#12226 & 12241
Sqn Ldr "Iggy" Ignatowski was a Staff Pilot at the Air Engineer and Air Electronics School at RAF Topcliffe in the early 70s. I last flew with him in Aug 73, just before the AE & AES moved to RAF Finningley and Topcliffe closed and was handed to the Army. I believe he then retired having extended his service until Topcliffe closed.
My last but one flight with him on 9 Aug was fairly eventful. We were returning to Topcliffe after an AEOp Course landaway and nightstop at Wildenrath. Just after we crossed the Amsterdam/UK FIR Boundary an airman passenger had a fit. We diverted to RAF Coltishall at VNO and called for medical assistance. Shortly thereafter there was loud rythmic banging and severe airframe vibration. What had happened was that the Escape Hatch, in the floor just aft of the pilot's seats had come unlatched and was swinging between closed and nearly open hitting the top hatch/cockpit floor which was being forced up. We slowed down to try to stop this happening, but it still occured as the hatch would not lock in the open position.The AEOP Instructor donned his parachute, was tied to the copilot seat was copious amounts of lashing tape, and with the help of my leg down the hole holding the hatch half closed, he jumped onto the hatch to force it closed. We then proceeded at a fast, but not VMO, pace to Coltishall.
At Topcliffe, at the same time, we had a Polish Navigator Sqn Ldr Bruno Szota. He had escaped from a German POW camp, only to be captured by the Russians and sent to a Russian POW camp! After escaping from them he made his way across Russia and via Iran, the Gulf and South Africa to ship to UK for aircrew training. After surviving a torpedoing he eventually completed training in 1944. He told us of several interesting ways to kill Russians and blow up Guard Houses!
I also flew in a Meteor in Jan 63, at RAF Stradishall, with Flt Lt "Murky" Murkowski.