Your Stories Of The Polish Air Force in the Second World War
What do you think? We would particularly love to share with our online visitors any stories that former members of the Polish Air Force may have.
To share your stories with us and the public or if you are an online visitor who would like to comment about this exhibition, please click through to our comment form from the link below. We look forward to hearing from you.
- Send us your comments and stories
Your Personal Stories, Comments and Recollections
Below are some comments made by and about Polish Pilots in the Royal Air Force during World War Two.
Kajestan Ignatowski AFC DFM VM
Kajestan Ignatowski AFC DFM VM
My father was born in 1919 near Warsaw and in 1938 he joined the Polish Air Force, In Sept 1939 when the Germans attacked Poland and his flying school was bombed, he and many hundreds of his fellow students made an escape via Romania where they were interned by the Romanian Army. They then followed a roundabout journey by several trains and ships which took them to Bucharest, the Black Sea, Istanbul, Malta and Marseilles winding up at Lyon. When the Germans invaded France, attacked Lyon and bombed their airfield. He escaped again, this time via Perpignan to Oran, Casablanca and Gibraltar from where a British cruise liner took them to England arriving in Liverpool in June 1940.
He then followed a long period of schooling, learning English and being assimilated into British ways, including a brief spell at RAF Leconfield, after which he resumed training at RAF Hucknell on Tiger Moths and then at RAF Newton on Airspeed Oxfords, concluding with his Wellington conversion at RAF Bramcote and a posting to 365 (Polish Squadron) at RAF Hemswell as an aircraft captain with the rank of Sergeant. On his seventh operation he lost an engine to anti-aircraft fire over Wilhemshaven, but could not feather the propeller, so, after a long struggle to maintain altitude, he had to ditch off the East Coast where after a few hours they were picked up by a RN fast patrol boat. In November 1943 he completed his 30 operations including three visits to Hamburg where he was nearly shot down again, but escaped after evasive action. He was promoted to Flight Sergeant awarded the DFM and the Polish Virtuti Militaire.
He was then commissioned as a Pilot Officer and volunteered to return to Operations but was trained as a QFI and was transferred to 301 Polish Sqn flying Halifaxes.
After the war he settled in Blackpool and was invited to join the Royal Air Force which he did in 1949 flying 10,000 flying hours and receiving the AFC finally retiring in 1974.
Michael Ignatowski from RAF Sports Board RAF Halton
30/11/11
Stanislaw Zdanowski
My father was an officer cadet in the pre-war Polish Air Force, after the fall of Poland he escaped via Romania to France and got to England in June 1940.
He started his basic flying training on the 23February 1942 at RAF Newton in Nottinghamshire and joined 303 Squadron in 1943 where he flew Spitfires and on the last squadron sortie on the 25 April 1945 a Mustang as part of the escort for a daylight light raid on Bertesgarten by Lancasters.
He remained in the RAF after the war as an Air Traffic Controller and died in 1963 whilst on active service in Singapore.
Paul Z Danowski from Southwell
1940 to 1945
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Sgt. Antoni Stalewski V.M
My grandfather Antoni grew up in Bielsk Podlaski. Like most young boys, he dreamt of joining the Polish Air Force, lured by the romanticism of aviation and inspired by many famous Polish pilots.
He joined the SPLdM and as soon as he had finished training Germany invaded Poland and he found himself thrown straight into combat in the September 1939 Campaign as part of the ‘Bomber Brigade’, No.1 Air Force Regiment. It resisted the Invasion of Poland as the main aerial reserve of the Commander in Chief and was used for bombing enemy units in central Poland. Created just before the War, the squadron did not have time to reach full operational readiness. The Polish Air Force claimed 134 air victories, including shooting down 7 enemy aeroplanes.
Antoni's next challenge was to make his way through war torn Europe to join Allied forces in Europe. He made his way to France to join allied forces, travelling through Zagreb, Yugoslavia and Modano.
Antoni arrived in France on the 23rd of November 1939, and reported to the Polish Air Force base in Lyon, where he joined one of the newly created Polish Air units under French command. It was not until May 18th 1940 however, that these newly formed squadrons were equipped with planes which included the completely obsolete Caudron C.714 fighters. Altogether, the Polish pilots flew 714 sorties during the Battle of France. On June 17th, the French government announced “It is with a heavy heart that I tell you today that we must stop fighting” and requested an armistice from the Germans.
After the collapse of France, a large section of the Polish Air Force contingent was withdrawn and evacuated to the United Kingdom. On the 6th August 1940, Antoni volunteered for aircrew service and began training as a wireless operator and air gunner. He completed his gunnery course at the No.4 Bombing and Gunnery School, and his operational training in the No.18 Operational Training Unit in Bramcote. In May 1941, Antoni was posted to the 301 Bomber Squadron "Land of Pomerania" (301 Dywizjon Bombowy "Ziemi Pomorskiej").
Following 21 dangerous but successful missions, on 21st October 1941 whilst flying on an operational mission to Bremen in Wellington Bomber Z1217 from Gainsborough, Antoni’s plane was shot down over Nienberg Germany. Along with his comrades (Sgt L.Cieslak, Sgt M.Borodej, F/O J.Riedl, Sgt A.Mlodzik and Sgt A.Klee-Bergoni) he was captured and interned as a prisoner of war. Antoni was interned until 1945 in Stalag VIII-B, Stalag Luft III & Stalag Luft VI and Stalag XXA. Antoni assited with preparations for many escape attempts, by fashioning buttons to mimic the buttons on the German guards’ coats and building radios inside the camps.
Antoni returned to the Blackpool base in May 1945. Upon his return, he was honoured for his sacrife and successful air missions. 301 Squadron commander Major Witold Jacek Piotrowski, had requested he be awarded the Order of Military Virtue for giving 'full-sacrifice in battle'. He was decorated with the Srebrny Krzyz Orderu Virtuti Militari No.9234 (V class), Krzyz Walecznych and two Bars, Medal Lotniczy, 1939-45 Star, Aircrew Europe Star and War Medal. In total, he had successfully completed 21 operational missions in 300 hours.
Following the war Antoni was was employed in the electrical industry, where he became a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Society. He passed away in October 1986 without knowing that the British government would finally acknowledge the Polish Allies for their sacrifices, after they were denied participation in the 1945 Victory Parade.
Andrew Simpson from London
30th August 2011
