocnicz? Lotnicz? Słu?b? Kobiet (PLSK?WAAF)
(in Polish). Sandomierz: Stratus. pp. 247?248.
ISBN
978-8361421597
.
- Sikora, Piotr (2014).
Asy polskiego lotnictwa
(in Polish). Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawnicza Alma-Press. pp. 277?281.
ISBN
978-8370205607
.
- Zieli?ski, Jozef (1994).
Asy polskiego lotnictwa
(in Polish). Warsaw: Agencja lotnicza Altair. p. 40.
ISBN 83862172
- Zieli?ski, Jozef (2005).
Lotnicy polscy w Bitwie o Wielk? Brytani?
(in Polish). Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawnicza MH. pp. 78?79.
ISBN
8390662043
.