The story of Polish fighter ace Witold Urbanowicz
21 days ago
Good day, Commanders!
As a game deeply rooted in World War II, KARDS is built on a profound respect for its history. Preserving and sharing this legacy is a mission we take seriously—one that many of our players also embrace. Among the war’s many remarkable figures, few stand out like Witold Urbanowicz, a Polish fighter ace whose story is one of courage, skill, and determination.
Witold Urbanowicz standing in front of a Hawker Hurricane.
Witold was born in Poland 30 March 1908 and joined the Polish Air Force in 1930. In August 1936, flying a PZL P.11 he shot down his first aircraft, a Soviet spyplane. For this he was officially reprimanded and unofficially congratulated by his superior officer and sent to be an instructor to an air force training school, where he earned the nickname “Cobra”. When Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland, Urbanowicz managed to escape with two cadets to Romania. He made it to France and here he took part in the Battle of Britain. He started with No. 145 Squadron of the RAF before joining the Polish-manned No. 303 Squadron flying Hawker Hurricanes. Urbanowicz became the Squadron leader on 7 September 1940 after his predecessor was wounded. During the Battle of Britain he was credited with 15 confirmed kills and 1 probable. He was awarded the Virtuti Militari, Poland’s highest military decoration and the Distinguished Flying Cross, Britain’s third highest decoration awarded to officers.
After this Urbanowicz was posted as the 2nd Air Attaché in the Polish Embassy in the United States, where he managed to join the USAAF 14th Air Force in China serving in the legendary Flying Tigers. There he shot down two Nakajima Ki-44 ‘Tojo’ during the same air battle. He had further unconfirmed kills over China and was awarded the US Air Medal and the Chinese Cross.
Urbanowicz with the Flying Tigers and receiving a medal from General Chennault.
After World War II, Urbanowicz returned to Poland, only to be arrested four times by the communist secret police suspected of being a spy. He fled to the USA and lived in New York, flying as a pilot for several airlines. After the fall of communism in Poland, Urbanowicz visited Poland and was made a general by president Wałęsa.
You can play three of Witold Urbanowicz’s aircraft in KARDS.
This is just one story of people in a world at war, whose history is represented in KARDS.
If you have a story of a family member we at 1939 Games would welcome more true life stories like this. Contact us through social media.
