On September 3, 1939, PZL 23B “Karas” aircraft of the 24th Reconnaissance Squadron took off from the field airstrip in Klimontów to bomb a German armored column near Orawka. From surviving accounts, the maximum number of bombs was loaded onto the aircraft. At around 8 o’clock, at the signal of the starter’s pennant, Corporal Rudkowski increased the engine revolutions and, rocking clumsily from side to side on the uneven ground, headed toward the opposite end of the airfield to the takeoff point. There he turned the “Karas” 180 degrees into the wind. A mechanic helped him with this maneuver by holding the wing. A final engine test was performed at full throttle with the wheels braked, a farewell wave to the mechanic, and takeoff. Despite full throttle, the wheels of the bomb-laden aircraft bogged down in the soft ground. The experienced pilot struggled to get the machine airborne. The propeller and landing gear scraped the tops of trees growing in the park next to the school where they were billeted.
At the agreed rendezvous point over Wieliczka, two more machines joined the aircraft circling at an altitude of 1,000 meters. After forming a V-formation, they set course for Podwilk – Jabłonka. The weather was beautiful, the sky cloudless. They left Kraków behind on their right. A column of black smoke hung over it near the freight railway station, and a smaller one near the Rakowice airfield.
Soon they were over Jabłonka. The wingmen moved slightly to the sides to scan for the enemy. At one moment, pilot Aleksander Rudkowski spotted something strange beneath the trees: the movement of a vehicle, a soldier running. He banked the aircraft and saw more vehicles hidden among the trees and bushes. He flew far beyond the last visible vehicle in the direction of Slovakia. There, at an altitude of 1,300 meters below the cumulus clouds, he made a 180-degree turn. Since the target was narrow, the aircraft lined up in single file, one behind the other. Pilot Rudkowski’s aircraft was first in line.
The aircraft descended below 1,000 meters. Observer Tadeusz Prędecki lay down in the bombardier’s gondola at the bombsight and guided the pilot onto the target using light signals. The aircraft, obedient to the controls, flew as if on a string. Anti-aircraft defenses fired from all sides, concentrating mainly on the lead aircraft. On the bombing run, the pilot had no time to look at the ground. His eyes were fixed on the flight instruments, and his hand on the control stick carried out the observer’s commands. No evasive maneuver or change of engine speed could take place. Each nearby explosion knocked the aircraft off course, and the pilot corrected with the controls.
A loud shout from 2nd Lt. Prędecki — “bombs away!” — and the pilot executed a deep left turn with relief, eager to escape that hell as quickly as possible. He still saw two bombs arcing away behind him in a parabola. Four bombs remained to be dropped. For the second attack, the pilot approached the same way as before — except that he hid in the clouds to avoid fire for as long as possible. Coming out of them, he noticed a group of German soldiers in line with his gunsight. He fired two bursts from the machine gun in their direction, and a third with a slight correction. He pulled the aircraft up to 1,300 meters and found himself on the bombing run toward Jabłonka – Orawka. Five kilometers before the main target, anti-aircraft fire opened up. Initially inaccurate and chaotic. The pilot, sweating with emotion, pressed deeper into his seat, attentively watching the light signals with which Tadeusz Prędecki was guiding him.
The entire ground suddenly became a wall of shooting fire. Tracer rounds crisscrossed around the aircraft. They even flew almost flat, from somewhere on the southern slope of a hill. Aleksander Rudkowski found it difficult to keep the aircraft on its flight path, constantly being thrown off course by explosions. Increasingly agitated, he pressed his elbows to his torso, one hand firmly pushing the throttle lever, the other on the control stick, eyes on the instruments. A memory from pilot school flashed through his mind, where the instructor warned against giving in to panic, for that would be the end. Ahead of the aircraft, the Germans laid down a barrage of fire. A bomber cannot evade like a fighter or withdraw. Below it lies the target for the bombs.
To partially silence the ground, the machine gun of Corporal Rudolf Winduch rattled without pause, filling the cockpit with the acrid smell of gunpowder. The crew was over the target. Red lights flashed, and 2nd Lt. Prędecki shouted “bombs away!” Again the pilot executed a left turn, but at that moment a powerful explosion erupted behind his back. The aircraft shuddered, jerked violently, and reared up. It lost speed and fell into a spin. The pilot applied full throttle for power. He pushed the stick forward to level out. The controls were soft and did not respond. The aircraft fell helplessly downward.
The right wing broke off. The pilot turned his head and saw that observer 2nd Lt. Tadeusz Prędecki was lying on his stomach in the gondola, and beside him in the fuselage a shell hole was visible. Corporal Rudolf Winduch was hanging in his harness at the gunner’s position and did not respond to the pilot’s questions. The pilot unbuckled his straps securing him to the seat, unlatched the canopy, and with a powerful push of his hand forced it out.
Fire burst into the cockpit — it was everywhere. The pilot closed his eyes and groped for the exit handle. He raised himself so that his parachute would not catch on the reinforcement and climbed outside. After swinging his leg over onto the left wing, he was torn away by the rush of air. He briefly lost consciousness when he struck his head on the tail stabilizer. Tumbling downward, he regained consciousness again. He pulled the parachute release handle out to its full length.
He made one and a half more turns and then hung suspended. The pilot chute settled on top of the main canopy. Silence fell. To the right, smoke marked the spot where the aircraft had crashed. Rudkowski adjusted himself in the harness, and at that moment he saw and heard bullets flying past his head. A moment later, from the other side. With his heart pounding, he looked at the ground. About forty meters remained. A violent crack, and his hands with the straps went flying downward. He somersaulted and hit the ground. He could not move; he felt hot. It was quiet, and he lay covered by the parachute. He felt paralysis in his right arm and leg. With his left hand, he pushed the parachute off his head. He saw that he was lying in a cabbage field near a stream. On the other side, German soldiers jumped out of a truck. Suddenly a bullet struck right in front of him. Dirt sprayed up. Lying helpless, he watched as they surrounded him. A soldier with a revolver approached and pressed the weapon to his head, shouting something. He lay on the ground and had no strength to get up. Other soldiers ran up and, removing the parachute, yanked the aviator about. They took the “Vis” pistol hanging from his belt. They gestured for him to stand, but Rudkowski could not. They lifted him and set him on his feet, but he collapsed to the ground again. An officer watching gave the order to take him by the arms. Thus he was dragged across the stream and brought to a highland house in Orawka.
After some time, a black “Mercedes” with red upholstery arrived, into which he was carried and driven under escort to Jabłonka. He was taken into a newly built house, where an officer who spoke broken Polish interrogated him. Afterwards, he was dragged to a building across the street, which turned out to be the Municipal Office with an attached jail, where he was placed. There were soldiers in border guard uniforms and a woman there. During the night, all of them were transported to Slovakia, to Ružomberok, and placed in a stadium. The Polish pilot was laid directly on the grass.
Slovak soldiers on guard duty informed the local residents that among the prisoners was an aviator. Two young women brought the pilot canned meat and blankets. After three days, Cpl. Rudkowski lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital. After surgery and a 21-day stay, he was sent for further treatment to Vienna. After recovery, in February 1940, Rudkowski was placed in the Stalag XVII prisoner-of-war camp. Until 1945, he was transferred between various camps. He returned to Poland in June 1945. From 1946, he actively worked to restore the Kraków Aero Club, where he became a flight instructor. Due to the “Stalinist purges,” in 1948 he was removed from flying. In 1956, he regained his pilot’s license. From 1970, he was a member of the thriving Kraków Aviation Seniors Club. He died on March 21, 2001.
The fallen airmen — Lt. observer Tadeusz Prędecki and Cpl. gunner Rudolf Winduch — were buried at the crash site beyond the Czarna Orawa river. After the war, their remains were transferred to the parish cemetery at the historic 17th-century church in Orawka, where they rest in a grave marked with a propeller.
