Polish Spitfire Aces
- At May 14, 2016
- By David Mason
- In Uncategorized
- 0
Of all Allied airmen, Polish pilots had had the most experience of fighting the Luftwaffe by the time the war came to Britain. 6,220 Polish air personnel would reach Britain by the end of July 1940, increasing the total of Polish airmen on British soil to 8,384 men. Exhausted servicemen, tired of being defeated by the Germans, looked upon Britain with great anticipation and named it ‘The Island of the Last Hope’.
Polish pilots constituted 5% of RAF during the ‘Battle of Britain’. They were responsible for a disproportionately high number of kills (12%), even though they were only allowed to join the Battle when it was about 1/2 way through.
Initially the Brits did not believe that the Poles (some of the best pilots in Europe, and possibly the world, during WW2) could actually fly, so they made them train flying formations on the ground using bicycles.
Contents:
Get the Spitfire
Defending Britain
Hot summer of 1941
Against the Focke-Wulfs
Dieppe landings
Mk IXs
Mediterranean adventures
Tactical air force
Get a Spitfire
Appendices