Pateman. Colin Spitfire Pilot Flight Lieutenant Julian Zuromski

RAF Hero or Nazi Collaborator?

Julian Zuromski was on the verge of becoming a fighter pilot when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. He witnessed the bombing by the Luftwaffe and the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, eventually fleeing to Romania. After being imprisoned, he fled to France, where he fought in the Battle of France before fleeing to Britain after France's surrender. There he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Zuromski served as an instructor at RAF Dumfries and later flew operational patrols. In 1942, he scored his first aerial victory while flying a Spitfire with No. 308 Squadron. Two more victories followed, including the destruction of a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 with No. 66 Squadron in 1943. On the same day, Zuromski was shot down, captured and taken to Dulag Luft, where he wrote anti-Bolshevik propaganda and was later transferred to a special camp in Berlin. Zuromski escaped from captivity during an Allied bombing raid, eventually reaching Poland and reuniting with his fiancée. Although he was suspected of collaboration due to his activities during the war, he was acquitted and later served in the Royal Pakistan Air Force. This book also deals with the fate of Zuromski's father, a victim of the Katyn massacre, and the contributions of other Polish pilots in World War II.