V llOW

S
S

~~

~Do~
CBTIlD:m ~ ~ Lill1:m D:!f:tiH'il5

I)ublishcd in Poland in 2003 h.Y STRAT US

A.llIr .'lIszczak, Po. Box 123, 27-600 Sandomicrz I. Pohllld
e-maU: llrturj@lIll1lpbooks.biz
for
Mushroom Model Publications,
36 Vcr Ro.,d, Rcdbounl,
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e-mail: rogenv @wailrose.colII

2003 Mushroom Modell'ublicatiolls.

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ISBN 83-917178-5-2
I~~"ilor

in chief

Editors

Roger WallsJ.;rove
Bartlomiej 8 cIcarz
Robert l'l(czkowski
Artur J uszcz<lk
I\~czko\\'ski

Editel/ by

Rohert

Page desigll by

A.-Iur .Iuszczak
Robcrt Pltczkowski
Arlu!' .Iuszczak

Tmw;/atioll

H.obert Pl(czkowski
Arllll" .JlIszczak
\Vojtek Matusiak

Proofreading

Roger \Vallsgl'Ove

Colour Draw;ll~s
Scale plans

Artur Juszczak
Andncj Mi~sik
Marek Szumski

DTP

Clmpten-Il, III
Chapter.. I, IV, V, VI, VII
Chapter VIII

TOJllasz). K{JpllIiski

IJartlol11iej Be/carz
Arfur Jllszczak

Printed by: Drukarnia Diecez,jallla. Ill. Zerol1lskiego 4, 27-600 Salldomierz

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PRINTED IN POLAND

Introduction ................................................ ...................................................................................... 4

Dcvclo))lllCnt ...................................................................................................................................... 6
1)l'c-\\'ar operations ..................................................................................................................... t I

P.II goes to war .............................................................................................................................. 21

Forlele Aeriene Regale Romane

(I~oyal

Rum'lIlilm Air Force) ........................................ 58

Other uscrs ..................................................................................................................................... 60

Colour ilnagcs ................................................................................................................................. 65

Colou r I'rolilcs ................................................................................................................................ 97

I~

J/ C I/O. "6" q{ IlIe 11-1111 Figlller

FIi~ /lI .

KO/Hllhki

PZL/~ II

he PZL P.II is a legendary aeroplane. not only for the Polish Air
Force. but also fo r Ihe Pol ish aircraft industry. This was probably partly due to Ihe fact that il was the firs t Allied fi ghter to
right. and with some good results, against the Luftwaffe du ring WW2.
Moreover, it was manufactured in larger Ilulnbcrs than any other Pol ish
fi ghter during the inler-war period. A tolal of 200 were built ill Poland.

plus 95 more under licence in other cou ntries .

In September 1939 the PZL P.I Ic and its earl ier variant. the
1'.11 a, equipped nearly allunils of the Polish fi ghter fo rce. On ly three
llights (123rd, 151 st. 162nd) were equipped with the obsolete I'ZL
P.7a fi ghters.
This book is not a broad histori cal work. it is an attempt to make
Ihi s aeroplane familiar to all those interested in militaria. and also to
the modellers who wish to bui ld an exact miniature of this beautiful
aeroplane.
The I'ZL P.II c, togelher with the Gloster Gladiator and the Fiat
CR.42. rilarkedthc end or an era in world aviation: the era of romantic
fl yi ng.

UllkllOl li/l JYZL Pi l e capII//'ed by lh l' Gem/wl.\'.

KopwiJki
4

PZL PII

IN II10dul

l ioN

P6 plwrogmphed allhe
Paris Air Show ill December 1930.
Class

P.6 H'(IS Ihe Inrenmllff oI

Ihe radial engine-powered
PII/(I\\'skijighters.
Kwi(lIkmvski

Below:
1~7{/lIn . 6. 17 (4'lhe
Cm("OII'-based 12/.1'1 Flight,

211d Air Regiment. 11/ Ihe

/JlIckgrowu/ is P70 I/O.
6. I/O o(tlie 123rd Fliglit.
War.wnr-Okrcie ail:/ie/d.
Glass

PZL P 1/ 5

DI \'~IOPM~NI

he P.I I lighter was a development of the PZL 1'1,1'6,1'7 and P.8

aircraft designed by Zygmunt Pulawski.1t featured the in ve rted
gull wing that provided the pilot wi th excellent visibili ty in all
direction s. That was why thi s layo ut later found many fo llowers in

other countries.
ProlOtypc P 1111 ill ils early
j(JrlII in AllgIIS! 1931.
CYllk

The first prototype I' ll was first flown in Warsaw in August 193 1,
half a year after the designer was killed in an air accident. Further
work on P.I I development was headed by Wsiewolod Jakimi uk, who
Below:
developed two more prototypes: P.II / 11 and P.II /lIl, and supervised
P 1111, with 110 collecto r
ril/g or dorsalfairing. CO III- their fli ght testing. The latter machine became the pattern for PZL
lIIenced triah ill early 1931. I'l l a and P. II b fighters. 50 P.II bs were the first to be bu ilt, against
CYllk all order from Ru mania. These aircraft were fitted with Gnome-Rhon e

PZL Pll

P./lII/ J was dis/llayed ill

Dealllber 193/ ;11 /?UI//(/I/;fl
mul Tllrkey.
CYllk

9 K engines and armed with two machine guns. The Poles completed
delivery by mid- 1934.
Duringearly 1935 PZLcommenced delivery ofthe50 1'. 11 as forthe
Polish Air Force. This version was lilted with the Bristol Mercury IV
512 engine manufactured in Poland under licence. and was also armed PIIIII-lwilh Ihe cowlillg
wilh IWO machine guns. Allhe same limc work conlinucd on commcnc- on 'he Bristol Mel'(;w)' II'A
ing production of a new version. the P. II c. simil ar to the new protot ype el/gille.
P.I I/IV. The P. ll c was litted with the morc powerful Mercury V 5/2
C)'I/k

I'ZL I~ fI 7

engine and externally differed from the P. IIa with a different shape
'he IUllg dOl'salfairillg.
vertical tai l and the long dorsal fairing aft of the headrest. In ordcr to
photographed at War.wlIl'further improve visibility from the cockpit, the pilot's seat was raised
MokofoU' ai/./ie/cI.
by 50 mm and moved by 300 mm backwards, whi le the engine axis
C),"k was lowered by 130 mm with respect to the fu selage axis.
The resulting aeroplane had excellent !lying characteristics. Low
ProIOI)'l)(! PJ//II-3 lI'ilh

P 1111/-4 ph%M mplied ill

IlIle 1931 or early 1932.

wi ng loading and a relatively powerful engine, for its time, provided

it with short take off and good climbing speed . The aeroplane could
(vllk perform tight turns and steep dives, with the structure strong enough

8 PZL p.1!

DI:Vl:lopoVIlNI
la al low rapid recovery which altogether gave it the edge in air combat
against any contemporary ri ghter. The P.ll c cou ld carry either two

or four machine guns (in the latter case the performance deteriorated
slightly), small bomb racks and a radio set.
Successful testing ofthe P. II e resulted in its introduction into series
production. This continued until early j 936 and during this period PZL
delivered 150 aircraft of the type to the Polish Air Force.
The aeroplane also raised interest abroad . .lts li cence production
was undertaken by the Rumanian IAR company, based at Brasov. The
Rumanians built 95 Gnome-Rhone 9 Krsd-powered aircraft, designated
P.II f. Also Portuga l, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, and Republican
Spain expressed interest in the aeroplane, the lailer ord erin g 36 (no
deli very ever took place). Bulgari a, Greece, Turkey, and Rumania

purchased the I'll ' s successor: the P.24. The two laller countri es also
started li cencc production.
In 1939 the P.II aircraft provided the backbone of the Poli sh tighter
units. Although by that time they were outpaeed by the much faster
German aircraft , they were able to engage them and achieve victories.

They became the symbol of the Polish pilots' courage and bravery.
Today a single P. II e survives, thi s having been used in 1939 by the
121 st Fi ghter Flight. It is preserved at the Poli sh Aviation Museum
in Cracow.

Paris Air 5holl' 1932.

P /IIII-6J1ffed wilh Cnol/leRhol/e K-9 ellgillc mu!
Ihree-bladed propel/a

CYllk

PZL P..II 9

DI::VfJ o pMl NI

PZL P-6
l'l.m

(i ll. Jupi(," VI FH

VIII 1').11
UR JIII,ilc r VII

PZL P-7fJ

PZL P- l lIl1

X 1<)10

Bri.,[,,1

Jupil~r

Research: 13. Be/earz

Traced by N. PfczkolVSki

PZL P-IIIJ

XI 1<)3 1
Uri.,tol Ml' rcmy JVa

VII I'

PZL P-7flI

PZL P- I IfIll

x 193 1
Br;'I[)1 Jllpif("rVII F

VI 1<),2.
Bri'lo l M c,",, "'y IV S2

PZL P-2411
1').13

( ;R 1.1 Kd S

t
PZLP-Ila

1<)31
Skoda Mercury IV

PZL P-24flI
VI 19.11
GR Id Kfs

S~

PZL P- II N

PZL P-24fTTT

VII'( U

19.1.,

GR I.1Kf,
(S lljJ~r

2.1 !lis)

PZLP-Il c
1933

1 93~

G R ') Kn;J

1'2 L \VS .\I~r.;lIl) V $2

r'2:L \VS !Vlcr.;u ry VI S2

I
PZL P- l1f

PZL P-l l g

1935

19.19

lAI~<)K=

P"LL WS Mcr"u l)' \'111

'-'

GR GNUJl.1 E RII ONE

1).111)

r. IlI1 I

P.11I111

P.lla

1'.11 b

Jupilcr V!lF
(4001480)

Gnume-Rchone
9K (500/550)

Mercury lVA

McrkufY lVS2

(497/517)

(525/575)

GnOllle-Rch6ne
9Krsd (5001515 )

Merkmy VS 2
(5651600)

Wing span [ml

10.50

10.50

10.57

10.72

10.72

10, 72

Height IIllI

2.78

2.75

2.69

2.69

2.70

2.75

Length IIII I

7.21

7.20

7.25

7.25

7.25

7.55

Wing area [m21

17.90

17.qo

17.90

17.90

17.90

17.9()

Weight empty Ikg l

1.022

1.026

1.032

1.1 16

!.I I S

1.322

Weighl (take olf) Ikg]

1,467

1,494

1.500

I,sSO

1.500

1,800

280

297

296

278

2S1

276

340

340/4500m

375/5000111

12. 2

14.5

V{'rsion

Engine IKMJ

High speed at 0 III Ikm/h ]

High speed Ikm/h]

317/4000m

333i4000m

346J4000m

Climb rating [ill/si

11.6

13

125

8.600

10.100

8.<.J{}{)

Ceiling [111]
Range [kml

10 PZL/' 1/

)~.1

h'

8,040

435-4RO

765

503-5511

irst PZLP.II a lighters were delivered to operational units in mid

1935. At thatlime the Polish Air Force had 13 fighter eskadras
(roughly equi valent to independent nights), assigned to the 1st,
2nd, 3rd, and 4th Air Regiments. The Ist Regi ment had two dywizjons
(rough Iy equivalent to squadrons) of two fli ghts each (I III I Squadron
of Illth and 11 2th Fighter Flights, and IVII Squadron of 11 3th and

114th Fighter Flights); the remaining regiments had a single squadron

of three nights each (2nd Regiment: IIII2 Squadron of 12 1st. 122nd

and 123rd Fighter Flights; 3rd Regiment: 111/3 Squadron of 131 st,
132nd and 133rd Fighter Flights; 4th Regiment: 11114 Squadron of
141 st, 142nd and I43rd Fighter Flights). Each fli ght initially had an
establi shment of 10 aircraft. During late 1937 fighter flights also began
to be formed in the 5th and 6th Air Regiments.
[, [11111 was displayed by
At that time it was decided to establish the 11115 Detached Fighter Cui. Jazy Kossowski al
Squadron and 152nd Fighter Flight at Wilno (the 5th Air Regiment Clevelalld (USA) dllrillg lite
was based at Lida, hence the fighter squadron of the RegimenL, based Natio/Jal Air Races.

separately at Wilno, was call ed a detached squadron), and the Tlll6

CYllk

PZL P 11

11

AJrer modijictllioflS, fhe

P 111111 becl/me Ihe pal/l'I"lI
{Uf

,I,e I'ZL 1'.11 (/.

Glass

Fighter Squadron and 16 1st Fighter Flight at Lw6w. At the same time
the third fi ghter ni ghts of the 3rd and 4th Air Regi men ts were tran s-

ferred to Lwow and Wi lno. respectively. The 133rd Flight became the
162 nd, and the 143rd Flight became the 15 1st. These tra nsfers and the
establishment of new nights (152nd and 16 1st), in late November 1937
both th ese air regiments had two-tlight fi ghter squadrons. meant the

total number of fi ghter tlights of the Pol ish Air Force rose to 15. This
remained ullchanged ulllil war broke out in September 1939.

The elite Ist Air Regiment was the first to receive the "elevens".
Until then, in line with other un its. it operated PZL P.7a and PWS- IO
fi ghte rs. Soon afterwards the new fig hters were deli vered to other
regiments.
During 1935-1937 1'.1 1 aircra rt were allocated to twelve tl ights:
the Ill th, 11 2th. I 13th, 114th, 12 1st, 122nd. 13 Ist. 132nd. 14 1st.
142nd. 152 nd , and 16 1st. The type was also used for a shorltime
P IIIIV armed IVithJuHr
/J1achille gHIIS. Nute the bal ~ (summer 1936) by the 123 rd Flight. They were also in service wi th
the Advanced Flying School at Grudzi'ldz, Central Training Fli ght
10011 lyres.
Glass (including the personal aircraft of Gen. Ludomil Rayski, Commanding

12 PZL/' 11

Pnl. . . \VA It

O Pf: RAliOI";\

The same aeroplane was

displayed ill 1934 at 'he
/lex/ Paris Air Show. By,his
lim e i/ll'(I.\' pain/ed (while
witll red Irilll).
Krzy;:wl

Polish Air Force), traini ng nights of some air regimellls, PAF College
at Dl'bl in (pcrso,,"1 aircraft of somc high ra nki ng offi cers there) and
to the PAF College ~ Engineering Group in Warsaw (for instructional
purposes).
On 2 August 1936 concentra tion and exercise of air units saw

fighter aircraft from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Air Regiments arrive in
Warsaw. Thi s was the first publ ic appearance of the ncw vcrsion, the
P.l lc. These aircraft started to be introduced in air regiments during

late I935/carly 1936. The lirst carly production aircraft were delivered,
among others, to the l22nd, 132nd, and 142nd Fl ights. All these units
conti nued to operate the P.7a ai rcraft, and the latter type remained in
use in many Ilights until the end of 1936 (l4 lst Flight until August,
131st Fl ight until September, 121st Flight until November, for exampie). Absence of documentary sou rces makes it impossible to ascertain
when exactly the last "sevens" were wi thdra wn fro m un its converting

to the "elcvens".
Fl ights of the Isi Ai r Regiment. un like fi ghter units of other air
regiments. took deli very of relatively few P. II e aircraft , and at a later

49 P.I Jb aircrq{lwere
expol'fed 10 Rumani(l ill

1934. This is P lib 110. 25.

Benwrd
PZL I' ll 13

PnVWA llOPI:W\lioN!t

time (since they already operated the P.II a fighters). Photographs prove
they were in use as of May 1936 (a visit of one section in Sweden), and
documcnts mention the first accidents of the type in the Ist Regiment in
jJroduction of til e Pllf A
August 1936 ( I 14th Flight) and January 1937 ( I 13th Flight). Survivi ng
IOtal (~fY5 were built. This
documents orthe elite III th Flight make no mention orthe "c" version
is aircf(-!/i /10. 70.
CYllk un til March 1938, and two P.ll cs can be seen among seven Pllas in
photographs of the uni t's aircraft taken in October 1938.
In mid-August 1936 the III th Fighter Flight was transferred to the
Wolyn region in Eastern Poland. Thi s was not for exercises, though.
The Flight was tasked to prevent Sov iet spy planes from ovcrflying
III 1937111e IAI/JacIOfY al
Bms()v IInderfook Iicel1ce

the Sarn y and Strasz6w areas, where PoLi sh fOl1ificati ons were being

built. On 17 August 1936 aircraft of the Flight led by Lt. Zdzislaw

Krasnod,bski fl ew from Warsaw-Ok,cie to an advanced airfield near
the town of Sarny.
Upon arri val all the fi ghters were marked with wh ite letters
"K.O.P." on the fin , to denote the Flight rcporti ng to the Korpu s

Allo/her Pllt: /10. 122,

Jilled with l eA R rype skis.
KOlliarek

14 PZL P.II

."

P 11 C 110. 8.30 displayed (If

exhibiti()/J ill Sfocklw/III
ill 1936.
CYllk

(111

Ochrony Pogranicza (Border Protection Corps). Based at Sarny, the

air crews were rotated at intervals (usually monthly), being replaced by
new pilots from the lJlII Squadron (lll th and 112th Flights). The 1st
Air Reg iment fighters remained at Sarny until mid-November 1936.
At least one encounter with a Soviet aeroplane in August (September?) 1936 ended in the shooting down of the enemy machine.
Th is was achieved by Lt. Witold Urbanowicz,
who intercepted an R-5 aeroplane on a spy ing
mission. The Pol ish fi ghter first attempted to
make the intruder turn back to his own airspace,
but the Soviet crew opened fire. Standing orders
permitted Polish pilots to shoot at intruders in self
defencd, so Urbanowicz fired at the spy plane and
duly shot it down.
During subsequent years protection of the
Eastern border was prov ided by detached sections
(or tl ights) from the 1st, 2nd, and 61h Air Regiments.ln 1937 (from May to November) fi ghters
from the Cracow-based regiment under Lt. Antoni
Wcze li k were stationed at Sarny. A year later
they were replaced by pilots of the IVII Squadron under Capt. Wladyslaw Szcz~sniewski, and
in early 1939 defence duties over the Southern
part of the Eastern border were taken over by
the lTT/6 Squadron from the 6th Air Regiment.
A detached section from the unit remained at
Sarny until the mobilisation of the air force on
24 August 1939.
In October 1936 the Central Fighter Competition was held at Grudziqdz. This was the second

Cell. I?ayski, The COIIImallder of!lIe Polisll Air

Force, during {/ visi! (~r

P Ucs {o S'l'edell. blliJe
backglVlIIl(l i.\ Pile 110.

8.129.
KwialkOl vski

PZL I'll 15

PIII:"'WAII O p l:J~Al i ON)

competition of this kind,

th e first (w ith P.7a aircraft) having been organ~
ised by the Department of
Aeronautics in 1935. The
purpose was to verify the
standards of pilot training in fighter squadrons.
The main prize, the Col.
Stan islaw Jasill ski Cup,
was awarded by the Mili tary Ministry. Each fighter
squadron was represented
AnOlher P 11 c during the
by a team oftluee pilots. Surviving regulations of the competition held
visil to SlOckllOllIl.
in 1938 in Town say that the tealll was selected by drawing lots, by
Pallllbled a special committee named by the PAF Commander. The first event
was firing at a sleeve towed behind a P.I I. The second event was a
dog fight. Pilots fought four combats against a drawn opponent. The
last event was a flyin g skill test.
During 1935 , 1936, and 1937 the Central FighterCompetition was
won by pilots from the Cracow-based IIIJ2 Squadron, who thus won the
Cup outright. The last competition, held during 5-9 November 1938,
was won by the team from the 5th Air Regiment (1l1lS Squadron),
winning the Cup awarded by Mat'shall Edward Rydz-Smigly, C- in-C
Polish Armed Forces. Individually, the first place was held by Lee Cpl.
Kazimierz Mazur from the 132nd Flight. It is notable that the Central
Fighter Competition was never won by Warsaw-based pilots, even
though they would have two teams (one from each squadron).
In November 1937, when the two-night fighter squadrons were
established in the 5th and 6th Air Regiments, it transpired that the air
force had too few PII aircraft for the newly established units. Conse-

III 1936 oircmf' of'he 11 Ith

Flight defended the eoslem

burdel;j1yillg Ivilli Ihe KO?
markillgs (?f Ihe Korpus
Ochrony Pograllicza
(Border Pmlcc/ion CO/ps).
/I "h Fligh' P /la "7" ill
KOP //Iarkillgs is SIIOIVII
KopclIiski

16 PZLPII

quentl y. each regime nt received "e!evens" for ju; t one night ( 152nd
Flight in the 5th Regiment anu 16 1st Flight in the 6th Regiment). The
ot ha IWO nights, 15 1st and 162nd. had to content themselves with
the old "sevens".
At the begin ning of March 1938. after many border incidents.
Pol i, h-Lithuani an rela li ons became ten,.. On 17 March Poland
announced an ultimatum for the Lithuanian government. which called

for normal diplomatic relations (previously strongly resisted by the

Lithuanian government). The demand was !-.upported with a demonstra-

tion of Poland 's mililary power, induding. amo ng Others, concentration of Ihe Polish Ai r Force in Wil no. and subsequenl demonstration
fl ypasts along Ihe Polish-Lithuanian border. The concentration was
nOI carried oul properl y. however. The OC ISI Ai r Regi ment, who on
17 March recciw d orders to send lighler and light bomber fli ght!. to
Wil llo irnlllcdiatdy. \Va' not able 10 do thi s for engineerin g reasons.

Con'equcnll y. nigh" were scrambled 100 late. nyi ng 10 Wilno-Poruha nek belween 17:40 and 19:00 hours. after dark . Du ring landi ng at
the acrodro l11~, partly unusable due

10

drainage work. thrcc aircrart

ml\hed (1'. 1Is of the 1111h. 11 21h, and 1141h Flighls). Fortunalely no
pilot was k.i lled. After the Lithuanians accepted the Polish ultimatum.
on 2 1 March 1938 all fli ghts returned to their bases.
The "Wilno" aClion also in volved lighlers from lhc51h and61h Air
Regiments. The 15 "I and 152nd Flighls look part in demonslralion
flypasls wilh Ihe airerafl from Warsaw. while Ihe 161s1 and 162nd I~ 1h ''1'' I/O. (97-U) of tl",
Fhght~ were moved (ill a stall.! of emergency) to the advanced airfield Air GIlIlIlt'/:" Will HOllllwfc/at Hutniki lIear the town of Brody. remaining there for a fe w days on me'" Sdwol at Gmd~ itJtI:.
akn. and evel1 lually reLUrned 10 lhl!ir base.
KOjJlIIb'ki

I'ZLI~ /I

17

In September 1938, in connection with a possible Polish-Czech

conAict over the Zaolzie region, TTJII Squadron of the 1st Regiment
moved to an airfield at Pszczyna, cntering the Independent Operational Grou p "S I'ISk" ("Si lesia") under Gen. Wladyslaw Bortnowski.
The action in volved also tile 11112 Squadron (121 st, 122 nd and 123rd
Flights) . transferred to the airfield at Aleksandrowice near Bielsko;
the 11II3 Squadron (I3 1st and 132nd Flight), moved to an ai rfield at
Wieluri, and the 11116 Squadron (16 1st and 162nd) , concentrated at
Monasterzyska near Buczacz. Fighte rs wou ld provide air cover for
the possible armed operations of Polish ground troops and engage
the enemy air force. After the Czechoslovak government agreed that
Po land cou ld take over these controvers ial territo ries on 2 October
1938, Polish Army units entered Zaolzie, and air units participated in
a Aypast at Cieszyn. In the second half of October all fighter squadrons
returned to their permanent bases.
Between 22 and 2S March 1939 IIIII Sq uad ron flights took part
in Warsaw air defence exercises. These were supposed to verify the
system, developed by Maj. EugenillSz Wyrwicki , of ground control
directing the fighters onto enemy aircraft approachi ng the city. The

role of bombers was played the by the old Fokker F VIlI3ms, as the
PZL 37 Los aircraft of the Polish bomber flights were too fast for the
"elevens" to catch "
30 April 1939 saw an air display in Warsaw, which gathered all
Pol ish fighter fl ights. Inhabitants of the city crowded onto the WarsawMokot6w aerodrome were able to watch a !lypast of 140 1'. 11 and
P.7a fighters and Los bombers. A few days later, on 3 May, the Poli sh
Pile "8" vIa /sI ar 3rd
National Day, another mi litary parade was held at Mokot6w aerodrome,
Air Reg imenr.flig/Jl, photowith a major f1ypast above.
graphed in late September
In June 1939 a decision was taken to prepare the Warsaw Fighter
or early October 1939.
Group flights for night fighting. To this end the 1'. 11 aircraft were titted
Kmmlski with lighting systems and the pilots undertook night Dying training.

/8

PZLI'II

Initially the pilots fl ew in dual control R-XIIIF trainers, then converting to P.II s. The training continued until the mobilisation of the Ai r
Force in August 1939.
Fighter pilots of the other air regiments were, most probably, not
trained in night flying. Making the most of the good slimmer weather,
they carried out inlensi ve tl ying training to improve their t1ying skills,
especially in dog fi ghtjng.

2nd Lt. Henryk Gruba and Lee Cpl. Edward Zdzitowiccki of the
152nd Flight were killed in a collision of two P.II aircraft over the
aerodrome at Wilno on 3 July 1939. This was the last fatal P.II accident
before WW2 broke out. By that time 24 aircraft had benn written off,
and 19 pi lots were killed. The average accident rate was simi lar to
other types of machines, during 5 years of !lying 10% of P.II aircraft
were destroyed.
German Dornier Do 17 reconnaissance aircraft started to violate
Polish airspace during the spring of 1939. Therefore, commanders of
fighter units were ordered in Jul y 1939 by the State Defence Inspectorate to establ ish fighter posts ("ambushes") along the routes of the
reconnaissance ai rcraft sorties . Four sections were detached from
the 1st Air Regiment. They were located along the border with East
Prussia (aircraft of the HIl i Squadron used airfields near Bialystok
and Grodno, and of the Squadron IVII near Suwalki). The 2nd Air
Regiment set up posts at Wielun, Zawiercie, and Cz\,stochowa; the
4th Regiment at Bydgoszcz. the 3rd and 5th Air Regiments maintained sections at readiness at their permanent airfields. Although the
aircraft were scrambled many Limes, Polish fighters failed to shoot
down a single enemy aeroplane, due to the Dornier's superior speed

and higher service cei ling than the P.II. At the end of July 1939 these
posts were abandoned.
In the earl y days of August the OC 4th Air Regiment was ordered
to provide fighter escort to a French Amiot 143M bomber that would
arrive in Poland !lying over the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic.
The task was entrusted to a section from the 141 st Flight, led by
2nd Lt. Wladyslaw Urban. On 8 August, taking off from Rumia, the
"elevens" armed with live ammunition , met the Amiot over the sea
off Gdynia and accompanied it during the !light to Grudzi'ldz. The
French aeroplane did not land there as planned, however, but went
straight on to Warsaw.
In mid-August 1939 Town-based fighters participated in a few
demonstration nights along the border of the Free City of GdaJlsk
(Freistadt Danzig). At the same time air regiment commanders were
ordered again to set up fighter posts at selected airfields. Most probably, by the beginning of the war the only slIch post was established
by the 2nd Air Regiment at Aleksandrowice.

PZL PIJ

19

Pm -'WAit OpWA 1iON\

23 August saw th e beginning of the emergency air force mobilisati on. Air regiments were disbanded in to Air Bases. Accord ing to th e
warti me establishment, the four fli ghts of the Warsaw-based Fighter

Gro up, all equipped with P.II ai rcraft (the I I Ith, 11 2th. I 13th and
114th Flights) and a single Cracow-based P. 7a-equipped Ilight (the
123rd) were transferred to report directl y to the High Command and
organised into the Pursuit Brigade for the defence of the capital city.
Co l. Steran Paw likowski (the last OC 1st Air Rcgiment) was given
command of the Brigade. The remaini ng ten fi ghtcr llights (including the P.7a-equipped 151 st and 162nd) were assigned to individual
armies as fo llows:

12 1st and 122nd Fli ghts - "Cracow" Army

13 1st and 132nd Flights - "Poznal]" Army
141 st and 142nd Flights - " Pomol-le" Arm y
15 1st Flight - "Narew" Independent Operat ional Group
152nd Flight - " Modli n" Army
161 st and 162nd Fli ghts - "Lodi" Army
Aftcr completion of mobilisation procedures, fli ghts moved from
their peacetime bases to emergency landi ng grounds. and th ence to

secret operational ai rfields. On 24 August Wilno-based nights wcre thc

firs t to leave their home base, moving to Jaszuny emergency landing

ground (25 kill south of Wilno). From thcre the 152nd Fl ight mo ved
on 31 August to Warsaw, and subsequentl y to Szpondowo airfield (25
kill north of Mod lin). That same day the 151st Flight (P.7a-equipped)
arrived at Biel airlield (6 km South-East of Ostrow Mazowiecka). The
nights of the newly established Pursuit Brigade moved to airfields near
Warsaw on 29 August. The 111/ 1Squadron (Il l th and 11 2th Fl ights) was
located at Zielonka, and the IVI I Sq uadron ( I 13th and I 14th Flights) at
Poniatow near lablonna. Torun-based 14 1st and 142nd flights moved to
Markowo airfield (22 km south-west of TorUli) on 30 Aug ust. The last
to move to their emergency landing grounds, on 3 1 AugllSL, were the

flights from Cracow, Poznan and Lw6w. 121st, 122nd and I23rd Flights
flew to Balice ai rfield ( 12 km west of Cracow) and in the moming of
I September the 123 rd Fl ight, assigned to the rV/l Squadron of the
Pursuit Brigade, moved from Balice to Warsaw, arriving at Poniatow.

The 13 1st and 132nd Flights flew to Dzierznica ( 16 km South-East

of Poznal]); the 16 1st and 162nd Flights to Basi6wki near Lw6w and
thence to Widzew near L6dz. One should add that the 13 1st and 142nd
Flights left a section oftllree aircraft each at posts in Poznan and Torun.
respec ti vely, whi le a section of fou r aircraft from the 121 st Flight was
located at Aleksandrowiee. Moreover, three aircra ft ex 3rd Air Regiment, allocated for air defence of the Poli sh Air Force Training Centre
No. I, were ferried on 3 1 August 1939 from Poznal] to D,blin.
The uni ts mentioned above had a total of 128 P. II and 30 P.7a
aircraft at the outbreak 01' war.
20 PZL I' 11

PersOIlll cl of the II1 rh and

fff[!~~~q/!!,!![f!!!!f!mation

of fig hter aviation during

the 1939 campaign. It was formed for the air defence of Warsaw. It
included the fo llow ing fighter Flights: III th, 112th (both of the IllII
Fighter Squadron under Capt. Zdzislaw Krasnocli;bski), 11 3th, 11 4th
(of the [VII Fighter Squadron under Capt. Adam Kowalczyk), and
123rd (from the 11112 Fighter Squadron). All cxccpt the l23 rd werc
equipped with PZL P.II c and PII a aircra ft. The 123rd Flight used the
obsolete PZL P.7as. Col. Stefan Paw li kowski, the last pre-war CO olmanderof I Air Regi ment in Warsaw was ap point'ed as cOlllmander of
the Pursuit Brigade. Lt. Col. Leopold Pamu la was his deputy. Between
I and 6 September the Brigade defe nded the sky over Warsaw. From 7
September it was withdrawn to the so-called Lublin ailf ield hub, where
in subsequent days it underwent a reorganisation, by incorporating
some Army Flights into the Brigade . These were: the 152nd Flight
from 8 September, the 14 1st, 142nd, 16 1st, and 162nd Fl ights from 9
September, the 12 1st and 122nd Flights from 12 September. The 15 1st
Flight was the last incorporated into the Bri gade, on 16 September.
That day Pursuit Brigade was reorganised by reformi ng its Flights
into two Squadrons, named after the cities of Warsaw (22 Pl ls) and
Cracow (24 P. II s) plus the Recon naissance Flight with eight PZLP.7a
aircraft. The fo llow ing day, 17 September, brought the evacuation to
Rumania. Probably 52 aircraft, including ]0 PZL P7as, were evacuated with the Brigade ' .

1/ 21h Fligfll.\' photographed

ill 1938 (If Aleks(/1/dlVlVicc.

Behind them (Ire P lI e "5"

(45-N) oflhe 11 Ilh FfiglJl,
olld P. // e "8" (57-N) of the
//21h FJighl.
Kopmiski

e.wl'l IIlIII/ber.\" rife diJJiCII/1

/() ascerwill, {IS {I/ that lime also

J 7111'

(lirrra/I of 'he 1fI/3 Sql/adlYlll (lnd

of Imillillg IIl1ilS \\It:'!"!' eVOClltl[/!{(.

I'ZL P. /I 21

fJfJfJrIJ!KJ{f;fMm1!fJ{yJj1M i!~ llfiD&@fJrJMJf!Jlit~

({Il1l1l1fI !IfJJjJfJg! Sf(pmfjf!@ff!l1!lJJZJrJlij 1lJiJfJJJff119)) W1Jmm
PII aircraft of both versions (' a' and 'c') were introduced in the
unit in 1935, phasing out the PZL P.7as. The 1'. 11 s remained in use
until the end of the 1939 campaign. At the outbreak of war the Illth
Flight was commanded by Ca pt. Oustaw Sidorowicz. That day the
Ilight was based at Zielonka airfield near Warsaw. The unit had 9 P.II c
and 2 PIla aircraft (including two p, 11 cs of the TlIII Squadron HQ)
and 16 pilots. The fli ght operated in air defence of Warsaw, within the
Pursuit Brigade structure.

Ullit badge: /11 {/ while

circle red vertical slripcs
.wrrowu/ed by 13 silver
stars, with two scythes ami
(f Cracow regioll pea.\'lInf's mp superimposed.
The scythes alld cap are
symbo/.\' a/the 1794 llprisillg fed by Gen. KocilH'zko,
who had been Cl distinguished COIIII/wllder

ill

rIle

Alllerical/ war of indepelldellce, hence the !J'tars alld

stripes.

Aircraft of tile 11 Jtll Fligllt

when forces (l,\'sembled
before the cap/lire of
Z{lo/zie, CO l1l elltiolfS territory wilh Czechoslovakia
- 1938, AleksalldrOlvice,
Kopwlski
22

PZLl~

11

On I September near Warsaw 2nd Lt. PalLlsinski damaged the Messerschmitt Bf 110 of Maj. Waiter Orabmann, OC l.(Z)/LO 1. wounding
the pilot. Moments later he fell victim to another Messerschmil1 Bf
110 of the same unit. The Poli sh pilot was wounded and the aeroplane
seriously damaged in a forced land ing at Kobylka. The same day the
Flight OC, Capt. Sidorowicz was also shot down and, bad ly burnt,
forced landed in the Praga di strict of Warsaw.

On 2 September Lt. Wojciech Jan uszewicz became the new commander of the Flight, also proving the most effective pilot of the unit.
On 3 September a Bf 110 of I.(Z)/LO I was shot down. The crew of
the Messerschmil1, pilot Uffz, S. Mazurowsky and gunner Uffz. O.
Lother, were killed.
That same day Lt. Arsen Cebrzynski , 1111I Squadron Tactics Omcer
who new operationall y with the 11I1h Flight, shot down a Br 110 li'om
I.(Z)/LOl at Rybienka (U ffz. F. Lindeman. Ulfz. K. Radeck). Other
pilots had less luck. OC 11111 Squadron, Maj. Kras n od~bski baled out,

P. l I

and Ihe seclion led by 2nd Lt. M. Feri': was defeated by I. (Z)/LG I
aircraft. Feri': 10sI his aeroplane when a bullel shol off hi s cOnlrol
colu mn . Hi, wingmcn: 2nd Lt. Macil" ki and Pri v. ISi Cl. SlOpe bOlh
landed in damaged aircraft .
Lt. Slrzembosz was transferred fromlhe 11 21h to Ihe I Illh Flighl
on 4 September. That sa me day the Flighl moved 10 a new airfield
al Zahor6w. Lt. Janus7.ewicz claimed hi s second viclory Ihat da y, a
Junker, Ju 87. The navigalorofthe aeroplane was ki lled. and Ihe pilOl
was forced 10 land behind Ihe Polish lines. 2nd Lt. Drecki . who also
engaged Ju 87 and Bf 109 aircmft , was less fortunare and returned

(,oF" 10 WAR

Allot/ler pi{'wre of lIilt'l'lifr

of tile IIltll Fligllt H'IIell
forces lIs.'wlllb/et/ bejol't! 'he
{,lip/lire of Ziw/:ie.

lO

base in a combat-damaged 1'.1 1.

The next day resu lied in another success for Januszewicz, who shol
dow n anolher Ju 87. lis pilol was killed oUlrighl, whi le Ihe gunner
bailed oul bUI his parachule was enlangled around Ihe fin and he was
ki lled. 100.
On 6 Seplember a seclion led by 2nd Lt . Slrzembosz foughl six Bf
II 0s from I.IZG I. Slrzembosz shot down Iheaeroplane oflh e I. Staffel
commander. Maj . Karl Hammes. who was ki lled. His gunncrOfw. W.
Sleffcn was caplured and became a prisoner of war. This viclory was
paid for by IWO Polish aircraft damaged . n KII same day over Warsaw
Lt . Janu,zewicz shol down a .lu 87 from 1Y.(St.)/LG I.
In the evening of 6 Seplember, after a week's fi ghling, Ihe Flighl
was wilhdrawn to Kierz airfield near Lubl in , Ihen moved 1.0 Bclzyee.
This was Ihe beginning 01' Ihe relreal. during which aClivity in the
ai r was minimal. mainly due 10 Conslanl shortages 01' fuel. 2nd Lt.
Aleksander Wr6blcwski was posted in rro m 131St Flight as a reinforccmcnt .

I'ZLI~ 11

23

P. I I efH"

10 WAI(

On 9 September a secti on led by 2nd Lt. Feri l encou lllered a

reconnai ssance Henschel Hs 126. claimed by the section leader. In
the eveni ng of the day airc ran of the Flight moved to Ostrozec airfield
near Luck .
to

10 September saw no action lVhatsoever. as the ground parry fai led

reach the new airfield and there was no fuel. On II September the

Fli ght returned to the Lublin area, thi s time 10 Lllszcz6w. Taking ofT
from that airfield 2nd Lt. Aleksander Wr6blewski damaged a Hcinke l

He II I which subsequentl y crashed at PrzemysL

On 12 September the unit moved again. thi s time to Strzelcc near
Hrubiesz6w. Because orthe threat rrom fast adv,111cing Germnll troops,

on 14 September Gen. Zaj'lc, the Commander of the PAF, ordered the

Purs uit Brigade, which included the II Ith Fighter Flight. to move to
Werby airfield near Wlodzi mierz Wolynski. That same da y the un its
moved to nearby Denysow airfield.
On 16 September the Pursuit Brigade was reorgani sed. and the
I ll th Fli ght forma ll y ended its ex istence . Th e followin g day. in
connect ion wi th Ru ssian troops entcrin g Poland and threatcni ng the
ai rfi eld, aircraft of the former 11111 Squadron fl ew to $niatyri. thence
evacuating to Rumania the next clay. During the evacuation 2nd Lt
Wr6blewski landed in Ru ssian territory, damaging the aeroplane and
becoming a prisoner.
Of the unit 's original eleven ai rcraft. four were evacuated to Rlllna-

nia. The Flight lost four pi lots wo unded during opcrations.

UNIT COMI!AT VICroRIES

I~

A r~e ll

3/911939

LI.

31911939

LI. Woj cieL'h Janu.szew icz

4/9/ t939

ILtLt Wojc icch Januszcwicz

5/911939

61911939

(,

CcbrzY llski

Woj ciec h Jalluszewicz

IMesserschmi ll Br 110

Wyszkow area

M cssers..:hmilL B f 110

Kohylka

Junkcrs Ju 87

Warsaw area

Jun kcrs Ju X7

Wa rsaw area

Br 110

Zabor6w

2 nd Lt. WiklOr Sl fzc mbosz

M csserschmill

6/911939

Lt. Woj ciec.: h Jallll szc wi cl.'.

Junkers Ju 87

9/9/ 1939

2nd Lt Miroslaw Fe ri c

Hcnschcl Hs 126

Lublin area

t t/911939

2nd Lt Alcksandcr W rob lcwski

t-Icinkcl He I I I

north of PI-LcmyS'i

24 PZt..,P..1I

I Wa rsaw

P.II

(rOI\ rO\\,\l1

In September 1939 the Flight was commanded by Ca pt. Tadeusz

Opul ski . The unit had 10 1'. 11 (6 I' l l c and 4 1'. 11 a) aircraft and 17
pilots. The fi rst airfie ld was at Zielonka (toget her with the I II th
Fl ight). In the fi rst days of the war the Flight defe nded Warsaw.
On I Septemberthe Flight's pilots claimed two victories: L.t. Stefan
Okrzeja a Do 17. and 2nd L.t. Kazimierz Daszewski a.l ll 87.
On :l Septemher the Fl ight received a 1'.11 as a reinforcement.
The following day it moved , together with the entire sq uadron, to the
new airfie ld at Zabor6w. subsequently !lying inten;eption missions.

bllt withollt erfect.

On 5 September the Flight shot dow n another Dorn ier Do 17.
However, the uni t lost its depu ty commander, Lt. Stefan Okrzeja. who VI/;' badge: IiIack hh,was hit by return fire from th e bombers he attacked. Th e wounded or

illg cockerel ill {/ lighl bllle

dead pil ot lost control of his aeroplane and coll ided in mid-air with that ,rial/gle.
of 2nd Lt. Wtadystaw Nowakowski. who was forced to ba le ou t and
suffered se rious spi nal injuries. That day was particularl y unfortunate
fort he 112th Flight pilots. Two more aircrart damaged by enemy fi re
were force-landed by Lce Cpl. G6reeki and Priv. Ist Cl. Gallus.
On 6 September the P.I I or Priv. Ist Cl. Nowak was shot down
by Messerschmitt Bf I IOs escorting bombers. The commander of the P // a "7" I/O. 7.47oI,h"
11 2th Flight. Capt. Opulski was a bit more fortunate. as he managed to //2,h Fligh,.
Ilurse hi s mount back 10 base. but the aeroplane needed major repairs.

KOINII/ski

PZL I' ll 25

P. I I

(,Of-'> I{) WAit

P.ll e "I"

110.

8.14 of tile

sallle flight. The phOlo

was takell (f{ StockholmBrolllllla during the visit ill
1936.
CYllk

At midday on 6 September Pursuit Brigade aircraft, includi ng three

from the 11 2th FI ight. carried out a sweep in the "Lodz" Arm y area of

operations. The Flight's section was credited with a Heinkel He I11

shot down near Kolo.
On 7 September the Flight moved to Kierz airlield in the Lublin
area. Only 2nd Lt. Lokuciewski remained at Zabor6w, rejoining hi s
unit after a reconna issance sortie. Furlher moves followed during the

next few days.

On 9 September Lt. Lapkowski shot down an He I11 in the Lublin
arca, following which he was attacked by a Bf 11 0 and was forced to
land at Pulawy. During subsequent days the Flighl' s activity dimin-

ished, mainly due to suppl y problems. During that period the Pol ish
fighters !lew only reconnaissance and liai son mi ssions. On 13 September the Flight's aircraft moved to Denys6w. On 16 September the
ri ghter force underwenl reorgani sation which in fnct marked the cnd
of the original fi ghter fli ghts, including the 11 2(h .

Combat operations of the 11 2th Fl ight were paid for by the loss
of 10 PZL fighters. Only one aeroplane of the Fl ight. nown by Lt.
Lapkowski , went by air to Ruma nia on 17 September. The ground
pany and the rest of the pilots fo llowed the next day.

r" ,.,

UNIT COMBAT VICTOIIIES

I~

1/911939

5/91 t 939

Lt. Ste ran Okrzeja.

2nd L t. Wladyslaw Nowakowski

Dornier Do 17

Ostr6da

6/911939

Lt. Wadaw I:..apkowski

2nd LI . Jallll sz Marciniak

Hcin keJ He III

Kolo area

Hein kel He I [I

Lublin area

1/91 19]9

Dornier Do 17Z

Wilanow

2nd L t. Kazi mierz Daszcwski

Junkcrs Ju 87

Warsaw

mc.,.,

Pri v. Wladys law Wi craszka

9/911 939

26 PZL I' 11

-+-

Lt. Waclaw I:..apkowski

P.I I

(fU\ 10

\1;,n

Del'oid of allY emblems.

tile p. 11 (' "~" . (80,J 1V)

pmbobly Jmlll 112 FP,

afler illl'lIS f{/l1lf1rl'l1 by IIU'
Gerllw!I.\.

P'lIlka

The 1131h Flighl was commanded by Lt. Wielkzyslaw Banu\ski .

Al lhe oUlbreak or war Ihe Flight. wilh ils fi ve P. ll as and fi ve P. l lcs.
moved 10 Poniat6w ai rrield near Warsaw. The firS! hours or wur
brought both ~ u cccsses and losses. During comhHt with a Gcrma n
bombi ng raid 2nd Lt. Hieronim Dudwal probably deslroyed a Hcinkel
lie Ill . Priv. I st Cl. Zdzislaw I-Iorn wus seri ously wounded. bUI he
managed IQ bring hi ~ ueroplane back to base. only 10 railllup<Jll leaving
Ihe cockpit. Thai same day Ihe Flighl pilots were credited wi th IWO
Mcsserschmitl Br I 09s rrom I.IJG 2 1. shot down by Lt. Borowski and
2nd Lt. Radomski .
The racllhal the unil was based in lhe di rect line or Gennan attacks
against Warsaw resullcd in the 113111 Flight bei ng particularl y ac ti ve in

Ullit badge: black 011'/ u'ir/t

greell(\'('.\'. yellow Ir;lIg
je(lfhl'n' allt! dm\'s, ill (I
figh r MIIl' ,ritl/lgh'.

P. 11 liS oJ tI", 1131h Flight 0 11

IXlrade lit ' ~l rsall '- Okfci(J
(U'mdmllle 0/1 611/1g/l.\l

1936. The (Il'mp/{I//(' dis-

plays '/It' jil:\" l'f!fsiOIl of Iill'

High' badgt',
KOIl'lIl.\M

I"/..LI~ 11 2 7

P. I I

{tOf-\ 10 W)\I{

Close Ill' (~r ril(' original

I'crsio/l

(~r l/ie

Il3rli Fliglll

badge.
KO{JCII/ski

the air during the early days 01" the war. This resulted in rapid wear 01"
the equipment. Shortage of spares led to some clever solutions. such
as replacing a P.II wheel wi lh a similar component from Cl Breguet 14.

used in a trolley. Another exa mple of the ingen uity 01" Poli sh ground
crew, well known from photograph s, was the provisional repair of the
dorsal fairing in 2nd Ll. Dudwat' s P. II c "1 0". damaged on I September

in com bat wi th Bf 11 Os.

On 4 September 2nd Lt. Dudwal and 2nd Lt. Kalpas destroyed
P 1/(1 "2" (62-NJ Ivil h 1111l/slIa! \vhire whee! hllb mu!
stril)eS 011 Iile llIill;': alld rail.
Kuwa!ski

28

PZL P { I

two more bombers, this tim e Dorni er Do 17s , in a combat north of

Warsaw.

On 5 September two sections of the Fli ght intercepted and shot

down a J unkefS J u 87 each.

P. I I

r,m ...

10 \VI\I~

7i,kr"iflld' P 11 c "10' 1111. 8.70,!{lhe 11311, Fliglil. W"rsall'Okrcie.

KOjJflliski
Aempl(/lIl' aI2nd LI. I-I. f)1f(/Jral nI/Jfwyl by fhe Gall/w/s. 011 lite lIeXI page oIlier vieu's of/llis .\'lIme plalle.
Kopm/ski

PZLPI/

29

P.l I qm . .

30

10 WAIl

l'ZL I' 11

P. 11

GOFS 10 WAIl

On 6 September virtuall y all serviceable aircraft of the Pursuit

Brigade were employed in the "L6di" Arm y air cover operat ion as
planned by the High Command . Eight P. II ai rcraft of the 113th Flight
pm1icipated. During the fli ght a section (Baranski , Borowski, Lipillski)
shot down a Hei nkel Hc Il l. Cpl. Mieczyslaw Kazimierczak fa iled
to return and was posted missing, but in fact he was killed. Two more
pilots force-landed in fields in damaged aircraft. Whilst returning from
the mission, the 1'.11 s encountered a formation of Junkers Ju 87s. Two
I13th Flight pilots (2nd Lt. Klawe, Pri v. I st Cl. Adamek) destroycd
one, shared with Cpl. Kiedrzynski from the 114th Flight.
The fo llowing day, on 7 September, the Flight moved, under orders
fro m Gen. Zaj'lc, Commanding PAP. to Belzyce airfield near Lublin,
and thence to nearby Radawiec Duzy airfield. On 9 September, during
another un it movement. 2nd Lt. Stefanki ewicz crashed al Mlyn6w.

During that period the Flight, in line with other units of the Pursuit
Brigade, was not very active, asconstant movements resulted in serious

supply di fli culties (fuel shortage). On 16 September the reorganisation

of the fighter force took place. That same day 2nd Lt. Dudwal, on a
liaison mission, engaged and shot down a recOIUlai ssance Henschel

Hs 126 at Jan6w Lubelsk i. This was the last victory over a German
aeroplane scored by a Polish lighter. The fo llowing day, on 17 September. 2nd Lt. Zatorski formerly of the I 13th Fl ight, was attacked
by three Soviet fighters during a reconnaissance mi ssion (that day the
USSR attacked Poland). In this uneven combat he managed to damage
two enemy aircraft, but was shot down and crashed his aeroplane in
a forced landing. dying of wounds soon afterwards.
The Flight evacuated three aireral'! to Rumania.

1939 ClIIIII){ligll. P lis

camolljlaged al (11/ airfield
at MIYI/()1\' lIear Lllck. 10,

Seplelllber 1939.
Kopmiski

PZLPJJ 31

P,I I

(!{JI-~

IU

WAI~

lN1193l)

2nd Lt. H icronim Dudwal

Heinkd H..:: [Il

Warsaw arC<l

1Nl I IJ.'N

Lt. Jan Borowski

ivl c~scrschllli((

1/91.19.19

2nd Lt. Jcrl.y Radomski

Messerschmill Bf 101)

\V<lr~aw

art;a

arc,,1
an,;a

Bf 109

Kabul'ki Fort:st

-INIl 939

2nd Lt. l-li..::ronil11 Dudwal

Domicr Do 17

War~aw

4/YJ1939

2nd Lt. R;ljlllund Kalpas

Dornier Do 17

War.~aw

.:'iN/ I 939

Lt. Jan Borowski

Jllllh;rs 111 R7

Wars'lw - Ok~l'ic

are,1

area

2nd Lt. Raj1ll11lld Kalpa"

I 211(1 Lt. .krz)' Radnlllski

17

5/9/1939

Lt. Wi <.: llczyslaw I3l1nlllski

2nd U. Hieronim Dudw:d
epl. Mieczyslaw K:.v.imicfc;.ak

.l ullkcrs .l ll X7

Warsa\V- Ok~~cic

Is

6/9/1939

Lt. Wienczyslaw Barartski

Heinkel I-Ie III

South- East of K olo

Lt. Jail I30rnwski

Priv. 1:-.1 Cl. Wilultl Lipi!iski
9

16/9/1939

2 nd U. j-ii cfunilll DlIdwal

Hcnschel I h 126

E. L~I

of lflni'nv

Lubdski

flfltflfJrJ f!rkJj!liim! !f(j{yJjUOO

([lflJ1fJ !!fYJjJiJ:g! ~f!@{}fl fIlljfBllJlJ f!J!JI1Jj!Jiit) Pl!JJJf!mm
Pile "2" (72-N) (j'the

lI..f.rh Flighl. NOle Ihe whiTe

,\-Tril'e Olll!w./ill <llId (/ie
porI wh eel hllb cap.

Cyllk

32

PZL/~II

Unil badge: black slI'allow ill

(I

lighl blue lrial/gle_

At the outbreak of war the Flight had eight Pile and 4 Plla aircraft
(includ ing two P 11 cs of the IV /I Squadron HQ). The first day of the
war saw fierce fighting over Warsaw. During the morning German

raid Lt. Gabszew icz and Lce Cpl. Niewiarn shared in destruction of
a Heinkel He III from LG I. The aeroplane crashed at Cieehan6w.
Gabszewicz acquired souven irs from the bomber and left them with
hi s fami ly in Poland. They are now exhibited at the Polish Army
Museum ill Warsaw,
Another He III was shot down by 2nd Lt. Szmej I and Pri v. 1st
Cl. Olewiriski. Both victorious pilots were then shot down. Olewillski ,
1V0unded and burnt, had to bale out, while Szmejl force- landed when
hi s engine was shot through.

In the afternoon of I September the commander of the I 14th Flight,

Capt. Juli usz Frey, scored his first victory, when he shared with a
152nd Flight pilot in destruction of a Heinkel Ill . Moreover, 2nd Lt.
KiedrzYllski, 2nd Lt. Sawicz, and Cpl. KiedrzYllski shnt down two
more Bf 109s. The Poles lost the aeroplane of Gabszew icz, who was
shot down by a Bf 109 and baled out.
On 2 September a P. I I section led by 2nd Lt. Szalewicz was give n
an unusual task: la cover evacuation of 'LOT' Polish Airlines civil
aircraft and the equipment of the Institute of Aircraft Technology. The
follow ing day another aeroplane was lost when 2nd Lt. Stoga crashed
in a P.ll during take-off.
Although there were few encounters during the next two days of Pile "6" nIthe II~t!t
the war, the Flight's scoreboard was increased with a Dornier Do 17 Flighl. This aelVjJ!cllle has (/
shot down all 4 September by Lt. Sawicz.
while s/ripe, /00, bill oil/lie
On 6 September pilots o1'tbe 1l4th Flight (six aircraft) participated pOri ",illg.
in a sweep near Kola. 2nd Lt. Szmejl shot down an He Ill , but the
KoplIIiski

I'ZL I'll 33

P. I I qor>

TO WAIt

Flight also suffered a loss. Return fire from the bombers shot down
the P.I I of 2nd Lt . Stoga who was kill ed at Straszk6w. When returning from the mission Cpl. Kiedrzynski, together with two pilots from
the 113th Flight shot down a Junkers Ju 87. That same day a section
of 2nd Lt. Sawiez, Lee Cpl. Niewiara and Priv. Ist Cl. Zieliliski shot
down a KG 3 Dornier 17. Niewiara's aeroplane was forced to land
due to lack of fuel and was lost.
On 7 September survi ving aircralt of the 114th Flight moved to
Belzyee airfield, and thence to Radawiee Duzy. This started the period
of chaos and supply problems.
On 14 September, on the personal ordcrs of Gcn. Zaj'le, Commander of the PAF, Lt. Sawicz flew a liai son mission to besieged
Warsaw and returned the followi ng day. On 15 September the Pursuit
Brigade moved to Liliatyn. The fo llowing day the lighter force underwent reorganisation and the Flight ceased to ex ist. Four aircraft of its
I~

Ill' " I ", belnnging In Iile

Comlll(lnder of Ihe // 4111
Flight. The aelVplallc has
lOp of Ihe jilselage, imllledillle/y t!fi qllhe cuckpit.
pail/led ill {/ difJerel1l
co/mu:
KOl'wiski

34 PZL P.ll

original establi shment were evacuated do Rumania on the 17th.

P. l l

<eR'> 10 w>\!t

I~J1J 939

Lt. Alcksandcr Gahszcwicz

Lec Cpl. And rl.cj Niewiam

I-kinkd He I11

Cicdw II6w arca

IIl)I IIJ39

2nd Lt. S tan i~ I ;l w Szmej l

Pri.". 1, t Cl. Boh:!> law Olcwio.;ki

Hcinkcll lc II I

Cicch:lIlow are a

l/Wl939

Capt . Juliu,1. Frcy

+ 152nd Fli ght pilot

Ilcinkcl lle II1

\V;tr-.iI\\

4/9/ 1939

2nd Lt . Tadcusz S:lwic1

Dornicr Do 17

Wars;l\v area

.;

(l/I-)/ 1l)39

2nd Lt . Stunislaw SZlllcjl

1k inkcl l-It.; III

South-EaM of Kolo

(,

(>I'J/ 1939

2m..l Lt. Tadeu!>l SawiCl

Lec Cpl. Andrl.cj Nicwiara
Pri v. hi Cl. Jcrt.y Zieli risk i

Dornicr Do 17

7...aluoc1.ym

arca

23 rd Flight did not use PZL P.llc aircra ft during the 1939 campaign. It had aircraft of the type on its inventory for a short period in
1936. In September 1939 the Flight was equipped with 10 obsolete
PZL P.7a fighters. The Flight was commanded by Capt. Mieczyslaw
Olszewski and had 13 pilots.
Ullit badge: white glll/ wi!h willgs raised.

P.7a of the 123rd Flight, the ollly IIl1il of the 1)lIrsllit Brigade 10 IIse Ihese obsolete aircrajt. Aljar right is Capt.
A Wc:elik. secondfmm rig/II is 2ud Lt. W Kr61. The 1I1l;!
badge is parrly obscllred.

PZU~ /I

35

P. I 1 (tor ... ro

WAr~

Ullit badge: Irhile H,-inged

arrow wilh wings lowered.

Pil e "8" (8 -115) ~rl"e

!21sl Fligll/, Cracow 1939.
KO/Jmiski

36 PZL Pll

The 12 1st Flight was part of 11112 Squadron, together with the 122ncl
and 123rd Flights. Mobilisation assignments meant that 123rd Flight
was allocated to the Pursuit Brigaue. Mobilisation or the Cracow-based
regiment was carried out on the night 01"26 August 1939_ Both PI 1equipped Ilights (t he 12 1st and I22nd) moved on 31 August to Balice
airfield ncar Cracow, with the exception of the aircraft that formed the
ambush post located near Bielsko-Biala. On I September at approximately 7:00am a sect ion of P.II c fighters scrambled from Balice
(together with a section of the 122nd Flight) led by the commander
of 11112 Squadron, Capt. Mieczyslaw Medwecki. While taking-off, the
P.II s fellunderthe guns ofI.lStG 2 Immelmann Stubs returning from
Cracow, which shot at the aircraft of the Squadron commander. His
P.llc was probably hit in the fu el tank and exploded in the air, killing
Medwecki instantly. He was the first Polish and All ied airman shot
down in the Second Wo rld War. Soon after that 2nd Lt. WladyslalV
Gnys contributed to downing of two Do 17Es of KG 77. Half an hour
laler IUI2 Squadron aircraft engaged a German bomber formation.
During the combat Sgt Leopold Flanek shot down an I-Ie Ill. Also
the pilots from the ambush post near Bielsko-Biala (Aleksandrowiee)
added two aircraft to the Squadron scoreboard. Lee Cpl. Jail Krcmski
shot down an He III and together wi th a pilot of the 122nd Flight
(Cpl. Antoni Markiewicz) a Henschel I-Is 126. That evening aircraft
of both Ilights moved to a new airfield at Iglomia.

P.I I

elm'} 10 Wl\lt

On 2 September three aircraft of the Flight attacked a formation of

Stubs fro m StG 2. Pilots of 121 Flight fail ed to score in this combat.
The same day the Flight received reinforcements (a P. ll c) from Base
No.2 in Cracow.
On 3 Septem ber pilots of both Flights altacked a grou p of He II1 s
from KG 4. The comhat was inconc lusive: a P. II c was lost (2nd Lt.
Waelaw Krol hailed out sa fely), while an He III shot dow n by 2nd
Lt. Tadeusz Nowak and Sgt Lcopold Flanek was added to the Fl ight
scoreboard . By the orders of the PAl' Commander, on 3 September
the entire 11112 Squadron moved 10 Podlod6w airlield near Dybli n as
a reserve. The fo llowing day only a few patrols were Ilown. without
encou ntering the enemy. On 5 September 2nd Lt . Wadaw Kr61,
together with Lee Cpl. Piotr Zaniewski, shot down a Dorn ier Do 17
near Borowina ai rfie ld in the D~ b l i n area. In the eveni ng the Flight

moved to Kraczewiec airfi eld near Opole Lubelskie. On 6 September

the Fligh t flew no missions. On 7 September aircra ft of the Fli ght
fl ew patrol missions. During onc of those the Flight commander, kpt.
Tadcusz S\,dzielewski was shot dow n and kil led in an uneven comhat
with three Bf 109s of JGr. 102. Two more aircraft of the 12 1st Flight
landed in lields. The aircraft of Priv. Ist Cl. Marian Futro was forced
to land at Ciepiel6w due to lack of fuel. The fo llowi ng day the pilot. A RUIIII' (~rpi/o'" t/1//'iflR
in search of fuel. met a German patrol and was ShOl dead (the aircraft exercises.

(IS SI1OII'1I

by tile

was captured by the Germans). 2nd Lt. Chciuk force- landed for si mi - I'mvisiofla//y paill/ed P. II c
lar reasons near Skarzysko-KHmienna. On 9 Scptcmber morning th e nos. "4' alld "7". 2nd Lt.
Flight new 5 patrol missions. and in the afternoon it moved lOSlrleice W K,.6f is (If ft,r right.

ai rfield near Hrubi c~z6w. On 10-1I September 11112 Squadron aircraft

KO{JII/iski

/,ZL

P. "

.17

flew a total of 6 reconnai ssance missions without encountering the

enemy. On 12 September the Squadron was assigned to the Pursuit
Brigade. On 14 September the 1TI/2 Squadron flew to Werby airfi eld,
and thence to Petlikowice near Buezacz. Further fates of the Flight
were connected with those of Pursuit Brigade, with which it evacuated
UNIT COMBAT VICTORIES five aircraft to Rumania.
1/911939

1 2nd LL. Wladyslaw Gnys

2 x Dornier Do 17

01kusz area

1/9/1939

Sgl Leopold Flanek

Heinke l He 111

K~ly

1/911939

Lee Cpi. Jan Krcmski

Hcinkel He II I

Trzyniec area

1/911939

Lee CrI. Jan Krcmski

112 Hcn schel Hs

shared wi th Cpl. A . Markicwiez

of the 12 2 Fli gh t

126

area

3/9/ 1939

2nd Lt. Tadcusz NO\\",lk

Sgt Lcopold Flan ek

Heinke l He I I I

KG 4 aircraft shot down ovcr

Nicpoiomicka Forest

5191 1939

2nd Lt . Waclaw Kr61

Lee Cpl. Piotr Zanicwski

Dornicr Do 17

D9blin area

Activities ofthe 122nd Flight in September 1939 were closely connected with those of the 111/2 Squadron, and thus al so with the 12 1st
Flight, described above. This unit, assigned 10 "Cracow" Army, was
cOlllmanded by Capt. Mieczyslaw Wi6rkiewicz. During first days of
the war the Flight operated within this Army. After 4 September the
122nd Flight moved to the D,blin hub of airfields as the reserve of the
PA F Commander From 12 Septemberthe Flight was part of the Pursuit
Brigade, with which it evacuated 6 aircraft to Rumania.
VI/ it badge: white paper /wfse

UNIT COMBAT VICTORIES

2

2/911939

Cpt Mieczyslaw Wi6rkiewicz

Junkers Ju 87

Dwory

4/9/ 1939

Cpl. A. Mark icwicz

1I2 Hcnschel Hs 126

shared wiLh Lee Cpl. J.

Krcmskj of th e III Flight

Th e paper horse was the

symbol ojfhe I 2211d Flight.

CYllk

38

I'ZLI~ /I

n C<.lf

Osw i((cim

Flighls or the Poznml-based 3rd Air Rcgiment. as with the Flights

of thc TorUll-based 4th Regiment. were mobilised before those in
other parts of Poland. This was because or the short distance from
Ihe German border. Mobi lisation or the 131SI Flight was carried out
during 23-24 Augusl 1939. The 131st and 132nd Fli ghts formed the
11 113 Squadron commanded by Maj. Mieczyslaw Mlim ler. l-le decided
the tactics used during the first days of the war by both fi ghter Flights.
TIlese operated in section strength from ambush posts located at variolls
operational lIelds. The aim of these tactics was to cover a wide area of
operations with relatively small rorces. In the morni ng of 3 I August
1939 ai rcraft of 111/3 Squadron new to Ozicrin ica airfield near Nekla.
Only one ambush paS! (from the 132nd Flight) was left at Poznan
I:.awica airlield. At the outbreak or war Capt. Jcrzy Zaremba was the
13 Ist Flight commander. having at his disposal 10 PZL P. I Ic aircraft.
On I September the Flight suffercd its first loss. 2nd Lt. Kortus was
seriously injured duri ng take-off to an ambush post and was taken to
a hospilal. That same day pi lots or the 131 Flight formcd two ambush
posts: at Gultowy (thrce P. I Ics) and at KobylepoJc (IWO P. ll cs).
Taki ng ofr fro m Ihc lalter, 2nd Lt. Wlodzimierz Gedymin shol dow n
a Do 17 on 2 Septembcr. its crew bail ing out. That was a great day for

Ullit badge: red a",1black

ra vell

CapI. P. /:.aglfl/ a. Ihe COIII 1IIlI/" ler a/ lhe 131s1 Flighl

ifar/e/rJalld U.J. Zl/l~lIIba

ill / mill of P. lle "6".
KOI,lI/i>-ki

PZL P.II 39

P. I I

( tOI:,> 10 WAil

Gedymin as less than an hour later an He III was added to hi s score.

Unfortunately, the 1'.11 of 2nd Lt. Wr6blewski was lost, when in hi s
pursuit of German aircraft he reached as far as Lodz, where he had to
land due to lack of fuel.
On 3 September a new ambush post was established at G~barzewo,
including pilots of both the 131 st and 132nd Flights. Taking off from
the re, 2nd Lt. Malinski of the 132nd Flighl shol down an I-Ie III on 3
September. Pilots from the Kobylepole post achieved substantial success, too. The commander. kpt. Zaremba was credited with a I-Ieinkel
I-Ie Ill , but was himself seriously wou nded and he had to pass Flight
command over to Lt. Zbign iew Moszy"sk i (on 4 September 1939).
The latter achieved hi s first victory Ihe same day, when he shot clown
an I-Ie III together with 2nd Lt. Nowak (from a new ambush post al
Znin). On 4 September airfields were changed Iwice (Wilkowo and
Kleczew). The following day some POSIS were wound up. with only the
one al G,barzewo retained. On 5 September the airfield was changed
again, this time to Babiak landing ground near Kolo, and thence to
Osiek Maly nearby. 6 September was anolher day of fighting for the
Flight. When patrolling Slupca-Klodawa area 2nd Lt. Gedymin shot
down an I-Ie Ill , but was himself wounded. On 7 and 8 September Ihe
Flight escorted Karas aircraft from the 34th Reconnai ssance Flight.
On 8 September, in a reorganisation, the 13 1si Flight was disbanded, ils equ ipment (6 P.ll ) and some of the personnel wouldjain
Ihe 132nd Flight, and the rest would join Air Base No . 3 in Lublin.
The latter elements of the 131st Flight, after joining the ground party
of the lTllI Sq uadron, eventuall y crossed the Romanian border. The
UNIT COMBAT VICTORIES remaining personnel were captured by the Soviels.
2/9/ 1939

~ 2/9/ 193U

3/9/1 939

4/911939

6/9/1939

40 PZL I' 11

12nd Lt. Wlodzimicrz Gcdvmin

2nd~...t. Wlodzimi erz Gedymin

C.lpt JelLY ZaJ emba

Lt. Zbiglllew MOSZYliskl

12nd Lt. Mrroslaw Nowak
2nd Lt. WfodzIIl11elz GedYflll!l

Dornicr Do 17

-----0.;cinkcl He III

K6rnik area
Zlotniki vi llage

Hcmkel He 111

Wolsztyn area

Helllkel Helll

Znin ambush post

Hemkel He I11

Kolo area

P.II

(tOI ... 10 WI\H

Initially the 132nd Fli ght closely co-operated with the 131st Flight
described above. Thus pi lots of both Flights participated in ambush
posts organi sed in th e "Poznan " Army area of operations. Ca pt.
Fra nciszek Jas trl~bsk i was the commander of 132 Flight Mysli wska
du ring the 1939 campaign. After mobi lisation on 23-24 August the
Flight awaited its orders al I:.awica airfield in POZllal1. Together with

the 131st it moved on 31 August morning to an advanced airfield.

On ly an airfield defe nce secti on was left at Poznmi wi th three P.ll c
aircraft . Pi lots of this section, scm mbled during n German raid scored

the first victories for 11113 Sq uadron and for the 132 nd Flight. Lee
Cpl. Wawrzyniec Jasinski shot down a Bf 109. while 2nd Lt. Mikolaj
Kostecki-Gudelis was credi ted with another probably destroyed. Upon
landing and rearming aircraft of 2nd Lt. Kostecki-Gudeli s' section
were moved 10 Dzierznica ai dield.
The next day pilots operating from the ambush post at Ka lisz shot
clown two Heinkel He I11 s. On 3 September 1939 2nd Lt. Pawel
Luczynski took command of the amb ush post at G"barzewo with 11 ve
P. l lcs (including two of the 13 1st Flight). Pilots of th is post managed
to shoot down an He I ll . On 4 September 2nd Lt. Luczyriski shot
dow n a reconnai ssance Do 17. The following day 2nd Lt. Jan Pudlewicz shot down an He I I I. On 7 September a section of P.I Ics led by
Lt. Kazimierz Wisniewski (111/3 Squadron Tactics Officer) attacked a
formati on of Heinkel He III s, tak ing no notice of their Messerschmin
escort. In the res ulting air com bat, 2nd Lt. Jan Malillsk i shot down
one aircraft, being himself wounded and losing his P.I Ic (he bailed
out). The same day 2nd Lt. Pawel Luczyriski became a prisoner of war
when his aircraft crashed in terri tory controlled by the Germans. In
the evening of 8 September the 131st Flight was disbanded and some
of its personnel and aircraft reinforced the 132nd Flight.
On 9 September 2nd Lt. Witold Jaroszka was ki lted during hi s
first combat sortie of the war, shot down by a Bf 109. On 10 September Lt. Grzybowsk.i (transferred from the 131st Fli ght) shot down

UI/ ;t badge: bllll' al/d whil/!

ravefJ

Il1lheforexrolllld is Pil e
"9' (57- P) ofll" 13211d
FIiJ.:hf. with 13/sl Flight
aircraft behilld.
Kopal/ski

PZL PII 4 1

P.11 qOI . .

10 WAH

a Messerschmitt Bf 11 0. That same day pi lots of the Flight fought a

fierce combat with Bf 109s over the ir own airfield at Lubi el'. Capt.
Franci szek Jastrz,bski and 2nd Lt. Stefan Wapniarek scored kills in
that combat. Two P.II cs were lost, their pi lots escaping without harm .
The nu mber of aircraft of the Flight was in creased by repairing a
machine of the Pursu it Brigade, whose pilot was forced to land near
Lubiell on 6 September. On 12 September the 132nd Flight aircraft
new reconnaissance missions during which two Heinkel He I11 s were
shot down (Miimler, Mazur).
On 13 September victories by Nowak and Miimler were added to
the Flight scoreboard . The OC 1f1/3 Squadron shot down a Henschel
Hs 126. Another Hs 126 was shot down on 14 September by Lee Cpl.
Kazimierz Mazur. The last victory of the Flight fell to 2nd Lt. Stefan
Wapniarek, who shot dow n an Hs 126 ( 15 September 1939). On 16
September the OC 111/3 Squadron, Maj . Mumler delivered the orders
of "Poznarl" Army HQ, to evacuate the following clay the surviving
aircraft and personnel to Air Base No. 3 in Lub li n. On ly one P.II
reached the Polish-Rumanian border (Maj. Miimler). The remaining
aircraft were lost during evacualion (three P.ll cs).
Maj . Mieczyslaw Mumler (OC 111/3 Squadron) and Lt. Kazimierz
Wisniewski (Squadron Tactics Officer) llew operationally with the
UNIT COMBAT VICTOIIIES 13 1st and 132nd Fli ghts. They used two P. II cs.
Lt:e Cpl. Wawl7.yniec JaSil1Ski

1/9/1939

2 2/9/l 939
3

2/911939

~e."crSCh"'ill Br 1119

Poznall-Lawit:a

CapL. Franciszek Jastrz~bski

Heinkd He 111

Kalisz ambush post, near Kamiel1

2nd Lt. Inn Pudclewicz

Heinkel He I11

Kalisz ambush post

4 3/9/1939

2nd Lt. J;m Malil1ski

Hein kel He 111

Gvmu"lewo ambush post near Kostr/ew

5 4/9/1939

2nd Lt. Pawel LUCZYI1Ski

Domic!' Do 17

Gybarl:ewo ambush IX)st

6 5/911939

2nd Lt. Jan Puucl ewicz

Domier Do 17

near SIcsin

2nd LI. Jan Malinski

Messcrschmill Bf 109

Combat with the escon of He Ills

in Kali sz-Kolo area

2rrd Ll. Alforrs Kat""

Mcsserschlllill Br 109

Krosniewice area. a Bf 109 or I.

(J) LG2 shot down

7 7/9/1939
R r 9/9/1939

10/9/1939

2nd LI. Lcch Grzyhowski

Messersehmitt Bf 110

Osiek Maly ambush post

10

10/911939

Capt. Franciszc!.: Jastm;bski

Mcsserschmitt Br 109

Comhat over Luhicl1 aiEilcld

11

1019/1939

2nd Lt. Stcfan Wapniarek

Messersehmitt Bf 109

Combat over Luhicl1 airfield

12

12/9/ 1939

Lee Cp\. Kazimierz Mazur

Heinkcl He 111

Szadck area
PalmI hetween Stl1pca ami Klndawa

13

12/9/1939

Maj. Mieczyslaw Miimlcr

Heinkcl He I11

14

13/911939

2nd Lt. Miroslaw Nowak

Domi er Do 17

15

13/911939

Maj. Mieczyslaw Miimler

Hcnschcl Hs 126

Patrol

16

14/911939

Lee Cpl. Kazimicrz MDzur

Henschcl Hs 126

Patrol in Zychliny area

17

15/9/1939

2nd Lt. Stefan Wapniarek

Henschel Hs 126

Piqtek area

42 PZLI'1i

P.II <f)'\

10 WAn

The Flight, together with the 142nd Flight formed the 111/4 Sq uadron under Capt. Florian Laskowski. Tile 141 st Flight was commanded
by Capt. Tadeusz Rolski. Both Flights of the Torllll-based regi ment
were mobili sed extremely early, on 18 August 1939. Thi s was due to
the fact that they were based in close proximity to the German border.
From 24 August 1939 readiness or alert secti ons was introduced, with
the intention or intercepting the German aircraft that violated Polish
ni rspace. These werc 1110St usually Dornier Do 17s that remaincd out UI/it b(u/ge: aj7yillJ.: duck.
of reach of Poli sh aircraft. On 30 Augus t the Flight was moved to red 11';111 bllle helld (//u/will!:
a forward ai rfie ld at Markowo. The first scramble oC the war took !elllhers. \ri,II lrillg [{)\t'ered.
place on I September at approx imately 11 :OOam. The Do 17 was nol il/ a white diamol/d.

intercepled, however, as the German pi lol spOiled the Polish aircraft

and escaped from them withoul a problem. The Flight's first kill was
achieved the same day. About 15:00 Lt. Marian Pisarek and Lce Cpi.
Mielczynski shot down a Hensehel Hs 126. 2nd Lt. Skalski rro mthe
142nd Flight also took part in the combat, and he gave the following
account of it in his combat repon (preserved at the Polish I nSliLUle and
Sikorsk i Museum in London' : "Upon com ing out or the clouds .. . 1
saw 500 m below a Hensehel Hs 126 ... At the samc time Lt. Pisarek
and Lce Cpi. Mielezynsk i were the first ones 10 get onto his back,
shooting in passing - subsequently me and Cad. Off. Pniak have kept

Visit a/Gel/. Bortl/oH'ski

to the 4th Air Ileximel/l il/
7ima, (30 Mm' 1939). Note
Ihe I'aria/iolls ill 'he It'llY
IfIfI11bers lllld hadges lI'ere
Itpplied 01/ thefl/se/ages.
S"'ol/d/romle); is tlfl'
aeroplal/e o/the reximettf
COllltfWtfllel: L1. Col. B.
SwcJuni.

2Ref. 110. Lut. 1\[ 1. t 5/ 1a.lf, via Jcr;.y Pawlnk - ' Pol skic cskndry w wojnic Ohronncj . WKiL
publishers. Wousaw 199 1 (2nd edition).

Kopw/ski

PZL t' 11 43

it until it struck the ground". It is

worth noting that the hi story had its
continuation, until the present time.

After the Henschel was shot down.

Skalski landed beside. dressed the
wo unds of the crew and took them

prisoner. Many years after the war.

thanks to the help of Renate Mm'sch,
a German journali st who worked in

Poland, Skal ski met one of the memberso1'thal crew, Leutnant Wimmer.
Both airmen were then heroes or a
TV programme.

On 2 September Lt. Pisarek on

patrol in Kwid zyn area shot down
two aircraft: a Henschel Hs 126 and
a Oornier Do 17.
The da y proved tragic for the
141 st Fli ghl. Arm ia "PoJ11orze"

av iat ion HQ ord ered a low leve l

attack in force of the full Squadron (141st and 142nd Flights) against
13eollf!fiti pJwfograph 0/41h

arm oured-motorised groups moving along the Brodnica-Grudziqc\z

road. The Squadron commander, kpt. Laskowski. who deli vered thi s
order to hi s Flight commanders, realised that the HQ decision made
no sense, and he decided he wou ld lead the 141 st Flight to the attac k,
while the 142nd Fli ght would carry out a sweep in the same area at
the same time. The 141st Fli ght lost four pilots and four aircraft in the
Cyllk attack, including the Squadron commander, Capt. Florian Laskowski.

Air Regilllen! P /1 c ill fligll!.

Kopwiski
Below: P.ll c "59" (508-T)
(~r fhe 141s/ Flight cap/tired
by the Germall ,\' ill Tonal .

"

44 PZL 1'1/

P. I 1 ff)1 S

10 WAR

They were all shot down by German air defences. Capl. Tadeusz
Rolski . the commander of the 14 1st Flight was ap poillled the new
cOlllmandero i' the 111/4 Squadron. On 3 Septemherthe Flight defended
Vistula crossings at Chclmno. In their defence Capl. Rolski shot down
a Ju 87. That evening the 141 SI and 142nd Flights changed airfields
moving to Kaczkowo. The fo llowi ng day (4 September) they moved
agai n. this time to Poczalkowo. The same day a pilot of 14 1 Flight
shot down a Ju 87 (2nd Lt. Lachowicki-Czechowicz). And agai n a new
airlield - Osi\,ciny. 5 September was a day of resl. used for necessary
repai rs. During the nex t day of the war (6 September) the Flight again
provided air cover for the Vistula crossings (Ll. SIOIlski and 2nd Ll.
Z. Dryban ski shot down a Ju 87 each). losing a P.II . and eseorled
Lublin R-Xlll s of the 43rd AO P Flighl. Due to modest forces of the
Flight it was decided that two-three aircraft patrols would operate in
the R-X III area of operations. During such a sortie kpl. Rol ski shot
down a Henschel Hs 126 on 6 Septemher.
The same evening Squadron 111/4 was ordered to tnlnsfer into the
structure orthe Punmit Brigade and change ai rfi elds at the same time.

On 7 September the survi ving ai rcraft left in accordance with the

orders. During S-17 September sporadic patrol missions were fl own
and ~ ub~equent airliel<.b changed. The main reason for reduced inten-

sity of flyin g was the shortage of fu el. On 17 September five survi ving
1'. 11c !lew to RUlllania.
UNIT COMBAT VICTOfl ff,'S
Ilcnschd J-Is 126

10 km wc:-- I of Tonu;

P i ~" rck

It cnsc hd I-I s 126

Kw idzy n arca

Pi :-'~Irt.:k

Dorni cr Do 17

K widzy n arca

Capl. TadcusL. Rolski

JUllkers Ju 87

Tcrcspo l Pornorski

2nd 1...1. Lcch Lachowicki -Czcd lOWicz

JUllkcrs Ju 87

Pocz~ll k u wo

t/9/l939

1...1. MlIIian Pi!\m\.:k

!.cc e pJ. Bcncdyk l M id c/Y llski

21911 939

1...1. M ariatl

3iW I939

Lt. M :lrian

3/911 939

419/ 1939

tlrea

fi

M<JI 1939

2nd Lt. Zyg rnutlt Dryhmbk i

Junkcrs Ju 87

dcfcn.,;c of bridges at Torull

6/91l 939

Capl. '('';.\dcusz Rol ski

Il cnschcl I-I s 126

Sok c Kujawsk i

Lt. Jcrzy Sloll.sk..i

1unkers 1u 87

Narwa ;,lfea

R 6/911939

I'ZL P. If 45

P.l I Gm ..

10 WAil

History of the 142nd Flight was closely connected with that of

Flight 14 1 described above.lltoo was mobilised on 18 August 1939.
As ordered, its commander, Capt. Miroslaw Lesniewski, set out an
alert section to intercept German aircraft that violated Polish ai rspace.
Flight aircraft took off several times at the end of Aug ust, but no results
were achieved. On 30 August the aircraft Ilew to the forward airfield
at Markowo, leaving only the alert section at TOIllIl airfield. During
landing at the forward airfield the Flight commander "lost" a tyre, but
VII it badge: a/lyillM dllck,
thanks to the cleverness of the fitters who fired a !lare to warn him, he
red with green hcad alld
landed without damage to his machine. The first scramble of the Flight
wingfcather.\", WiTh willg
in force of a section, took place before midday on I September. The
!OIvered, ill a white diasection , led by 2nd Lt. S. Skalski, fai led to intercept a reconnaissance
Dornier Do 17. The alert section left behind at Toruli was snbjected to
mond.
a Luftwaffe attack. Afterthat the alert section aircraft joined the Flight
at Markowo airfield. 2 September was the day of glory for the Flight.
Pilots of the 142nd Flight had the luck that, unlike their colleagues
of the 14 1st Flight they did not have to strafe the German armoured
motori sed column. Their task of air protection for the attacking 141 st
Flight was fulfi lled perfectly when they destroyed 6 Do 17s without
losses. A double victory was achieved by 2nd Lt. Skalski. The latter
added to his score the fo llowing day when he shot down a Henschel
Hs 126. This was an imposing start ror the career of a true ace. That
same day 2nd Lt. Pawel Zenker shot down another Hs 126. He reported
P'llc "65 " of ,he 14211d
the fact as follow s: "J closed in onto the enemy aircraft it was a Hen
FlighT dl/ring overhalll 011
schel. J fired a long burst from the tail. It started making turns. For a
19'/lIl1c 1938.
moment I dropped off its tail because the enemy closed the th rottle
Kopmlski down. Cad. Otf. Pniak and Lce Cpl. Klein fired from behind. I got

46 PZLPIl

p, 11 qor'l

10 \v"I~

onto its tail again - it conti nucd 10 make turns, At an alt ilude of some
400 m it started emilling smoke. Flying perpendicu larly towards the
ground - on hitting the ground it exploded and burnt. Thi s was in the
Dubielno-Kornatowo-Li sewo area" ,"

At about the same time Lt. S. Zielillski shot down anot her Henschel
Hs 126 in the Grudzi~dz area, thus increasing the Fli ght's score to 9
machines.
4 September entered the Flight history, as that day it participated
in an air bau le (together wi th two sections or the 14 1st Flight) in
the Poczalkowo area, where the new airfield of the 14 1st and 142nd
Flights waS located. The aircral't scrambled and intercepted a formation of Domier and.lunkers bombers wi th Br 11 0 cover. The Flight
pilots shot down two lu 87s (2nd Lt. Skalski and 2nd Lt. Pniak) and
a Br 110 (Capt. Lesniewski ). Capt. Miroslnw Lesniewski, the Flight
commander was wounded when, al'ter shooting down a Br 110 he fell
victim to two Olher German fighters. The pi lot managed to land his
burni ng machine, from which he was rescued by local inhabitants.
Arterthat action on 5 September Lt. Waclaw Wilczewski was appointed
the ncw commander of the 142nd Flight. The next morning a pair of The sWlle aeroplal/e (dier
aircraft (Lt. Skal ski , Lce Cpl. Smigielski) attacked Cl German pontoon a close el/COIl/Her willi (/

bridge across Vistula. The same day the Flight provided air cover for ,,'oot/.
bridges at Tonlll. On 7 September the 142th Flight together with the

Kopm/ski

PZL P.II 47

P. I I

(,0/..... 10 Wt'lI

14 1st tlew to Kierz airfield near Lublin. On the 9th of that month the
aircraft moved to a new landing ground at O~troi.ec, where two P.ll c
fi ghters were damaged when landing afler dark. During 8-16 September

aircraft of the Flight rarely fl ew mi ssions, due to lack of fu el. On 17

September the three survivi ng 1'. 11s flew across the border and were
UNIT COMBAT VICTORIES interned in Ruman ia.
2/9/ 1939

Cap!. Mi roslaw LeSlliewski

219/ 193 9

2nd L!. Stani sla w Skal ski

2 Oomi cr Do 17s

219/l 939

2nd L!. Ka rol ?Iliak

Oorni er Do

219/l 939

L ce Cr!. Stan isiaw

Wi eprzk owi cz

D orni er

3/9/1939

2nd L t. Stanislaw Skal ski

Hcn ~c hd

Hs 126

Pa tro l over

I 319/ 1939

2nd Lt. Pawcl Zc nkcr

HCtl schcl

Hs 126

Patrol in Dubicl no- Liscwo area

I 319/1 939

Lt . Stanisla w Z iclill ski

H cnsehcl

Hs 126

Pat rol

8 [ 4/9/1 939
9

4191 1939

Capt. M irnslaw l....esni cwski

2nd Lt. Stanislaw Slals ki

to 4191 1939 2nd Lt.

K arol Pni ak

Durnier D o 17

Covering the 14 1st Fl iglll, whi ch

att acked grou nd targets, sweep in
G rllcl z i ~ldz- Brod ni ca area

Swr.:cp in Grud zi<l dz- Brndni ca area

17

Sweep in G rud zi"d z- Brodni ca area

Do 17

Sweep in Grudzi<.\d z- Brodni ca arca

Chclmno-Swiec ie area

in Grudziqd z area

Mcsscrschmitt Br 110

p( )Czalkowo area

Jun ke ,.s Ju 87

Poczal kowo area

Junkcrs Ju 87

Pocz<llkowo area

f}If}3a I!f!{ff})JJm f!(JWIJrJ!1

1bJf!(!1If1/X) [jrmJ:t~ @fI1Nl(jjJf1DrmJ/J rY!J@rIffIJ
Mobilisation of the Flight was carried out on 24 Augu st 1939.
Mobilisation orders assigned the Flightto the Independent Operational
Group "Narew" that operaled on the northern flank of the Polish forces.
It was onc of the few tighter Flights equipped with the obsolete PZL
P.7a aircraft.
"" .Everybody has known for a long time Ihat the P.7s were no
good for a war at all. It is not even worth mentioning how slow they
were. What was worse, their machine guns usually januned after a

fe w shots were fi red.

"J

Combat mi ssions were initially nown from Biel landing ground

Uuit badge: figlrting colldor
red wiflr black liead (IIld
el(/\I''\", ill 1I wh ire cmss.

near Ostr6w Mazowiecka. Few sorties were fl own on I Seplember.

During one of these the section of Lt. Marian Wesolowski escorted a
reconnaissance aircraft (a Karas of the 5 1st Reconna issance Flight),
which located a German airfield at Szczytno. On 2 and 3 September a
few scrambles were made to intercept enemy aircraft, but there were
3 Janusz K.;dzierski - Z kabiny obserwatofiL. MON pubJishl.:n;, Wilr~aw 1975

48

I'ZLI~

11

P. 1 I

(IO[~ 10 \VAlt

no encounters. On 4 September Lee e p!. Tadeusz Kwalkowski was

shot down over enemy terri tory, bailing out and posted missing. On

5 September 2nd LI. Marian Lukaszewicz damaged a Dornier Do 17,

which would prove the on ly prey of the Flight. On 7 September the
Flighl changed airfields, movi ng to Ceranow nenr W~gr6w, at the
same time changing its role to purely reconnaissance. The fo llowing
day it moved 10 another airfield, thi s time Adamk6w near Brzesc on
Bug. From 9 September the Flight new reconnaissance missions for

the Air Force HQ. On I I and 12 September four P.7as were lost. On
12 September another change of airfields took place. Five aircraft
reached Litiatyn, ceasing fl ying for the subsequent three days. On 16
September, withi n reorgan isatioll of the av iation, of (among others) the

151 Flight formed the Reconnaissance Flight. The fo llow ing day the Unit ba(/ge:jixhlillX colldor
last four P.7as of the Flight were evacuated. together with the aircraft blul' lrilh black head allcl
of Pursuit Brigade, to Rumania.
clml's, ill a Il'hile cross.

Prior to the outbreak of War the Flight was part of the 5th Air Regiment at Lida. War mobili sation of the Flight took place at Porubanek
airfield near Wilno, from which the aircraft llew to Jaszuny airlleld
on 24 August. Thence on 31 August the Flight moved via Warsaw
to Szpondowo airfield, becoming part of Armi" "Mod iin" aviation.
The 152nd Flight, LOgether wi th the 151 st. was lIsed to form the nU5
Squadron under Maj. Edward Wi~ckowski. Immed iately prior to the

ApictllreoflhePflc "4"110.
8. 110 of Lce Cpl. S. Br,eski
oFlhe 1521ld Flighl. 711e
al!lVplalle crash-Ial/ded 0114

Seplelllber 1939 {[I Bllby Ilellr

outbreak of war the Fli ghts were ass igned to different form ations. Ciecl!(II/(}II:
Maj. Wil'ckowski, the cOlllmander of the liltS Sq uad ron, stayed with
Kopll/iski

PZL P /J

49

P. I I

( rOt .. 10 WAR

the 152nd Fl ight. For the unit pilots the war did not commence until
the afternoon of I September. Their first task was to provide air cover
for the Modlin fortress. During a German raid pi lots of two sections
broke ranks and staned a pursu it of enemy aircraft heading for Warsaw.

The pursu it caught lip with the Germans close to the city. simu ltaneously with the aircraft or Pursuit Brigade. Flight pi lots shot down a
Heinkel He Ill, and shared two more with Pursuit Brigade pilots.
Losses : a P.ll c shot down, four badl y shot up. There was no fl ying on
2 September. On 3 September Lee Cpl. Marian Bele shot down a Bf
109, and Lee Cpl. Stani slaw Brzesk i a German observation balloon.
The followin g day aircraft escort ed the 4 1st Reconnaissance Flight

As Oil pervious p{/~e, {/ picIlIIeo!!'.///, "4""0. 8.//0.

KOPWlSki

50

I"'LL P.II

bombers. During the return fli ght another balloon was shot down (2nd
Lt. lan Bury-Burzymski ). AA lire punctured Lee Cpl. Brzeski's fue l
rank, forcing him to land. From midday on 4 September until 6 September the Flight changed airfields every day (Kroezcwo, Poniatow,
Wieruch6w).7 September was the last day of the Fl ight operations for
Armia "Modlin". That day a sect ion or P.l ls Ilew a reconnaissance
mission over Bugo-Narew river area. From 8 September the Flight was
re-assigned lO repon to the commander or Pursuit Brigade. moving
to Kierz ai rfield. The same da y the Fl ight new 6 patrol sanies in the
Lublin-D,bli n-G6ra Ka lwaria areas. On 9 September patrol sort ies
continued, with a Hei nkel III shot down (the section of 2nd Lt. BuryBu rzymski) losi ng the P II of Lce Cpl. Antoni loda. [n the evening the
Flight recei ved orders to move to Zielonka airlield in order to reinforce
the air defence of Warsaw. Since th e remaining units of the Pursuit

Brigade failed to received the orders in time, they moved South-East,

to WolY ll reg ion. Thus on 10 September the 152 Flight was the only
air defence of Warsaw. The same day a recon nai ssance and cover
mission was llown for lhe HQ column of Annia "Modlin", losing
one aeroplane shOI down . On 11 September the Flight new to BrzeSc,
and on 12 September to Ostrozec airfield near Luck. The remaining
period of the 1939 campaign was spent by the Flight moving together
with the Pursuil Brigade. On 17 September 1939 the last two Flight
aircraft crossed the Rumanian border.
UNIT COMBAT VICIVIiIES
2

1/911939

Ppor Jan Bury-Burzymski

Heinkel He I11

Warsaw suburbs

1/9/1939

shnrcd

2 x 1/2 J-Icinkcl He III

shared with Pursuit Bri gade pilots

Lee CpL Marian Bclc

Messerschmiu Br 109

Zc{ibok area

1 )/911919
4

3/911939

Lee Cpl. SLanislaw Brzcski

observation balloon

4/911939

PPOI" Jan Bury-Burzymski

observation balloon

9/9/1939

shared

Hci nkcl He 11J

2nd Lt. Bury-Burzymski sect ion

The 161 st Flight was part of the llU6 Squadron, based in Lwow.
When mobilised. it attained combat readiness on 25 Aug ust 1939.
Then Ihe ground party left for the new airfield at Widzew (today a
part of L6dz). The Flight' s ai rcraft arrived there on 3 1 August, one of
these crashing during landing. The Flight had 10 PZL P.II cs, plus two
P.II a fi ghters of the Squadron HQ. The first day of the war brought
no slIccess to the Flight pilots, even though they engaged German
aircraft. On 2 September pil ots scrambling from ambush posts shot
down two Germ an airc raft: a Hensehel Hs 126 (2nd Lt. Dzwonek) Ullit badge: ,,'illged "'hile
and a Messerschmitt Bf 110 (2nd Lt. Koc shared wi th a pilot or the ermille 'Villl red willgs.
162nd Flight). Losses were heavy, though. Three aircraft were lost,
and two pilots killed and one wounded . On 3 September the Flight
lost its RWD 8 liaison aircraft, shot down during a liai son sortie. On 4
September the Squadron suffered severe losses in combat with German
Bf 109s, losing five aircraft (including one from the 161 SI Flight) and
three damaged. To make up for thi s the Flight received a P.l le which
return ed from repair in Warsaw.

That same day 2nd Lt. Jan Dzwonek, who suffered serious wounds
during fighting the prev iolls day, was flown to Warsaw in a I11cd-evac

Lublin R.xVI.
On 6 September the Flight moved to Drwalewo airfield.
That day anot her victo ry was cred ited to Cp l. Fra nciszek
Pr,tkiewicz, who attacked an He I11 near Gr6jec. Due to the diffi cult
situation at this sector of the front the com mander of the "Lodi" Army
PZL" /I 5/

I' Ill' "9" o/IIIe /lifsl

Fliglll, photographed (1/
L\rUII,-Skllifoll' ailjll'1d ill
/ 93Y.
KOjJwiski

P Ill' (~rLl. 1. D Zl!'ul/ek (~r

the 161s1 Flight. will! his
personal "{ lIrke)' " emblem

(applied olllhe s/(/ rboard

aviation asked the PAF Commander. Gen. Zajqc for further gu idelines.
In respo nse Gen. Za i'lc scntthe following cahle to the Army HQ: "The
Supreme Commander ordered the air party of Hl/n Fighter Squadron
to move today to Matczyn airfield (17 km SoW Lublin).""
Evacuation was carried out according to the orders of 7 September. In addition, the ai rcraft that had been abandoned at Drwalewo
airfield (R-Xlll and RWD 8) flew away together wi th the P.II s. On 8
September the remaining ai rcraft of the 111/6 Squadron were assigned

side 0111.1').
Knpmiski

52 I'Z1.1'1I

.Il Cynk _ Polslic [omiclwo mysljw~k..ie

\V

boju wfLcsniov,'ym, AJ-Press Gdarlsk :moo

P.I I

(.OL\ 10 WAil

la Ihe IV /I Squadro n o/" Ihe Pursuil Brigade. During 9-15 September L1. i.

iJZII'lIlIek".1" persollal
the Flight activities were virtually limited to subsequent moves. This emblem ~ lurkey ((m/.\' Oil
was mainly due to lack of fu el. 11 common situation in mid-September JleriJo(lrd side).
19:19. This was slighlly improved on 16 Seplember. when Ihe ground
Kllpmiski

part)' reached Ihe Squadron al Li lial)'n airfield. The same day 2nd Lt.
Tadeusz Koc shot down a Soviel R 5 reconnaissance aircraft at Delat)'n
village. This was Ihe laSI viclory orlhe Flight in Ihe 1939 campaign. On
17 September the Fl ight left the Poli sh territory, moving to Ru mania. Colollrs see page IIV. 124
Three aircraft were evacuated.

UNIT COMBAT VICTORIES

T~lde ll sl

Kat.:

sharcd w ith 2nd LI. GI6wezynsk i

of (he 162nd Flight in Pabian ice
arca

2/911939

2nd Lt.

219/ 1939

2nd LI. Jail D/.wollck

H t!nschellb 126

61Y1 1939

Cpl.Franci s7..ck Prylki cwicz

1/2 Hei nkcl H e III

shared wi th Lee Cp1. Urballczyk

of the 162 nd Fl ight in Gr6jee
area. KG 4 ,.in.:raf(

16/91 I t):\9

2nd Lt. TadclIsz Koc

Polibrpov R 5

Ddal yn area

112 Mcssc rschllli ll

Bf 110

! Pabianice area

PZL

I~

/I 53

P. I I

(I0l:~ 10 WJ\1l

P / It (!(,he /6 /.1" Fligh'

phologmplied 01 V;diWid:ew ail./ield 011 3/
Seplelllber /939. IIIImll1 oI
Ihe aeroplane. I. to I:: 211d
Lt. ./. DZ.Il'ollek and 211d LI.
Z. S:lIberl.
Kopmiski

Uuit badge: IVil/ged IVhife

ermille with blue wings.

54 PZL PII

The other fi ghter Fli ght of 6th Air Regiment fought in Armia
"L6di" too. Moves of the Fli ght took place at the same times and
pl aces as with the 161 st Flight. The main difference lay in the fact that
the 162nd Flight used the Illueh older I'Zl P.7a aircraft. Their combat
value was negligible. Strange as it way seem, though, it was the 162nd
Flight that gained credit for more kills thall the I'll-equipped 161st.
However, one must stress that half of these were scored in the PZl
P.II c of the Squadron QC, fl own by 2nd Lt. Czeslaw Gl6wczyriski.

P. I I GO!"'.

On I September the Flight pilots ach ieved no victories. although

they participated in air combats. The fo ll owing day the Flight took
pmt in an nir battle against Bf IIOs in the Pabiani ce area. Victories
were obtained by Lee Cpl. Jan Malinowski and 2nd Lt. Czeslaw
GI6wczYliski (shared with 2nd Lt. Koc of the 161st Flight). Three
aircraft were lost that day (two from Polish AA fire and one crashed
during landing). On 3 September GI6wczYliski added another aircrart
to hi s score, and there is a certain degree or doubt about the ac tual
type involved. The pilot reported shooting dow n a Junkers Ju 86, but
it seems unli kely that he act ually encountered this type of ai rcraft in
1939 over Poland. It could have been a Do 17. Another victory for the
Flight was achieved that day by Lee Cpl. Zdzislaw Urballczyk, who
shot down a Henschel Hs 123 of 11. (Schl.)/LG 2. On 4 September
the Flight lost no less than four P.7as, includi ng th ree on the ground.
Before this happened 2nd Lt. Zdzi slaw Zadroziliski shot dow n a Do
17 near LodZ. Moments later the Poli sh pilot was shot at by Bf 109s
of I.IZG2(JGrI02), suffering wound s. Subsequently the Bf 109s
attacked and destroyed thrce P.7as on the airfield (these aircrart had
returned from the am bush post and failed to be refuelled before the
attack). On 5 September the 111/6 Squadro n rece ived orders to move
10 Drwalewo airfield, carried out the rollowing clay. Even though the
intensity of tlying on 6 September was low, the Flight suffered their
heaviest losses. In a German air attack against the Flight's ground pa11y
three pilots were killed (Priv. Ist CL Z. Brzeilliak, Priv. Ist Cl. Micbal
Krzyszo wski and Priv. 1st Cl. Tadeusz Andruszkow). and a I"ourth

10 \vAll

P'lI e "3" o( Lt. 7: lezio

rml"ski, 111/6 Squadron
Taclics 9tlicel; silO! dmm
011 4 September 1939 at
LM2-\Vidzl:w
KOf}wIski

PZL I'll 55

As 0// prel'iOl/s piclI/re.

Kopmhki

fJ elow: III Septelllber 1939

rhe 162//(/ Flighl IIsed P 7(/
ain:rq/I ,\'11('11 as rhis "4"
/10. 6. 144...
Knptll/ski

... ilo/ half of /h e Pliglll 's

victories were scored by rhe

p. J1{,' of Capr. S. MO/'{/)\Iski,

QC " '16 SqlladlV/I. Here

with 2J/d Lt. C. Gf6wcz.wlski
1i'OlII/he 16211d Pligh/.
Kop(lIlski
56

I'ZLI~

11

P.I I GOF<; 10 WAR

(2nd Lt. Szubert) was seriously wounded. A section

led by 2nd Lt. GI6wczYllski was scrambled agai nst
thi s raid from Drwalewo. Pi lots of the section shot
down two He I1 J s of KG 4 (one by Gl6wczYll ski ,
the other shared by Cpl. Franciszek Prytkiewicz of the
16 1st Flight and Lee Cpl. Zbigniew Urbmiczyk). On 7
September aircraft of U1 /6 moved to Matczyn airfi eld
near Lublin and were assigned to the IVII Squadron of
the Pursuit Brigade. At that ti me the 162nd Flight had
only one serviceable P.7a. Later fate of the Flight was
the same as that of the 161 st Flight described above.
The last P.7a of the I62ncl Flight was impressed into the
Reconnai ssance Fli ght formed on 16 September (from
P.7a aircraft of the former Pursuit Brigade). Together
with the Flight it was evacuated to Rumania. The P. II c
(mach ine of the OC HlI6 Squadron) was evacuated by
2nd Lt. Gl6wczYllski.

The ollly k!lOwn

example of m'o-fOlle
camOUflage scheme Oil
{/ P
This is ;'3"
(62- W) probablvJrolll
15211d Flighl. The
phOTO \Vas taken (If
Pulfllsk.

"c.

Kopwlski

UNIT COMBAT VICTORIES

Lee Cpl. Jan Malinowski

I 121911939

Messcrschmiu Bf

1:..6d1 area

I ID

2 2/911939

2nd Lt. Czcstaw GI6wczYllski

1/2 Mcsscrsdllll ill

Bf I 10

1:..6d;' area. sha red with 2nd Lt. Km: of

3 3/911939

2nd Lt. Czeslaw GI6wczy l'Iski

Junkcrs JII 86?

Chojny area (in the. P.11 c)

Lee Cpl. Zdzislaw Urhmkzyk

Henschcl Hs 123 ..d

2nd Lt. Zdzislaw Zadrozillski

Dorn ier Do 17

I:.6di area

j 2nd Lt. Czeslaw GI6wczynski

Heinkcl He III

Gr6jec area (in the P. II e)

Jl2 Heinke l He I I I

Gr6jee area, shared with Cr I.

3fJ/ 1939

5 4/9/ 1939

r6

' 6/9/ 1939

J : 1939

---

-t-

Lee Cpl. Zbigniew Urbmkzyk

the 161 st Flight (i ll the P.II c)

Prytkiewicz

of Ihe 16 1s( Flight

PZL PII 57

P.I I

qOI~ 10 Wl\ll

1l_&BIJ~ 1fd(fffJfIJrB lfd@JfJ!JlWlffYB

((!!d@l!jJ(fJ/j IfdflJJfDJ@Jfffl!if)ffi) lJatl _ mm))
gj) rmdJ CiD /!fjJ/JJ(}f! I!iJfJ;fJJm
The Rumanian Air Force had used PZL aircraft since 1934. when
49 PZL P.II bs aircraft were purchased from Poland . Another order.
th is time for the PZL P.II 1', was placed in 1937, to be deli vered by
the cnd of 1938. A total of 95 aircraft of thi s version were eventually
deli vered to Rumania under this contract. Upon delivery of the PilI's
the P.l1b aircraft were transferred to training units.
After Poland was defeated in 1939. a lot of Polish aircraft were
evacuated to Ruman ia. These included probably no less than 43 PZL
P. II s (33 P.II cs and 10 P. II as). After overhaul 29 of these were allocared to combat units. These aircraft were deli vered to nos. 49 and 50
Fighter Flights, replacing the 1'.1 1bs.
On the day of the attack against the USS R, RU'llania (Germany's
ally) had 153 P. II lighters. Th is number included 29 P II es and 10
PII as. Rumanian P. II s were used in tlle southern sector of the front in
Bessarabia and during fi ghting in the Crimea. As time went by these
aireraft were graduall y replaced by Rumanian IAR 80 fighters, and by
German designs. At the end of the war the Rumanian Air Force still
had at least a dozen P. I Ies and as.

RU /l/alliall P 'ff plwfo-

f!, mphed at Tlflda ail.f ield ill

M y 194 1.
Delle.\'

58 PZL P. II

Iitmgllr;lIlI a;nllen pose for a sOllvenir photo u';lh ,he I~ 110 floWII

In

Hungary' by Maj. E, Wrnricki. 23

S('plem/)e r 1939.
Kopw/ski
The J(flll(' lIemplalle lI';th tlie Polish 1II11rkiflg.\ oVt!r(Jaillled i/l while,

I' ZL!' 11 59

P. I I

lflf-., 10 WA I~

part from Rumania. other users - German y, USSR , Lat via

and Hungary - acquired their 1'. 11 s as war prizes. The 1'. 11 a
evacuated to Latvia on 17 September was then taken over by
the Soviets when they invaded the Baltic state. The USS R certainly
captured another 1'. 11 . belonging to the I11 th Fighter Fli ght. Most
probably the Soviet Air Force acq uired other aircra ft Icrt behi nd", the
ai rfi elds captured by the Red Army in the wake of the 17 Septemher
invasion.

A single 1'. 11 a new to Hungary on 23 September 1939. It remained

in use Ihere until autumn 1944.

IlIil;all), rile aemplalle

was gil'ell Ihe !1ulIgar;(1I/
1I1/11I1Je/" G.191.

Muj:er

60 I' ZL P.II

Several usable 1'. 11 s were captured by tire Germans. Onc of these

was made an exhibit at the Aviation Museum in Berlin (no. 8.63 of
the 121st Fli ght) and thank s to thi s it survived the war to become the
sole example in the world today.

SCAlr PIAN')

64 PZL

f~JJ

GI:Nl:.lMl

vil:.w

PZLPII 65

Gl:NEnAI vil:w

Entire aeroplane as seen in/mill of the hangar of the Polish Aviation Museum in Cracow.

photos A. Juszczak.

66 PZLPII

GENERAl

vil:.w

Starboard view of the fuselage.

photo B. Belcan
As above.
photo R. Prczkowski

PZL P II 67

TAil

Tail. Note the (llIac/IIIlCllt (~r the aerial cable. Remember that flot (Ill P JIs were fitted with (l radio set.
photo R. P~czkowskj
r-------~~----~----------------_.

.J2...-.--

TlIil- from fhe

68

PZL P.II

lAil

Fin and tailplane C01l11ecr;oll. Skill sheets overfapping.

photo B. Be/car"

Ahove:
Leading edge oJ Ihe fill.
phOlo R. Pficzkowski

Head-Ofl view of Ihe rail.

Note lh e allachmellf of the
aerial cable.
photo B. Be/earz
PZL P.II 69

Corrugated skin on the fail.

Tailplane strut. Open inspection panels can be

photo B. Belcarz

seen on the ftlselage.

photo R. Pfczkowski

I .

70 PZL PII

I:NGiNF

PZL PIle engille before ...

... and ajie,. slarf-Up.

both photos R.
Spinner and the engine cowling, side view.
phOTO B. Belcarz

P~ezkolVski

Powerplanl, /14 view.

--

PZLPII 71

EI/gil/e, port view, cowlings removed. AT righlllote

the bltw mbe for the fllseJage-lIIollllled machine

Power plant, port view.

photo R. PClIlek

gllll.

R. Prczkmvski
Power

- jivIII Ihe Manual

Engine mount72

I'ZL I' 11

Head-oil view of the ellgillepropeller IIllit.

photo R. P~czkowski

Spil1f1el:
photo R. Prcz!<olVski

Starboard view a/the engine

with cowlings removed.
photo R. PrczkolVski
PZL P. II 73

Cockpil

floof; rl/dder pedals and cOlltroJ stick as seen/ram the seal.

74 PZL PIl

Cockpil

PZL

1'''

75

CockpiT

"-

Harness (lttacllrnent.
photo A. JlIszczak
76

I'ZLI~ J/

PZL P.llcJlIse/age less wings alld with the cockpit covered.

photo R. P,?czkowski

I
Wl

Port half of the mlr fus,elm,e;1

~ ~

' -fromt'~

P 11 c jitselage - /i"OIl1 the Manllal

I'ZL P. /I 77

Cockpit el11ry handle, slOrboard view.

photo B. Belearl,

Attachment of the aerial

cable immediately aft o/the
cockpit on the starboard
side.
photo B. Be/earz

Windscreen port view.

R. P~czko lVs ki

Rearfuselage, starboard
view.
photo A. Juszczak

Windscreen, starboard view.

photo A. Juszczak
78 PZLPII

Pilot:r headrest, port viem

pholo R. P~czko",ski

Cockpit elllry halldle.

pholO 8. Be/carz

Central sec/ioll of rhe fuse

lage, 1I0fe the open covers
of the radio compartment,
first aill kir stowage, ami
luggage compartmelll it! the
dorsal fairi'lg.
pholo B. Be/am

Radio compartment details,

cover open.
pholO A jllszc:ak
I'lL 1'.11 79

Fu~rlAGr

Open cover of tlie luggage

compartment, in the lower

right comeI' the GltachmeIU

of the aerial cable Oil the
Juse/age can. be seel/.
photo R. Pallek

First aid kiI compartment

the cover open, 011
fh e starboard side of the
aeroplane.
phOlO A. Juszczak

with

Fuselage frusswork, cewral

part (left) andfonvard part
(right) -from the Mallllal
6

80 I'ZL I' 11

Above lefl : Velllll ri OI/tile starboard side a/the aeroplane,

rear view - photo B. Belcarz.
Above right: he{u/olI v;ew- pholo B. Be/cafZ
Right: side vieI\' - photo B. Be/cal7.
Rear!lIselage, note the !ailskid al!acilmellt alld the rudder
actuator rod. IlIspectioll pallels call be seell slightly above.
photo A. JlIszcz"k

I'l LP'/I 8 1

FUSFiAq

Starboard side of
the forward fuse-

lage. the oil cooler

is clearly visible.
the aeroplane has
the wing removed.
photo B. Be/earz

Oil conler Machine gun mock-up eall be seen

Coolillg vellls 011 the fuselage. immediately aft of Ihe
above.
e1lgine, starboard viel\l.
phoro A. Juszczak
photo B. Belcarz

82

I'ZL PII

Starboard side 01 the

fonvard fuse/lIge with the
panels removed.
photo R.

P~CZkOlVSk;

Fairing of the radio set

gellerarorfiexibfe COl/nee
101; this elemelll differed
between aircraft, some did
1101 have il

at af/.
photo R. P~czkowski

Machine gUfl lllockup and

the oil cooler.
photo A. luszczak
PZL P.II 83

Machille gUll alld oil cooler - from the Malllla!

Engine dl/ring maintellallce (/I the MI./sewlI .

photo R. Pfczkmvski

84 PZL 1'./1

Fusl:lACffBortom of the fuselage,

note the lower part of the
jettisollab/e jile! /ank.

pilaw R. Pf!czkmvski

photo R. PfczkOl vski

Part of the same tank as seen after removingfllse/age skill

panels.
photo B. Be/earz

PZL

1'''

85

FUSllAfjl

']!!JranL/lIl..elage less ifS panels. Pholo R. Pfczkowski

Fil'eIVal1 separating (he enginejl'Ol1I Ihe/lfe/tank.
photo R. P(fczkowski

86 PZL

P."

Close up view of the firewall, in the foreground

;s fh e machine gun blast tube.
photo R. P~(7koIVSki

Mock-lip of the f uselage-moll/Heel machine gun, /Jote the /IIachine /: lI/J blast tube at

Machine g l/ll allachmellf detail.

photo A. iUJzczak

PZL/' II 87

CUI/sight.

phuto R.

P~czkowski

Mock*up DJ the willg*lI1oullted machine gun. OI1/Y sOllle of

the aircraft were jilfed with gullS ill wings.
photo B. Belcar-:,
CUI/sight, head*ol/ view.

photo R. Panek

88 PZL p.1J

Above right: STrut (lnd IIndercarriag e aTfachmellf Jairillg, starboard

\Iiew. Photo A. Jllszczak
Right: SI/m alld I/I/dercarriage lIlIachlllelll wi/how fairillg. Wing
.\'/mts removed. Photo B. Be/car::.

PZL Pll 89

TailJ'kid, head~ol/ view.

photo R. PfczkolVski

Tailskid with leather cover - fivl1I (he

Mal/ual

Tailskill, starboard view.

phOfo R. PqczkOlvski

Right: Skid with fhe cover removed, 110. 8 is the Avia

shock~(lbsorherf{)r tile

90

I'ZLl~

11

tailsldd - JfVlII the Manllal

WiNG

_ -.._.1

Wing {//u' aileroll structllre - from the ManHal

Starboard wing.

photo R. P?czkmvski

WiNq

Pilot whe. with the bomb rack behilld.

photo R. Prczkowski

UI/der-wing shell case clillfejairil1g.

1'11010 I? P~czkowsk i

Strut allachmellt. The shell case ciTllIe call be seen behind the !onvard strut.
photo A. Juszczak
r-------------------------------------~

92

PZL PII

WiNq

Port wing tip view, ill theforegrolllld is the attachment a/the aerial cable. Note the VC/lyillg structure 0/
Ihe wing skill .
photo R. Pallek

Starboard wing, /lote the aileron attachment.

photo R. Pallek

PZL PII 93

WiNe)

PorI willg aileroll acfllatOl:

phOIO B. Be/carz

Ai/eroll aCWOIOl; bOlfom view.

photo R. Pfczkowski

94

PZL J~/1

WiNG

Wing-jlfselage cO/lnectioll, port view.

photo R. Pfczkmvski

The same, panels removed.

photo R. Prczko)llski

PZL PlI 95

Asselllbly of the starboard willg.

photo B. Belcar:

96 PZL I' J/

PZL PII c serial 8. ]29, personal ailr:raft of Cell. Ludomil Rayski. Visit in Stockholm, 1936.

:::

PZL P'l1e seriaiunknown, personal aircraft ofCommal1der of 4 Air Regimellt ill

rOrlll1 Lt. Col. Boles/mv StachOlI, 30 May 1939.

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PZL P 11 c .. 5 ", seriaillllkllOlll1l (45 N) JI J Fighter Flight, I Air Regiment ill Warsaw.

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PZL Pil e ,,1", seriaI8.J4, ll2 Fighter Flight, J Air Regiment ill Warsaw.

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P'lle "10' no. 8.70 of the 113th Flight, 1 Air Regiment, personal aircraft of
2"d L1. Hiemnim D/ldwal, September 1939.

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PZL Pile ,,2" serialllnknoll'n (72 N), 114 Fighter Flig/u, / Air Regimelll,
personal aircraft a/Cpl. Gogolok, Spring /938.

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PZL Pll c ,,8" serial 8.115, 121 Fighter Flight, 2 Air Regiment, Cracow, personal aircraft
of (pt. Floriall LaskolVSki, March 1937, and later of Lt. Waclaw Kr6l in summer 1939.

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PZL P Ile ,, 1/", serial llnkllowll, 122 Fighter Flight. 2 Air Regiment, Cracow.

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PZL P 11 c " J],' seriol llnknown (48 P), J3 J Fighter Flight, 3 Air Regiment, Pozna/!.

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PZL P'Ile ,,9" serial ullkllolVll (57 P), 132 Fighter Flight, 3 Air Regiment, POZ/lQ/l.

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PZL P.ll e ,,57" seriall/llkllowlI (5061]. 141 Fighter Flight, 4 Air Regimellt, Torllli,
Sprillg 1939.

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PZL PI le ,,65" serial 8.25 (65 T), 142 Fighter Flight, 4Air Regimellt, POZIlWl, 1938.

....
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PZL P li e ,, 4 " serial 8. 110, personal aircraft of Lee Cp/. SwnisialV Brzeski, 152 Fighter
Flight, 5 Air Regiment, Lido, September 1939.

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PZL P. JJ c ,,31" serial lmkllOlVI1 (62 W), September 1939, Repiacemelll aircraft fo r the 152
Flight. Non. typical color scheme.

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PZL P'lle ,,9" serialllllkllow" (74 Si, 161 Fighter Flight, 6 Air Regimelll, L..,611: 011 the
top of the wing traces of the earlier lightning flash caf! by seen. Lw6w 1939.

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PZL PII c ,,4" serialllllkllolVll, persollal aircraJt oJ Lt. Jail DZlI'ollek, 161 Fighter Flight,
6 Air Regiment, Lw6w. September 1939.

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PZL P. J1c serial unknown, personal aircraft of Capt. Stanislaw Morawski, Leader of
IIll6 Fighler Squadron (161 & 162 Fig/lIer Flig/lIs). During lite 1939 Campaingn 2"" LI.
Czeslaw GI6wcZ)',iski from 162 Figltler Flight also flew Ihis plane.

."

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PZLP.lIe serial 315, 49 Fighter Flight, Bllearest-Baneasa, Slimmer 1942.

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PZL P.1I a " G- 191" in markings of Hllngarian Royal Defence Air Force, 194 J.