Ksawery Wyrożemski
Ksawery "Big Bill" Wyrożemski ("Tso-very Veera-zhem-ski") (23 July 1915 – 15 February 1967) was an exile Polish fighter pilot who flew Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires as an officer with the Polish Air Forces's 308 and 315 "City of Dęblin" Fighter Squadrons from April 1942 until the end of World War II. One of the aircraft he piloted in 1942 was Spitfire Mk. Vb, BM597, now flying with the Historic Aircraft Collection at Duxford. Wyrożemski later flew the North American Mustang Mk. IIIs when No.315 Squadron converted in March 1944. He scored no kills but was awarded the Polish Cross of Valour (Krzyz Walecznych) plus bar. Escape to exile Wyrożemski was a Polish Army officer when the Germans invaded Poland in September 1939. Wyrożemski served with 217 Eskadra Bombowa equipped with PZL.37 Łoś twin-engine bombers as an observer before he fled the German advance. He made his way to Istanbul where he signed onto a freighter bound for England and reported to the Polish Embassy in London. Richard L. Holm, former CIA Directorate of Operations member, stated in an article about his African experiences that Wyrożemski was "fiercely loyal to Poland, [and] he wanted to fight against the Germans. Wyrożemski