Sixteen airmen from the Polish Air Force’s 1586th Special Operations Squadron, operating from the base in Brindisi in southern Italy, are buried at the British War Cemetery in Belgrade. They carried out supply airdrops and missions to drop ‘Cichociemni’ (silent-dark) commandos, flying, amongst other places, to occupied Poland. The airmen buried here were killed in four separate flights in August and September 1944.
On the night of 27–28 August 1944, an aircraft returning from a mission over Warsaw, where it had carried out a supply drop for the insurgents, was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery and crashed near the village of Draž (in what is now Croatia). Those killed were: Pilot Second Lieutenant Bolesław Graff, Observer Lieutenant Bolesław Jasiński, Flight Engineer Second Lieutenant Antoni Szyller, Bombardier Second Lieutenant Władysław Kozioł, Gunner Corporal Jan Paszkiewicz and Gunner Second Lieutenant Adam Mühln.
On the night of 1–2 September 1944, an aircraft returning from a airdrop mission in Poland was shot down by anti-aircraft defences and crashed near the village of Bački Brestovac (now in Serbia). Almost the entire crew of the aircraft were killed: Pilot Sergeant Józef Nalepa, Radio Operator Corporal Konrad Staniewicz, Flight Engineer Sergeant Józef Piałucha, Bombardier Platoon Sergeant Józef Jaś, Sergeant Gunner Adam Białoszewski and Corporal Gunner Józef Derewienko. The navigator, Tadeusz Bronisław Jawor, parachuted to safety, but after several days in hiding he was captured by the Germans and imprisoned in a prisoner-of-war camp.
On the night of 1–2 September 1944, over the Hungarian–Yugoslav border, in the Mohács area, another aircraft flying to carry out airdrops over Poland was shot down by a night fighter. The pilot, Lieutenant Władysław Rosiniuk, was fatally wounded; the rest of the crew survived and were taken prisoner.
On the night of 10–11 September 1944, another aircraft was carrying out a supply airdrop mission to Warsaw. Following an aerial engagement, the aircraft was shot down near the town of Senta in Serbia. Those killed were: Second Lieutenant (pilot) Stanisław Franczak, Second Lieutenant (pilot) Mieczysław Foczpaniak and Senior Sergeant (radio operator) Jerzy Truszkowski; the remaining crew members were taken prisoner.
Also buried in this cemetery is the Polish ‘Cichociemny’ (Silent Unseen), Captain Józef Maciąg (alias ‘Nash’, ‘Wala’), commander of a Polish partisan unit operating in Yugoslavia. Whilst carrying out his mission, he was captured by the Germans and, following torture, died on 11 December 1943 at the age of 29.
Each vertical gravestone bears the Polish coat of arms and an inscription in English.
The graves are maintained and managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). Information about the cemetery, including a list of those buried there (of various nationalities) and photographs of the cemetery, can be found on the website https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/2009050/belgrade-war-cemetery/.

Regina Piątek (MKiDN), Teresa Zachara (MKiDN)