This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
You can contribute by submitting additional or updated information.
| Date: | Thursday 22 January 1942 |
| Time: | evening |
| Type: |  Vickers Wellington Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 301 (Ziemi Pomorskiej) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | Z1285 |
| MSN: | GR-S |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | North Sea off Lincolnshire Coast -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire |
Took off from RAF Hemswell for Münster (Germany) at 17:55hrs.
WR Chorley’s entry records that the aircraft was lost through fighter activity. However, there is no evidence in the definitive Night Fighter/ Flak publications nor in the records of Polish Air Force losses that support this claim. Therefore the reason for the loss of the aircraft is unknown.
Three bodies were later washed ashore and buried in Newark Cemetery. The three remaining crew are commemorated on the Polish War Memorial RAF Northolt:
Crew:-Pilot : Sergeant Konstanty Soroko PAF [Killed] Polish War Memorial RAF Northolt Panel 65
Sergeant Boleslaw Borecki PAF [Killed] Polish War Memorial RAF Northolt Panel 6
Sergeant Czeslaw Kosmalski PAF P/781721 [Killed] Polish Plot Newark upon Trent Cemetery/Polish War Memorial RAF Northolt Panel 31
Sergeant Piotr Nocon PAF P/792042 [Killed] Polish Plot Newark upon Trent Cemetery/Polish War Memorial RAF Northolt Panel 48
Pilot Officer Waclaw Reda PAF P/88 [Killed] Polish Plot Newark upon Trent Cemetery/Polish War Memorial RAF Northolt Panel 58
Sergeant Albert Rokus PAF [Killed] Polish War Memorial RAF Northolt Panel 59
Newark-Upon-Trent Cemetery, United Kingdom (53.065702 / -0.799216)
Polish Memorial, Northolt (51.548730 / -0.400127)
Sources:
Bomber Command Losses 1942
Find A Grave
Polish War Memorial RAF Northolt
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=Z1285&qand=&exc1=&exc2=&search_only=&search_type=exact
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database http://robdavistelford.co.uk/webspace/raf_bc
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Nov-2017 13:03 | Red Dragon | Added |
| 26-Dec-2017 06:25 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Phase, Destination airport, Narrative, ] |
| 07-Feb-2020 09:35 | Iwosh | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator, ] |
| 17-Feb-2022 13:47 | TigerTimon | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 20-May-2025 06:50 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2025 Flight Safety Foundation