All these aircraft carried the same code, RF-D, ("RF" being the squadron code for 303 Sqn) and "D" being the individual aircraft code. In May, he was promoted to Squadron Leader and took command of the squadron, a post Zumbach held from until 30 November 1943.ĭuring this period, Zumbach flew three Supermarine Spitfire VBs, carrying the serial numbers BM144, EP594 and EN951. In December 1941, Zumbach was posted to 58 OTU, and in March 1942 returned to 303 Sqn as a flight commander. Zumbach became one of the first Allied pilots to engage in combat with the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 when he damaged, and in return, his aircraft was damaged by a "single radial-engined fighter" on 13 October 1941. Zumbach was shot down by a JG 3 Bf 109 over Dover on when returning from a mission, but he was able to bail out unharmed. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron.ĭuring the Battle of Britain, Zumbach scored eight confirmed kills and one probable, mostly against Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters.
On 18 June 1940, he traveled to England by boat and on 2 August was posted as one of the founding members of the newly formed No. On 10 June, he was one of several pilots shot down by Bf 109s, but escaped unscathed. While in France, Zumbach flew the Morane 406 and Curtiss Hawk 75 with GCII/55. He returned to his unit only to be evacuated to France via Romania. Zumbach did not fly during the German invasion of Poland due to a broken leg as a result of a flying accident during the summer of 1939. After graduating from flying training in 1938 he was posted to 111 Eskadra Mysliwska. He served as an infantryman until 1936 when he transferred to the Polish Air Force. The son of a Polish-born Swiss father and a Polish mother from a family of landowners, Zumbach was registered as a Swiss citizen and hid his nationality in order to join the Polish army in 1934. Jan Eugeniusz Ludwig Zumbach (14 April 1915, Ursynów, Congress Poland, Russian Empire – 3 January 1986, France) was a Polish fighter pilot who became an ace during the Second World War.
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