Bohdan Arct

Who was Bohdan Arct?

Bohdan Arct was a Polish fighter pilot of the Polish Air Force in World War II, and writer.

Until the fall of Poland at the beginning of World War II Arct fought in the Polish armed forces. He escaped to France and served as a flight instructor in North Africa. After the French capitulation, he flew to Great Britain 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 Squadron. 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. 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 the Netherlands due to his Mustang suffering engine failure. He was interned as a prisoner of war in the German 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 Communist Poland - Wrocław, Warsaw and finally Dobrzanów, where he joined his mother. Like many other Poles who had fought in the armed forces of the Western Allies, he suffered repression from the new government of the People's Republic of Poland until 1956.