Poland`s air forces in Britain - 1940 - Polskie siły powietrzne w Anglii

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Uploaded by on Feb 10, 2010

01.05.1940

The RAF Air Staff were not willing to accept the independence and sovereignty of Polish forces. Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding later admitted he had been "a little doubtful" at first about the Polish airmen. British government informed General Sikorski that at the end of the war, Poland would be charged for all costs involved in maintaining Polish forces in Britain. Plans for the airmen greatly disappointed them: they would only be allowed to join the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, wear British uniforms, fly British flags and be required to take two oaths, one to the Polish government and the other to King George VI of the United Kingdom; each officer was required to have a British counterpart, and all Polish pilots were to begin with the rank of "pilot officer", the lowest rank for a commissioned officer in the RAF. Only after posting would anyone be promoted to a higher grade. Because of that, the majority of much more experienced Polish pilots had to wait in training centres, learning English Command procedures and language, while the RAF suffered heavy losses due to lack of experienced pilots. On June 11, 1940, a preliminary agreement was signed by the Polish and British governments and soon the British authorities finally allowed for creation of two bomber squadrons and a training centre as part of the Royal Air Force.

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Uploader Comments (VVojtekSoldierBear)

  • Ciekawe filmiki uploadujesz. Zupełnie jak Pathe1939, tylko z innego frontu.

  • @Husars - dzięki za komplement, ale nie śmiem się porównywać z Pathe. Po prostu zamieszczam materiały filmowe o udziale Polaków w IIWŚ.

Top Comments

  • "Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding later admitted he had been "a little doubtful" at first about the Polish airmen". - To mi przypomina scenę z "Battle of Britain" - repeat please. ;)

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All Comments (28)

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  • I only just learnt that the polish airforce helped Britain win the war (my father was one of them) and then, when the war was over, Britain handed them back to Stalin. In a documentary called 'The Poles Battle of Britain', it showed that in a grand military parade past the king after the war, the Poles were not invited and the Poles were utterly devastated at this shocking betrayal. Shame, shame, shame.

  • @woodpod whats wrong with u??dont u know that these pose fought for freedom in the world and this includes muslim people-in polsih lithuanian commonwelath people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds lived for centuries in peace side by side and u ahve problems with this now???

  • @woodpod Spot on.

  • Komu wierzyc...??? - znowu nie znana czesc historji...

    Teraz nawet Gen.Sikorski nie taki "piekny jak go maluja"...

    tygodnik/onet/pl/1,45576,druk.­html

    Po tygodnik i onet zmien spacje na kropke.

  • @woodpod You sure ? Or this is another bull shit from BNP? Poland Very Welkome in Britain?...Tell me thrue mate...asap ...Maverick

  • Thanks....thats nothing,just a piece of a REAL history...You know what I mean...At least we-poles,have a proof that we fought for You in that War,unlike some other groups who are claiming that,like muslims...

  • Thanks Pindol for sharing this, great footage here

  • nice march! 5

  • Dziekuje

  • Bo nastąpił odpowiedni podział rynku :) Po co rozbijać temat :)

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