Kuzian Kazimierz

Kazimierz Kuzian (1899–1988) – colonel pilot of the Polish Army, officer of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain, commander of the 113th and 112th Fighter Squadrons and No. 300 Bomber Squadron, Knight of the Order of Virtuti Militari. After passing his school-leaving examination in 1917 he was called up to the Austro-Hungarian army. After officer training he served in the 11th Uhlan Regiment, then completed the Reserve Artillery Officer School in Olomouc. After World War I he joined the Polish Army and took part in the defence of Lwów, where he was taken prisoner by the Ukrainians. After his release in 1919 he fought in the Polish-Bolshevik War in the 5th Heavy Artillery Regiment, and subsequently in the 7th Heavy Artillery Regiment and the 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment. In 1922 he completed a balloon observer course, and from 1923 to 1924 underwent pilot training in Bydgoszcz and Grudziądz. In 1926 he was transferred to the 11th Fighter Regiment, where he held instructor and command positions. From 1931 he commanded the 112th Fighter Squadron, and was also previously associated with the 113th Fighter Squadron, for which he designed the unit emblem. In 1933 he participated in international fighter aviation competitions in Bucharest, where the Polish team took first place. In 1935 he ended active service, returning in 1939 as commander of the reserve squadron of the 5th Aviation Regiment. After the September Campaign he evacuated to Romania, France and subsequently Great Britain. In the Polish Air Force in the RAF (service number P-0794) he served as an instructor at aviation schools (25 EFTS, 16 SFTS, 18 OTU). In 1943 he assumed the position of squadron commander, and subsequently commander of No. 300 Bomber Squadron, which he led until January 1944. After the war he remained in exile in Great Britain. Demobilised with the rank of lieutenant colonel, in 1964 he was promoted to colonel. He died on 11 July 1988 in Dartford. He was buried at Gunnersbury Cemetery in London.