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Tadeusz Góra | |
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| Birth name | Tadeusz Góra |
| Born | (1918-01-19)19 January 1918 |
| Died | 4 January 2010(2010-01-04) (aged 91) |
| Allegiance |  Poland |
| Branch |  Polish Air Force |
| Years of service | from 1939 |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards |   _3r_BAR.PNG)    Lilienthal Gliding Medal (1938) |
| Other work | glider pilot,flight instructor |
Tadeusz Góra (19 January 1918 – 4 January 2010) was a Polish glider and fighter pilot.
Born inKraków,Austria-Hungary he was the first winner of theLilienthal Gliding Medal in the world for his record-breaking 577.8-kilometer flight on 18 May 1938 in aPWS-101 fromBezmiechowa toSoleczniki (nearVilnius).
With the outbreak of theSecond World War, he was detailed by the Soviets, but escaped. He worked in Vilnius for a while, then obtained a passport which enabled him to travel to France. When that country fell to the Germans, he fled to the UK.
During the war, he flew with theRoyal Air Force (RAF), serving on three Polish RAF fighter squadrons: firstNo. 316, laterNo. 306 andNo. 315. In late August 1940, Góra served with theRAF's No 2 AACU before undertaking advanced training with 61 OTU atHeston. As a sgt. pilot, Góra was posted to No. 316 (Polish) Squadron, flying theSpitfire, flying his first operation on 18 November 1941, a convoy patrol. On 10 April 1942 he claimed aFocke-Wulf Fw 190 damaged, and on 3 June 1942 he claimed another Fw 190 shot down overLe Havre. In early 1943 Góra studied at the Infantry Cadet and Cavalry Academy in Scotland, and was promoted topilot officer. On 13 May 1943 Góra destroyed aBf 109G and on 27 August 1943 he shot down another of this type. On 4 September 1943, while escorting aUSAAF formation ofB-17s near Lille, he claimed a Fw 190 damaged. After the war, following research onLuftwaffe loss data, the aircraft was identified as aBf 109 and classified as "destroyed." P/O Góra was posted to No. 316 Squadron in April 1944 flying theP-51 Mustang. From June to October 1944, he destroyed two locomotives nearBremen, and damaged aGerman submarine. Góra also flew 28 flights anti-V-1 “flying bombs” operations; one such bomb he destroyed on 31 July 1944. He performed his final operational flight of his tour on 22 October 1944 overHeligoland.
After the end of the war, he was discharged as aflight lieutenant. He had been awarded the Silver Cross ofVirtuti Militari Order, theCross of Valour three times.
Tadeusz Góra returned to Poland in 1948, as a senior instructor at the Żar Glider School nearŻywiec.
He died inŚwidnik on 4 January 2010.
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