# Aleksander Chudek

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{{Short description|Polish World War II flying ace}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Aleksander Chudek
|honorific_suffix = 
|image= 
|rank=[chorąży](/source/chor%C4%85%C5%BCy)
|birth_date={{Birth date|df=yes|1914|08|17}}
|birth_place=[Stoczek](/source/Stoczek%2C_Radzy%C5%84_Podlaski_County), [Poland](/source/Poland)
|death_date={{death date and age|df=yes|1944|06|23|1914|08|17}}
|death_place=near [Le Plessis-Grimoult](/source/Le_Plessis-Grimoult), France
|allegiance={{flag|Poland}}<br />
{{flag|United Kingdom}}
|branch={{air force|Poland}}<br />
{{air force|United Kingdom}}
|unit=[Polish 114th Fighter Escadrille](/source/Polish_114th_Fighter_Escadrille)<br />[No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron](/source/No._315_Polish_Fighter_Squadron)<br />[No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron](/source/No._303_Polish_Fighter_Squadron)
|service_years= until 1944
|service_number=783023
|commands=
|battles=[Polish Defensive War](/source/Invasion_of_Poland_(1939)), [World War II](/source/World_War_II)
|awards=[Virtuti Militari](/source/Virtuti_Militari); [Cross of Valour](/source/Cross_of_Valour_(Poland)); [Distinguished Flying Medal](/source/Distinguished_Flying_Medal) (UK)
}}
'''Aleksander Chudek''' (17 August 1914 – 23 June 1944) was a Polish [fighter ace](/source/fighter_ace) of the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) in [World War II](/source/World_War_II) with 9 confirmed kills.

==Biography==
[[File:Stele Chudek-LePlessisGrimoult.jpg|thumb|Aleksander Chudek stele in [Le Plessis-Grimoult](/source/Le_Plessis-Grimoult), France]]
Before [World War II](/source/World_War_II) Chudek served in the [Polish 114th Fighter Escadrille](/source/Polish_114th_Fighter_Escadrille).<ref name="Krzystek p. 131.">Krzystek 2012, p. 131.</ref> After the [Soviet invasion of Poland](/source/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland) he crossed the border with [Romania](/source/Romania), then he came to [France](/source/France) and finally, on 27 June 1940, arrived in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom). After a brief induction into the Royal Air Force, he was assigned to an auxiliary unit of the RAF as a pilot distributing new or refurbished aircraft at airports across the UK.<ref name="Sikora p. 219.">Sikora 2014, p. 219.</ref> In June 1941 he was transferred to No. 55 Operational Training Unit and began training on the [Hawker Hurricane](/source/Hawker_Hurricane) fighter. In July he was assigned to [No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron](/source/No._315_Polish_Fighter_Squadron) where he flew [Supermarine Spitfire](/source/Supermarine_Spitfire) fighters. On 14 August 1941 he shot down his first plane. In July 1943 he was posted for three months to [No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron](/source/No._303_Polish_Fighter_Squadron).<ref name="Sikora p. 220.">Sikora 2014, p. 220.</ref> On 23 June 1944 he flew over Normandy and never came back.<ref name="Zieliński p. 25.">Zieliński 1994, p. 25.</ref> Initially it was thought that his plane fell into the sea, but in 2009 it was found that the plane crashed between the towns of [Le Plessis-Grimoult](/source/Le_Plessis-Grimoult) and [Roucamps](/source/Roucamps).<ref name="Aleksander Chudek na polishairforce.pl">{{cite web |url=http://www.polishairforce.pl/chudek.html|title=Biografia Aleksandra Chudka|language=pl|accessdate=2011-11-11}}</ref>

On 23 June 2009, 65 years after the crash, a monument dedicated to Aleksander Chudek was erected in Le Plessis-Grimoult.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.paris.polemb.net/index.php?document=315 | title =Uroczystość odsłonięcia pomnika poświęconego chorążemu Aleksandrowi Chudkowi | accessdate =11 September 2009 | author =Ambasada RP w Paryżu | language =pl | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100626061347/http://www.paris.polemb.net/index.php?document=315 | archive-date =2010-06-26 | url-status =dead }}</ref>

==Aerial victory credits==
* Bf 109 – 14 August 1941 and 1 damaged
* Bf 109 (two) – 29 August 1941 
* Bf 109 – 16 September 1941 
* Fw 190 – 27 September 1941 (probably destroyed)
* Fw 190 – 21 October 1941 
* Fw 190 (two) – 17 August 1943 
* Fw 190 – 6 September 1943 
* Fw 190 – 23 September 1943

Chudek is credited with destroying nine enemy aircraft, with one probably destroyed and another damaged.{{sfn|Shores|Williams|1994|p=177}}

==Awards==
60px [Virtuti Militari](/source/Virtuti_Militari), Silver Cross <br />
60px [Cross of Valour (Poland)](/source/Cross_of_Valour_(Poland)), four times<br />
60px [Distinguished Flying Medal](/source/Distinguished_Flying_Medal)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://moje.radio.lublin.pl/wydrukuj-28-01-2010-historia-bez-patyny-reportaz-agnieszki-czyzewskiej-jacquemet-ostatni-lot.html |title=reportaż Historia Bez Patyny |access-date=2015-10-31 |archive-date=2013-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826160340/http://moje.radio.lublin.pl/wydrukuj-28-01-2010-historia-bez-patyny-reportaz-agnieszki-czyzewskiej-jacquemet-ostatni-lot.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|last1=Shores|first1=Christopher|last2=Williams|first2=Clive|year=1994|title=Aces High: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII|publisher=Grub Street|location=London, United Kingdom|isbn=1-898697-00-0}}
* Sikora, Piotr: ''Asy polskiego lotnictwa''. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza Alma-Press, 2014, s. 218-222. {{ISBN|9788370205607}}
* Tadeusz Jerzy Krzystek, Anna Krzystek: ''Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii w latach 1940-1947 łącznie z Pomocniczą Lotniczą Służbą Kobiet (PLSK-WAAF)''. Sandomierz: Stratus, 2012, s. 131. {{ISBN|9788361421597}}
* {{cite book|first=Józef |last=Zieliński |title=Asy polskiego lotnictwa |publication-place=Warsaw |publisher=Agencja Lotnicza ALTAIR |date=1994 |page=25 |isbn=((83-86217-2))|oclc=34751125 |lccn=95149065 |ol=865104M |language=pl}}

==Further reading==
* Cumft O., Kujawa H. K. ''Księga lotników polskich 1939–1946'', Wydawnictwo MON, Warszawa 1989
* {{cite web |url=http://www.polishairforce.pl/chudek.html |title= Biografia na polishairforce.p|author=Wojciech Zmyślony|page=1|language=pl|accessdate=2012-06-27}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chudek, Aleksander}}
Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal
Category:Polish World War II flying aces
Category:Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari
Category:Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland)
Category:1944 deaths
Category:1914 births
Category:Polish military personnel of World War II
Category:Royal Air Force pilots of World War II
Category:Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aleksander Chudek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksander_Chudek) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksander_Chudek?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.