Creation of Polish Air Force - Historical Note
by Artur Bildziuk & Jacek Orchel, The Polish Airmen’s Association UK
Polish fighter pilots. Photo (c) Henryk Soszko / Joasia Soszko.
After WW1 Poland regained its independence and the Polish Air Force was formed in 1918, in the same year as the Royal Air Force. During the ensuing war against the Bolsheviks in 1920 the fledgling Polish Air Force contributed greatly using aircraft from French, British and German sources manned not only by Poles but also by foreign volunteers, in particular Americans.
In the 1930s Poland’s Air Force was one of the most modern, consisting almost entirely of metal-constructed mono-plane designs with many innovative features such as the Pułaski gull wing (on PZL11) and laminar-flow wing profiles (on PZL 37). Poland was in the forefront of aviation technology, winning design awards, speed records and export orders.
On 1st September 1939 Poland was invaded from the West by Nazi Germany. On 17th September 1939 Soviet Russia invaded from the East. During this brief period Polish airmen fought bravely against overwhelming odds. The Luftwaffe lost 285 aircraft to the Poles, 126 in aerial combat. In June 1940 Polish airmen flew sorties with the French Air Force and destroyed 60 Luftwaffe aircraft.
When the Polish Air Force reformed in Great Britain in the summer of 1940 British scepticism soon turned to admiration for the skills of the battle-hardened Polish pilots and their ground crews. Polish airmen reinforced Fighter Command in the critical period from mid August to mid September when the Luftwaffe attempted to break Britain’s fighting spirit.
On 15th September 1940, celebrated nowadays as “Battle of Britain Day”, one in five of the pilots was Polish. The 145 Polish pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain flew in two Polish fighter squadrons as well as several RAF fighter units. 29 Poles gave their lives. At the end of the 16-week campaign, the top-scoring Fighter Command unit was No 303 Polish Fighter Squadron which in only 42 days was credited with shooting down 126 enemy aircraft. The squadron’s most successful ace was Josef František, a Czech.
Eventually the Polish Air Force was formed into 15 squadrons plus 2 additional special flights attached to British units. Individual Poles flew with numerous RAF and USAAF squadrons throughout the war.
Yet the outcome of the second world war was not good for the Poles. In 1945 their country had not been liberated but remained under Soviet communist control. Poles who had fought courageously for a free Europe found themselves unable to return to their homeland. Many thousands chose to remain in the West after they were demobbed. The Polish Government in Exile which had been established during the war remained in Great Britain.
In order to look after the interests and welfare of Polish airmen and airwomen the Polish Air Force Association (PAFA) was formed in London in June 1945. To honour the many Polish airmen killed in the war PAFA decided that a memorial should be erected near RAF Northolt on the western outskirts of London. Funds were raised from Polish veterans and British citizens and an imposing memorial was unveiled on 2nd November 1948, engraved with 1241 names of individuals killed in operational flights. A further 659 names were added almost fifty years later.
In the early 1960s PAFA members suggested that the service and sacrifices of Polish Air Force personnel should be honoured in the very heart of London within St Clement Danes Church, the central church of the RAF. On 8th September 1968 this aim was realised when a magnificent memorial plaque was unveiled by General Władysław Anders and Air Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier.
Having thrown off its communist yoke in 1989, Poland has become a key member of the NATO alliance. Today its young airmen and women fly the latest combat and transport aircraft, patrolling the skies of Eastern Europe, serving in other lands and contributing significantly to humanitarian operations overseas.