Polish Air Force


The Polish Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej. In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel and about 475 aircraft, distributed among ten bases throughout Poland.
The Polish Air Force can trace its origins to the second half of 1917 and was officially established in the months following the end of World War I in 1918. During the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, 70% of its aircraft were destroyed. Most pilots, after the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September, escaped via Romania and Hungary to continue fighting throughout World War II in allied air forces, first in France, then in Britain, and later also the Soviet Union.

History

Origins

Military aviation in Poland started before the officially recognised date of regaining independence. The first independent units of the Polish Air Force were formed in 1917, before World War I had come to an end. When the Russian Revolution began and the tsardom gradually lost control of the country, Polish pilots took advantage of the chaos and formed spontaneous aerial units in areas of present-day Belarus, south Ukraine, and by the Kuban river. Up until that point Polish pilots had only flown as members of Russian, German or Austro-Hungarian militaries. The first known air force units in service to the re-emerging Polish state were: I Polski Oddział Awiacyjny in Minsk formed on 19 June 1917, the 1st and 2nd Aviation Units of the 2nd Corps, the aerial fleet of the 4th Rifle Division, as well as the Samodzielny Polski Oddział Awiacyjny in Odesa.

Establishment

Poland was under German and Austro-Hungarian occupation until the armistice, but the Poles started to take control as the Central Powers collapsed. Initially, the Polish air force consisted of mostly German and Austrian aircraft, left by former occupiers or captured from them, mostly during the Greater Poland Uprising. These planes were first used by the Polish Air Force in the Polish-Ukrainian War in late 1918, during combat operations centered around the city of Lwów. On 2 November 1918 pilot Stefan Bastyr performed the first combat flight of Polish aircraft from Lwów.
When the Polish-Soviet War broke out in February 1920, the Polish Air Force used a variety of former German and Austro-Hungarian, as well as newly acquired western-made Allied aircraft. Most common at that time were light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, among most numerous were French Breguet 14 bombers, German LVG C.V reconnaissance aircraft, British Bristol F2B scouts and Italian Ansaldo Balilla fighters.
After the Polish-Soviet War ended in 1921, most of the worn out World War I aircraft were gradually withdrawn and from 1924 the air force started to be equipped with new French aircraft. In total in 1918-1924 there were 2160 aircraft in the Polish Air Force and naval aviation, in which there were 1384 reconnaissance aircraft and 410 fighters. From 1924 to 1930 the primary fighter of the Polish Air Force was the SPAD 61 and its main bombers were the French produced Potez 15 and the Potez 25, which was eventually manufactured in Poland under license from Aéroplanes Henry Potez.
The first Polish-designed and mass-produced aircraft to serve in the country's air force was a high wing fighter, the PWS-10, first manufactured in 1930 by the Podlasie Aircraft Factory.

Inter-war years

In 1933, Zygmunt Pulawski's first high wing, all-metal aircraft, the PZL P.7a, was designed and produced, with 150 entering service. The design was followed by 30 improved PZL P.11a aircraft and a final design, the PZL P.11c, was delivered in 1935 and was a respectable fighter for its time; 175 entered service and it remained the only Polish fighter until 1939, by which time foreign aircraft design had overtaken it. Its final version, the PZL P.24, was built for export only and was bought by four countries. A new fighter prototype, the PZL.50 Jastrząb, similar to the Seversky P-35 in layout, was curtailed by the Nazi invasion and the PZL.38 Wilk twin-engine heavy fighter remained a prototype.
As far as bombers are concerned, the Potez 25 and Breguet 19 were replaced by an all-metal monoplane, the PZL.23 Karaś, with 250 built from 1936 onwards, but by 1939 the Karas was outdated. In 1938 the Polish factory PZL designed a modern twin-engine medium bomber, the PZL.37 Łoś. The Łoś had a bomb payload of 2580 kg and a top speed of 439 km/h. Unfortunately, only about 30 Łoś A bombers and 70 Łoś B bombers had been delivered before the Nazi invasion.
As an observation and close reconnaissance plane, Polish escadres used the slow and easily damaged Lublin R-XIII, and later the RWD-14 Czapla. Polish naval aviation used the Lublin R-XIII on floats. Just before the war, some Italian torpedo planes, the CANT Z.506, were ordered, but only one was delivered, and it was without armament. The principal aircraft used to train pilots were the Polish-built high-wing RWD-8 and the PWS-26 biplane. In 1939, Poland ordered 160 MS-406s and 10 Hawker Hurricane fighters from abroad, but they were not delivered before the outbreak of the war.

1939

On 1 September 1939, at the beginning of the invasion of Poland, all the Polish combat aircraft had been dispersed to secondary airfields, contrary to a commonly held belief, based on German propaganda, that they had all been destroyed by bombing at their airbases. The aircraft destroyed by German bombers on the airfields were mostly trainers. The fighters were grouped into 15 escadres; five of them constituted the Pursuit Brigade, deployed in the Warsaw area. Despite being obsolete, Polish PZL-11 fighters shot down over 170 German aircraft. The bombers, grouped in nine escadres of the Bomber Brigade, attacked armoured ground columns but suffered heavy losses. Seven reconnaissance- and 12 observation escadres, deployed to particular armies, were used primarily for reconnaissance. Part of the Polish Air Force was destroyed in the campaign; the surviving aircraft were either captured or withdrawn to Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia or Sweden, whose air forces subsequently employed these aircraft for their own use. A great number of pilots and aircrew managed to escape to France and then to Britain, where they played a significant part in the defence of the United Kingdom against Nazi invasion, during the Battle of Britain. Prior to the conflict Poland also bought 234 planes abroad. First of them were on delivery when the conflict started. These were Hawker Hurricane, Morane-Saulnier 406 and Fairey Battle. The ship SS Lassell with 14 Hawker Hurricanes on board left Liverpool on 28 August 1939, deliveries from France were also on way when the conflict broke out.

Strength of Polish Air Force on 1 September 1939

1940 (France)

After the fall of Poland, the Polish Air Force started to regroup in France. The only complete unit created before the German attack on France was the GC I/145 fighter squadron, flying Caudron C.714 light fighters. It was the only unit operating the C.714 at the time. The Polish pilots were also deployed to various French squadrons, flying on all types of French fighters, but mostly on the MS-406. After the surrender of France, many of these pilots managed to escape to Britain to continue the fight against the Luftwaffe.

1940–1947 (United Kingdom)

Following the fall of France in 1940, Polish units were formed in the United Kingdom, as a part of the Royal Air Force and known as the Polish Air Force. Four Polish squadrons were formed:
The two Polish fighter squadrons first saw action during the third phase of the Battle of Britain in August 1940, with much success; with many of the pilots being experienced and battle-hardened during the Invasion of Poland. The pilots were regarded as fearless, often bordering on reckless. However, success rates for these squadrons were often greater in comparison to UK and Commonwealth squadrons, with the 303 Squadron becoming the most efficient RAF fighter squadron at that time. Many Polish pilots also flew individually in other RAF squadrons.
As World War II progressed, a further twelve Polish squadrons were created in the United Kingdom:
  • No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron,
  • No. 305 Polish Bomber Squadron,
  • No. 306 Polish Fighter Squadron,
  • No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron,
  • No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron,
  • No. 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron,
  • No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron,
  • No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron,
  • No. 317 Polish Fighter Squadron,
  • No. 318 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron,
  • No. 663 Polish Air Observation Post Squadron ,
  • and the Polish Fighting Team also known as "Skalski's Circus", attached to 145 Squadron RAF.
The fighter squadrons initially flew Hurricanes, then switched to Supermarine Spitfires, and eventually to North American Mustangs. 307 Squadron, like other night fighter squadrons, flew Boulton Paul Defiants, Bristol Beaufighters and finally de Havilland Mosquitoes. The bomber squadrons were initially equipped with Fairey Battles and Vickers Wellingtons. 300 Squadron was later assigned Avro Lancasters, 301 Squadron Handley Page Halifaxes and Consolidated Liberators and 305 Squadron, de Havilland Mosquitoes and North American Mitchells. 663 Squadron flew Taylorcraft Auster IIIs and Vs. After the war, all equipment was returned to the British, but only some of the pilots and crews actually returned to Poland, with many settling in the United Kingdom, some of whom returned to Poland in 1989 after the fall of communism.

1943–1945 (Soviet Union)

Along with the Polish People's Army in the USSR, the Polish People's Air Force was created, in defence of the Soviet Union against Nazi invasion. Three regiments were formed in late 1943:
  • the 1st Fighter Regiment "Warszawa",,
  • the 2nd Night Bomber Regiment "Kraków",
  • and the 3rd Assault Regiment were formed.
During 1944–5, further regiments were created, coming together to form the 1st Mixed Air Corps, consisting of a bomber division, an assault division, a fighter division and a mixed division. After the war, these returned to Poland and gave birth to the air force of the People's Republic of Poland.