Many of the RAF officials declared that the Poles would only fly bombers – fortunately, this decision was not set in stone. In England, the RAF was at first hesitant to let the Poles fly fighters. Overall, through the French Campaign the Poles flew 714 sorties with 53 confirmed kills, before they were forced to evacuate to the British Isles. Other Polish pilots mainly flew sorties protecting French factories in so-called „chimney flights”, mainly on Morane-Saulnier MS.406 fighters. Overall, only one fully Polish squadron was created – the Groupe de Chasse 1/145 – however, it was equipped with obsolete Caudron C.714 „Cyclone” fighters. Most of the Polish pilots found themselves in French squadrons, however many recalled being treated with scorn and dislike, with French pilots blaming them for starting the war and dragging France into it. Mainly escaping to Romania, many of them managed to not get interned and reached France, where the government in exile found it's place. 303 Polish Fighter SquadronĮven though Poland has fallen, the pilots and mechanics of the Polish Air Force knew, that the war was not over. Also, contrary to a popular myth, the Polish Air Force fought for as long as it could, as it managed to avoid destruction in the first days of the campaign. Regardless of that, during the September Campaign Polish pilots, thanks to their piloting skills and training, shot down 126 German aircraft. The P.11 fighter was not a match for a modern Messerschmitt Bf109. In the advent of the Second World War most of the Polish aircraft were slowly starting to show it's age. Another famous constructor was Zygmunt Puławski, responsible for creating the „inverted gull wing” design, used in the famous PZL P.11 fighter. Their careers were, however, cut short by an aircraft accident on the 11th of September 1932, in which they both died. One of the most famous engineering duos of the interwar era were Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura, whose RWD-6 aircraft won the Challenge 1932 contest. Polish engineers began developing new machines, which would later form the backbone of the Polish Air Force. Poland was not content, however, with only importing aircraft. Old German and Austrian designs were replaced with more modern French aircraft, such as the SPAD 61C1. Polish pilots, along with US volunteers from the „Kościuszko Squadron” led by Merian Cooper, were mainly engaged in close air support and reconnaissance sorties.Īfter the Polish-Soviet War, Poland quickly began to modernize the Air Force. In 1920, the Polish Air Force found itself in combat again – this time on the East against the Soviet Union. At this time Polish Air Force was equipped with aircraft taken from the three conquerors – Austro-Hungary, Germany and Russia – such as the Fokker D.VII and the Albatros D.III. It was then when the Poles performed the first combat bomber sortie (on the 9th of January 1919 Polish bombers attacked the Frankfurt airport to disrupt combat operations of the German Air Force against the military in the Poznań region). Because of the volatile situation in Central Europe after the end of the Great War, the new force quickly found itself in the fight during the Great Poland Uprising against Germany in the final months of 1918. The top military command knew the importance of having a strong air force and the formation process began quickly. The history of the Polish Air Force begins of the 11th of November 1918, when the country finally regained its independence after nearly 123 years of partitions. Spitfire Mk IIb of Sqn Ldr Jan "Donald" Zumbach created by KENZO | Download Here
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