Jan Jozef Trzandel

Photo courtesy of polishexilesofww2.org

Remembering Jan Jozef Trzandel, who was killed on the 16th August 1944.

Podporucznik (P.O) Jan Jozef Trzandel was born in the town of Krakow on the 3rd May 1919. He served as a navigator in the Polish Air Force and was posted to 305 Squadron, Royal Air Force in 1944. On the night of the 15th August fourteen aircraft were detailed for a night attack on the enemy locations in the appointed zone of Falaise - Quillebouef, south-west of Paris. He and his pilot, Lt Zygmunt Jasinski were amongst 12 of the aircraft detailed to bomb a rail crossing by GEE.

They took off from RAF Lasham in Mosquito, LR261 at 23.35 hours but shortly after take-off the plane, for unknown reasons, could not gain height and during a turn caught on a tree and crashed at 01:35 at Goldenpot, Hampshire, 3 miles from the airport. Their aircraft caught fire and both airmen were killed. They were buried in the cemetery in Newark, Nottinghamshire