Polish pilots...
I've been viewing some footage from February 1945 featuring 306, 309, 315 and 316 Squadrons. My interest was piqued slightly by the fact Mustangs were involved. A little Googling produced a couple of websites which featured quite a bit of info on these squadrons along with photos and as I viewed each clip I'd cross refer to these sites to put some faces to names.
One clip featured an Me 109 (as far as I could identify it) being caught from behind by one Flight Sergeant Cempel of 315 Sqn on 21st Feb 45. A short burst resulted in the enemy aircraft being enveloped in smoke and then brief footage of it rolling onto its back and the pilot bailing out.
A quick check with one of the sites revealed that this was Cempel's only 'kill' -
P703899 W/O CEMPEL Miroslaw
In 315 from Aug 1944 till EOW. CV+bar. Score: 1-0-0. Worth noticing is that while flying Mustang III, he never had a single malfunction in this a/c. Most vividly he remembered a training dog fight during which, his good friend F/Sgt Richter (HB882) was killed. Flying on deck Richter suddenly inverted and crashed at full speed. His a/c buried itself completely in the moist ground. After the war Miroslaw Cempel spent five years in RAF and another five in RCAF, where he was commissioned as a F/Lt. Settled in Canada where he currently resides in Montreal.
CV – Polish Cross of Valour (Krzyz Walecznych)
Source
A bit of a search online revealed a MV Cempel still residing in Montreal. It could be Miroslaw or a relative, so hopefully a little research may reunite this pilot or relative with the footage from 63 years ago....
315 Sqn Pilot List
Info of the sortie
315 Squadron badge
