{"id":7707060,"date":"2026-07-29T09:13:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T07:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/witold-urbanowicz-303-squadron-china\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T09:24:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T07:24:30","slug":"witold-urbanowicz-303-squadron-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/witold-urbanowicz-303-squadron-china\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pole Who Fought Two Empires"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style><p>Most fighter aces fight one enemy. Witold Urbanowicz fought two of history&rsquo;s most feared air forces &mdash; the Luftwaffe over England and the Imperial Japanese over China &mdash; and beat them both. The Polish pilot did it while exiled from a homeland he would not see free again for half a century.<\/p>\r\n<p>His is one of the great untold stories of the Second World War: a man who kept finding new skies to fight in, and a new enemy to face, long after his own country had been overrun.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px;border-radius:8px;margin:24px 0\"><h3 style=\"margin-top:0;padding-top:0\">Quick Facts<\/h3><ul style=\"margin:0;line-height:1.9\">\r\n<li><strong>Who:<\/strong> Witold Urbanowicz (1908-1996), Polish fighter ace<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Battle of Britain:<\/strong> commanded No. 303 (Polish) Squadron RAF, one of the top-scoring units<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Hawker Hurricane; later the Curtiss P-40 in China<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Victories:<\/strong> around 17 confirmed (roughly 15 in the Battle of Britain) &mdash; among the top Polish aces<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>China, 1943:<\/strong> flew with Claire Chennault&rsquo;s 14th Air Force against the Japanese<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Postwar:<\/strong> unable to return to communist Poland; settled in the United States<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Honoured:<\/strong> promoted general by a free Poland in 1995<\/li>\r\n<\/ul><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Poles who saved the day<\/h2>\r\n<p>When Poland fell in 1939, Urbanowicz was among the pilots who refused to stop fighting. He led cadets out through Romania and France, and eventually reached Britain. There he joined No. 303 &mdash; the Polish-manned squadron that would become the highest-scoring RAF unit of the entire Battle of Britain.<\/p>\r\n<p>The Polish pilots had a fury and a skill the RAF initially underestimated. Urbanowicz took command in September 1940 after his predecessor was badly burned, and led from the front, twice claiming four German aircraft in a single day. He ended the battle credited with around fifteen victories.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1668532902  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/witold-urbanowicz.png\" alt=\"Witold Urbanowicz\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Witold Urbanowicz, the Polish ace who commanded 303 Squadron in the Battle of Britain. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Had it not been for the magnificent material contributed by the Polish squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say that the outcome of the Battle would have been the same.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding<\/strong> &mdash; Head of RAF Fighter Command, on the Polish squadrons<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">From the Luftwaffe to the Japanese<\/h2>\r\n<p>Here the story takes its extraordinary turn. After the war in Europe ground on, Urbanowicz did something almost no other European ace did: in 1943 he travelled to China and flew P-40 Warhawks with Claire Chennault&rsquo;s 14th Air Force &mdash; the outfit born from the famous \"Flying Tigers.\" In December 1943 he tangled with Japanese fighters and added kills against a second empire to his tally, one of the only Polish pilots ever to shoot down Japanese aircraft.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=421988382  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/303-squadron-pilots.jpg\" alt=\"Pilots of 303 Squadron\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Pilots of No. 303 (Polish) Squadron during the Battle of Britain &mdash; the RAF&rsquo;s top-scoring unit of the campaign. Photo: Imperial War Museum \/ Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;We want Poland back.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Witold Urbanowicz<\/strong> &mdash; Polish ace, on the postwar fate of Poland (via New Oxford Review, 2011)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A hero without a country<\/h2>\r\n<p>Victory brought Urbanowicz no homecoming. Poland had fallen under communist rule, and men who had fought with the West were treated with suspicion; he was arrested and harassed, and eventually fled to the United States, where he worked in the American aviation industry. Only after communism collapsed did his own nation finally honour him &mdash; promoting him to general in 1995, a year before he died.<\/p>\r\n<p>He had fought for Britain, for America, and for a free China, in the cockpits of two continents. All he had ever really wanted was the one thing the medals could not give him back: his own country.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Le_SkpzZzLo\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3SJ-5sEbHKk\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:8px\">Sources: Wikipedia; New Oxford Review; accounts of No. 303 Squadron and the American Volunteer Group \/ 14th Air Force. Victory tallies are attributed and, for China, disputed between sources.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\">\r\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/roald-dahl-raf-fighter-pilot\/\">Before the Chocolate Factory, He Flew Hurricanes<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most fighter aces fight one enemy. Witold Urbanowicz fought two of history&rsquo;s most feared air forces &mdash; the Luftwaffe over England and the Imperial Japanese over China &mdash; and beat them both. The Polish pilot did it while exiled from a homeland he would not see free again for half a century. His is one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7705847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7707060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Witold Urbanowicz: The Ace Who Fought Two Empires<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Witold Urbanowicz led 303 Squadron in the Battle of Britain, then flew P-40s against the Japanese in China - a Polish ace in exile.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/witold-urbanowicz-303-squadron-china\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Witold Urbanowicz: The Ace Who Fought Two Empires\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Witold Urbanowicz led 303 Squadron in the Battle of Britain, then flew P-40s against the Japanese in China - a Polish ace in exile.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/witold-urbanowicz-303-squadron-china\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-29T07:13:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-29T07:24:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:1280\/h:933\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"933\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tamika Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tamika Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tamika Johnson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d\"},\"headline\":\"The Pole Who Fought Two Empires\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T07:13:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-29T07:24:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":617,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/\",\"name\":\"Witold Urbanowicz: The Ace Who Fought Two Empires\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T07:13:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-29T07:24:30+00:00\",\"description\":\"Witold Urbanowicz led 303 Squadron in the Battle of Britain, then flew P-40s against the Japanese in China - a Polish ace in exile.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":933},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Pole Who Fought Two Empires\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d\",\"name\":\"Tamika Johnson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tamika Johnson\"},\"description\":\"Tamika Johnson tells the human stories of aviation \u2014 the pilots, pioneers and characters behind the machines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/author\\\/tamikajohnson\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Witold Urbanowicz: The Ace Who Fought Two Empires","description":"Witold Urbanowicz led 303 Squadron in the Battle of Britain, then flew P-40s against the Japanese in China - a Polish ace in exile.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/witold-urbanowicz-303-squadron-china\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Witold Urbanowicz: The Ace Who Fought Two Empires","og_description":"Witold Urbanowicz led 303 Squadron in the Battle of Britain, then flew P-40s against the Japanese in China - a Polish ace in exile.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/witold-urbanowicz-303-squadron-china\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-29T07:13:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-29T07:24:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":933,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:1280\/h:933\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tamika Johnson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tamika Johnson","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/"},"author":{"name":"Tamika Johnson","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d"},"headline":"The Pole Who Fought Two Empires","datePublished":"2026-07-29T07:13:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-29T07:24:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/"},"wordCount":617,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/","name":"Witold Urbanowicz: The Ace Who Fought Two Empires","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-29T07:13:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-29T07:24:30+00:00","description":"Witold Urbanowicz led 303 Squadron in the Battle of Britain, then flew P-40s against the Japanese in China - a Polish ace in exile.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/hurricane-303-squadron.jpg","width":1280,"height":933},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/witold-urbanowicz-303-staffel-china\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Pole Who Fought Two Empires"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","description":"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d","name":"Tamika Johnson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tamika Johnson"},"description":"Tamika Johnson tells the human stories of aviation \u2014 the pilots, pioneers and characters behind the machines.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/author\/tamikajohnson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7707060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7707060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7707060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7707067,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7707060\/revisions\/7707067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7705847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7707060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7707060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7707060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}