The 43rd Observation Escadrille was a unit of the Polish Air Force at the beginning of the Second World War. The unit was attached to the Pomorze Army.
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The 43rd Observation Escadrille was a unit of the Polish Air Force at the beginning of the Second World War. The unit was attached to the Pomorze Army.
Commanding officer: kpt. obs. Władysław Dawidek.
7 Lublin R-XIIID airplanes and 2 RWD-8.
The European theatre of World War II opened with the German invasion of Poland on Friday September 1, 1939, which was then followed by the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939. The Polish Army was defeated after approximately a month of fighting. Poland never officially capitulated. After Poland had been overrun, a government-in-exile, armed forces, and an intelligence service were established outside of Poland. These organizations contributed to the Allied effort throughout the war. The Polish Army was recreated in the West, as well as in the East.
The invasion of Poland marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, and one day after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union had approved the pact. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty.
The Polish Air Force is the aerial warfare military branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej. In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 military personnel and about 475 aircraft, distributed among ten bases throughout Poland.
The PZL P.7 was a Polish fighter aircraft designed in the early 1930s at the PZL factory in Warsaw. It was one of the first all-metal monoplane fighters in the world and was the main fighter of the Polish Air Force between 1933 and 1935. The PZL P.7 was replaced in Polish service by its follow-up design, the PZL P.11c. More than 30 PZL P.7 fighters remained in service during the Invasion of Poland, scoring several kills despite its obsolescence.
Josef František, was a Czechoslovak fighter pilot and Second World War fighter ace who flew for the air forces of Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, and the United Kingdom. He was the highest-scoring non-British Allied ace in the Battle of Britain, with 17 confirmed victories and one probable, all gained in a period of four weeks in September 1940.
The Bombing of Warsaw in World War II refers to the aerial bombing campaign of Warsaw by the German Luftwaffe during the siege of Warsaw in the invasion of Poland in 1939. It also may refer to German bombing raids during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. During the course of the war approximately 85% of the city was destroyed due to German mass bombings, heavy artillery fire and a planned demolition campaign.
The Polish Air Forces was the name of the Polish Air Forces formed in France and the United Kingdom during World War II. The core of the Polish air units fighting alongside the Allies were experienced veterans of the 1939 invasion of Poland. They contributed to the Allied victory in the Battle of Britain and Allied air operations during the war.
The RWD-14 Czapla was a Polish army cooperation aircraft, designed in the mid-1930s by the RWD team, and produced in the LWS factory from 1938. A series of 65 aircraft were built and most were used by the Polish Air Force observation squadrons during World War II in 1939.
Stanisław Skalski, was a Polish aviator and fighter ace who served with the Polish Air Force and British Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Skalski was the top Polish fighter ace of the war and the first Allied fighter ace of the war, credited, according to the Bajan's list, with 18 11/12 victories and two probable. Some sources, including Skalski himself, give a number of 22 11/12 victories. He returned to the Polish Air Force after the Second World War and rose to the rank of brigadier general.
The Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Polish forces were also raised within Soviet territories; these were the Polish Armed Forces in the East.
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