2nd Lt. pilot
Włodzimierz Samoliński (1916–1940) – first lieutenant pilot of the Polish Army and the Polish Air Force in Great Britain, associated with the 2nd Aviation Regiment in Kraków, participant in the Battle of Britain, Knight of the War Order of Virtuti Militari. In 1936 he began studies at the Aviation Officer Cadet School in Dęblin, graduating in 1938. He was then assigned to the 2nd Aviation Regiment in Kraków. In September 1939 he carried out reconnaissance duties and served in the interception system. After the Soviet invasion of Poland he made his way through Romania and France to Great Britain, where he joined the Polish Air Force within the RAF structures (service number 76709). He served in No. 253 Fighter Squadron RAF. During the Battle of Britain he scored several aerial victories over the Luftwaffe. He was killed on 28 September 1940 in an air combat, when his Hurricane was shot down and crashed into the sea. His body was never found. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Cross of the War Order of Virtuti Militari.
