Polish pilots in the RAF

[djd]

Just watched a great tv programme here in the uk about the first Polish RAF fighter squadron. Great stuff confirming what an amazing bunch they were. My grandfather was in bomber command and he always said how brave / crazy the poles he'd known were. Anyway, I'm just going to drink a toast to those guys...

 

[cookie]

I had a list I found somewhere of the pilots in the Battle of Britain and their country of origen. From memory Poland was number 2.

 

[djd]

They were very successful with a tremendous number of aces among their number.

 

[Smithy]

djd, they have released that programme ("The Polish Battle of Britain") here in Australia on DVD. I picked it up last month and agree, it was great viewing.

The Poles were the second largest national contingent in the Battle of Britain after unsurprisingly, the British. Dowding was initially very concerned about using them and held off making 303 Sqn operational for quite some time, even though a small trickle of Poles had been posted to other squadrons. That all changed with F/O Paszkiewicz.

The Poles were exceedingly successful and it has to be remembered that quite a few of them had seen combat over Poland and then France, so were experienced fighter pilots. They were also very aggressive and possessed a burning hatred for Germans (still to this day there's no love lost between the two). Their contribution to the Battle of Britain was enormous.

 

[botty]

Polish fighter pilots comprised 10% of those available during the battle of Britain and were responsible for 12% of German losses. Without them the battle could have gone very differently.

I have also read that the British liked the Polish squadrons because they achieved this while using less support services to do it.

 

[Spitfire]

Hats off to the courageous polish pilots in RAF. They just never stopped fighting!

 

[Kitty_Sheridan]

We're unveiling a memorial to 302 (City of Poznan) Squadron in East Yorkshire later this year. They were the first Squadron to form in this country and we raised the money by serving tea and sandwiches to other reenactors for donations.
The Poles were treaty appallingly by the UK at the end of WW2 and I hope we can start to make amends for it.

K

 

[djd]

Nice one Kitty - good work

 

[Smithy]

Polish fighter pilots comprised 10% of those available during the battle of Britain and were responsible for 12% of German losses. Without them the battle could have gone very differently.

I have also read that the British liked the Polish squadrons because they achieved this while using less support services to do it.

Actually you're doing them a slight disservice botty. The Poles only accounted for 5% of Fighter Command which makes their achievements even more impressive. 303 Sqn was especially so, with the best claim to loss ratio (14:1) amongst the Battle of Britain squadrons.

I'm not sure it's right to say that the Polish squadrons operated on less support services. The RAF had an exceedingly regimented and uniform system of ground and support staff for each squadron and station - it was necessary to keep a squadron running efficiently both on the ground and in the air.

 

[cookie]

My understanding is that a lot of the Poles like the ones at Monte Cassino came from the Lwow area of Poland which Stalin stole from Poland and incorporated into the modern Ukraine.

 

[djd]

The programme said how aggressive they were compared to the Brit pilots at the start of the war. Whereas the Brits would tend to engage the enemy at 400 yards the poles would open up at 100 yards.

They also recounted the story of how 303s commander was doubtful about the number of kills they were claiming, so much so that he secretly followed them into combat one day. He came back saying that every time he got behind a target one of the poles would swoop in and shoot it to bits before he could! He had no doubts after that

 

[Smithy]

They also recounted the story of how 303s commander was doubtful about the number of kills they were claiming, so much so that he secretly followed them into combat one day. He came back saying that every time he got behind a target one of the poles would swoop in and shoot it to bits before he could! He had no doubts after that

That was actually their station commander at Northolt, Group Captain Vincent, who had thought the Poles of 303 were pulling a fastie with their claims, but as you said after flying to have a look at them, was slightly shaken but without doubt to their efficiency!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I'm reminded of this scene from the film Battle of Britain

[video=youtube;yXf1bhEEXd0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXf1bhEEXd0&feature=channel_video_title[/video]

 

[RadioWave]

I bought this book (http://www.fnpmilitarypress.com/gabby-a-fighter-pilots-life) following ace-pilot Col. Francis Gabreski's death in 2002 (I attended the wake). A good portion of the book recounts his experiences as the lone Polish-speaking American attached to Squadron 315.

This book's a very good read.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

It is an excellent read. I have an earlier edition signed by Gabreski and several other fighter aces.

Edit: I couldn't think of the names of the other aces but two of autographs are of Hub Zemke and Jerry Johnson.

 

[RadioWave]

It is an excellent read. I have an earlier edition signed by Gabreski and several other fighter aces.

Wow, that's really cool.

I would have loved to have heard some of his stories told in person before he died.

 

[Smithy]

A good portion of the book recounts his experiences as the lone Polish-speaking American serving with the 303rd.

Hi Bluestone, I'm fairly certain that Gabreski was attached to 315 (Polish) whilst liaising with the RAF. BTW RAF squadrons are never referred to as ordinal numbers. So it's not "three hundred and third" but "three oh three" squadron.

V.C. Brunswick, that clip from the Battle of Britain is based on F/O Paszkiewicz's little adventure during a training flight on the 30th August and, as with the film, which led to the Poles being made operational.

 

[Kitty_Sheridan]

Ah, 315 my second favourite Squadron...

Eugenisz Horbaczewski....what a chap!

 

[RadioWave]

Hi Bluestone, I'm fairly certain that Gabreski was attached to 315 (Polish) whilst liaising with the RAF. BTW RAF squadrons are never referred to as ordinal numbers. So it's not "three hundred and third" but "three oh three" squadron.

V.C. Brunswick, that clip from the Battle of Britain is based on F/O Paszkiewicz's little adventure during a training flight on the 30th August and, as with the film, which led to the Poles being made operational.

Right on all counts - thanks for the heads-up.