Marian Bełc

Marian Bełc DFC (27 January 1914 – 27 August 1942) was a Polish fighter ace of the Polish Air Force in World War II with 7 confirmed kills and one shared.

Marian Bełc DSO DFC**
Born	27 January 1914 Paplin[1] Russian Empire (present-day Poland)
Died	27 August 1942 (aged 23) RAF Babdown Farm, England
Allegiance	Poland  France  United Kingdom
Service/branch	Polish Air Force  France Armée de l'Air  Royal Air Force
Years of service	1934-1942
Rank	podporucznik
Unit	Polish 143rd Fighter Escadrille Polish 152nd Fighter Escadrille No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron
Battles/wars	Polish Defensive War, World War II
Awards	Virtuti Militari; Cross of Valour; Distinguished Flying Cross (UK)

Biography

Marian Bełc graduated from pilot training at Lublinek air base near Łódź. On 2 November 1934 he was assigned to the 143rd Fighter Escadrille in Toruń. In autumn 1937 he was transferred to the Polish 152nd Fighter Escadrille in Wilno. During the Invasion of Poland Bełc shot down his first plane, on 3 September a Bf 109. After the Soviet invasion of Poland he was evacuated to France via Romania. He served in the Krasnodębski section of the Groupe de Chasse et de Défense I/55 under the command of Zdzisław Krasnodębski.[2] In the same unit served two other Polish aces: Jan Zumbach and Stanisław Karubin. After the capitulation of France he came to the UK. All pilots of the Krasnodębski section were posted to the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron. In the Battle of Britain Bełc downed 5 German planes.

On 15 April 1941 married Audrey Stephenson, their son Marian Edward was born on 27 October 1941.[3]

In 1942 Bełc became an instructor in 58 OTU. On 27 August 1942, in a training flight with a British pilot their plane crash-landed. Both pilots were killed.

Aerial victory credits

• Bf 109 - 3 September 1939
• 1/8 Do 215 - 18 September 1940
• Bf 109 - 26 September 1940
• Bf 110 - 5 October 1940
• Bf 109 - 7 October 1940
• Bf 109 - 24 June 1941
• Bf 109 - 28 June 1941
• Bf 109 - 24 July 1941

Awards

Virtuti Militari, Silver Cross
Cross of Valour (Poland), three times
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)

References

1. Andrzej R. Jańczak "Ostatni lot", Warsaw 1979, p. 138
2. • Grzegorz Śliżewski. "Polskie "kominy" we Francji w 1940 roku" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 9 September 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
3. picture of Bełc's wife and son

Further reading

• Charytoniuk, Zbigniew; Zmyślony, Wojciech (2012). Wydawnictwo Gretza (ed.). Ppor. pil. Marian Bełc - As myśliwski Dywizjonu 303 (1914-1942). Warsaw. ISBN 978-83-932973-3-7.
• Cumft, Olgierd; Kujawa, Hubert Kazimierz (1989). Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej (ed.). Księga lotników polskich poległych, zmarłych i zaginionych 1939-1946. Warsaw. ISBN 83-11-07329-5.
• King, Richard (2012). Wydawnictwo RM (ed.). Dywizjon 303 walka i codzienność. Warsaw. p. 384. ISBN 978-83-7243-979-6.
• "The Battle of Britain London Monument - The Airmen's Stories - Sgt Marian Belc". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
• Zbigniew Charytoniuk, Wojciech Zmyślony. "Marian Bełc - życiorys" (in Polish). Retrieved 23 February 2013.
• "Marian Bełc - awards". Retrieved 18 June 2012.