When Polish pilots arrived in Great Britain, little was expected from the "gang of savages". Opinion about Poles changed slowly. What was the opinion of the British about Poles?
After the September defeat, the reconstruction of Polish military aviation began in France. The surplus of airmen was sent to Great Britain, but for a long time they were not used in any way. It was related to the lack of appropriate legal regulations. But as long as aviation was organizing over the Seine, the authorities saw no problem.
It appeared after the fall of France, when almost 6,500 air force soldiers were in Great Britain. The act regulating the presence of foreign armed forces in the United Kingdom was actually written on the knee. On its basis, on June 11, 1940, a bilateral agreement was signed in which the British agreed to form two bomber squadrons with a training center.
Over time, the number of airmen arriving in the British Isles grew, and so did the number of squadrons and training centers planned. On August 5, another agreement was signed, which provided for the creation of 4 bomber squadrons, 2 fighter squadrons and 1 squadron of cooperation with the army. Additionally, if the need arose, another three fighter squadrons were to be created.
"126 Adolf" shot down by 303 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. This clash gave the unit one of the first places in the war among fighter squadrons.
On the basis of the above agreements, bomber squadrons number 300 and 301, and fighter squadrons number 302 and 303 were formed. Initially, the units, due to differences in tactics and the lack of knowledge of the English language, had a double command:Polish and British. British officers who found their way into the new squadrons were not thrilled.
Difficult beginnings
Johnny Kent, assigned to Squadron 303 as the commander of squadron "A", complained in the pages of the book Poles are the best. Memories of a Canadian from 303 Squadron (Bellona 2017):
All I knew about Polish aviation was that it survived three days against the Luftwaffe, and I had no reason to suppose that when flying from England, they would show their best side. My new squadron commander, Major R.G. Kellett, perhaps not as depressed as I was, but certainly irritated by the fact that he had been appointed squadron commander consisting of two squadron commanders, an intelligence officer, a platoon clerk, and three senior non-commissioned ground officers. There were no Poles, no soldiers, no combat planes.
The first Poles arrived soon. Unfortunately, in the following days, the opinion about them did not improve in any way. On the contrary. Kent argued that his fears were not unfounded:
Some of the pilots have never flown retractable undercarriage planes before, and in Poland and France they got used to the fact that gas was added by pulling the lever backwards rather than pushing it to the rear. front. It is easy to imagine the misunderstandings these differences led to; we had several landings of planes with the landing gear retracted - the Canadian wrote.
Very close contacts with the French also created problems on the linguistic level. Few Poles spoke English, which was the biggest obstacle in the training process.
Among Poles, only two spoke a little English:one, a technical officer, had visited England a few years earlier and knew a bit of the language; the other could say in English, "Come on, guys!" - and that was it. (...) but they all spoke French. Ronald Kellett also spoke quite good French and Athol Forbes was fully bilingual which helped us a lot. Unfortunately my French was very poor so I had to learn some Polish.
Heinkel He 111 bombers over London during the Battle of Britain. The commander of the Polish 303 Squadron was then British airman Ronald Gustave Kellett.
The closer the British got to know Poles, the better the opinion of them as soldiers improved. However, it was not an easy and pleasant process. Poles complained about the way the training was conducted, emphasizing that many of them had already fought in the skies of Poland and France. The British complained about disrespect for procedures and frequent cases of insubordination.
Ultimately, however, the lack of discipline turned out to be good for the Poles. During the training flight, Ludwik Paszkiewicz separated from the grouping and shot down the first enemy plane credited to the squadron's account. The next day, the command found the squadron fully operational.
In battle
By September 1, Squadron 303 was operational, several Polish pilots were already flying in British squadrons. The first ones, at the beginning of August 1940, were Franciszek Gruszka and Władysław Szulkowski in the 65th Squadron. After the 302 and 303 squadrons entered service, the Poles became more recognizable in the air. Also due to lack of discipline.
Franciszek Gruszka was not only a lieutenant and participant in the Battle of Britain, but also one of the first pilots to fly on spitfires. He was buried in the Northolt Cemetery.
Cyril "Bam" Bamberger, who fought in the 610 and 41 squadrons during the Battle of Britain, recalled:
The normal pilot did not say a word from takeoff until landing, unless he had engine problems or saw the enemy plane. It was impossible to afford chatting on the air. Sometimes Poles talked to each other and blocked all communication in this way. As they spoke Polish, no one understood any of it. The squadron commander shouted:"Shut up!", But in the hustle and bustle of so many conversations, no one listened to him.
On the one hand, the Poles caused many educational problems, on the other hand, the British valued Polish pilots for their skills and fortitude. Joe Roddis, an aircraft mechanic serving in the 234th Squadron, recalled the silhouettes of two airmen:
Two pilots whom we had great respect for were former Polish sergeants - Klein and Szlagowski. They wanted to fly even when no one else decided to fly. One day a heavy fog fell over Middle Wallop. Even birds walked on the ground. Suddenly, a German flew over the airport and these two Poles were already sitting in the cockpits of their planes, shouting at the commander to let them go. "Not!" the commander replied and returned to the base building. But these two (...) began to taxi. (...) The commander was going to hell. Suddenly we heard a German plane flying overhead, followed by two spitfires spitting fire. Bullets were flying everywhere. They shot down a German. After landing, they were in for trouble! But that's why we liked them so much. They were there because they had a job to do, and nothing could stop them.
The fight of fighters over England was fierce. It wasn't just the machines that mattered, but the skill of piloting, strategy and confidence.
There were many more such opinions. The British admired the skill of pilotage, the extraordinary self-confidence and imagination of Poles. There was, however, something that surprised RAF fighters. They could not understand why the Poles are so stubbornly trying to eliminate their opponent completely. Peter Matthews of 1 Squadron believed that:
(...) The Poles were really great people, but they really wanted to kill the Germans. And so they did. (...) I saw Hurricanes, the pilots of which were firing parachutes at the Germans. I knew exactly who it was. They were boys from the 303 Squadron - Poles. They were convinced that "a good German is a dead German".
John A. Kent obtained his pilot's license at the age of 17. In 1940, he headed a squadron in the Battle of Britain. In the photo among other hunting aces.
Kent had a similar opinion, making a note in his memoirs:
Poles were pissed at me when I admitted that I couldn't bring myself to shoot this guy with a parachute. They reminded me of what happened this month when we were told that German fighters shot one or two of the pilots of the 1st Squadron parachuting. Then they asked me if it was true. I had to tell them that, as far as I know, yes. Then they asked:
- Can we too? (…)
There was no doubt that the Poles treat this game more seriously than we do.
On the ground
While the Poles gained the respect of their comrades in the air, things were not so good on the ground. Polish soldiers quickly gained a bad reputation, especially among the elderly, sedate residents of the suburbs and villages near London. Also among the female support staff it wasn't much better. The stately Mrs. Marian Orley, serving in the Women's Auxiliary Service of the Air Force (WAAF), claimed that:
Poles were cute, but very unruly. They liked to dance cheek to cheek. I remember one time returning to my quarters when one of them fell to his knees, hugged my legs and said, "I love you!" "You have a fiancée in Poland, you better think about her!" I replied. (...) When new Poles arrived at the base, I kept telling all the women from WAAF that they had to know only one word in Polish:"No". And at that base, not a single woman got pregnant.
Younger women no longer had such objections. Pat Pleasants, also serving in WAAF, recalled that pilots were from different countries - French, Americans, Czechs, Poles. I don't remember - she wrote so that there were too many Englishmen there. We relaxed and drank, and then spoke for them when they couldn't find the right words anymore. They didn't speak much English. I've had a lot of boyfriends. It was great.
In the photo Mirosław Ferić, Bogdan Grzeszczak, Jan Zumbach, Zdzisław Henneberg and Jonh Kent from 303 Squadron.
Many pilots serving with Poles claimed that keeping up with their drinking was a kind of ennoblement. Tradition in all squadrons was a farewell banquet in honor of the pilot departing to rest or another position. The alcohol poured in liters, especially when his departure was accompanied by a promotion and decoration. Kent wrote:
Before I left, the squadron organized for me the greatest casino party in Leconfield. (…) The party was absolutely fantastic, but I managed to hold on and at three in the morning, the only two still standing on our feet were the two of us:Johnny Zumbach, my Number Two, and me. And it was I who accompanied him to bed! This feat influenced my reputation among Poles quite significantly.
The opinion about Poles serving in the RAF was usually very good. They were generally considered to be great pilots with extraordinary skills. There was also much talk about their exploits on earth. On the one hand, they drank much more than other nations, on the other hand, they delighted the fair sex with their gallant behavior. Despite the initial fears and mutual distrust, both sides eventually convinced themselves.