Jadwiga Piłsudska-Jaraczewska

Born February 28, 1920, died November 16, 2014

The daughter of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, called by him Jagódka, a diminutive form of her name. Already at the age of 12, she was interested in aviation, building model airplanes. She started her adventure with flying in 1937 with a glider course, obtaining categories A, B, C and D. By the outbreak of the war, she had flown 100 hours in gliders. Her first success was a 5-hour flight in a Delfin glider over 270 km, from Bezmiechowa to Łuków. She began her wartime wandering in Warsaw, where on September 1, 1939, she volunteered to help wounded civilians and then went to Great Britain via Vilnius, Riga and Stockholm. She repeatedly applied for admission to the civilian organization ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) but was rejected due to her too young age. Ultimately, she was accepted into the Women’s Auxiliary Aviation Service, where she began her service on July 15, 1942. She gained her first pilot class at IFTS (Initial Flying Training School), training on light types of aircraft. After 100 hours of flying Magisters, Harts and Fairchilds, she went to AFTS (Advanced Flying Training School). On March 14, 1943, she obtained the 2nd class of ATA pilots, which gave her the opportunity to distribute Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft, and on September 17, she obtained the 3rd class and the privileges to fly twin-engine aircraft such as Avro Anson, De Havilland Dragon Rapide and Airspeed Oxford. After completing training courses, she drove a “flying taxi” at 1 Ferry Pool in White Waltham, where she transported ATA pilots around Royal Air Force bases. She was the one who supplied her beloved Spitfires to Polish units. On January 20, 1944, she left the service with the rank of second officer (equivalent to lieutenant). During its one-and-a-half-year service, it delivered 230 aircraft of 21 types: fighters, bombers and multi-role aircraft. In total, she flew 312 hours and 35 minutes. Recognized by the aviation staff as “an extremely promising pilot with above-average skills.” She was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit with Swords and the Air Medal. In 1944 she married Navy Captain. Andrzej Jaraczewski’s Navy. She returned to Poland with her husband after it regained independence in 1990.