, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

) was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 fighter pilot

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 of the Polish Air Force

Polish Air Force

The Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...

 in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and writer.

Until the fall of Poland at the beginning of World War II Arct fought in the Polish armed forces

Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...

. He escaped to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and served as a flight instructor

Flight instructor

A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an aviator in pursuit...

 in North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

. After the French capitulation, he flew to Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and became a fighter pilot at the beginning of 1941, attending 61 OTU, and then No. 306 Squadron in October 1941.

During mid 1943 he flew missions in North Africa with The Polish Fighting Team attached to No. 145 Squadon. He claimed one Bf 109, one 'probable, and two damaged at this time. In July 1943 he returned to No. 306 as a flight commander, and in August was posted to No. 303 Squadron, claiming a FW-190 on 17 August.

In June 1944 he took command of the Polish No. 316 Squadron

No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron

No. 316 "City of Warsaw" Polish Fighter Squadron was a Polish fighter squadron formed in Great Britain as part of an agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the United Kingdom in 1941...

. He shot down 2 V-1 flying bombs in mid 1944, and a Bf 109 on 14 August 1944. On 6 September 1944 he was forced to bail out over Holland due to his Mustang suffering engine failure. He was interned

Internment

Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...

 as a prisoner of war

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 in the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 town of Barth.

After his release from internment in 1945 he returned to England. In 1947 he moved with his English wife Beryl and daughter to the east of Poland. Like many other Poles who had fought in the armed forces of the Western Allies

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

, he suffered repression

Political repression

Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....

 from the new (Moscow-controlled) government of the People's Republic of Poland

People's Republic of Poland

The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...

 until 1956.

Between 1944 and 1973 he wrote forty four books, mostly on wartime aviation, including his memoirs, with four million copies sold overall. Bohdan Arct died suddenly in 1973 at the age of 59.

His most important book is considered to be Kamikadze – Boski Wiatr, a novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 about a Kamikaze

Kamikaze

The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....

 pilot.

Awards

Virtuti Militari

Virtuti Militari

The Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...

, Silver Cross

Krzyż Walecznych (Cross of Valour), four times

Works

• W pogoni za Luftwaffe (1946)
• Messerschmitty w słońcu (1947)
• Cyrk Skalskiego (1957)
• W pościgu za V-1 (1957)
• Wielki dzien dywizjonu 303 (1957)
• W podniebnej chwale (1958)
• Rycerze biało-czerwonej szachownicy
• Cena życia (1964)
• Kamikadze – Boski Wiatr
• Skrzydła nad Warszawą (1964)
• Polacy w bitwie o Anglie (1967)
• Polacy w walce z bronią V (1972)
• Niebo w ogniu (1970)
• Alarm w Saint Omer (1971)
• Obce niebo (1971)
• Jeniec wojenny