Biały Jan

Jan Biały (1897–1984) was a captain pilot of the Polish Army, a participant in three wars, a Cichociemny (Silent Unseen paratrooper) and a bomber aviation officer of the Polish Air Force. He was born on 16 June 1897 in Kraków, where he graduated from St Anne’s Gymnasium. In 1915 he was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian army, in which he served in the 57th Infantry Regiment, taking part in fighting on the Russian and Italian fronts. After the end of hostilities he was held in Italian captivity. After Poland regained its independence he joined the Polish Army. In 1920 he served as an infantry company commander and participated in the Polish-Bolshevik War, including the Battle of Warsaw. In the interwar period he developed his military career, associated with bomber aviation. He was associated with the 2nd Aviation Regiment. In 1939 he served as commander of the II Light Bomber Group of the “Kraków” Army. After the September Campaign he made his way to France and then to Great Britain, where he became the first commander of No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron “Silesia”. He carried out patrol flights over the North Sea searching for German submarines. In 1943 he was trained as a “Cichociemny” (Silent Unseen) and in August 1944 was parachuted into occupied Poland. Within the Home Army structures he served as head of the aviation services of the Aviation Department of the 3rd Section of the AK High Command. He took part in the Warsaw Uprising, being responsible for organising supply flights for the fighting capital. After the war he settled in Bytom, where he died on 2 October 1984.