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That was a wonderul video and I will support your channel so you keep making them. What's interesting about the 303 story are two movies both made in 2018 that feature the Sqadron: "Mission of Honor" and "Hurricane." Now I have a reason to watch both.
The WW2 version of the Winged Hussars at Vienna in 1683. Polish men arriving at the right time in the right place and defining history by doing it. I think we might need that again soon in france and england.
Yes , you are correct, not reckless , these Polish pilots ignored personal danger on a daily bases to become the most deadly flying squadron of their time . Their success in defeating the Luftwaffe stopped the planned invasion of Britain and changed the course of the war . This historic achievement continues to capture our imagination and our gratitude.
@@donaldwingent547 well they did'nt , if anything they made it more likely , it's not a free for all , based on revenge. Aircraft chasing Germans over the channel, means you have less planes for the next attack. It's was a lack of discipline, not seeing the larger picture. The RAF was stretched, you needed those aircraft back, the pilots rested, refuelled, rearm, repaired , you needed them back in the air to counter what was coming next. Luckily for the RAF they only made up 5%. Doing what the Polish did is why Poland fell, doing what the Brits did is why the UK didn't
@@davidrenton Britain survived because of the Englisg channel and because Hitler switched from attacking airfields to civilian targets when the RAF was just on the point of collapse. The British Army was routed in France barely escaping from Dunkirk after having lost most of it's equipment. RAF tactics were abysmal as the start of the Battle of Britain as they were still flying Vic formations or line astern. In addition they were helped by many foreigners who came to their aid from occupied Europe and Commonwealth countries (not to mention material aid from other countries), unlike the Poles who were betrayed by Britain after being invaded from two directions at the start of the war and betrayed by Britain again at the end of the War. I take it that you are English?
@@davidrentonyou couldn’t be more wrong Poland and Englands defenses were totally different. Poland was being attacked from two sides with ground/air support and no help. England however only got attacked from the air because an invasion was impossible until the RAF was destroyed. England also received military supplies/aid and people that Poland didn’t even though Poland was promised they’d get help but didn’t because England and France were all talk and didn’t have the military to help
I have nothing but the highest regard for these brave, gallant Polish airmen. They prosecuted their hatred of the Nazis to almost complete recklessness. My father was in the RAF and he told me about how brave they were and how much admiration he felt towards them. Stubborn, brave, men they were, and we were bloody lucky to have them!
Yes, people shouldn't use the phrases "Nazism", "Nazis", because it is associated with only one nationality. The terms "Nazism" and "Nazis" were invented after World War II by the German secret services as an abbreviation of "German National Socialism", "German National Socialist" to blur the responsibility of Germany and Germans for genocides, among others on the Polish nation and the J@wish nation.
The German narrative would like to blur the issue by calling the evil committed by its own actions, Nazism. Nazism is a German invention with the support of German society. The fact that some individuals or even countries collaborated does not change the image that it was German work. Political correctness and their own sins, many Europeans like to use the word Nazism, how significant it ....
My father-in-law was in the 303rd. He was a hell of a pilot. Shot down taken prisoner. Shipped to a German POW camp and escaped a month later and got back to England to fight again.
Top RAF Fighter Command "kill tallies" during the battle of Britain. Flt Lt Eric Stanley Lock (English) - 21 confirmed kills. Sgt James Harry Lacey (English) - 18 confirmed kills. Flt Lt Archie Ashmore McKellar (Scottish) - 17.5 confirmed kills. Sgt Josef František (Czechoslovakian) - 17 confirmed kills. Pilot Off Colin Falkland Gray (New Zealand) - 15.5 confirmed kills. Flt Lt Witold Urbanowicz (Poland) - 15 confirmed kills.
Get a grip ! Polish Pilots comprised just 5% of the RAF at the time of the Battle of Britain. They actually accounted for 7.5% of Luftwaffe losses......just 2.5% above average. The Poles also fought air battles in Poland, Belgium and France and...... lost in all three. In Great Britain they flew out of RAF Northolt, the most advantageous airfield in Keith Parks 11 Group. They had a lot more time to gain altitude and attack position than frontline airfields like Biggin Hill. That being said, the Poles were courageous and, having survived the air war in Poland, France and Belgium probably had the most experience. However, the Czechs also did very well as did the 95% of the RAF who were not Polish and accounted for the remaining 92.5% of Luftwaffe losses ! The victory in the Battle of Britain was won due the vision of Sir Hugh Dowding who organised the first integrated Air Defence System in the world. RADAR (Chain home), the Observer Core, and the Sector Command and Control meant that RAF Squdrons were accurately vectored to meet incoming bomber streams accurately and effectively. It was "Dowding's System" and the Designers and Builders of the Hurricanes and Spitfires and the bravery of ALL RAF Pilots that won the BoB not individual squadrons. Great Britain is forever grateful to all foreign Pilots who contributed and indeed our own lads (average age of just 20 years old) who comprised 80% of RAF Pilots ! Countries contributions are memorialised forever before the end credits in the film the "Battle of Britain". I salute them all ❤
@@garymoore2535 Well said. 303 were only in the Battle officially from 31st August 1940. Other RAF squadrons had been in action since Dunkirk, or earlier since 10th May. Other RAF squadrons, therefore, were equally experienced, if not more so, than the two Polish squadrons. And 303 were not the top scorers. They were the top CLAIMERS, but modern research shows 603 as the top scorers when actuals are set against German losses. I get fed up with the mantra that without the two Polish squadrons we would have lost the Battle of Britain!
The history of 303 Sqd sums up Polish gallantry in WW2. My father is buried in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. I noticed a few graves away was the grave of Bartlomiej Kuzma, a Major in the Carpathian Lancers. I wondered how this man came to buried in Grimsby and did some research to try and discover his story. Like the Polish airforce pilots, when their country fell to the Germans and Russians many of the soldiers made for France to continue the fight. The French shipped some of them to Syria to free up French soldiers. As France fell to the Germans, these soldiers crossed from French Syria to British Palestine to fight for the British. They were formed in to Polish units and fought with the British in the Middle East and then Europe. With Poland being left under Russian occupation many decided not to go back. A Polish Brigade ended up being in a camp on the outskirts of Grimsby until the unit was disbanded. Bartlomiej obviously decide to stay in Grimsby. He was awarded the Virtuti Militari, the Polish equivalent of the British Victoria Cross. A brave man from a brave nation.
The French told them to surrender, so they refused, and marched over the border, taking some Frenchies with them, to Palestine. They were shipped to North Africa to fight the Italians. Czech free forces also fought there.
@@danutarzepecka4056 Your welcome. When I visit my fathers grave it is good to pay my respects to this man to. We take our freedom for granted too much today. People from many nations paid a high price for it. For Bartlomiej Kuzma to have been awarded the Virtuti Militari, he is true hero👍
I worked for some time in the London Borough of Ealing, home to many of the former RAF Polish Squadron and contains (even now) as many Polish people as some large cities in Poland itself. One chap, a former member of 303 stated that they were not there to shoot down 'planes, but to kill Germans. Seemed reasonable at the time. His hatred was as strong as ever in the 1990's ....
You missed the most important reason why they shot down so many Germans. Yes, the hate was part of it. The British pilots were trained to open fire from 300 to 400 meters behind the Germans, the Poles open fire 100 meters behind them. More destruction less bullets.
Their training and experience was so much better than that of the very young British rookies the RAF was forced to send up. The video makes this point quite well. This also explains the much better survival rate of the Polish pilots (the video suggests at some point that few survived, but gives more correct figures later).
British 603 Squadron was actually the highest scoring CONFIRMED KILL squadron in the Battle of Britain, and nearly all their kills were Bf109s. The Poles helped but let's not go overboard. Less than 5% of lost German planes in the Bob were taken out by the Poles.
@@lyndoncmp5751 Yes, but the Battle of Britain was ALMOST lost to the Germans. The Polish contribution and boost in morale possibly saved the day! And let's not forget the Hand of God in not letting the evil Nazis to achieve their goal of world conquest.
It’s experience more than anything, before Top Gun opened the US knew that if you survived 1 dogfight you were likely to survive another. So these Polish pilots kept improving every time they went up.
@@HermanFickewirth Thats actually a myth. More modern analysis now shows that the Luftwaffe had already failed BEFORE the Polish squadron got activated in combat. The Luftwaffe only had a short window to succeed, and that was early on in July when the RAF was weaker. Already by the end of August the RAF had more available pilots than the Luftwaffe and British aircraft production was now keeping pace and replacing planes. It was the Luftwaffe that couldn't sustain it's losses by then. Even during the two week bombing of the airfields tactic last week in August/first week in September the Luftwaffe lost more planes than the RAF on every single day except one. They lost the attritional fight. The Luftwaffe shot it's bolt already in August by failing to defeat the RAF even before the Poles joined in. Too many people, including older historians only concentrated on the RAF and never focused on the problems and losses the Luftwaffe had. The Luftwaffe had more problems than the RAF. As we can now see. Stephen Bungay's work destroys old myths. Around 2,950 pilots fought in the Battle of Britain. It didn't come down to 145 Poles. That's an insult to the 2,800 others.
My polish grandfather was working in the coal mines in scranton pennsylvania america . when Germany invaded Poland september 1 1939. Then russian invaded poland september 17 1939 . My grandfather tried to go back to poland to fight alongside his brothers. He could not make it back so he joined the american military. Served six years on the battleship north carolina as a Navy corpsman. My grandfather on his death bed saying his prayers and Polish made all his grandsons promise him. If any country invades poland we will fight to protect the Polish way of life. Rest in peace grandpa you'll always be my hero paul peter zaleski🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱 . The polish people are the forgotten people betrayed and backstabbed And forgot about. And still overcame because poland only kneels to god...
Remember: the Polish people; ... because Poland ... ; my Polish grandfather; Scranton: Pennsylvania; Russians invaded Poland. In short, try to use capital letters were they are due.
The lowest rank of flyers in the RAF was Sergeant Pilot. Many working class RAF pilots were Sergeants, as was Sgt Pilot Josef Frantisek of 303 squadron, a Czeckoslovak, one of the leading aces of the Battle of Britain. Hats off to the Poles and the oft unmentioned Sergeant pilots
Frantisek wasn't a team player in any of the airforces to which he belonged. He fought as a lone wolf, hiding in clouds waiting for stragglers. He died in Oct 1940 while doing his solo patrol.
There were also Junior NCOs, Corporal, LAC AC2 and AC 1 airmen in the Battle of Britain. They manned gun turrets and radar sets in Defiants and Blenheims but have been totally ignored. They were the Few within the Few
I grew up across the street from one of the pilots of 303 in a small farming town in Canada. Sadly Tad passed away when I was about 11 or 12. I didn't find out until several years later who he was and what he did during the battle of Britain. After school he and his wife Theresa watched me and my sister. I remember seeing models of a hurricane and a Dakota and a small panel from possibly a hurricane mkII. I knew they 303 squadron were good but not 14:1 good, any day you learn something is a great day. May these fine men rest in Peace. They are true heroes that won the battle. Squadron leader Kent and his Canadian 2IC (sadly can't recall his name) lead them the way that worked best.
@@Bugnetblue oh I do agree to an extent. Kent was the squadron leader and knew enough to let them do what they the poles did best. They proved themselves with shitty aircraft and as soon as they got a proper fighter they started kicking butt and sending the Huns to smoking holes in the ground.
the circumstances of Josef František's death were described in Arkady Fiedler's book "Dywizjon 303". Arkady Fiedler, a Polish officer and reporter, was stationed with the 303 Squadron during the Battle of England and was to describe their exploits to raise the morale of the fighting Poles. A great read, written literally in the heat of battle.
Polish 302 Squadron mainly based at Duxford was the first Polish Squadron to start operations. Also it sounded like the first mention of Frantisek said he was Chechen. He was Czech, also called Czechoslovakian
@@nancyjanzen5676 at the time Czechia and Slovakia one and the same: the country was called Czechoslovakia with it's dissolution taken effect on December 31, 1992. For years - decades, really - that country was under CCCP control and part of the Warsaw Pact. Since 1992 Czechia and Slovakia willingly part of the EU since 2004 (Slovakia also uses the Euro since 2009). Also NATO countries (full membership), fisrt Czechia in 1999 followed by Slovakia in 2004. As other ex-eastern block countries during the cold war, I'm trully happy to see them with their european familly (not mention the EU, but as European brothers, which is much more). Visited some of them and they're outstanding with outstanding people. Their culture is also amazing and I'll never forget the first time I went on work to Prague. Was also very well received in Warsow, Poland. Including the Baltic states that also decided to join this big and diverse european family. Together we'll shall move forward happier in the near future, not forgetting what's now happening in the lands of Ukraine... Cheers!
And as we know Hitler "invaded" Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of WWII. Given part of it by Britain and France...then Hitler rolled into the rest of it.
@@Maddog-xc2zv Unfortunately, Slovakia has now decided to stop aid to Ukraine, with the advent of a new government, who appear to follow the Hungarian line.
To my mind, the Poles were so like the planes they flew . Under rated and unglamorous, they and their Hurricanes took the Lufwaffa's measure and prooved every bit their equal! Well done!
Thanks for this wonderful, inspiring video. My uncle Ludec flew with the 303. I remember, these were arrogant cocky bastards but enormously popular, especially with the ladies! I was just a young 'un. His wi gman was Janusz Jaruselki, who many years later, was the chief test pilot for Canada's AVRO Arrow.
The saddest thing was, and to the disgrace of Great Britain, was the Polish Forces were not allowed to march in the Victory Parade in London, in 1946. The Labour Government under Clement Attlee didn't want to upset Uncle Joe Stalin. I was there, near Buckingham Palace and remember some of the marching. I was a 6year old kid and my 'Aunty' Margaret took me. She was a neighbour and I'm eternally grateful for her kindness for taking me!
@@pippin1ful I heard about that from a few of my great uncles. Two of them were stationed over there around that time. Neither one forgave the Brits for that. Britain never "stood alone" during that time.
@@rafalganowicz1939 I have felt ashamed by that Labour Government all my life. You Polish stood by Britain in the air and on land throughout the war. Labour gave the Soviets jet engine technology: the RollsRoyce Nene to power the MiG15 and later developments. Remember Monté Cassino!
@rafalganowicz1939 When Britain stood alone! Which Britain did. means the last one standing in europe. Nothing to do with a few volunteers going to Britain to help.
Polish soldiers and pilots give them their all and this is how they were repaid with no home to come back to "The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies, it comes from those you trust the most"
I had the honour of knowing Squadron Leader Ronald Gustave Kellett. I shared a few scotches while on occasional visits to his farmhouse at Dingleden in Kent. We discussed rugby and his art, but never discussed the war. At the time I didn't know of his war service. He was a nice old boy, but could be cantankerous. Most war heroes never spoke of their service. Rest In Peace, Winco! Thanks for your hospitality!
@@richardsymonds5159 My Grandfather spoke very little about his service in WW1. The Somme and all that. Dad said very little about being severely wounded after D Day in WW2. Same with Wing Commander RG Kellett: nothing to brag about.
I’ve read it 3 times, what a pleasure! We Poles, had always felt like second class citizens, looking up to the west for rescue. Ww2 and Russia’s oppression had an impact.
@@AgataTlalka Poles have no reason to feel like second class citizens, _at all,_ as a Dane I have nothing but admiration for you guys, you basically saved Europe from being overrun in 1683, and your gallant contribution to RAF meant that they had the crews necessarry to drop weapons, ammunition, and explosives to our resitance fighters, effectively ensuring that Denmark as a country didn't end up on the wrong side of history. Oh, and I've been to Poland a couple of times, lovely country and fantastic people, stay being awesome.🙂
Poland pays extreamly high price in a WW2...for freadom.. Atacked from Hitler and Stalin in 1939 Warshov upraisings.... And left from the west in 1945 to Stalin Realy great natione.....all respects from Cr🌞atia....to P🙂land....🍀🖖🌹
It's a fact that many Poles and other nations feel betrayed by West during the Conference in Tehran and Yalta, where Roosevelt and Churchill just played to Stalin's wishes. Thus Eastern Europe becoming Russian playground and source of cheap resources and goods. The worst thing is that both of the Polish governments, one in London and the other under Communist leadership simply lied to their soldiers and public about the true political situation. Also Britain still didn't allow secret files like the one concerning death of General Sikorski, and other documents regarding Poland during the WW2 to be viewed by Polish history experts. Who knows what they might hide. And now the EU government we are getting screwed again - ah, these bright politicians :(
Thank you for telling this very important story. Never stop telling the story of how the Poles fought against fascism from the first day of the war up until the last day of the war. And they couldn’t even be beaten when Warsaw was burned down
I grew up just a few hundred yards from Northolt Airport, it's still in commission, mostly utilised for various government ops and VIP flights. Outside of the wire there's a magnificent memorial to the Polish pilots, hopefully, it's still there.
I grew up there too James. (Exmouth Rd) Watched the aircraft in and out. Many damaged. We owe these men so much. The memorial was still there last time I visited. Nine years ago.
There is a very interesting book "Blood on their Wing Tips: A Second World War Timeline for No. 303 Kosciuszko Polish Squadron at RAF Northolt" by Nina Britton Boyle. She was a resident of Northolt during the war and heard and saw these fighters flying over her home.
Great video about the legend that is 303 squadron. The determination and bravery of these men should never be forgotten and it's brilliant videos like this that help to keep their memory alive.
You gave me a goose bumps with that video! One thing worth to mentioned - in France polish pilots also were using Dewointe d.520 (I don’t know if there is translation to english, but there is a book „I fought under sky of France” of Wacław Król. He described it in details how big change it was comparing to P-11c. The most impressive thing was to hide landing gears in wings. Later he fought also in England). And Josef Frantisek was from Czech Republic not Chechen :) Once again thank you for that video!
The Brit's where so ignorant in the beginning. The Poles where tremendous. It's unfortunate that the Brit's were so arrogant to accept not only the Poles.
Very interesting. God Bless the Polish people. A lot of their accomplishments in history a lot of people don't know about, so I'm glad there are videos like this.
I am so impressed with the author of this video who portraited this episode of the war with objectivism and even a tone of sympathy for the Polish pilots. It is to a sharp contrast to a lot of negative and not truthful commentaries about Polish soldiers who were so incredibly brave, and many of them suffered the ultimate sacrifice. Importantly, Polish soldiers were fighting according to their homeland tradition "Bóg, Honor, Ojczyzna."
An excellent video! My parents were both Polish and came to Britain after the war. My Dad had a somewhat similar history to those Polish pilots. After an epic journey from occupied Poland he joined the Allied forces in Palestine and fought in The 2nd Polish Tank Corps and subsequently joined The Commandos in North Africa and Italy. What all these men endured and their great courage is hard to imagine but you made their motivation very clear.
I wish I could like this video 10 times instead of just once. Absolutely outstanding, wonderful research and presentation, but also a mind boggling level of complex editing. You deserve all the success you get, well done. A worthy tribute to those awe-inspiring Polish heroes.
Hi there, just wanted to say how much I was moved by and enjoyed this video highlighting the courage and excellence of the Polish fighter pilots. Having Polish connections myself and hearing my Polish father-in law's experiences your depictions of their valour brought tears to my eyes. Also I must say how much I appreciated your quality of pronunciation of so many of these British and Polish surnames. It shows great attention to detail. Subscribed.
Thanks Mr. TJ3 History, you did an outstanding job by presenting this video. Paying tribute to the Polish 303 Sqn. and Aviation History. Greeting from Mexico City.
I'm a veteran of American nuclear subs and I come from a long line of veterans. I'm a bit of tough critic when it comes to military history videos. You have done a fantastic job with the story of the Polish pilots. Keep up the great work!
Yes, and that is spelled Zurakowski. I did a whole section on him but it seems to have been removed. This goes on a lot now, to Canadians on the internet.
In 2019, two feature films were released about the Poles in the RAF -- one was made in Britain (Hurricane) and one in Poland (303 Squadron). Both portrayed the heroism and humanity of the Polish pilots quite superbly.
Was trying to find this comment. I actually managed to get myself as an extra in this and am named in the credits. My family are Polish so a proud moment for me
Not bad, but with a certain amount of BS and controversy at the the end. They were not forced to go to Poland after the war; and the invite to the 1946 Victory Parade was indeed given to Warsaw and later to the Polish government in exile.
Historical notes - I know Frantisek was from Czechoslovakia - I just used the wrong word. That my mistake. Thanks - other notes - First off, I have done my best guys. Polish names are really hard. Sorry if I did not get them perfect. I'm sure I mispronounced something else somewhere too. Also, the PZL P.11 aircraft used by the Polish air force is actually not in my flight simulator. So I used it with the closest aircraft I could find. Also, some of the archival footage used here may not be perfect, but there is only so much footage that exists! So I did my best. I'm sure I made more mistakes that I will add here later, but for now I hope this is all! Thanks so much for watching everyone.
They ARE NOT hard to pronounce properly if you make half an effort. I have not a drop of Polish blood in me but when I went to visit, I made a point of at least being able to PRONOUNCE names properly and I was NOT MAKING A VIDEO. When you don't even ATTEMPT to state names properly, you INSULT all Poles. I admire them too much to do as you.
I had the honor of nowing one of such air fighters. He was not a pilot he was a bomber. He was shot down 7 or 8 times and alwais got back to England to fight again. He lived at my fathers house in Venezuela till his death. I have a picture of him with my family.
Uhhh…I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of 🥴 Venezuela was where the war criminals hid out the rest of their lives….when they couldn’t return home without facing prosecution after the wars, SMH! You probably harboured an awful war criminal! 🤦🏼♂️ Absolutely nothing to be proud of!
Great work, really impressive. The original photos from time make the video. Overall it is a great historical input. But there's one thing I have to say Josef Frantisek was from Czech Republic. Now you have to make a video about team of the aces. Unit that was called Cyrk Skalskiego, Polish Fighting Team, they were fighting in Libya. The were made out of the most experienced Polish pilots from all Polish Squadrons in England. Great story. Thank you very much for bringing that to the wide public of You Tube. Best of luck in all your works.
Actually Josef Frantisek was neither from Chechnya or The Czech Republic. He was from the former country of Czechoslovakia. The country of Czechoslovakia was dissolved on 31 December 1992. It was divided into two new countries: The Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. This came to be known as, The Velvet Revolution.
"Cyrk Skalskiego" = Skalski's Circus. This is a good reminder of Stanisław Skalski. After WWII, this extraordinary airman returned to Poland, but from 1948 to 1956 he was brutally imprisoned by the Stalinists, undergoing terrible torture and spending a year on death row. But after release and rehabilitation, he returned to the Polish Air Force as a colonel and even qualified to fly MiG-15s. Secretary-General of the Aeroclub of the Polish Peoples' Republic. Passing into the Reserves in 1972, he was promoted to Brigadier-General in 1988. After the fall of Communism (he was never a Party member), he got involved in an agrarian populist movement, dying in 2004 after being completely robbed by his caregivers. [ See Wikipedia]
Good video, thanks. But the Huricane used under the Batle of Brittain, had (sadly..) not 4 20 mm canon, but 8 .303 Browning mashineguns. Douglas Bader said in an interwiev about the polish squadron "The difference between them and us was, we shot on mashines with black crosses on, they kept going until they were shure that everybody on board was dead!"
Awesome doc, TJ! Great job covering 303 & their contribution to the Battle of Britain! I think it would be a good idea to do more Squadron stories like this!
@@lyndoncmp5751 Here are some other good ones: 609 Squadron (which scored 100 victories first and had some colorful members, including a few fellow Americans). 601 Squadron: The Millionaires’ Squadron 74 “Tiger” Squadron 43 “Fighting Cocks” Squadron To name a few
I bumped into two of these pilots in Australia many many years later, one Stan Birtus at Cooma NSW . I had such confidence in his flying I let him fly my Cassutt 111M aircraft (a tricky beast to fly).He would on occasions show his log book to any one who was interested. Later I met his squadron Leader at Canberra when he was working at a camping equipment store. I feel blessed that I actually met two of these famed pilots in their later years.
Good document but obviously made in the U.S.. Kent was from Winnipeg. When reading or looking at ww2 documentaries from U.S. Canada or any mention of Canadians disappears. Our country is wiped out from history. 🤣🤣 But look at Canada's ww2 war material production it is incredible.
19:10 - pilot Josef Frantisek was not Chechen but he was Czech. You can verify this information on Wikipedia... Chechnya is in Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia was in the center of Europe, and shared northern border with Poland.
The pilots of the second war, were definitely not recless. They were in fact very calm verry calculating , hunters who were in a situations that is exceedingly dangerous , that requires both pilot and aircraft had to constantly push themselves and their aircraft to the extremes of dedication intelligence and calculateting mind.
One thing that author didn't mention was tactics used by Poles. They were asked about them by British pilots who saw their scores. The difference between the two nations methods was the distance and aiming. Poles were getting much closer to german planes and aimed in front of them.
The time to stop the German Nazis was at Munich 1938. The British and French were considering, reluctantly an offer from the Soviet Union to join in a wave against Germany to protect the Czechoslovakia. There was an Anglo-French Military Mission in Moscow at the time to plan such a joint effort to kill off German Fascism. The Soviets need to cross Polish territory to reach Czechoslovakia the then military/Right Wing Government of Poland refused to allow the Soviets to cross to Czechoslovakia. The Polish Government then made territorial demands on Czechoslovakia and annexed Trans-Olza. Of course now we know that the German generals were certain that they would be defeated in such a war and had plans to overthrow Hitler and the Nazis and immediately sue for peace. With a little wisdom by the Polish Government of 1938 the whole world could have been saved the catastrophe of WWII.
I do not know if they saved the world, but their scores speak for them. It was stupid to let them out of the game for a simple trouble of language. Those guys had three campaigns in their past, Poland, Belgium, France. Of course they were good pilots !😮
Gilles....I do know......Polish Pilots made up just 5 % of the RAF and shot down 7.5 % of the Luftwaffe's losses.......that is just 2.5% better than average. The RAF did not "actively have to hunt" enemy aircraft. Dowdings Control and Command system actively vectored RAF squadrons to intercept points very effectively. Flak from Anti Aircraft Batteries signalled where the Luftwaffe Bomber Squadrons were......just watch out for Bf109 Top Cover and help yourself ! Tally Ho
19:03 Josef František was not Chechen, he was Czech ;) He escaped Czechoslovakia with some colleagues after Hitler took over their country. He eventually joined the Polish Airforce which ironically was also quite slow to take advantage of trained Czech pilots.
Amazing story and amazing research on your part. It just goes to show how hatred for the Germans and a thirst for vengeance can be a powerful motivator that produced impressive results.
Josef Frantisek was Tjetjen???? Where did you get that from, he was Czech (as from Czechoslovakia!), one of the many czech pilots serving in RAF, having identical destiny as the polish pilots!!!
The members of squadron 303 deserve every bit of honor and respect that can be heaped upon them. Should I ever visit Europe I should wish to meet the brave people of Poland more than anything else. As history takes a dark turn in front of us, it is good for all of us to remember that such feats of bravery and courage may be needed again. It is good to remember that all free people should be ready to fight if they need to. Much respect from America to my Polish brothers and sisters!
Well done TJ! I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and, although I can not say your pronunciation was spot on, you did a quite credible job. Just two things to add: Between September and December 1943 Witold Urbanowicz transferred to the USAAF and flew with Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers where he was credited with 11more victories. The 303 Squadron was originally formed as the Kosciuszko Squadron by American Word War One veterans to help fight the bolsheviks in 1919-1920, hence the "stars and stripes" motif on the squadron badge.
He's just perpetuating the WWII myth of 'evil Nazis intent on world domination' which is a total lie. H*tler tried everything reasonable to avoid a continent-wide war, but Britain and France were determined to make it happen on behalf of the bankers.
1:26 Germany took more like half of Poland not entire country. Let's not forget that 17 day after German invasion Soviets joined the operation from East side.
@@bobsakamanos4469 Bur if it wasn't fur Germany, there would be no WWII. Google up front page of NYT from September 1st, 1939, when press stated the obvious. It says DERMAN ARMY ATTACKS POLAND, not Nazi army attacks Poland
@@bobsakamanos4469all germans were germans,war crimes were made by whole society,not just political party including regular army (wehrmacht) as well as civil administration while needed (termination of ghetto's) - there were job offers with solid salary for service in concentration camps in local newspaper's in germany / not only germans made a war crimes but ukrainians keen to make crime's as well while service at concentration camps (watchers and murderers) or in ss formation's (ss galizien)
I appreciate the research you put into this presentation; appears very factual and professional, Thank you for a job well done. Poland needs such PR ,to regain its rightful place among heroes .
The British highway A40 passes by Northolt "Aerodrome" (as anyone my age calls it) now poshed up to be a convenient landing spot close to London for our Royals and well connected glitterati. The junction with the road to Ruislip is well known as "The Polish War Memorial" even to folks who know nothing of WW2 as it features in many road reports of jammed traffic. Every year there's a ceremony at the Memorial with full military honours - the attendees ever less, in fact I think the last guys who had any personal involvement are long gone. But they are Remembered!
The squadrons' origins can be traced back to 1919 and it's formation by American volunteers during Poland's war with the Russians. One of these Americans being Merian C Cooper, producer and creator of the original 1933, "King Kong".
No. That squadron origin in England - agreement between London and the Polish Government in Exile. 1919 - gap - 1939. Cooper was in USA then to Far East 1940s
Merian C Cooper's great, great, great,..., grandfather was one of the crew of American warship "Wasp", on which Polish cavalry general Kazimierz Pulaski died, wounded during battle of Savannah.
My dad asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday in August of 1969, I had just turned 10. The Battle of Britain had just come out at the local Drive in. That said, my Dad, me, and a three of my siblings went to see the Ghost & Mr. Chicken and the Battle of Britain at the drive in. I'll never forget that night.
"One, the R.A.F is not a flying circus, two strict R.T procedure is to be observed at all times, and it is never, I repeat never to be used, for private Polish chit-chat, finally and God alone know why I've received the follow signal, congratulations as of today this squadron is now operational, signed by Keith Park A.O.C 11 Group, hooray!"
Great doco of a great battle saga . To add, a few poles learned enough English to get into regular British squadrons, were they also served with distinction . The real gut punch was those that managed to return to poland after the war were treated by the soviets as war criminals , not to be trusted ,never received the recognition they richly earned . The Poms have remembered and honored them several times though .
I read somewhere that after the war Polish pilots that were still in England were thrown out of England by the Brits and ordered to go home to their country where they were then treated as war criminals and imprisoned by the Russians.
That was amazing! I've never seen a better WWII documentary in my, so far, very long life. Kudos to you, sir. I am a better person for having watched this video.
I wonder how many of the Polish pilots went home only to find themselves living behind the iron curtain. That had to be truly heart breaking for such brave men.
Luckily for them no Polish service personnel were forcefully repatriated from Britain after WW2. After the theft of Poland by the soviets the UK govt of Clement Attlee rushed the "1946 UK Polish Resettlement Act" through parliament which gave FULL UK citizenship and residency rights to nearly 300,000 Polish ex-service personnel AND their immediate families. Some Poles iun the west did understandably CHOOSE to return to Poland after WW2, but by all accounts lived (and died) regretting that naive choice. If you'd like a COMPLETELY different take on UK Polish relations after WW2, then have a listen to this gentleman, Victor Komarnicki, who flew with the RAF during WW2 as a bomber pilot with 300 (Polish) Sqd. ua-cam.com/video/kyjrGSuS8Po/v-deo.html Notice if you will HIS account and FIRST HAND experience of how Poles were treated in the UK post WW2. A COMPLETELY different view that is a WORLD away from the treatment Mark (and multiple contemporary commenters in these threads portray). it is also "straight from the horse's mouth" so to speak. What an incredibly decent respectful & honourable gentleman, FAR removed from the general standard of MANY of the contemporary clueless Polish commenters in these threads.
@@piotrg8892 Kompletna bzdura. Prosimy o zapoznanie się ze szczegółami "Ustawy o przesiedleniu Polaków z Wielkiej Brytanii z 1947 r." ze strony internetowej brytyjskiego rządu, Był to akt parlamentu, który nadał w brytyjskim prawie PEŁNE brytyjskie obywatelstwo i prawa pobytu (w tym dostęp do WSZYSTKICH świadczeń socjalnych) WSZYSTKIM polskim żołnierzom, którzy służyli w brytyjskich siłach zbrojnych podczas II wojny światowej ORAZ ich rodzinom. Ani jeden polski żołnierz / lotnik / marynarz nie został przymusowo repatriowany pod koniec II wojny światowej, ale niewielka liczba, co zrozumiałe, WYBRAŁA powrót do ojczyzny i żałowała tej decyzji. Należy pamiętać o maksymie "Lepiej milczeć i być uważanym za głupca, niż mówić i rozwiać wszelkie wątpliwości".
Battle of Britain Spitfires & Hurricanes flown by Poles, or anyone else, were from RAF Squadrons & carried RAF markings. I believe that some Polish-flown aircraft did have a red/white square on the engine casing.
This was a fantastic Historical account of the immense contribution the Polish Pilots made in the Battle of Britain. I saw the original movie in the 60's. This was a very well made documentary, in which it cites the Polish Pilots and has Photos and Names to identify these heroes who basically turned the tide of this Air Campaign in favor of the RAF. I will reiterate that the Polish Pilots Heroism is recognized by Lord Marshal Dowding in this Video and Rightly so! Good Video. I shared this with my Dad, a Retired Jet Engine Engineer. He will love this!
'who basically turned the tide of this Air Campaign in favor of the RAF.' No, they didn't. They played an important role, as did 2,800 other British & non- British pilots, and the control system within which they worked. But please don't exaggerate.
"turned the tide of the Air Campaign" ?? Nonsense. Had Goering not ordered his fighters to stay with the bombers about the time that the Poles entered the fray, their Hurricanes wouldn't have stood a chance. The LW defeated themselves, although they were never going to invade in 1940 anyway.
Good research. Well done. Unsung heroes of the battle of Britain. During the victory parades, at the end of the war, the Polish were not allowed to participate in fear that Stalin would get mad.
Nonsense. Want to know what happened? Read on. With regard to the non-appearance of Polish forces during the "1946 Victory parade" the problem lay SQUARELY with POLAND. The first invites sent out by the UK Labour Govt of Clement Attlee to ALL the nations who had fought for the Allied cause during WW2 were sent out weeks in advance of the parade. The Polish invite in particular was quite understandably delivered to the Polish "Provisional Government of National Unity" ( the "TRJN" or Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej) based in Warsaw, which was the OFFICIAL Polish govt as recognised by the international community in the form of the "United Nations", and NOT just by Britain alone, the TRJN was the same govt that it was intended the London based Polish nationalist Govt in exile would become an intrinsic part of, as agreed to by ALL sides at the Yalta conference in Feb 1945.... (although the soviets subsequently saw to it that this never actually happened). This invite sent to Warsaw immediately raised a storm of protest with the Polish nationalist govt in exile based in London who, with some justification, felt they had been sidelined in this matter, their anger was supported by many British MPs and members of the British public. With only days left before the parade was due to take place, and with no reply or even acknowledgement of the British invite from the OFFICIAL Polish TRJN govt in Warsaw, the British govt then belatedly sent out a SECOND INVITE to the Polish Govt in Exile in London, (as well as directly to individual senior Polish service personnel), but as one united group they CHOSE to shun the invites to register their anger and disgust at being treated as "second fiddle" to the Warsaw govt. And the final Ignominy? The Warsaw TRJN govt never answered or even acknowledged the original invite from the UK (as neither did the USSR or Yugoslavia) and never attended the parade either. As you can see the Polish "non appearance" was solely down to a poisonous bitter mix of political hatred (from Warsaw) and hubris (from the London Poles), and NOTHING to do with this imaginary "Poles weren't invited to the parade" BS. As I've described above the Polish nation was actually the ONLY allied nation to receive TWO invites to the parade.
Josef František would probably be a czech pilot, not a chechnyan origin……. Compliments for a such a good video! Brave guys from 303 Sqdn. just had THE time of their lives🙏🙏
@@dusankocisevic6823 Funnily enough, in Poland they deliberately mispronounce Škoda as "Skoda"... because in Polish, "szkoda" (pronounced as "shkoda") means "damage" or "pity" 🙂
@@TJ3 Thanks! I have been watching your videos for about a year now. They are really good! Also, in wwii my great uncle flew spitfires against Rommel in the desert, but the air was so thin there that none of their squadron had practised parachute jumps!
My late Mother served as Air Control with 303 (Polish Squadron) in the air they were 'Very Aggressive'. After landing they treated other ranks with respect. I recommend the book "For Your Freedom And Ours" by Lynne Olson & Stanley Cloud. Part Two. "The Betrayal" shows how the Post War Government CRP*T on Polish Forces.
INCREDIBLE STORY THANK YOU !! that's a great job you did on this wow those men are some of the bravest men EVER!! there commitment to stoping the Nazis so inspiring. I loved this. I'm a subscriber now❤
I think I read somewhere that in the Battle of Britain there was a ratio of 6 Hurricanes to 1 Spitfire the Hurikane is made of wood, but the Spitfire is made of expensive aluminum so the battle was done mainly by Hurricanes
@@tihomirrasperic there were roughly 50% more Hurricanes, but that was changing as Spitfire production ramped up in Aug-Sep-Oct. You can blame Lord Nuffield (financial supporter of the BUF) for delaying construction of Castle Bromwich Factory for 2 years. He was fired in June 1940 and Supermarine management took over. Lord Nuffield (Morris) must have had shares in Hawker.
World War 2 is replete with a great many little events and contributions, any of which may have had a pivotal role in changing a battle that was, in turn, pivotal to that massive war's outcome. Jimmy Doolittle's raiders. Claire Chenault's Flying Tigers. McClusky and his dive bombers at Midway. Zhukov's assignment in advance of Stalingrad. Mitchell's flight group for Operation Vengeance. Hitler's decision to bomb London in retaliation for the night raid on Berlin, instead of concentrating on RAF fields. And many many more examples. Never knew about these Polish guys -- very cool! Thanks for the video.
You forgot about Churchill telling Hitler to shove his "appeal to reason" up his arse. Without which all the other points you mention would likely not have happened.
I am so proud of these Polish fighters and doing the right things. I fear where we would be without this brave generation fighting. Thank you for serving and sacrificing for all us that follow. Especially since we are on the verge of WW3
I'm glad to see this topic getting attention. The video was quite good, better than I expected looking at the title (with the stereotype of "recklessness"). However, I have 2 small corrections: John Kent was Canadian, and the first formed Polish fighter Squadron in RAF was the 302 City of Poznań Squadron. Edit: I should not have written my comment before watching the video till the end. Josef František was CZECH not CHECHEN. 😂
Small correction. First 303 squadron's kill on 30th August by Paszkiewicz took place in vicinity of St. Albans. During training period in August they never flew to the coast but only to north - west.
Sadly their ending after WW2 was not a happy one as told in "Bloody Foreigners: Untold Battle of Britain" which was more a political decision towards the Soviets (should have pointed the middle finger at Stalin rather than 'pacify' him).
Taking on the USSR would be suicide without the US. Enough young lads were already dead and Britain had to rebuild its population and GDP. Immigration was ramped up as a result.
I was born just after WW2 - an early “Boomer”. The RAF were still flying Spitfires and Hurricanes back then. I lived near a fighter station and grew to love the sound of those Merlin engines. Last weekend a Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Flight flew over the town where I live on both saturday and sunday afternoons. Social media notified us of the times of the fly past and I was able to go outside and watch and listen to it in a clear blue sky. Brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps.
What is really remarkable is that Polish pilots achieved this flying a fighter that was somewhat inferior to the bf109. The Hawker Hurricane was slower than the bf109 but it could out turn it and it had a better roll rate. Polish pilots were experts at managing those strengths and very disciplined not to fire until they were within 100 meters of their target to conserve ammo.
Compared to the flying bedsteads they'd gone to war in against the luftwaffe in Sept 1939, swapping to the Hawker Hurricanes, which equipped the majority of RAF fighter squadrons during the battle of Britain, would be like swapping a model T ford for a Bugatti Veyron.
Great vid. There were however aces from many other nationalities like New Zealand, South Africa, Czechoslovakia and of course the UK. All heroes who saved the UK and allowed it to be a base to eventually destroy Nazi Germany.
15:21 " Repeat Please " During BoB , 303 squadron were stationed in Northold - which was part of 11 Group . 302 Squadron were in 12 Group , and became operational on August 15th , 1940 . .
Absolutely 💯 loved this video. Very well done. Excellent. Have a Masters degree in WW 2 history and specifically aviation... There were a significant number of sergeant pilots, however. Thank you, as a pilot myself I also loved the film Battle of Britain. Thanks again
I cannot continue to make these videos without your support. Please consider joining my Patreon here if you would like these to keep coming: Patreon.com/TJ3History - Thank you!
You have 160k subscribers though
@@sinistercharger Flying out to interview veterans and paying editors, camera guys, and other help gets very expensive.
That was a wonderul video and I will support your channel so you keep making them. What's interesting about the 303 story are two movies both made in 2018 that feature the Sqadron: "Mission of Honor" and "Hurricane." Now I have a reason to watch both.
You don't deserve our support. You are making puerile errors of fact. Go back to your sanitation business (cleaning toilets).
Bullshitting Poles. Dont forget you couldnt save your own country, so you sure didn't save the world. Helped, but thats it.
These Polish pilots were not reckless. They were true heros. That placed their country and cause above their own lives. God bless them.
The WW2 version of the Winged Hussars at Vienna in 1683. Polish men arriving at the right time in the right place and defining history by doing it. I think we might need that again soon in france and england.
Yes , you are correct, not reckless , these Polish pilots ignored personal danger on a daily bases to become the most deadly flying squadron of their time . Their success in defeating the Luftwaffe stopped the planned invasion of Britain and changed the course of the war . This historic achievement continues to capture our imagination and our gratitude.
@@donaldwingent547 well they did'nt , if anything they made it more likely , it's not a free for all , based on revenge. Aircraft chasing Germans over the channel, means you have less planes for the next attack. It's was a lack of discipline, not seeing the larger picture.
The RAF was stretched, you needed those aircraft back, the pilots rested, refuelled, rearm, repaired , you needed them back in the air to counter what was coming next.
Luckily for the RAF they only made up 5%.
Doing what the Polish did is why Poland fell, doing what the Brits did is why the UK didn't
@@davidrenton Britain survived because of the Englisg channel and because Hitler switched from attacking airfields to civilian targets when the RAF was just on the point of collapse. The British Army was routed in France barely escaping from Dunkirk after having lost most of it's equipment.
RAF tactics were abysmal as the start of the Battle of Britain as they were still flying Vic formations or line astern. In addition they were helped by many foreigners who came to their aid from occupied Europe and Commonwealth countries (not to mention material aid from other countries), unlike the Poles who were betrayed by Britain after being invaded from two directions at the start of the war and betrayed by Britain again at the end of the War.
I take it that you are English?
@@davidrentonyou couldn’t be more wrong Poland and Englands defenses were totally different. Poland was being attacked from two sides with ground/air support and no help. England however only got attacked from the air because an invasion was impossible until the RAF was destroyed. England also received military supplies/aid and people that Poland didn’t even though Poland was promised they’d get help but didn’t because England and France were all talk and didn’t have the military to help
I have nothing but the highest regard for these brave, gallant Polish airmen. They prosecuted their hatred of the Nazis to almost complete recklessness. My father was in the RAF and he told me about how brave they were and how much admiration he felt towards them. Stubborn, brave, men they were, and we were bloody lucky to have them!
Never been a nation called Nazi. Germans. Proper name.
Yes, people shouldn't use the phrases "Nazism", "Nazis", because it is associated with only one nationality. The terms "Nazism" and "Nazis" were invented after World War II by the German secret services as an abbreviation of "German National Socialism", "German National Socialist" to blur the responsibility of Germany and Germans for genocides, among others on the Polish nation and the J@wish nation.
@@wawa8408 My father was Polish - Free Poles 8th Army. He told me not to hate Germans only Nazis.
@@wawa8408not all Germans were Nazis and not all Nazis were German, you get it right. Nazis were political and Germany is a country
The German narrative would like to blur the issue by calling the evil committed by its own actions, Nazism. Nazism is a German invention with the support of German society. The fact that some individuals or even countries collaborated does not change the image that it was German work. Political correctness and their own sins, many Europeans like to use the word Nazism, how significant it ....
My father-in-law was in the 303rd. He was a hell of a pilot. Shot down taken prisoner. Shipped to a German POW camp and escaped a month later and got back to England to fight again.
Behave yourself
What was his name?
@@bessarion1771 Tavac Podbereski
@@larrymwilson neither name sounds Polish. Are you sure of spelling?
@@bessarion1771 Absolutely
Tedausz Podbereski
The Polish pilots 303 squadron were not reckless, they were just very good pilots using excellent flying skills.
Top RAF Fighter Command "kill tallies" during the battle of Britain.
Flt Lt Eric Stanley Lock (English) - 21 confirmed kills.
Sgt James Harry Lacey (English) - 18 confirmed kills.
Flt Lt Archie Ashmore McKellar (Scottish) - 17.5 confirmed kills.
Sgt Josef František (Czechoslovakian) - 17 confirmed kills.
Pilot Off Colin Falkland Gray (New Zealand) - 15.5 confirmed kills.
Flt Lt Witold Urbanowicz (Poland) - 15 confirmed kills.
They had hearts and guts! Without them will be hairy for RAF and England.
❤✌️
Get a grip ! Polish Pilots comprised just 5% of the RAF at the time of the Battle of Britain. They actually accounted for 7.5% of Luftwaffe losses......just 2.5% above average. The Poles also fought air battles in Poland, Belgium and France and...... lost in all three. In Great Britain they flew out of RAF Northolt, the most advantageous airfield in Keith Parks 11 Group. They had a lot more time to gain altitude and attack position than frontline airfields like Biggin Hill. That being said, the Poles were courageous and, having survived the air war in Poland, France and Belgium probably had the most experience. However, the Czechs also did very well as did the 95% of the RAF who were not Polish and accounted for the remaining 92.5% of Luftwaffe losses ! The victory in the Battle of Britain was won due the vision of Sir Hugh Dowding who organised the first integrated Air Defence System in the world. RADAR (Chain home), the Observer Core, and the Sector Command and Control meant that RAF Squdrons were accurately vectored to meet incoming bomber streams accurately and effectively. It was "Dowding's System" and the Designers and Builders of the Hurricanes and Spitfires and the bravery of ALL RAF Pilots that won the BoB not individual squadrons. Great Britain is forever grateful to all foreign Pilots who contributed and indeed our own lads (average age of just 20 years old) who comprised 80% of RAF Pilots ! Countries contributions are memorialised forever before the end credits in the film the "Battle of Britain".
I salute them all ❤
@@garymoore2535 Well said. 303 were only in the Battle officially from 31st August 1940. Other RAF squadrons had been in action since Dunkirk, or earlier since 10th May. Other RAF squadrons, therefore, were equally experienced, if not more so, than the two Polish squadrons. And 303 were not the top scorers. They were the top CLAIMERS, but modern research shows 603 as the top scorers when actuals are set against German losses. I get fed up with the mantra that without the two Polish squadrons we would have lost the Battle of Britain!
The history of 303 Sqd sums up Polish gallantry in WW2. My father is buried in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. I noticed a few graves away was the grave of Bartlomiej Kuzma, a Major in the Carpathian Lancers. I wondered how this man came to buried in Grimsby and did some research to try and discover his story.
Like the Polish airforce pilots, when their country fell to the Germans and Russians many of the soldiers made for France to continue the fight. The French shipped some of them to Syria to free up French soldiers. As France fell to the Germans, these soldiers crossed from French Syria to British Palestine to fight for the British. They were formed in to Polish units and fought with the British in the Middle East and then Europe.
With Poland being left under Russian occupation many decided not to go back. A Polish Brigade ended up being in a camp on the outskirts of Grimsby until the unit was disbanded.
Bartlomiej obviously decide to stay in Grimsby. He was awarded the Virtuti Militari, the Polish equivalent of the British Victoria Cross. A brave man from a brave nation.
🇵🇱⚔️🇬🇧
The French told them to surrender, so they refused, and marched over the border, taking some Frenchies with them, to Palestine. They were shipped to North Africa to fight the Italians. Czech free forces also fought there.
You are absolutely right, this is, what truly happened. Thank you for writing about it.
@@danutarzepecka4056 Your welcome. When I visit my fathers grave it is good to pay my respects to this man to. We take our freedom for granted too much today. People from many nations paid a high price for it. For Bartlomiej Kuzma to have been awarded the Virtuti Militari, he is true hero👍
ua-cam.com/video/SDThEwMlbYs/v-deo.html&ab_channel=GregosJez
I worked for some time in the London Borough of Ealing, home to many of the former RAF Polish Squadron and contains (even now) as many Polish people as some large cities in Poland itself.
One chap, a former member of 303 stated that they were not there to shoot down 'planes, but to kill Germans. Seemed reasonable at the time. His hatred was as strong as ever in the 1990's ....
You missed the most important reason why they shot down so many Germans. Yes, the hate was part of it. The British pilots were trained to open fire from 300 to 400 meters behind the Germans, the Poles open fire 100 meters behind them. More destruction less bullets.
Their training and experience was so much better than that of the very young British rookies the RAF was forced to send up. The video makes this point quite well. This also explains the much better survival rate of the Polish pilots (the video suggests at some point that few survived, but gives more correct figures later).
British 603 Squadron was actually the highest scoring CONFIRMED KILL squadron in the Battle of Britain, and nearly all their kills were Bf109s.
The Poles helped but let's not go overboard. Less than 5% of lost German planes in the Bob were taken out by the Poles.
@@lyndoncmp5751 Yes, but the Battle of Britain was ALMOST lost to the Germans. The Polish contribution and boost in morale possibly saved the day! And let's not forget the Hand of God in not letting the evil Nazis to achieve their goal of world conquest.
It’s experience more than anything, before Top Gun opened the US knew that if you survived 1 dogfight you were likely to survive another. So these Polish pilots kept improving every time they went up.
@@HermanFickewirth
Thats actually a myth. More modern analysis now shows that the Luftwaffe had already failed BEFORE the Polish squadron got activated in combat. The Luftwaffe only had a short window to succeed, and that was early on in July when the RAF was weaker. Already by the end of August the RAF had more available pilots than the Luftwaffe and British aircraft production was now keeping pace and replacing planes. It was the Luftwaffe that couldn't sustain it's losses by then. Even during the two week bombing of the airfields tactic last week in August/first week in September the Luftwaffe lost more planes than the RAF on every single day except one. They lost the attritional fight.
The Luftwaffe shot it's bolt already in August by failing to defeat the RAF even before the Poles joined in.
Too many people, including older historians only concentrated on the RAF and never focused on the problems and losses the Luftwaffe had. The Luftwaffe had more problems than the RAF. As we can now see.
Stephen Bungay's work destroys old myths. Around 2,950 pilots fought in the Battle of Britain. It didn't come down to 145 Poles. That's an insult to the 2,800 others.
My polish grandfather was working in the coal mines in scranton pennsylvania america . when Germany invaded Poland september 1 1939. Then russian invaded poland september 17 1939 .
My grandfather tried to go back to poland to fight alongside his brothers. He could not make it back so he joined the american military.
Served six years on the battleship north carolina as a Navy corpsman.
My grandfather on his death bed saying his prayers and Polish made all his grandsons promise him. If any country invades poland we will fight to protect the Polish way of life.
Rest in peace grandpa you'll always be my hero paul peter zaleski🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱 .
The polish people are the forgotten people betrayed and backstabbed And forgot about. And still overcame because poland only kneels to god...
So your grandfather name was Paweł Piotr Zaleski or can be also Załęski.
Just if you are curious :)
@@rolen2358 Hundred percent correct with the name
DZIEKUJE .
Greetings from Midwest.
Remember: the Polish people; ... because Poland ... ; my Polish grandfather; Scranton: Pennsylvania; Russians invaded Poland.
In short, try to use capital letters were they are due.
@@markmal8479 I'm sorry, teacher. Not real good at English.
The lowest rank of flyers in the RAF was Sergeant Pilot. Many working class RAF pilots were Sergeants, as was Sgt Pilot Josef Frantisek of 303 squadron, a Czeckoslovak, one of the leading aces of the Battle of Britain. Hats off to the Poles and the oft unmentioned Sergeant pilots
Sgt James Harry "Ginger" Lacey.... second highest scoring RAF fighter ace during the battle of Britain with 18 kills.
Frantisek wasn't a team player in any of the airforces to which he belonged. He fought as a lone wolf, hiding in clouds waiting for stragglers. He died in Oct 1940 while doing his solo patrol.
Jozef frantisek (František) was my grand unkle or how is it called And i didnt knew he was surgent... Ty for info 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿
There were also Junior NCOs, Corporal, LAC AC2 and AC 1 airmen in the Battle of Britain. They manned gun turrets and radar sets in Defiants and Blenheims but have been totally ignored.
They were the Few within the Few
I grew up across the street from one of the pilots of 303 in a small farming town in Canada. Sadly Tad passed away when I was about 11 or 12. I didn't find out until several years later who he was and what he did during the battle of Britain. After school he and his wife Theresa watched me and my sister. I remember seeing models of a hurricane and a Dakota and a small panel from possibly a hurricane mkII.
I knew they 303 squadron were good but not 14:1 good, any day you learn something is a great day. May these fine men rest in Peace. They are true heroes that won the battle. Squadron leader Kent and his Canadian 2IC (sadly can't recall his name) lead them the way that worked best.
🇵🇱⚔️🇬🇧🇨🇦
I actually believe the Poles lead the way and Kent was lucky they did.
@@Bugnetblue oh I do agree to an extent. Kent was the squadron leader and knew enough to let them do what they the poles did best. They proved themselves with shitty aircraft and as soon as they got a proper fighter they started kicking butt and sending the Huns to smoking holes in the ground.
Kent was their leader only in the beginning , soon after it was Urbanowicz.
Kentowsky!!😂😂😂😂😂
The Polish pilots were not out to shoot down German planes, they were out to kill the German air crew, the plane was just a "bonus"
Yes,apparently they would shoot at parachuting pilots.
Zapytaj Amerykanów i waszych jagrpiloten.@@Anglo_Saxon1
Był to naturalny odruch po niemieckich zbrodniach w Polsce.
bullshit.@@Anglo_Saxon1
@@Anglo_Saxon1 nah.cthat was german kind of actions.
the circumstances of Josef František's death were described in Arkady Fiedler's book "Dywizjon 303". Arkady Fiedler, a Polish officer and reporter, was stationed with the 303 Squadron during the Battle of England and was to describe their exploits to raise the morale of the fighting Poles. A great read, written literally in the heat of battle.
Thank you and your staff. I was an F-4 engine mechanic led by men like the 303.
Men with the heart of a warrior.
What sort of a statement is that? What the heck has the Phantom and a bloke who worked on them have to do with the Battle Of Britain ?
Polish 302 Squadron mainly based at Duxford was the first Polish Squadron to start operations. Also it sounded like the first mention of Frantisek said he was Chechen. He was Czech, also called Czechoslovakian
In their song Aces In Exile Joakim does an amazing job of getting "men of Czechslovakia" in.
@@nancyjanzen5676 at the time Czechia and Slovakia one and the same: the country was called Czechoslovakia with it's dissolution taken effect on December 31, 1992. For years - decades, really - that country was under CCCP control and part of the Warsaw Pact. Since 1992 Czechia and Slovakia willingly part of the EU since 2004 (Slovakia also uses the Euro since 2009). Also NATO countries (full membership), fisrt Czechia in 1999 followed by Slovakia in 2004. As other ex-eastern block countries during the cold war, I'm trully happy to see them with their european familly (not mention the EU, but as European brothers, which is much more). Visited some of them and they're outstanding with outstanding people. Their culture is also amazing and I'll never forget the first time I went on work to Prague. Was also very well received in Warsow, Poland. Including the Baltic states that also decided to join this big and diverse european family. Together we'll shall move forward happier in the near future, not forgetting what's now happening in the lands of Ukraine... Cheers!
And as we know Hitler "invaded" Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of WWII. Given part of it by Britain and France...then Hitler rolled into the rest of it.
@@Maddog-xc2zv Unfortunately, Slovakia has now decided to stop aid to Ukraine, with the advent of a new government, who appear to follow the Hungarian line.
I thought he said Chechen too. I wonder if its Ai?
This is the best tribute to the Polish Pilots I've heard.
Thank You 303 Squadron.
May your courageous spirit be carried forward forever.
To my mind, the Poles were so like the planes they flew . Under rated and unglamorous, they and their Hurricanes took the Lufwaffa's measure and prooved every bit their equal! Well done!
Lufwaffa >>> Luftwaffe
@@markmal8479 Damn old age! Thanks bud!
@@carlnietoweise4653getting old beats the alternative.
@@jameswilliams3241 some times
Thanks for this wonderful, inspiring video. My uncle Ludec flew with the 303. I remember, these were arrogant cocky bastards but enormously popular, especially with the ladies! I was just a young 'un.
His wi gman was Janusz Jaruselki, who many years later, was the chief test pilot for Canada's AVRO Arrow.
AWESOME. Thank you for highlighting the Polish 303 Squadron.
Great job as usual!!
The saddest thing was, and to the disgrace of Great Britain, was the Polish Forces were not allowed to march in the Victory Parade in London, in 1946. The Labour Government under Clement Attlee didn't want to upset Uncle Joe Stalin. I was there, near Buckingham Palace and remember some of the marching. I was a 6year old kid and my 'Aunty' Margaret took me. She was a neighbour and I'm eternally grateful for her kindness for taking me!
@@pippin1ful I heard about that from a few of my great uncles. Two of them were stationed over there around that time. Neither one forgave the Brits for that. Britain never "stood alone" during that time.
@@rafalganowicz1939 I have felt ashamed by that Labour Government all my life. You Polish stood by Britain in the air and on land throughout the war. Labour gave the Soviets jet engine technology: the RollsRoyce Nene to power the MiG15 and later developments. Remember Monté Cassino!
@rafalganowicz1939 When Britain stood alone! Which Britain did. means the last one standing in europe. Nothing to do with a few volunteers going to Britain to help.
@@dalj4362 Don't forget all Britian's colonies.
Josef Frantisek was Czech, not Chechen (34:43).
Polish soldiers and pilots give them their all and this is how they were repaid with no home to come back to "The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies, it comes from those you trust the most"
Yes, so true and sad. That is why so many left the UK for the USA and Canada post war.
How true that is.
There is a french sentence, ” you are well betrayed only by your good friends ”.
Wow this is so horribly true.
100% correct?.
I had the honour of knowing Squadron Leader Ronald Gustave Kellett. I shared a few scotches while on occasional visits to his farmhouse at Dingleden in Kent. We discussed rugby and his art, but never discussed the war. At the time I didn't know of his war service. He was a nice old boy, but could be cantankerous. Most war heroes never spoke of their service. Rest In Peace, Winco! Thanks for your hospitality!
Those who did something Never Talked about it those who did not had stories galore - sadly!
@@richardsymonds5159 I understand what you said, with some difficulty, but agree with you. Punctuation is useful.
@@pippin1ful Crrected - Those who did something Never Talked about it. Those who did not had stories galore - sadly!
@@richardsymonds5159 My Grandfather spoke very little about his service in WW1. The Somme and all that. Dad said very little about being severely wounded after D Day in WW2. Same with Wing Commander RG Kellett: nothing to brag about.
learned a new word today - thanks!
As an Englishman I love the Poles :)
It is very nice to read.
I’ve read it 3 times, what a pleasure! We Poles, had always felt like second class citizens, looking up to the west for rescue. Ww2 and Russia’s oppression had an impact.
Thank you m8
@@AgataTlalka Poles have no reason to feel like second class citizens, _at all,_ as a Dane I have nothing but admiration for you guys, you basically saved Europe from being overrun in 1683, and your gallant contribution to RAF meant that they had the crews necessarry to drop weapons, ammunition, and explosives to our resitance fighters, effectively ensuring that Denmark as a country didn't end up on the wrong side of history. Oh, and I've been to Poland a couple of times, lovely country and fantastic people, stay being awesome.🙂
Poland pays extreamly high price in a WW2...for freadom..
Atacked from Hitler and Stalin in 1939
Warshov upraisings....
And left from the west in 1945 to Stalin
Realy great natione.....all respects from Cr🌞atia....to P🙂land....🍀🖖🌹
Poland wasn't left to Stalin by the West. Stalin simply took it by force of arms.
@@dovetonsturdee7033 Sure..."left of"....is to hard atributione👍
What do you think the West could have done, just out of interest? Start WW3?
It's a fact that many Poles and other nations feel betrayed by West during the Conference in Tehran and Yalta, where Roosevelt and Churchill just played to Stalin's wishes. Thus Eastern Europe becoming Russian playground and source of cheap resources and goods.
The worst thing is that both of the Polish governments, one in London and the other under Communist leadership simply lied to their soldiers and public about the true political situation.
Also Britain still didn't allow secret files like the one concerning death of General Sikorski, and other documents regarding Poland during the WW2 to be viewed by Polish history experts. Who knows what they might hide.
And now the EU government we are getting screwed again - ah, these bright politicians :(
@Zorankalina4399:
Hvala ti,
pozdrav.
Thank you for telling this very important story. Never stop telling the story of how the Poles fought against fascism from the first day of the war up until the last day of the war. And they couldn’t even be beaten when Warsaw was burned down
Much like the RN... first till last. P.S the "Warsaw uprising" was crushed by the nazis.
@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684 P.S nazis are members of a political party. You should say Germans.
I grew up just a few hundred yards from Northolt Airport, it's still in commission, mostly utilised for various government ops and VIP flights. Outside of the wire there's a magnificent memorial to the Polish pilots, hopefully, it's still there.
Does the memorial mention bill that British government gave Poles for lost aircrafts?
@@GrimK77 Good point.
I grew up there too James. (Exmouth Rd)
Watched the aircraft in and out. Many damaged. We owe these men so much.
The memorial was still there last time I visited. Nine years ago.
There is a very interesting book "Blood on their Wing Tips: A Second World War Timeline for No. 303 Kosciuszko Polish Squadron at RAF Northolt" by Nina Britton Boyle. She was a resident of Northolt during the war and heard and saw these fighters flying over her home.
Great video about the legend that is 303 squadron. The determination and bravery of these men should never be forgotten and it's brilliant videos like this that help to keep their memory alive.
Thank you!
You gave me a goose bumps with that video!
One thing worth to mentioned - in France polish pilots also were using Dewointe d.520 (I don’t know if there is translation to english, but there is a book „I fought under sky of France” of Wacław Król. He described it in details how big change it was comparing to P-11c. The most impressive thing was to hide landing gears in wings. Later he fought also in England).
And Josef Frantisek was from Czech Republic not Chechen :)
Once again thank you for that video!
100% true and well stated.
You are correct It was Czech witch was invaded the same tima with Austria
The Brit's where so ignorant in the beginning. The Poles where tremendous.
It's unfortunate that the Brit's were so arrogant to accept not only the Poles.
In those days, Czechoslovakia.
Czechia and Chechnia is mistaken as frequently as Slovakia and Slovenia, maybe Czechs has to create ministry of correcting youtubers :-D
Very interesting. God Bless the Polish people. A lot of their accomplishments in history a lot of people don't know about, so I'm glad there are videos like this.
1 vs 6 and still got 2. Man, tears and salute to the great hero in the sky!
Great job TJ! This is probably one of the most comprehensive discussions I’ve ever seen on the contributions of the Polish pilots.
Thank you :)
I am so impressed with the author of this video who portraited this episode of the war with objectivism and even a tone of sympathy for the Polish pilots. It is to a sharp contrast to a lot of negative and not truthful commentaries about Polish soldiers who were so incredibly brave, and many of them suffered the ultimate sacrifice.
Importantly, Polish soldiers were fighting according to their homeland tradition "Bóg, Honor, Ojczyzna."
An excellent video! My parents were both Polish and came to Britain after the war. My Dad had a somewhat similar history to those Polish pilots. After an epic journey from occupied Poland he joined the Allied forces in Palestine and fought in The 2nd Polish Tank Corps and subsequently joined The Commandos in North Africa and Italy. What all these men endured and their great courage is hard to imagine but you made their motivation very clear.
I wish I could like this video 10 times instead of just once. Absolutely outstanding, wonderful research and presentation, but also a mind boggling level of complex editing. You deserve all the success you get, well done. A worthy tribute to those awe-inspiring Polish heroes.
Thank you!
Hi there, just wanted to say how much I was moved by and enjoyed this video highlighting the courage and excellence of the Polish fighter pilots.
Having Polish connections myself and hearing my Polish father-in law's experiences your depictions of their valour brought tears to my eyes.
Also I must say how much I appreciated your quality of pronunciation of so many of these British and Polish surnames. It shows great attention to detail.
Subscribed.
I wouldn't describe them as reckless. Brave might be a better description. Saying they are reckless is an insult.
In combat, when you've nothing left to lose (as the Poles experienced), reckless behaviour becomes more prevalent.
I see it as confined in their skills. Everyone wanted to survive.
@@AgataTlalka then you haven't studied combat psychology.
Thanks Mr. TJ3 History, you did an outstanding job by presenting this video. Paying tribute to the Polish 303 Sqn. and Aviation History. Greeting from Mexico City.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I'm a veteran of American nuclear subs and I come from a long line of veterans. I'm a bit of tough critic when it comes to military history videos. You have done a fantastic job with the story of the Polish pilots. Keep up the great work!
BZ !
As yes better than even the PC game "303 Squadron: Battle of Britain". On the other hand loved that scene from the 1969 "Battle of Britain" movie.
Żurakowsk went on to become a test pilot in '57 for the Avro Arrow here in Canada.
Yes, and that is spelled Zurakowski. I did a whole section on him but it seems to have been removed. This goes on a lot now, to Canadians on the internet.
His statue is in Barry's Bay
In 2019, two feature films were released about the Poles in the RAF -- one was made in Britain (Hurricane) and one in Poland (303 Squadron). Both portrayed the heroism and humanity of the Polish pilots quite superbly.
Was trying to find this comment. I actually managed to get myself as an extra in this and am named in the credits. My family are Polish so a proud moment for me
Not bad, but with a certain amount of BS and controversy at the the end. They were not forced to go to Poland after the war; and the invite to the 1946 Victory Parade was indeed given to Warsaw and later to the Polish government in exile.
@@bobsakamanos4469could they fly the Polish flag though?
Historical notes - I know Frantisek was from Czechoslovakia - I just used the wrong word. That my mistake. Thanks - other notes - First off, I have done my best guys. Polish names are really hard. Sorry if I did not get them perfect. I'm sure I mispronounced something else somewhere too. Also, the PZL P.11 aircraft used by the Polish air force is actually not in my flight simulator. So I used it with the closest aircraft I could find. Also, some of the archival footage used here may not be perfect, but there is only so much footage that exists! So I did my best. I'm sure I made more mistakes that I will add here later, but for now I hope this is all! Thanks so much for watching everyone.
They ARE NOT hard to pronounce properly if you make half an effort. I have not a drop of Polish blood in me but when I went to visit, I made a point of at least being able to PRONOUNCE names properly and I was NOT MAKING A VIDEO. When you don't even ATTEMPT to state names properly, you INSULT all Poles. I admire them too much to do as you.
@@stevemartin6144 Thanks so much glad you loved it!
@@stevemartin6144 They are hard. They are a consonant nightmare
@@stevemartin6144 What's the Polish for 'cocky know-all with the brains of a plant'? : )
@@loddude5706 this name is for you...."KURWA".
I had the honor of nowing one of such air fighters. He was not a pilot he was a bomber. He was shot down 7 or 8 times and alwais got back to England to fight again. He lived at my fathers house in Venezuela till his death. I have a picture of him with my family.
Uhhh…I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of 🥴 Venezuela was where the war criminals hid out the rest of their lives….when they couldn’t return home without facing prosecution after the wars, SMH! You probably harboured an awful war criminal! 🤦🏼♂️ Absolutely nothing to be proud of!
Polish squadron man?
There were also bombing squads .
How is Venezuela now? Still under socialism oppression?
Very good reporting on Squadron 303; glad to see their recognition to such a precious contribution to the Battle of Brittan.
Great work, really impressive. The original photos from time make the video. Overall it is a great historical input. But there's one thing I have to say Josef Frantisek was from Czech Republic.
Now you have to make a video about team of the aces. Unit that was called Cyrk Skalskiego, Polish Fighting Team, they were fighting in Libya. The were made out of the most experienced Polish pilots from all Polish Squadrons in England. Great story.
Thank you very much for bringing that to the wide public of You Tube. Best of luck in all your works.
Thank you!
🇵🇱⚔️🇬🇧
And "British officer John Kent" who was put in charge of 303 was not British, but Canadian.
Actually Josef Frantisek was neither from Chechnya or The Czech Republic. He was from the former country of Czechoslovakia. The country of Czechoslovakia was dissolved on 31 December 1992. It was divided into two new countries: The Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. This came to be known as, The Velvet Revolution.
"Cyrk Skalskiego" = Skalski's Circus. This is a good reminder of Stanisław Skalski. After WWII, this extraordinary airman returned to Poland, but from 1948 to 1956 he was brutally imprisoned by the Stalinists, undergoing terrible torture and spending a year on death row. But after release and rehabilitation, he returned to the Polish Air Force as a colonel and even qualified to fly MiG-15s. Secretary-General of the Aeroclub of the Polish Peoples' Republic. Passing into the Reserves in 1972, he was promoted to Brigadier-General in 1988. After the fall of Communism (he was never a Party member), he got involved in an agrarian populist movement, dying in 2004 after being completely robbed by his caregivers. [ See Wikipedia]
Good video, thanks. But the Huricane used under the Batle of Brittain, had (sadly..) not 4 20 mm canon, but 8 .303 Browning mashineguns.
Douglas Bader said in an interwiev about the polish squadron "The difference between them and us was, we shot on mashines with black crosses on, they kept going until they were shure that everybody on board was dead!"
We all owe a great debt of gratitude, to these brave airmen, during our darkest hours.
God Bless the Polish.
God Bless America 🇺🇸 🇵🇱
Awesome doc, TJ! Great job covering 303 & their contribution to the Battle of Britain! I think it would be a good idea to do more Squadron stories like this!
Yes, do one on British 603 Squadron, the highest scoring CONFIRMED KILL squadron in the Battle of Britain, and nearly all their kills were Bf109s.
@@lyndoncmp5751 Here are some other good ones:
609 Squadron (which scored 100 victories first and had some colorful members, including a few fellow Americans).
601 Squadron: The Millionaires’ Squadron
74 “Tiger” Squadron
43 “Fighting Cocks” Squadron
To name a few
@@RogueAce93
I would concur with those. Great shouts! ✌
I bumped into two of these pilots in Australia many many years later, one Stan Birtus at Cooma NSW . I had such confidence in his flying I let him fly my Cassutt 111M aircraft (a tricky beast to fly).He would on occasions show his log book to any one who was interested. Later I met his squadron Leader at Canberra when he was working at a camping equipment store. I feel blessed that I actually met two of these famed pilots in their later years.
Thanks to the 303 and all the other Polish warriors who fought for freedom.
John Kent was actually Canadian. Near the beginning you say that the Poles changed history, they didn't, they MADE history. Excellent video though. 👍
Good document but obviously made in the U.S.. Kent was from Winnipeg. When reading or looking at ww2 documentaries from U.S. Canada or any mention of Canadians disappears. Our country is wiped out from history. 🤣🤣 But look at Canada's ww2 war material production it is incredible.
Yes, they called him "Kentowski."
@@vincentlefebvre9255 lots of Winnipeggers won the VC, but the leftist education system frowns on publicizing that kind of information.
19:10 - pilot Josef Frantisek was not Chechen but he was Czech. You can verify this information on Wikipedia... Chechnya is in Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia was in the center of Europe, and shared northern border with Poland.
please .. Czechnya is not even in Europe..
The pilots of the second war, were definitely not recless. They were in fact very calm verry calculating , hunters who were in a situations that is exceedingly dangerous , that requires both pilot and aircraft had to constantly push themselves and their aircraft to the extremes of dedication intelligence and calculateting mind.
One thing that author didn't mention was tactics used by Poles. They were asked about them by British pilots who saw their scores. The difference between the two nations methods was the distance and aiming. Poles were getting much closer to german planes and aimed in front of them.
The time to stop the German Nazis was at Munich 1938. The British and French were considering, reluctantly an offer from the Soviet Union to join in a wave against Germany to protect the Czechoslovakia. There was an Anglo-French Military Mission in Moscow at the time to plan such a joint effort to kill off German Fascism. The Soviets need to cross Polish territory to reach Czechoslovakia the then military/Right Wing Government of Poland refused to allow the Soviets to cross to Czechoslovakia. The Polish Government then made territorial demands on Czechoslovakia and annexed Trans-Olza. Of course now we know that the German generals were certain that they would be defeated in such a war and had plans to overthrow Hitler and the Nazis and immediately sue for peace. With a little wisdom by the Polish Government of 1938 the whole world could have been saved the catastrophe of WWII.
I do not know if they saved the world, but their scores speak for them.
It was stupid to let them out of the game for a simple trouble of language. Those guys had three campaigns in their past, Poland, Belgium, France. Of course they were good pilots !😮
Gilles....I do know......Polish Pilots made up just 5 % of the RAF and shot down 7.5 % of the Luftwaffe's losses.......that is just 2.5% better than average. The RAF did not "actively have to hunt" enemy aircraft. Dowdings Control and Command system actively vectored RAF squadrons to intercept points very effectively. Flak from Anti Aircraft Batteries signalled where the Luftwaffe Bomber Squadrons were......just watch out for Bf109 Top Cover and help yourself ! Tally Ho
@@gillesguillaumin6603 But they had to learn how to operate within the RAF, which included some basic English and British SOPs.
Great job TJ, thank you! Worth to mention that there were other Polish figther squadrons and also bomber squadrons, less famous tho.
Absolutely correct!
Bomber squadrons 300 and 301, fighter squadrons 302 and 303.
19:03 Josef František was not Chechen, he was Czech ;) He escaped Czechoslovakia with some colleagues after Hitler took over their country. He eventually joined the Polish Airforce which ironically was also quite slow to take advantage of trained Czech pilots.
I was just about to put this straight.
Thanks, pal.
Amazing story and amazing research on your part. It just goes to show how hatred for the Germans and a thirst for vengeance can be a powerful motivator that produced impressive results.
Josef Frantisek was Tjetjen????
Where did you get that from, he was Czech (as from Czechoslovakia!), one of the many czech pilots serving in RAF, having identical destiny as the polish pilots!!!
I said Czechian - if that's the wrong terminology then my bad. Haha
@@TJ3 it is, his nationality is simply called czech....
@@TJ3 yes, bad and clueless. You treat this as a JOKE! WTF???
@@stevemartin6144 thanks so much glad you loved it!
@@TJ3 Well it sounded as "Chechen" :-D We're called either Czechs, or Czechoslovaks would also apply for that time.
The members of squadron 303 deserve every bit of honor and respect that can be heaped upon them. Should I ever visit Europe I should wish to meet the brave people of Poland more than anything else. As history takes a dark turn in front of us, it is good for all of us to remember that such feats of bravery and courage may be needed again. It is good to remember that all free people should be ready to fight if they need to. Much respect from America to my Polish brothers and sisters!
Well done TJ! I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and, although I can not say your pronunciation was spot on, you did a quite credible job. Just two things to add: Between September and December 1943 Witold Urbanowicz transferred to the USAAF and flew with Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers where he was credited with 11more victories. The 303 Squadron was originally formed as the Kosciuszko Squadron by American Word War One veterans to help fight the bolsheviks in 1919-1920, hence the "stars and stripes" motif on the squadron badge.
Very cool! And thank you :)
Great work. Thanks for what you do and helping to preserve history in this way.
Thanks for watching!
He's just perpetuating the WWII myth of 'evil Nazis intent on world domination' which is a total lie. H*tler tried everything reasonable to avoid a continent-wide war, but Britain and France were determined to make it happen on behalf of the bankers.
1:26 Germany took more like half of Poland not entire country. Let's not forget that 17 day after German invasion Soviets joined the operation from East side.
Well done! This is the best story of 303 I have encountered. Your channel is excellent!
Thank you! :)
I appreciate so much that the narrator uses terms "German", "Germany", "Germans" instead of prevalent in American parlance "nazi" and "nazis".
Nazis were from outer space
very apprciated
A people vs a political party. Not all germans were Nazis. Not all Nazis were german.
@@bobsakamanos4469 Bur if it wasn't fur Germany, there would be no WWII. Google up front page of NYT from September 1st, 1939, when press stated the obvious. It says DERMAN ARMY ATTACKS POLAND, not Nazi army attacks Poland
@@bobsakamanos4469all germans were germans,war crimes were made by whole society,not just political party including regular army (wehrmacht) as well as civil administration while needed (termination of ghetto's) - there were job offers with solid salary for service in concentration camps in local newspaper's in germany / not only germans made a war crimes but ukrainians keen to make crime's as well while service at concentration camps (watchers and murderers) or in ss formation's (ss galizien)
I appreciate the research you put into this presentation; appears very factual and professional, Thank you for a job well done. Poland needs such PR ,to regain its rightful place among heroes .
The British highway A40 passes by Northolt "Aerodrome" (as anyone my age calls it) now poshed up to be a convenient landing spot close to London for our Royals and well connected glitterati. The junction with the road to Ruislip is well known as "The Polish War Memorial" even to folks who know nothing of WW2 as it features in many road reports of jammed traffic.
Every year there's a ceremony at the Memorial with full military honours - the attendees ever less, in fact I think the last guys who had any personal involvement are long gone. But they are Remembered!
The squadrons' origins can be traced back to 1919 and it's formation by American volunteers during Poland's war with the Russians. One of these Americans being Merian C Cooper, producer and creator of the original 1933, "King Kong".
No, it can't. The Polish air force, however, can.
No. That squadron origin in England - agreement between London and the Polish Government in Exile.
1919 - gap - 1939.
Cooper was in USA then to Far East 1940s
Merian C Cooper's great, great, great,..., grandfather was one of the crew of American warship "Wasp", on which Polish cavalry general Kazimierz Pulaski died, wounded during battle of Savannah.
My dad asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday in August of 1969, I had just turned 10. The Battle of Britain had just come out at the local Drive in. That said, my Dad, me, and a three of my siblings went to see the Ghost & Mr. Chicken and the Battle of Britain at the drive in. I'll never forget that night.
Don Knotts, the bravest of all.
"One, the R.A.F is not a flying circus, two strict R.T procedure is to be observed at all times, and it is never, I repeat never to be used, for private Polish chit-chat, finally and God alone know why I've received the follow signal, congratulations as of today this squadron is now operational, signed by Keith Park A.O.C 11 Group, hooray!"
Great doco of a great battle saga . To add, a few poles learned enough English to get into regular British squadrons, were they also served with distinction . The real gut punch was those that managed to return to poland after the war were treated by the soviets as war criminals , not to be trusted ,never received the recognition they richly earned . The Poms have remembered and honored them several times though .
I read somewhere that after the war Polish pilots that were still in England were thrown out of England by the Brits and ordered to go home to their country where they were then treated as war criminals and imprisoned by the Russians.
The Spitefire gets the credit, but the wood and fabric Hurricane saved the day. Three cheers to Sir Thomas
Avaiable in numbers, but substandard as a fighter against the LW. Outdated by the end of the battle as a day fighter. Useful as a night fighter.
That was amazing! I've never seen a better WWII documentary in my, so far, very long life. Kudos to you, sir. I am a better person for having watched this video.
I wonder how many of the Polish pilots went home only to find themselves living behind the iron curtain. That had to be truly heart breaking for such brave men.
Tylko nieliczni z nich mogli pozostać w Anglii, większość została poproszona o opuszczenie wysp brytyjskich których nieba bronili w w 1940.
Luckily for them no Polish service personnel were forcefully repatriated from Britain after WW2. After the theft of Poland by the soviets the UK govt of Clement Attlee rushed the "1946 UK Polish Resettlement Act" through parliament which gave FULL UK citizenship and residency rights to nearly 300,000 Polish ex-service personnel AND their immediate families. Some Poles iun the west did understandably CHOOSE to return to Poland after WW2, but by all accounts lived (and died) regretting that naive choice.
If you'd like a COMPLETELY different take on UK Polish relations after WW2, then have a listen to this gentleman, Victor Komarnicki, who flew with the RAF during WW2 as a bomber pilot with 300 (Polish) Sqd. ua-cam.com/video/kyjrGSuS8Po/v-deo.html
Notice if you will HIS account and FIRST HAND experience of how Poles were treated in the UK post WW2. A COMPLETELY different view that is a WORLD away from the treatment Mark (and multiple contemporary commenters in these threads portray). it is also "straight from the horse's mouth" so to speak.
What an incredibly decent respectful & honourable gentleman, FAR removed from the general standard of MANY of the contemporary clueless Polish commenters in these threads.
@@piotrg8892 Kompletna bzdura.
Prosimy o zapoznanie się ze szczegółami "Ustawy o przesiedleniu Polaków z Wielkiej Brytanii z 1947 r." ze strony internetowej brytyjskiego rządu, Był to akt parlamentu, który nadał w brytyjskim prawie PEŁNE brytyjskie obywatelstwo i prawa pobytu (w tym dostęp do WSZYSTKICH świadczeń socjalnych) WSZYSTKIM polskim żołnierzom, którzy służyli w brytyjskich siłach zbrojnych podczas II wojny światowej ORAZ ich rodzinom.
Ani jeden polski żołnierz / lotnik / marynarz nie został przymusowo repatriowany pod koniec II wojny światowej, ale niewielka liczba, co zrozumiałe, WYBRAŁA powrót do ojczyzny i żałowała tej decyzji.
Należy pamiętać o maksymie "Lepiej milczeć i być uważanym za głupca, niż mówić i rozwiać wszelkie wątpliwości".
@@piotrg8892 nonsense. Fact check the BS you see in the media and hollyweird.
"Living" is very optimistic.
Here i am, listening to this while playing War Thunder on Hurricanes with Polish decals
What a great video once again!!
The Polish were heros 🎉
Battle of Britain Spitfires & Hurricanes flown by Poles, or anyone else, were from RAF Squadrons & carried RAF markings. I believe that some Polish-flown aircraft did have a red/white square on the engine casing.
This was a fantastic Historical account of the immense contribution the Polish Pilots made in the Battle of Britain. I saw the original movie in the 60's. This was a very well made documentary, in which it cites the Polish Pilots and has Photos and Names to identify these heroes who basically turned the tide of this Air Campaign in favor of the RAF. I will reiterate that the Polish Pilots Heroism is recognized by Lord Marshal Dowding in this Video and Rightly so! Good Video. I shared this with my Dad, a Retired Jet Engine Engineer. He will love this!
'who basically turned the tide of this Air Campaign in favor of the RAF.' No, they didn't. They played an important role, as did 2,800 other British & non- British pilots, and the control system within which they worked.
But please don't exaggerate.
"turned the tide of the Air Campaign" ?? Nonsense. Had Goering not ordered his fighters to stay with the bombers about the time that the Poles entered the fray, their Hurricanes wouldn't have stood a chance. The LW defeated themselves, although they were never going to invade in 1940 anyway.
Absolutely SUPERB! I thank you ,sir. I am in tears of pride and gratitude to those MEN.
Hail "303 Squadron" a bunch of pilots' pilots , RIP Gentlemen . You all deserve it !!!!!
Heroes! When I was a child, we knew there was a war "over there," but never saw the battles or daily news. Thanks to all these brave fighters.
Good research. Well done. Unsung heroes of the battle of Britain.
During the victory parades, at the end of the war, the Polish were not allowed to participate in fear that Stalin would get mad.
Nonsense. Want to know what happened? Read on.
With regard to the non-appearance of Polish forces during the "1946 Victory parade" the problem lay SQUARELY with POLAND. The first invites sent out by the UK Labour Govt of Clement Attlee to ALL the nations who had fought for the Allied cause during WW2 were sent out weeks in advance of the parade. The Polish invite in particular was quite understandably delivered to the Polish "Provisional Government of National Unity" ( the "TRJN" or Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej) based in Warsaw, which was the OFFICIAL Polish govt as recognised by the international community in the form of the "United Nations", and NOT just by Britain alone, the TRJN was the same govt that it was intended the London based Polish nationalist Govt in exile would become an intrinsic part of, as agreed to by ALL sides at the Yalta conference in Feb 1945.... (although the soviets subsequently saw to it that this never actually happened).
This invite sent to Warsaw immediately raised a storm of protest with the Polish nationalist govt in exile based in London who, with some justification, felt they had been sidelined in this matter, their anger was supported by many British MPs and members of the British public.
With only days left before the parade was due to take place, and with no reply or even acknowledgement of the British invite from the OFFICIAL Polish TRJN govt in Warsaw, the British govt then belatedly sent out a SECOND INVITE to the Polish Govt in Exile in London, (as well as directly to individual senior Polish service personnel), but as one united group they CHOSE to shun the invites to register their anger and disgust at being treated as "second fiddle" to the Warsaw govt.
And the final Ignominy? The Warsaw TRJN govt never answered or even acknowledged the original invite from the UK (as neither did the USSR or Yugoslavia) and never attended the parade either.
As you can see the Polish "non appearance" was solely down to a poisonous bitter mix of political hatred (from Warsaw) and hubris (from the London Poles), and NOTHING to do with this imaginary "Poles weren't invited to the parade" BS. As I've described above the Polish nation was actually the ONLY allied nation to receive TWO invites to the parade.
@@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684 good, valid research. It's a shame that hollyweird has corrupted and divided people with half truths and lies.
Great story telling! I learned a lot. Wondering how this story hadn't come across so well before this.
- Lawrence Trotter
It is quite well known in the UK.
Josef František would probably be a czech pilot, not a chechnyan origin……. Compliments for a such a good video! Brave guys from 303 Sqdn. just had THE time of their lives🙏🙏
Josef Frantisek was Czech.His surname is pronounced Frantishek.
@@janmajer865 ofcourse! Plain, ordinary, letter Š….. like in Škoda
😎😎
(or in my name, too)
@@dusankocisevic6823 Funnily enough, in Poland they deliberately mispronounce Škoda as "Skoda"... because in Polish, "szkoda" (pronounced as "shkoda") means "damage" or "pity" 🙂
@@awuma I know🤣🤣
But in czech, škoda has absolutely same meaning too🙄🙄
I learn about Squadron #303 in my history class . Yes, this is how I and all students learn about the history of Poland from the beginning till now
You learned about this in Poland, Polish school ? How old are you?
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Your documentaries just keep getting better! Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much!
@@TJ3 Thanks! I have been watching your videos for about a year now. They are really good! Also, in wwii my great uncle flew spitfires against Rommel in the desert, but the air was so thin there that none of their squadron had practised parachute jumps!
My late Mother served as Air Control with 303 (Polish Squadron) in the air they were 'Very Aggressive'. After landing they treated other ranks with respect. I recommend the book "For Your Freedom And Ours" by Lynne Olson & Stanley Cloud. Part Two. "The Betrayal" shows how the Post War Government CRP*T on Polish Forces.
Please tell us how the "Post War Government CRP*T on Polish Forces"?
INCREDIBLE STORY THANK YOU !! that's a great job you did on this wow those men are some of the bravest men EVER!! there commitment to stoping the Nazis so inspiring. I loved this. I'm a subscriber now❤
Thanks!
nie nazistów tylko NIEMCÓW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just like the polish pilots, the Hawker was overlooked to the more heralded Spitfire..excellent presentation..
I think I read somewhere that in the Battle of Britain there was a ratio of 6 Hurricanes to 1 Spitfire
the Hurikane is made of wood, but the Spitfire is made of expensive aluminum
so the battle was done mainly by Hurricanes
polish pilots >>> Polish pilots
@@tihomirraspericHurricane was mainly made of aluminum, but did have some wood. Aluminum and wood framework covered by doped fabric.
@@tihomirrasperic there were roughly 50% more Hurricanes, but that was changing as Spitfire production ramped up in Aug-Sep-Oct. You can blame Lord Nuffield (financial supporter of the BUF) for delaying construction of Castle Bromwich Factory for 2 years. He was fired in June 1940 and Supermarine management took over. Lord Nuffield (Morris) must have had shares in Hawker.
even though i was totally familiar with the subject, this went into more detail then i was aware of. great job
World War 2 is replete with a great many little events and contributions, any of which may have had a pivotal role in changing a battle that was, in turn, pivotal to that massive war's outcome. Jimmy Doolittle's raiders. Claire Chenault's Flying Tigers. McClusky and his dive bombers at Midway. Zhukov's assignment in advance of Stalingrad. Mitchell's flight group for Operation Vengeance. Hitler's decision to bomb London in retaliation for the night raid on Berlin, instead of concentrating on RAF fields. And many many more examples.
Never knew about these Polish guys -- very cool! Thanks for the video.
You forgot about Churchill telling Hitler to shove his "appeal to reason" up his arse. Without which all the other points you mention would likely not have happened.
Jimmy Dollitle nie miał najźdzców , lecz pilotów ... Baranie ...Najeźdzcami byli Japońce i Szkopy ...Durniu...
Great job, mate. Greetings from 🇵🇱.
80% pilot, 20% aircraft
"Because we do ot beg for Freedom. We fight for it!" Witold Urbanowicz of 303 Squadron.
I am so proud of these Polish fighters and doing the right things. I fear where we would be without this brave generation fighting. Thank you for serving and sacrificing for all us that follow. Especially since we are on the verge of WW3
We're not... don't sweat it.
I'm glad to see this topic getting attention. The video was quite good, better than I expected looking at the title (with the stereotype of "recklessness"). However, I have 2 small corrections: John Kent was Canadian, and the first formed Polish fighter Squadron in RAF was the 302 City of Poznań Squadron.
Edit: I should not have written my comment before watching the video till the end. Josef František was CZECH not CHECHEN. 😂
Small correction. First 303 squadron's kill on 30th August by Paszkiewicz took place in vicinity of St. Albans. During training period in August they never flew to the coast but only to north - west.
Sadly their ending after WW2 was not a happy one as told in "Bloody Foreigners: Untold Battle of Britain" which was more a political decision towards the Soviets (should have pointed the middle finger at Stalin rather than 'pacify' him).
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Taking on the USSR would be suicide without the US. Enough young lads were already dead and Britain had to rebuild its population and GDP. Immigration was ramped up as a result.
I was born just after WW2 - an early “Boomer”. The RAF were still flying Spitfires and Hurricanes back then. I lived near a fighter station and grew to love the sound of those Merlin engines. Last weekend a Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Flight flew over the town where I live on both saturday and sunday afternoons. Social media notified us of the times of the fly past and I was able to go outside and watch and listen to it in a clear blue sky. Brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps.
What is really remarkable is that Polish pilots achieved this flying a fighter that was somewhat inferior to the bf109. The Hawker Hurricane was slower than the bf109 but it could out turn it and it had a better roll rate. Polish pilots were experts at managing those strengths and very disciplined not to fire until they were within 100 meters of their target to conserve ammo.
Compared to the flying bedsteads they'd gone to war in against the luftwaffe in Sept 1939, swapping to the Hawker Hurricanes, which equipped the majority of RAF fighter squadrons during the battle of Britain, would be like swapping a model T ford for a Bugatti Veyron.
Great vid. There were however aces from many other nationalities like New Zealand, South Africa, Czechoslovakia and of course the UK. All heroes who saved the UK and allowed it to be a base to eventually destroy Nazi Germany.
Outstanding documentary, I never knew this about the Battle of Britain. Yes indeed....long live Poland.
15:21 " Repeat Please "
During BoB , 303 squadron were stationed in Northold - which was part of 11 Group .
302 Squadron were in 12 Group , and became operational on August 15th , 1940 .
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Absolutely 💯 loved this video. Very well done. Excellent. Have a Masters degree in WW 2 history and specifically aviation... There were a significant number of sergeant pilots, however. Thank you, as a pilot myself I also loved the film Battle of Britain. Thanks again