Polish Air Force Contributions in WWII

[franciszek]

There used to be many poles in the seaside resort of Blackpool as there is a international airport there now but i believe there was squadrons of Lancaster bombers with poles as crews there was a hotel near the pleasure beach the owners father was such a crew member i stayed there many years ago and there was a signed painting by all the crew members i found it very humbling sadly it has closed recently

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from online sources:

The Polish Air Force fought in the Battle of France as one fighter squadron GC 1/145, several small units detached to French squadrons, and numerous flights of industry defence (in total, 133 pilots, who achieved 53-57 victories at a loss of 8 men in combat, what was 7,93% of allied victories)[10].

Later, Polish pilots fought in the Battle of Britain, where the Polish 303 Fighter Squadron claimed the highest number of kills of any Allied squadron. From the very beginning of the war, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had welcomed foreign pilots to supplement the dwindling pool of British pilots. On 11 June 1940, the Polish Government in Exile signed an agreement with the British Government to form a Polish Army and Polish Air Force in the United Kingdom. The first two (of an eventual ten) Polish fighter squadrons went into action in August 1940. Four Polish squadrons eventually took part in the Battle of Britain (300 and 301 Bomber Squadrons; 302 and 303 Fighter Squadrons), with 89 Polish pilots. Together with more than 50 Poles fighting in British squadrons, a total of 145 Polish pilots defended British skies. Polish pilots were among the most experienced in the battle, most of them having already fought in the 1939 September Campaign in Poland and the 1940 Battle of France. Additionally, prewar Poland had set a very high standard of pilot training. The 303 Squadron, named after the Polish-American hero, General Tadeusz Koœciuszko, claimed the highest number of kills (126) of all fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it only joined the combat on August 30, 1940[11] These 5% of Polish pilots were responsible for 12% of total victories in the Battle.



The Polish Air Force also fought in 1943 in Tunisia (Polish Fighting Team, so called "Skalski's Circus") and in raids on Germany (1940-45). In the second half of 1941 and early 1942, Polish bomber squadrons were the sixth part of forces available to RAF Bomber Command (later they suffered heavy losses, with little replenishment possibilities). Polish aircrew losses serving with Bomber Command 1940-45 were 929 killed. Ultimately 8 Polish fighter squadrons were formed within the RAF and had claimed 629 Axis aircraft destroyed by May 1945. By war's end, there were 14,000 Polish airmen in 15 RAF squadrons and in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).



Polish squadrons in the United Kingdom:

No. 300 "Masovia" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Mazowieckiej)
No. 301 "Pomerania" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Pomorskiej)
No. 302 "City of Poznañ" Polish Fighter Squadron (Poznañski)
No. 303 "Koœciuszko" Polish Fighter Squadron (Warszawski imienia Tadeusza Koœciuszki)
No. 304 "Silesia" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Œl¹skiej imienia Ksiecia Józefa Poniatowskiego)
No. 305 "Greater Poland" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Wielkopolskiej imienia Marsza³ka Józefa Pi³sudskiego)
No. 306 "City of Toruñ" Polish Fighter Squadron (Toruñski)
No. 307 "City of Lwów" Polish Fighter Squadron (Lwowskich Puchaczy)
No. 308 "City of Kraków" Polish Fighter Squadron (Krakowski)
No. 309 "Czerwieñ" Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (Ziemi Czerwieñskiej)
No. 315 "City of Dêblin" Polish Fighter Squadron (Dêbliñski)
No. 316 "City of Warsaw" Polish Fighter Squadron (Warszawski)
No. 317 "City of Wilno" Polish Fighter Squadron (Wileñski)
No. 318 "City of Gdañsk" Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (Gdañski)
No. 663 Polish Artillery Observation Squadron
Polish Fighting Team (Skalski's Circus)

Polish Fighter Squadron 303 Spitfire


303 Fighter Squadron Insignia (Tadeusz Kosciuszko Sq.)


Here is a link to many stories about Polish Air aces:
www.elknet.pl/acestory/poland.htm

I remember when I visited Berlin about 6 years ago. My brother-in-law and I went to pay our respects to the Allied WWII Cemetery and I remember seeing several Polish burials there. It seems there were perhaps a few Bombers shot down over Berlin with Polish crews aboard.

They certainly have my respect,
Jim

[gigi]

Polish ace pilot’s mementoes on display in Warsaw
Created: 10.10.2008 11:46



An exhibition dedicated to Witold Urbanowicz, Poland's foremost fighter ace of World War II, is on at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw.

It includes a collection of his medals, military distinctions (the Order of Virtuti Militari, the British Order of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross), documents and other memorabilia relating to his life and war-time service donated recently by the late general’s son, Witold Urbanowicz jr, a US citizen.

Born in 1908, Witold Urbanowicz was a graduate of the famous cadet flying school in Deblin, south-east of Warsaw. During World War Two, he fought on three fronts – in combat over Poland, in the Battle of Britain and in China with the Flying Tigers. He was credited with destroying 28 German and Japanese planes. In the Battle of Britain alone, he had 15 confirmed kills and one probable, which made him the top Polish ace and in the top ten of Allied aces of the battle.

After the war, he returned to Poland, but was arrested by the Communist secret police as a spy. After his release, he fled to the USA and settled there, working for American Airlines, Eastern Airlines and Republic Aviation. He retired in 1973. He visited Poland only after the collapse of communism, in 1991 and 1995. In 1995 President Lech Walesa promoted him to the rank of Brigadier-General. He died in New York City in 1996.

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