The Battle of Britain
 |
|
 |
|
| The Battle of Britain | |
|
|
|
As early as 25 October 1939, at the conference of the air delegations of the United Kingdom, France and Poland, the British side agreed to receive 2300 Polish air force troops (including approx. 300 members of the flying personnel).
Pilots arriving in England were accommodated at a centre on the grounds of the Eastchurch airfield, near London. In 1940 the pilots started to be sent to Redhill near London, for practical training, while the on-board observers and marksmen underwent initial training in Eastchurch, from where they were later dispatched to respective British military schools.
 |
The military defeat of the allies in France (May - June 1940) and the heavy losses which the British troops suffered there forced the command to look for possible reserves, in order to supplement, among others, the air force units and the fighter squadrons in particular. It was considered vital in light of the expected German invasion. In this situation, a voluntary recruitment to the British fighter force was announced. Almost all the Polish military pilots based at Eastchurch (and later in Blackpool) reported to RAF units.
On 11 June a Polish - British accord was signed, regulating the organizational principles with reference to Polish air units and commands, whilst on 6 August another agreement was signed - on the collaboration and co-operation between the Polish Air Force and RAF. In effect, the Polish Air Force was now subordinated to RAF command, without any possibility of intervention in the employment of the units by the British.
On 15 July the first 4 Polish pilots were dispatched to the 145th and 253rd RAF fighter squadrons.
 |
On 8 August the German air offensive against the Great Britain began. It was to be an initial stage preceding the invasion of the British Isles. The series of intensive aerial combats lasting until the end of October is known as "The Battle of Britain". Its course was divided into four phases: in the first (8 - 18 August) the German Luftwaffe was attempting to destroy the RAF units and to make navigation in the coastal waters around south-eastern England impossible. In the second, (19 August - 5 September), the airfields in this part of the island were attacked; in the third (6 September - 5 October), intensive air combats in the vicinity of London took place. In the fourth (6 - 31 October), the Germans carried out night attacks in order to break the British air defences.
In this aerial campaign 2630 planes took part on the German side, including 1510 bombers, whilst the British skies were defended by 672 fighters (data as on 1st July), but their number soon started to decrease
For the Poles, the first aerial victory was the success of a Ltn. Antoni Ostowicz from the RAF's 145th fighter squadron. The first Poles to die in the Battle of Britain (on 11th August) were: Ltn. Ostowicz and Ltn. Michał Stęborowski from RAF's 238th fighter squadron. In the ensuing weeks Polish pilots in the RAF units achieved numerous successes in combat, but they also suffered heavy losses.
On 24 August Sgt. Antoni Głowacki from the RAF's 502nd fighter squadron shot down 5 German planes, setting up a new allied record of victories in one day. This record remained unbeaten until the end of the war. 19 Polish pilots in the RAF units died during the Battle of Britain. Poles fighting in these units destroyed 77.5 aeroplanes (confirmed), 16 unconfirmed and 29 damaged.
As a consequence of the Polish - British accord on 11 June, organizational work was undertaken to create four Polish air squadrons. These were: the 300th bomber squadron (created on 1st July, reached operational capability on 14 September), 301st bomber squadron (on 22 July, in combat readiness from 26 August), 302nd fighter squadron (from 13 July, reaching combat readiness on 15th August) and the 303rd fighter squadron (from 2 August, with combat readiness reached on 31 August).
 |
The 302nd fighter squadron stationed at Leconfield airfield was the first one to join the combat. Initially, it only took part in combat operations on the10th and from mid- September, of the RAF's 12th Fighter Group. Because of the lower intensity of air operations in the area protected by this squadron, it had relatively few opportunities for encounters with Luftwaffe's planes. In spite of this, its pilots shot down 16 planes confirmed, 10 unconfirmed and one damaged.
On the other hand, the 303rd squadron, operating from the Northolt airfield near London carried out many more combat flights. For example: on 15 September, on the day of the heaviest air raids against London, its pilots shot down 15 enemy aircraft. During a visit paid by King George VI, an alert take-off took place; in the air combat that soon followed, the pilots shot down another 14 of the Luftwaffe's aircraft. On the next day another 16 planes were shot down.
During the Battle of Britain, Poles shot down 203 and 1/2 enemy planes, confirmed, 35 unconfirmed, and 36 were damaged.
Two bomber squadrons were also taking an active part in the battle. They participated in the air raids against German landing ships in French ports of Boulogne, Calais and in Ostende. They dropped 456 tons of bombs.
Poles, after the British, constituted the most numerous national group among pilots defending British skies in 1940. Out of 3080 fighter pilots in total, 147 were Poles, with the next national group represented being New Zealanders, with 101 pilots. During the battle Poles shot down almost 12% of all planes that were destroyed (203.5 out of 1733).
It was to them, amongst others, that the British Prime Minister Churchill addressed his speech, saying: "never before in the domain of human conflict have so many owed so much to so few".
Following the allied victory in the Battle of Britain, there was a further development of Polish air formations.
|
|
 |
("The Warsaw Squadron") Established on 2 August 1940, it was re-located to the Northolt base near London. From 31 August it constituted a part of RAF's 11th Fighter Group. It took part in the Battle of Britain, during which its pilots shot down 110 German planes. Throughout the entire war the squadron carried out 9900 sorties, shot down 203 planes (confirmed), with 40 unconfirmed (but probable), and 25 damaged. It lost 90 planes itself, with 44 pilots dead. The squadron was decorated with the Virtuti Militari order - 5th class. The unit was dissolved on 9 December 1946. |
|
Poles in the Battle of Britain
Polish air units: - 300th bomber squadron, commanded by Col. Wacław Makowski, - 301st bomber squadron, commanded by Col. Roman Rudkowski, - 302nd fighter squadron, commanded by Col. Mieczysław Mümler and Major Jacek Sachtel, - 303rd fighter squadron, commanded by Major Zdzisław Krasnodębski Ltn. Witold Urbanowicz (from 7 September) Ltn. Zdzisław Henneberg (from 22 October) and Major Ronald Kellet. Enemy planes shot down by Polish pilots in the RAF units: - 77.5 planes confirmed, - 16 unconfirmed, - 36 damaged. Enemy planes shot down by the Polish squadrons: - 302nd squadron: 16 confirmed, 10 unconfirmed, 1 damaged, - 303rd squadron: 110 confirmed, 9 unconfirmed, 6 damaged. Combined victories: 203 and 1/2 confirmed, 35 unconfirmed, 36 damaged. Losses: - 301st bomber squadron: 3 killed, - 302nd fighter squadron: 6 killed, - 303rd fighter squadron: 8 killed, - Pilots in the RAF units: 19 killed. Total losses: 36 killed. |
 |
with the largest number of victories in combat |
|
|
- Sergeant Jozef Frantisek (Czech) - Ltn. Witold Urbanowicz - Ltn. Zdzisław Henneberg - Ltn. Jan Zumbach - Sergeant Eugeniusz Szaposznikow |
17 13 8 8 8 |
|
