Presentation about Czech and Polish pilots input into the Battle of Britain

1. “Never in the field of human
conflict was so much owed
by so many to so few”
Sir Winston
Churchill

2. The Battle of Britain
In 1940, from 10 July until 31 October, the
Royal Air Force Fighter Command thwarted
the German Luftwaffe's attempts to gain air
supremacy over southern England,
averting possible invasion and downing
1,733 German aircrafts.
But the efforts were not without significant
sacrifice: 915 British aircrafts were lost and
an estimated 544 of the 2,927 aircrews of
the RAF were killed.
Pilots of No. 310 (Czech) Squadron, which was formed
at Duxford in July 1940. Image copyright IWM.

3. Polish airmen in the Battle of Britain
The first Polish pilots reached Britain on 8 December 1939,
arriving in Eastchurch in Kent after their departure from
France two days earlier. More large transports followed in
two-week intervals, and by early June 1940 a total of 2,164
air personnel had arrived in Britain and been assigned to
various squadrons. France's capitulation on 25 June 1940
forced the Polish Armed Forces, alongside other Allied
troops, to withdraw their units to Britain. A further 6,220
Polish air personnel would reach Britain by the end of July
1940, increasing the total of Polish airmen on British soil to
8,384 men. Exhausted servicemen, tired of being defeated
by the Germans, looked upon Britain with great anticipation
and named it 'The Island of the Last Hope'.
Polish pilots of Squadron 303

4. Polish airmen in the Battle of Britain
Polish pilots of Squadron 303
Churchill declares to the Polish Prime Minister in Exile
“We shall conquer together or we shall die together” and
the two agree to establish two Polish fighter wings; No.
302 ‘Poznan’ Squadron and No. 303 ‘Kosciusko’
Squadron.
In just 42 days 303 Squadron shot down 126 German
planes, becoming the most successful Fighter Command
unit in the Battle of Britain. Nine of the Squadron’s pilots
qualified as ‘aces’ for shooting down 5 or more enemy
planes, including Sergeant Josef Frantisek, a Czech flying
with the Poles who scored 17 downed planes. Overall the
Squadron scored nearly three times the number of kills of
the average British fighter squadron with one third the
casualty rate.

5. Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain
A total of 145 experienced and
battle-hardened Polish airmen
fought in the Battle of Britain -
79 airmen in various RAF
squadrons, 32 in No. 302
(Polish) Fighter Squadron and
34 in No. 303 (Polish) Fighter
Squadron.
Pilot Officcers Jan Zumbach (on the left) and
Miroslaw Feric, two aces of No. 303 Squadron, play
with the Squadron's puppy mascot at RAF
Leconfield on 24 October 1940.

6. Polish aces in the Battle of Britain
The Polish pilots claimed 201
aircraft shot down.
303 Squadron claimed the
highest number of kills (126) of all
Allied squadrons engaged
in the Battle of Britain.
Witold Urbanowicz of 303
Squadron was the top Polish
scorer with 15 claims.

7. Polish aces in the Battle of Britain
Sgt Tony Głowacki was one of two
Allied pilots in the Battle to shoot
down five German aircraft in one day,
on 24 August 1940 (the other being
New Zealander Brian Carbury).
One Polish veteran, Stanisław Skalski,
became the top-scoring Polish fighter
ace of the Second World War.

8. Czech airmen in the Battle of Britain
Pilots of No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF
After the Sudetenland crisis and the
German occupation of Czechoslovakia in
March 1939, many young Czech Air Force
pilots made their way via France to Britain.
Many Czech pilots had fought in the short
and bitter Battle of France thus gaining
some form of combat experience.
However, their skill was seen to the full in
the Battle of Britain.

9. Czech airmen in the Battle of Britain
At the start of the battle, the Czechs were distributed
throughout already established Fighter Command
squadrons. However, they were given their own squadron –
310. In total 84 Czechs fought in the Battle of Britain and
they gained a reputation for aggressive aerial combat. In
late August, Squadron Leader G D M Blackwood
commanded 310 Squadron. Blackwood wrote about the
men in his squadron:
“The Czechs really did a fine job despite their aggressive
attitude. I think that their only problem was that as soon as
they saw an enemy that would make for a possible target,
nothing else mattered.”Czech pilots of No. 310 Squadron at RAF
Duxford in September 1940.

10. Josef František
(7 October 1914 – 8 October 1940)
A Czech fighter pilot and World
War II flying ace who flew for the air
forces of Czechoslovakia, Poland
and the United Kingdom. He is
famous as being one of the highest
scoring Allied aces in the Battle of
Britain with 17 ‘kills’ – one of just a
few ‘Triple Aces’.

11. Watch the film and listen
to Winston Churchil’s speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QArc2c_umzc

12. eTwinning project True stories from WW2

13. Resourses:
 https://www.rafa.org.uk/battleofbritain/
 http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/what-we-remember/second-world-war/battle-of-
britain/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwg47KBRDk7LSu4LTD8eEBEiQAO4O6r3c703Eb8FQ0QKeJMb3pTZJ92uZ0s
ueCjfycfN-aKtIaAk918P8HAQ
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill
 http://polishscottishheritage.co.uk/?heritage_item=aces-pilots-trained-scotland
 http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-polish-pilots-who-flew-in-the-battle-of-britain
 http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/world-war-two-in-western-europe/battle-of-
britain/czech-pilots-and-the-battle-of-britain/
 http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Polish-Pilots-the-Battle-of-Britain/