Lie about WW II Sikorski plot kept secret by UK

[Jim O]

A distinguished Polish pilot admitted he lied that he found a bomb intended to blow up the plane of Poland's wartime leader, but the episode was hushed up by Britain's government, secret files released on Monday showed.

The apparent plot to assassinate General Wladyslaw Sikorski, who led the Polish government in exile until his death in 1943, sparked an inquiry with suspicions it was a German or Russian conspiracy but it turned out the pilot took the bomb aboard.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was dragged into the investigation as security chiefs scrambled to uncover the truth about what happened on the plane over the Atlantic, a year before Sikorski's death in a mysterious plane crash.

The pilot said he found a smoldering bomb on board the plane taking Sikorski from Scotland to Canada on March 21, 1942.

Polish Wing Commander Bohdan Kleczynski said he found the device burning under his mattress as he rested on the B-24 Liberator plane. He said the device broke into two pieces as he rushed to the back of the plane to throw it down the toilet...

Full article: CNN.com - Lie about WW II Sikorski plot kept secret by UK - Sep 3, 2006

[Lancer44]

Quite strange... I read about this story in 1999...

K. Iranek-Osmecki, "Powołanie i przeznaczenie. Wspomnienia oficera Komendy Głównej AK 1940-1944", wyd. PIW, Warszawa 1998.

In this book on pages 543 and 544 you can read:

"Dochodzenie przeprowadzone przez Szarkiewicza ustaliło bez wątpienia przebieg wypadków, natomiast nie wyjaśniło, czym się kierował ppłk lotnictwa Bohdan Kleczyński, który zamach rzekomo zdołał udaremnić.
Po przylocie do Kanady, w En Ville, Kleczyński zaraportował, że udało mu się rozbroić bombę czy świecę zapalającą, którą znalazł koło siebie, już tlącą się. Kleczyński udawał się do Waszyngtonu tym samym samolotem co Sikorski, by objąć tam stanowisko polskiego attache lotniczego.
Po przesłuchaniach Kleczyńskiego oraz dwóch młodszych rangą oficerów polskich w brygadzie spadochronowej w Szkocji. okazało się, że Kleczyński otrzymał świecę zapalającą od jednego z nich kilka miesięcy wcześniej, że zabrał ją ze sobą na pokład samolotu, że nigdy nie groziło jej zapalenie się i że całą aferę sam zainscenizował.
W stosunku do Kleczyńskiego nie wyciągnięto żadnych konsekwencji ani nie zastosowano żadnej kary. Odwołano go jedynie ze stanowiska attache w Waszyngtonie.

Below is my translation:

"Investigation conducted by lieutenant Szarkiewicz, confirmed what happened but failed to disclose motives of Wing Commander Bohdan Kleczynski, which allegadly prevented assasination attempt.
After landing in Canada Kleczynski reported that he disarmed bomb or rather incendiary device which he found on board of the plane.
Kleczynski was flying to Washington to get there position of Polish Air Attache.

After interrogation of Kleczynski and two junior officers from 1-st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade in Scotland, Kleczynski admitted that he received incendiary device from one of them, that he personally took it on board and that it was not burning at all and that the whole story was just his imagination (hard to translate - say: "he inscenized it", L44)

Kleczynski was not prosecuted not even disciplinary action was taken but he was removed from his position of Air Attache in Washington."

Reading the whole story I had and still have following questions:

Was Kleczynski suicidal?
- I don't think!
Than he was probably "an idiot"...
- I don't think so...

Then there is fundamental question: "for whom Kleczynski was working?"

I will start nice tread about gen. Sikorski death or rather about speculations who organized Gibraltar catastrophe.

But I still don't understand why this information known by British and Polish historians for years, is suddenly appearing as sensation in 2006????

Cheers,

Lancer44

[Jim O]

Originally Posted by Lancer44

I still don't understand why this information known by British and Polish historians for years, is suddenly appearing as sensation in 2006????

It seems that a large number of documents have just been declassified by the British government. This may have something to do with this now making "news".

Evidently Churchill himself intervened on behalf of Kleczynski, writing to Sikorski and encouraging that the incident be kept secret:

He has been sufficiently punished by the mental anguish that he has passed through...Having told one lie ... he was compelled to go on lying.

[Lancer44]

Originally Posted by Jim O

It seems that a large number of documents have just been declassified by the British government. This may have something to do with this now making "news".

Evidently Churchill himself intervened on behalf of Kleczynski, writing to Sikorski and encouraging that the incident be kept secret:

Hi Jim,

For me it's just "proof" that Kleczynski was working for Britons...
Lieutenant Szarkiewicz as a matter of fact was in British Intelligence...

The whole cover up is more than naive. No wonder it was classified for that many years.

Cheers,

Lancer44