Jean Zumbach

Jean Zumbach in the cockpit, probably autumn 1940

Jan Zumbach , actually in January Eugeniusz Louis Zumbach , (* 14. April 1915 in Ursynów , † 3. January 1986 in Paris ; combat name : Johnny Brown , Kamikaze Brown ) was a Polish military pilot , entrepreneur , mercenary and commander of the air forces of Katanga and Biafra .

Life

Zumbach was born in Poland because his grandfather was a Swiss citizen , but hid his nationality in order to pursue a career as a pilot in the Polish Air Force. During the German attack on Poland , Zumbach was unable to take part in the fighting because of a broken leg . After the Polish defeat, Zumbach fled via Romania and Beirut to France , where he served in a fighter unit for the French air force. Because of the defeat of France , Zumbach fled to Great Britain , where he quickly made a career in the Royal Air Force . He shot down eight German aircraft during the Battle of Britain . As a colonel and squadron commander , he ended the war with twelve confirmed kills.

After his demobilization , he started his own business with an airline together with two other former RAF pilots . In addition to doing legal business, she mainly earned her living transporting contraband goods . When the company went bankrupt due to government stalking, Zumbach opened a nightclub in Paris , married and became a father.

At the turn of the year 1961/62, Moïse Tschombé commissioned him to build up the Katangas air force. As their commander in chief, he organized the purchase of aircraft and the recruitment of operating personnel in Europe. In addition, Zumbach personally flew deep attacks against the Congolese government forces. Before the collapse, Zumbach left Katanga in early 1963 and traded in used aircraft in Paris.

In May 1967, the request for a used B-26 brought Zumbach into contact with representatives of the Biafras government, from whom he was commissioned to build up the air force in the civil war against Nigeria . In addition to this task, Zumbach personally flew attacks against warships, airfields and oil production facilities in Nigeria for the next six months. At the end of 1967 Zumbach left Biafra, whose air forces had to stop fighting for a year and a half.

In 1975 Zumbach published his autobiography , which appeared in French, German and English.

Works

Mister Brown. My life as an aviator, smuggler etc. Adventurer , Zurich: Swiss publishing house 1975, ISBN 3-7263-6140-5

literature

Michael I. Draper: Shadows. Airlift and Airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967-1970 , Hikoki Publications 1999, UK ISBN 1-902109-63-5 , pp. 23-50
Lynne Olson / Stanley Cloud: For your Freedom and Ours. The Kosciuszko Squadron - Forgotten Heroes of World War II , Arrow Books, London 2004, ISBN 978-0-09-942812-1

Web links

Literature by and about Jean Zumbach in the catalog of the German National Library
The Air War between Nigeria and Biafra , accessed December 30, 2012
Zumbach's role in the purchase and use of the B-26 in Biafra , accessed on December 30, 2012
Zumbach's mercenary career , accessed December 30, 2012
Zumbach in the RAF , accessed December 30, 2012

Individual evidence

personal data
SURNAME	Zumbach, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Zumbach, Jan Eugeniusz Ludwig (real name); Brown, Johnny; Brown, kamikaze
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swiss-Polish military pilot, entrepreneur, mercenary and commander in chief of the air forces of Katanga and Biafra
DATE OF BIRTH	April 14, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ursynów
DATE OF DEATH	January 3, 1986
Place of death	Paris

[1] ttp://webaviation.blogspot.de/search/label/The%20303%20%22Kosciuszko%20Squadron%22 .

[2] ttp://www.acig.org/artman/publish/printer_351.shtml

[3] ttp://kriegsreisen.de/religte/zumbach.htm

[4] ttp://webaviation.blogspot.de/2008/01/three-musketeers-jan-zumbach.html

[5] ttp://kriegsreisen.de/religte/zumbach.htm

[6] Archive link ( Memento from May 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive )