Mike Gladych's P-47M

By Michael Dobrzelecki

One of the more controversial subjects in Polish modeling aviation circles is the exact color of the 56th Fighter Group, 61st Fighter Squadron P-47M Thunderbolts flown by Polish pilots on attached service with the USAAF fighter unit. The debate could be very vigorous at times, especially on internet forums. Opinions ranged from black to a very dark indigo blue, or a dark plum (purple) shade of black, the latter for “Lanny” Lanowski’s P-47M, coded HV Z. I discussed the subject once with Roger Freeman, noted 8th Air Force historian and author of many fine books on the unit, at a reunion of the 8th Air Force Historical Society in September 1998, held that year in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in the USA.

He related to me a fascinating story of how, he became interested aviation matters as a young lad in wartime England. His uncle was an RAF officer and he took Roger on his first tour of the base he commanded. He was instantly hooked. Roger and his boyhood friends used to cycle for miles all over England sneaking onto airfields to wander about looking at the aircraft. They were dedicated plane-spotters (a logical extension of the fine English hobby known as train spotting) making notes on each aircraft in regards to colors, code letters serial numbers and artwork.

They really hit the jackpot in 1943 when the 56th FG came to Boxted, the airfield that was closest to Roger’s home. Roger and his friends started to identify each individual aircraft with a specific pilot. Each boy in his circle of friends enthuisiatically fought over the right to ‘adopt’ individual pilots as their own. Naturally, they were often caught by the MP’s and thrown off the base, their notes being confiscated in the process. Not one to be deterred, he continued to penetrate the base and developed the technique of writing his notes on the handlebars of his bike in pencil, which could be quickly wiped off if he caught. To the delight of modelers worldwide he amassed a considerable amount of useful information in real-time during WWII on 56th FG P-47’s.

During the conversation I brought up the subject of the exact shade of the 61st F.S. P-47M’s and he wistfully intimated to me that he had an aluminum panel section from a scrapped P-47M that he collected as a boy somewhere in his vast collection. Roger told me he would look for it when he got back home, but could not find it. Unfortunately, Roger passed away in 2005. Oh, if only he could have found that panel again; the issue could have been settled once and for all.

Luckily there is another primary source, and that source is here in America. Mike Gladych, one of the Polish Air Force pilots, who flew with Gabreski and stayed with the 61st F.S., was still alive as of late 2005 and resides in the Seattle area of the state of Washington on the USA’s west coast. IPMS USA member, John Schaaf, tracked him down in the 1970’s to interview him about his service history and find out a bit more about his aircraft’s markings. Gladych, by all accounts I have heard, has not really cared to discuss his part in the war for a long time, having become enamored with eastern non-violent philosophies of life. I guess one cannot begrudge someone who has seen so much destruction and death in cleaving to a way of life that rejects most trappings of the glory of war. John formed a lasting friendship with Mike, which continues to this day. Although very frail at the age of 95 (in 2005), John advised that Gladych can still recall many useful details.

When the question of the color of Gladych’s P47M was raised, Mike had a surprising artifact to show John. Gladych brought out a 1/72nd scale wood model of his P-47M, “Pengie V”, which was built during World War II by an RAF pilot who was grounded due to medical problems. This RAF pilot befriended Mike and did a couple paintings that still hang on Mike's wall at his home. According to Gladych, the RAF pilot also spent considerable time measuring the actual “Pengie V” before building the model. Mounted on stand made from a piston head from a Pratt & Whitney R2800 P-47 engine, the model is remarkable for both its workmanship and the fact that it survived the war right up to now into the 21st Century.

If this is all true, it's remarkable.

The photos included are not superb resolution and interpreting colors from photos, even recent ones, is problematic at best. What is great about the model is that the color has the very chameleon quality that has bedeviled modelers for years in that it changes as one manipulates the model in the light and changes distance. This is more so than the average effect on color shift. It is described as a very, very dark blue that, at a couple of feet away, seems black. Gladych told him the story behind the paint color. Apparently, Gladych had told the ground crew that he wanted the color of his airplane to match "his favorite dinner jacket", and the paint was mixed accordingly. He also wore a white helmet that apparently was a conventional leather helmet painted or dyed or in some way made to be white. You can see the white helmet on what is left of the little pilot in the photos. Also notable is the HVM code repeated in black on the underside of the wing.

Gladych applied the name, “Pengie” (“Pengie” was his nickname for his girlfriend in the Canadian WAAF – I believe that he married this same woman who was also still alive in late 2005), to many of his aircraft. At least one of his Spitfire's had the name on it. To Gladych’s recollection he flew about 5-6 different P-47s. Most decal sheets show his P-47’s carrying the “Pengie” artwork, although as of 2001, no photos have yet surfaced showing the insignia on any of his bubbletop P-47s.

Author’s note: Thanks goes to Norm Flier for his assistance in preparing the article.

Mike Gladych's P-47M

By Michael Dobrzelecki

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