Hope we won at
http://www.canalplus.pl/sport/liga-angielskaDon't forget the WWII Polish war effort , the we can do is get them something decent on telly!!
Following the German invasion of Poland, many Polish pilots escaped and made their way to France and Britain. During the German invasion of France in May 1940, of the 1,600 Polish pilots available to the Armee de l'Air it is estimated that only about 150 took an active part in combat. Many of these personnel escaped to the UK around the time of the fall of France. By mid-1940 some 35,000 Polish airmen, soldiers and sailors had made their way to Britain, making up the largest foreign military force in the country; of these some 8,500 were airmen.[4] Many were members of the Polish Air Force which had fought the Luftwaffe. However, the Air Ministry and the RAF underestimated their potential value in fighting against the Luftwaffe. Most of the Poles were posted either to RAF bomber squadrons or the RAF Volunteer Reserve.[5]
On 11 June 1940, the Polish Government in Exile signed an agreement with the British Government to form a Polish Air Force in the UK. Finally, in July 1940 the RAF announced that it would form two Polish fighter squadrons: 302 "Poznański" Squadron and 303 "Kościuszko" Squadron were composed of Polish pilots and ground crews, although their flight commanders and commanding officers were British.[6]
The two fighter squadrons went into action in August, with 89 Polish pilots. Another 50 Poles took part in the battle, in RAF squadrons.
Polish pilots were among the most experienced in the Battle; most had hundreds of hours of pre-war flying experience and had fought in the September Campaign and/or the Battle of France. The Polish pilots had been well trained in formation flying and had learned from combat experience to fire from close range. By comparison, one Polish pilot referred to the close formation flying and set-piece attacks practised in the RAF as "simply suicidal".[7]
The 147 Polish pilots claimed 201 aircraft shot down. 303 Sqn claimed the highest number of kills (126) of all Allied squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain.[8] Witold Urbanowicz of 303 Sqn was the top Polish scorer with 15 claims. Sgt Tony Glowacki was one of two Allied pilots in the Battle to shoot down five German aircraft in one day, on 24 August (the other being New Zealander Brian Carbury). One Polish veteran, Stanislaw Skalski, became the top-scoring Polish fighter ace of the Second World War.
There continues to be a perception that "fanatical" Polish pilots, inspired by hatred caused by the German invasion of Poland, often rammed enemy aircraft.[citation needed] However, with their combat experience, Polish pilots would have known that the quickest and most efficient way to destroy an enemy aircraft was to fire from close range. For instance:
"After firing a brief opening burst at 150 to 200 yards, just to get on the enemy's nerves, the Poles would close almost to point-blank range. That was where they did their real work. "When they go tearing into enemy bombers and fighters they get so close you would think they were going to collide," observed Athol Forbes.[9]
In all, 30 Polish airmen were killed during the Battle. The close range tactics used by the Poles led to suggestions of recklessness, but there is little evidence for this view. For example, the death rate in 303 Squadron was almost 70 percent lower than the rate for other RAF squadrons, despite the squadron having been the highest-scoring Allied squadron during the battle.[10]
The Polish War Memorial on the outskirts of RAF Northolt was dedicated in 1948 as a commemoration of the Polish contribution to Allied arms.
by Chinners » Mon Oct 15, 2012 10:05 am 
