I am an 82 year old Brit brought up in Cranleigh, Surrey, underneath the sound of “dogfights”. I was only 4 to 9, then. As I grown older, my understanding of the Poles has grown year by year. I am ashamed of the way my country treated them, but they were not alone. UK should be a land fit for heroes, but sadly, it is not. For a time I lived at Ruislip, near Northolt. Today, whenever I meet Poles, I tell them how much we owe to them and, if possible, they should visit the Polish war memorial at Northolt. John Nolan
My father was Polish and fought at Monte Cassino With General Anders army, he lived in England longer than in Poland he refused British nationality, he said i was born a Pole i will die a Pole, God bless Ojciec. Long live Poland.
My grandmother and my grandfather also fought at Monte Cassino with Anders and The Polish II Corps. Grandmother was a driver at 316 Transport Company and grandfather was at Machine Gun Company. Later grandfather was a shooter and meteorological observer at 318 squadrons. After the war, both returned to Poland, which with time turned out to be not the best decision in their life. And my grand uncle was a mechanic at 304 bomber squadron but he chose to live in Great Britain after the war.
If you mention the Czechs, you have to include the New Zealanders. Remember that a New Zealander was in charge of 303 Squadron. His name was Keith Park.
@@piecka2308 squadron leader Ronald Keller lead the brave poles of 303. Johnny Kent and Athol Forbes were the flight commanders, don't forget 302 polish squadron who drew first blood against the Luftwaffe. There are many of us younger Brits who are awhere of the debt we owe to the poles.
I've never heard anyone say anything but good things about the Free polish forces during WW2 they are not forgotten But I've never heard a Pole even acknowledge that Britain went to war over the invasion of Poland .........
My grandfather was one of the Polish pilots in Britain, flying bombers for most of the war. 86 missions. If he was around today, I would tell him how proud I am to be his granddaughter.
one of my teachers was married to a Polish Spitfire pilot. He was much older than her, and I briefly met him only a couple of times. Lovely, lovely man who gave up his family and country for mine. Never forget.
My father was a Canadian Spitfire pilot, a squadron leader, who fought in the Battle of Britain. He was reluctant to talk about it. I learned only a few things from him about the horrific experience. He talked about the camaraderie of his fellow pilots. He talked about how fast he pulled the rip cord on his parachute when he was shot down and then landed on the British beach. And he talked how much he liked and respected these Polish pilots.
My teacher at primary school was Mrs Olenski. She was married to Zbigniew Olenski, a Polish fighter pilot who flew with 234, 609 and 316 squadrons. After the war he was involved in aerodynamics research including work at Avro on the Vulcan bomber. I still have my school report from 1968 signed by Anne Olenski!
I AM ENGLISH ANGLO SAXON : MY WIFE WAS POLISH HER UNCLE A PILOT IN THE POLISH A.F HE AND HIS SON VANISHED DURING THE OCCUPATION IN POLAND . I MARRIED HER IN CANADA, I MISS HER, MY WIFE FOR 56 YEARS. I DID MY TIME FOR KING AND COUNTRY, MOSQUITO PILOT ' I HAVE NOTHING BUT ADMIRATION AND PRIDE FOR MY FELLOW AIRMAN AND FRIENDS IN THE POLISH AIR FORCE. MAY GOD REST THEIR BRAVE SOULS, AND MAY THEY BE FOREVER REMEMBERED.
You may be English, but you are no Anglo-Saxon, unless you are over 1,400 years old! The Angles and the Saxons (and the Jutes) had long ceased to think of themselves as either Angles or Saxons (nobody referred to themselves as Anglo-Saxons) centuries before the Norman Conquest. You are ENGLISH, which means you have not only Angle/Saxon/Jute DNA, but also Ancient British (i.e. Welsh), Danish, and Norman DNA. That mongrel mixture is what makes the English what they are.
My Polish hubby is a patriotic man, how he’s always so proudly sharing about his country’s history to me and about his granddad who also fought in the war. Highly respect for Poland and all the Poles!❤️
I knew about the Polish contribution to the Battle of Britain since the 70s, my Aunts neighbours were Polish WWII ex-pats and lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester close to a small Ukrainian community. The old boy was ex-RAF, and never spoke about the horrors, but he had a stack of medals. He would sit there in his Polo neck sweater, patting the tobacco down in his pipe demanding to know how I was doing at school, and what was my batting average in cricket! His wife, a lovely lady, very humble and hard working. She'd be up at 6am to clean the steps of the terraced house, and my aunts steps, every day! For years my aunt didnt know she was doing that, and was moved when she found out. They were an impeccable calibre of people, from a bygone age and more English than the natives in my experience.
@@gillesguillaumin6603 wielokrotnie agentura i pieniądze z Anglii doprowadziły do krwawych przelewów krwi w Polsce, niestety Polaków uczciwość graniczyła z naiwnością ... dziś choć parę procent społeczeństwa już rozumie że głośno nawołujący "do broni" przywódcy to najczęściej obca agentura wpływu
@@woodb51 do you even believe such a BS?! Pols could save their own ass for even a month. Being small part of British air force and got couple of lucky shots makes you so fucking kucky? Why you pols are so rude and stupid. Germans and Russians didn’t give you enough lesson. I guess not.
I just finished reading "A Question of Honor". It not only covers 303 Squadron and all other Polish fighter and bomber squadrons flying for the RAF, but also the Polish ground, armored and airborne units that fought so gallantly and effectively for the allies throughout the war. (The II Polish Corps, for example, was described by General Patton as "The best turned out fighting formation I have ever seen" and successfully took Monte Casino in Italy when all other units had failed.) The book also deals with the politics of the time. As an American and Marine Corps veteran, I am ashamed to say that it wasn't just Britain that sold out the Poles but the United States as well. FDR, for all of his blustering about the Atlantic Charter and guaranteeing the rights of all nations to self determination after the war, still sold out Poland to Stalin just as Churchill did because they were afraid of offending "Uncle Joe". And despite what this film said about the Yalta Conference, the sell out had occurred at the Tehran Conference several months earlier when FDR and Churchill agreed to allow Stalin to take Poland. (Hypocritically, FDR asked the other two not to publicize that fact because he was running for reelection and was worried about losing the Polish-American vote.) Poland, by the way, was the ONLY country conquered by the Germans which did NOT have Quisling type collaborators to form a pro-Nazi government. Poland began the war in 1939 when they were invaded and didn't quit fighting until the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945. They deserved far better than the betrayal their British and American "allies" gave them.
This is 11 years old now. The film moved me, but I am easily impressed by the Polish. My Troop Sgt was a Pole who escaped from the nazis at the age of 15 in 1939, made his way to England, lied about his age and joined the 7th Armoured Brigade and fought right throughout the North African Campaign. Then Korea, and he was MY Troop Sgt ! Talk about luck !! Without doubt the best man I have ever known, am 73 now and feel that as passionately as when I decided he was, which was not long after I left the Army. Sgt Dick Stawicki of the Royal Tank Regiment. Ty Sarge ! :)
You might like the autobiography of Australian comedian, Magda Szubanski. She discovered her Polish dad was in the Resistance in Poland in his mid teens - and became the go to man for executing informers, etc. It was an extraordinary discovery for her.
An excellent educational documentary. many thanks for sharing it. My Aunty married a Polish soldier who was badly wounded and somehow made it to England. He like the others of his generation was a polite hard working gentleman who made his life over here after the war. The people did not let the Poles down it was the damn politicians as usual playing their stupid games. To this day I have great respect for the Polish people and their sad history of that time. My hope and I and I am sure, that this and other documentaries will educate our nation and give them gratitude as to the great contribution of courage and sacrifice that these brave men gave to our country. "We will remember them".
@@MegaBoilermaker Thank you guyz, but we only helped in the most critical part of Battle. Dowding made first modern air defense system that worked just perfect. Germans never have any chance to win this battle. But in 1940 nobody knew how efficient your air defense is, all numbers were secret and our pilots did really amazing things to help you win this battle. Their heroism, and maybe even more proffesionalism makes me proud, that we were important part of your victory Anyway BoB was the end of saying 'stupid things' about Polish resist in 1939 and RAF stayed our the best ally in ww2. Long live Poland, long live England. Don't forget we were allies in the the darkest time in history.
For my part as a child during that dreadful period, I salute the Polish People and their flying ability to fight against the enemy, especially in the Battle of Britain. As a Welshman I am disgusted by the British Government attitude towards their bravery and courage, for not recognizing them as a major part of the destruction of the Luftwaffe . My thanks to Poland and the men that fought and flew in that holocaust.
I was a kid during the war and didn’t understand that Northolt airfield a mile down the road was home to 303 Polish sqdn. Watched them take off in groups and return singly and sometimes damaged. I’m a Brit and I owe them respect.
+Jan Kowalski Actually, much earlier: in July 1941, a few weeks after Germans launched 'operation Barbarossa' - although the RAF witnessing the courage and commitment of the Poles finally did change their attitude toward them and at least acknowledged the injustice being done to them as the "strongest, the most loyal and faithful, and the most persistent European ally of all" (Air Ministry memo, Jan. 17, 1946, FO 371/115. PRO), which was after the British government decided at the end of the war that "everything should be done to ensure that as few Poles as possible remain in this country [Britain]" ("Forgotten Few", by Adam Zamoyski, p. 203). The British media helped to propagate this idea so well that Count Raczyński observed that "the common view is that the Poles have outlived their usefulness and deserve to be kicked from time to time, or at least given cold douches" ("In Allied London", Count E. Raczyński, p. 217). The Polish pilots who defended Britain after being made into celebrities and revered just a few short years back started hearing things like "Go home you dirty [?!] Pole!", yelled on a streetcar in Blackpool by several passengers to a Polish pilot and his wife ("Forgotten Few" A. Zamoyski, p. 193, similar situations described by many others).
+Chorus et Cantus This was also after the Poles who fought with the Allies were unceremoniously being sent (many back, as they had been survivors of the Katyn massacre or the Gulag) into the clutches of the communist regime that the Soviets, with full acceptance from the Western allies and against all the promises that had been made to the Poles when they were needed to help in the war effort against Germans, installed in post-war Poland. While Germans had been conducting what Labour MP Seymour Cocks described as follows, "We are witnessing in Poland a cold-blooded and deliberate murder of a nation." ("Poland in the British Parliament 1939-1945", Volume II, Wacław Jędrzejewicz, (ed.), p. 3), the Soviet rule over Poland since their treacherous invasion on Sept. 17, 1939 (today being its 76th anniversary), 17 days after Germans, was 'little short of genocide', as described by the American diplomat and historian George Kennan ("George F. Kennan and the Origin of Containment, 1944-1946", p. 28). The two (Germans and the Soviets) had a joint goal: "the Polish nation, as a nation, was to be destroyed once and for all [...] by the selective murder of all its potential leaders. [...] Poland, one of the great historic nation states of Europe, was to be so destroyed that it could never rise again", as noted by the British writer Louis FitzGibbon ("Katyń Massacre", 1977, p.14).
Poland lived on as people's republic. The Soviet-organized Polish People's Army fought just as hard as the Polish formations organized by the Brirish...
@@VersusARCH Where they fighting ? Fighting for Russians ? They mordered too many Polish soldiers after World War II... 1945-1955. Russish propagand in Polish TV talking about "Terrorists in forests", that were soldiers from west frontline World War 2 !!! No mercy for communists SHITS.
as an american I can say that the poles were never given the respect they deserved, now that you have the freedom you deserve I hope we do not abandon you.
@@MrHoojaszczyk Even today, most Poles don't trust anyone to be an ally. Given the sorry performance of French (Promises not kept) and British ("Not One Grenadier for Danzig"). Despite this, Polish Soldiers, Airmen and Sailors died serving under overall British Command. Poles are loyal to a fault but are despised for it.
Zbigniew Biernacki Some of my New Zealand relatives fought alongside Polish forces at Monte Cassino and had the highest respect for them. From 303 squadron to remnants of Polish naval and army forces I have only heard the most admirable comments and deep regret that more could not have been done for them. They were difficult times.
respect and love from Pakistan to brave polish pilots. they not only help UK in war but After war some of them came Pakistan and Help us to build our Air force
They did more this. They helped Britain break the enigma code of the Germans as they were some of the best cryptographers. They understood the German mindset as well. They fleed with all this knowledge back to England. Without their help the war would have dragged on and cost more lives. They deserve to be treated with respect. They earned it!
Yes 27th, Poles did "brake" (break) the Enigma Cod. The caught it in the Baltic, cleaned it, put it in a frying pan w/ a little butter, and then broke bread with it. It was delicious. I love Cod. Great fish.
I'm reading a compulsory book by Arkady Fiedler about Squadron 303 and there's a chapter about your pilot Jozef František. He was a hero! Zdravím, čeští bratři! 🇨🇿🇵🇱
When only a teenager, I read my father's copy of "I Saw Poland Betrayed: An American Ambassador Reports To The American People" by Ambassador Arthur Bliss Lane, describing the Katyn Forest Massacres and other horrors. This was written after WWII. So there were some people who tried to help the Poles. We sometimes had Polish refugees in our home after WWII. In order to to take over Poland, the Russians had to kill off a third of the population. They are a tough people with a remarkable history. The book is available for $.99 in the Kindle edition.
Hans Frank, the Nazi military governor of Poland once said "If I had to hang a poster for every 10 Poles I have had killed, there would not be enough forests in Poland to supply the paper." Between two warring powers run by two despotic dictators. The Poles would suffer again and again.
A little-known fact - the Russians were murdering us before the war. Many Poles lived in the areas of today's Belarus and Ukraine due to the fact that these were the lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Those Poles who stayed on the Soviet side after the Treaty of Riga were mostly murdered. the so-called Polish NKVD operation
My father volunteered for service into the RAF from America (USAAF) prior to the US entering the war. In 1942 he was assigned to Colern RAF Station in Wiltshire, England (the Polish Air Field) near Bath England with the Polish Night Fighters. He told me they were the bravest pilots he ever flew with and they knew no fear. I'm writing this on June 5th, 2019 on the eve of the 75th D-Day anniversary and thinking about all of the brave men that stood up and defeated the Nazi regime. Someday soon I wish to visit Poland on a trip to Europe.
I think you might find that's Calne, Wiltshire near where the RAF station was. There was another RAF base at Yatesbury also, there was a hospital there and my father who was a trained Nurse in the RAF medical branch was stationed there for some time before he was transferred to number 50 MFH RAF (mobile field hospital) that unit was the first RAF field hospital in France after D-Day ( D+7 ) dad took us to around Yatesbury, Calne and Devizes on the way back from our Devon holidays several times, and he took us to a small churchyard where there were a lot of graves of Polish aircrew. My dad said they were very brave people. I was only nine or ten then. I think the churchyard was at Yatesbury but I can't be sure. I've now looked it up, and yes it was in the churchyard of All Saints Yatesbury. There are 19 WW2 graves, plus 3 polish airmen buried there.
Polish pilots were excellent. Not only in the RAF squadron 303 but also in other parts of the RAF. Polish pilots carried out very many difficult and dangerous transport flights where resistance fighters in the occupied countries received weapons and other supplies, delivered by air drop from RAF aircrafts piloted by polish airmen. According to statements from Danish resistance fighters, the Polish pilots were very good at finding the drop points, thereby considerably reducing the risk of being detected by the Germans. - Also to be remembered are the Polish contributions to breaking the German Enigma code.
"Polish contributions to breaking the German Enigma code."-> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_contribution_to_World_War_II and in between mine detector, which help to win in El Alamain/ Africa/ and remove millions of mines after the war or find some silver, gold coins also
The end of the movie broke my heart. People who gave so much, who risked their lives were treated so badly and betrayed at the end. Shame on Britain ....
The USA made the decisions at the end of the war. The fact that Britain declared war on Germany because they refused to leave Poland was neither here nor there to them. That was not the reason they came into the war in Europe.
Robert Bryant The Socialists didn’t work for Stalin, Churchill worked with Stalin to preserve British influence. Don’t kid yourself, Britain wasn’t hijacked by a leftist ideology, it turned its back on Eastern Europe for its own gain.
R.I.P to Canadian Squadron Leader John Stewart Hart (1916-2019), the last surviving Canadian #BattleofBritain pilot who flew a Spitfire with the Royal Air Force. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
My grandfather, who fought in the RAF in WW1 and fought with the RCAF in WW2. My Dad remembered stories about how many pilots came from all over. Men from invaded and occupied countries. My grandfather still remembered a little Spanish, Polish and French as he told stories. He didn’t talk about the actual brutality of war,or the death and destruction, but about the friendships and comrades. My father was “left behind”, as the baby of the family, he was only 5 in 1938. He lost his brother. Both aunts also enlisted and I can’t remember what their designation was. My father served our country for 32 years. I am immensely proud of them all.
@@marcinpietrzak1824 my grandfather is long past, and it’s been 9 years since my Pops left me. I still miss him everyday. He was an amazing man, and I was blessed. And Polish pilots who fought in WW2 and died flying have never been properly remembered
3 Polish mathematicians were also instrumental in setting the path for the breaking of the Enigma code; Turing may have improved on the theory and on building a more sophisticated "bomba" or calculating machine, but all of the Brit codebreakers stood on the Pole's shoulders.
+pepe cohetes i dont think so there were all nationalitys involved there buddy noone was above the rest many of them did not even speak to eachother they werent allowd to so it was nothing but a team effort thats what wins all wars !!!
+Raymond Jordan although it is true that all nationalities/ethnicities were involved in the intelligence sections of the Allie's war efforts. The Poles smuggled out to England their deciphered enigma messages and the keys to decoding them. The development of an English copy of the enigma machine was largely due to their efforts.
James Rather first of all they were not mostly polish most of them were british and a few americans and a few polish dude there were all kindsa people in there but they were all seperated buy them little huts and for the most part they couldent even speak with eachother unless it was important i seen a great doc. about it it was really good wish i could remember were i seen it maby history channel but it was a good one take care dude
+Raymond J educate yourself dude... "British codebreakers had enjoyed a few successes against early Enigma machines in the mid-1930s but as war approached they had hit a cul-de-sac. The Poles were far ahead thanks to some remarkable breakthroughs (successes that so infuriated Knox he threw a tantrum). Whereas Britain still used linguists to break codes, the Poles had understood that it was necessary to use mathematics to look for patterns. They had then taken a further step by building electro-mechanical machines to search for solutions (known as "bombas", perhaps because of the ticking noise they made)." www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28167071
I grew up during the Cold War, in an area of the State of New York with a very large ethnic Polish population. Many of my friends had last names ending in "ski" or "czyk". In all the 20th century, I can't think of another country that got such a raw deal as Poland, without the Polish people doing anything to deserve it. They were cursed by geography. Those Poles and their descendants that came to the United States were fine friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens. The volunteer fire department in my town was dominated by men of Polish extraction. Perhaps it served as an outlet for the natural bravery represented in this video.
"n all the 20th century, I can't think of another country that got such a raw deal as Poland, without the Polish people doing anything to deserve it. ...except...be Polish.. "They were cursed by geography." ...you dumb fuck, by that logic so was every country in Europe. How stupid can you fucking be to not understand that if you have a list of 50 countries that have a long history of taking part in wars against each other, forming various alliances for mutual defense and then getting into wars anyway, that some of these countries are going to benefit from this and some are going to hate life really badly? That is what they get for being Polish and being proud of being Polish and refusing to consider themselves German or Austrian and being proud Germans or Austrians, or even Swiss. Seriously do you not understand that in life you don't have to be extremely stupid to be extremely unhappy? Just stupid enough! Germany overwhelmingly dominated Europe in the first stage of WW2. Most sensible non-German Europeans accepted this and to a degree they collaborated with the Nazis. Most, who did not, were either shot or sent to the death camps or enslaved by the Nazis. The ones who decided to actively take-up arms against the Nazis, well after the Nazis had overrun their own countries? Tell me this: how were they ever going to be seen by the British as anything other than charity-cases with the British suffering to protect, house and feed them? The mistake the foreigners make when they move to a foreign country is to mistake the charity of some as charity from the whole. For every "good person" that you meet who is happy to help you? There are 20 people who would be even more happy if you'd leave their fucking country and get the hell back to your own country.
I had the honour of caring for one of the polish fighter pilots in his later years as he succumbed to dementia. He had settled in Australia post war years and led a good life here before illness set in.
Before watching this film i had no idea of the great talent and sacrifice that the polish airmen have to the British people. I am a British national and think that it is disgraceful that we were never taught about this in history lessons at school. There is a Polish memorial to a fighter plane that crashed not to far from where I live and I have often wondered about the part the Polish player in the great war. I will think about what I have learned from watching this film whenever I visit there in the future. Thanks to all the Polish who helped us Brits in the war effort, you certainly deserve to be remembered better that you have in the past.
As the Grandson of a British airman (LAC Joseph Gilman)who served as ground crew for 300/301 at RAF Bramcote and briefly 303 I salute the polish airmen. My grandad said they were the bravest and best the RAF had, and he went on to serve with 229 in North Africa.
I have read both For Your Freedom and Ours, and A Question of Honor. These men were heroes! The way they were treated at the end of the war was disgusting! I live in Paphos, Cyprus now and have had the pleasure to meet one of the pilots grandsons!
The Poles have been soldiers all over Europe.The Germans,Austro-Hungarian Empire,Russians,etc have served in their armies for centuries.They are a martial race like many in the history of the world.Luckily for us Americans we had a Polish General named Pulaski and a few others fight in our army during the Revolution.WWI and WWII thank god we had thousands of Poles and Polish Americans fighting for America.They are indeed fine warriors!!
reddevilparatrooper You just explained something for me. I am Australian but our surname was originally Polish. There has been something military about the entire family for Generations. My Grandfather was an Australian Champion rifle shooter. Now I know where it comes from. The Polish culture coming down the male line. When I remember my Grandfather I could see him in the manner of those few old Polish pilots. The look also. Pity but it is very close to the Russian Cossack tradition. Men's men, fierce honorable warriors when necessary. Charrming as the British ladies said. I am 68 but it brings memories of my Grandfather back.
Very well done film, and should be watched by all who are not thoroughly familiar with the history of WWII. The lessons of Poland's betrayal should not be forgotten.
Poland is one of the unsung heroes of Europe. But, my grandparents and mother, like most Poles, rarely 'toot their horns' over accomplishments. They just do what needs to be done. No complaining. It is a cultural thing. A true 'can do' attitude. It is the way I was brought up. I can not help but be very proud of my Polish heritage when I see things like this video. The USA's top Fighter Ace Francis Gabreski was of Polish heritage.
You may also find on YT first ever spitfire flying in Poland in this or in 2017 year. It was borrowed from english gent ,owner of that spitfire ,to the son of the one of that polish pilots from the Battle of Britain. There was interview with that guy who brought that first ever spitfire to Poland. And he said something shocking at least for me, that every spitfire and hurricane planes used by those polish squadrons fighters in Britain was actually bought and paid off in gold evacuated just before WWII to Britain , by polish government in exile. So they not only fought and died for Her Majesty but also used equipment and airplanes officially belonging to Poland and polish forces in exile. Btw no one of spits or hurricanes ever come back to Poland after the war.
***** Yes. There was more polish squadrons. Second thing is that only half of polish pilots fougt in polish squadrons. Second half was spread among english squadrons.
Very impressive . I knew that the Polish were one those who liberate us (The Netherlands) during WWII. There are several places that will remind you and honoured the Polish people. In my neighbourhood there is a "General Maczek Square' or 'The Polish Liberatorlane'.
thank you for that Theo. General Maczek is our great hero; and after the war, he ended in England as a fucking bartender when everyone should bow to him.
@@01LadyAnna in Breda there is even a museum called after him. In my birthplace (Stadskanaal) there is a General Maczek Square and at the border of the square there is a war monument with the logo of the Polish 1st Panzer Division and contains sand from the birthplace of General Mazcek and sand from the Polish Fields of Honour (Breda). If some people make fun of it, well they don't know anything about history.
I am a 62 year old American, I have read and watched many stories about WW2, first I have heard of these Great Polish Fighters. Thank You ! And I had a Polish Step Father from 1970 to 1973, Ed Orkowski, He never talked about War.
When I was about 10 - 14 years old a Polish man lived across the street. He was a wonderfully kind, gentle man. I had absolutely no concept of how he came there or what his story might have been. I suspect now it might have been similar to these. I regret the missed opportunity of learning more.
Watching this moves me as an Australian. Officially we are of German Heritage but our surname is of Polish origin. Looking at some of those now very old Poles brings back memories of my Grandfather. It makes me realise he still carried a lot of his Polish heritage. Honorable. Cheeky. Arrogant if necessary. Humble when it was necessary. Never backed away from a worthwhile fight and most of all the dignity and character and the physical characteristics. A man's man but very charming with the ladies. That really got at Grandma sometimes. Yes he was just like them. That is culture.
@@touristguy87 Reading your comments reminded me of a famous quote that applies to you. "I judged the Poles by their enemies. And I found it was an almost unfailing truth that their enemies were the enemies of magnanimity and manhood. If a man loved slavery, if he loved usury, if he loved terrorism and all the trampled mire of materialistic politics, I have always found that he added to these affections the passion of a hatred of Poland. She could be judged in the light of that hatred; and the judgment has proved to be right." - Gilbert Keith Chesterton
I'm a 73-year-old American I never realized the contributions the Poles made to the Battle of Britian. Thank you for enlightening MEeee. Such a sad ending.
Poland was betrayed by the WW II allies multiple times. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_betrayal It is shameful that Poland and other freedom loving eastern European countries were treated as bargaining chips to avoid aggravating Stalin at Yalta.
@@ru.kiddingme Britain and USA for geographical and tactical reasons had no chance against USSR . The Western alliance had no perfected the atom bomb by then.
Thanks Poland, and we will not forget the help we got from Poles in Norway when the Germans came. Poles, Brits, French and Norwegians fighting together on the mountain tops, that must have been some sight!
@@imedi why you mix brexit for this. I am Polish and to me is disgusting, how the left discovered and began to use Poles after the referendum. To the referendum, the media demonized Poles, as was the problem with emigrants, it was always pointed out to the Poles. A mass of hate, lies and blunt propaganda. Political correctness did not allow pointing to other minorities, that's why Poles were blamed. For me, brexit is an obstacle, I would prefer him not to be, but it is the British decision that I am a guest here. For this I am impatient with those socialist parasites who have such an influence on Politics in the UK and EU. You do not understand, the Poles were betrayed by the Allies - because they let Poland be taken over by these Soviet socialist bandits. Poles are in the UK, because these idiots ruled in Poland for 50 years, the war and communist governments caused a huge crisis in Poland. THESE SOCIETICS caused mass emigration of Poles. So now how socialists pretend to be friends and take care of brexit is just rude. It was socialists who caused mass emigration of Poles. So now the socialists pretend to be friends and are concerned about brexit is the meanness, that is ridiculous.
At the end it broke my heart to learn that all other allies including Chinese and the Iranians took part in the marching pass celebration except the polish,who were integral part of the allies forces.
I am reminded of the comments of a WWI pilot who said that (to paraphrase) it was the hunters who lived; those checking their armourments, whereas those who were concerned with their safety never lasted. The Poles clearly had the grim determination of vengeance in their hearts that perhaps surpassed our comparatively shallow aspirations of valour. On January 25th 2022, I raise a glass to those who fought for me, an unknown boy who would be born some 25-30 years following their sacrifices that allowed me to become the 50 year old man that I am today. I hope that my life, those of my parents and those who follow can do justice to these incredibly gifted and amazing men.
Fabulous pilots great people! My uncle served with some of the Polish pilots. We must never forget their bravery and full commitment to fight the hun. Thank you Poland!
All I know, is I grew up in a Polish neighborhood and I wouldn't trade ANY of my Polish friends or their families for ANYTHING OR ANYBODY IN THE WORLD! I had no idea how Britain treated the Pols in their country after the war had ended. It just gives me just another reason to say SCREW THE CROWN!
olish pilots were among the most experienced in the battle, most of them having already fought in the 1939 September Campaign in Poland and the 1940 Battle of France. Additionally, prewar Poland had set a very high standard of pilot training. No. 303 Squadron, named after the Polish-American hero, General Tadeusz Kościuszko, achieved the highest number of kills (126) of all fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it only joined the combat on 30 August 1940. These Polish pilots, representing about 5% of total Allied pilots in the Battle, were responsible for 12% of total victories (203) in the Battle and achieved the highest number of kills of any Allied squadron.
I was very fortunate to be assigned to Marion Kozuba-Zozubski when he came out to Aden in 1966. (I showed him round the Federation). He taught me to 3-point land a DC3 (not allowed); would leave the flight deck and, in so doing, switch off a fuel supply. After I had dealt with the problems he set, he would return to the flight deck and say, "Tony, you will always find some idiot who drops you in it". The Poles did things their way and with reason. Marion was a great guy.
it's too bad i have gotten to your msg so late..i used to be a pilot myself...and i know the history...Josef Frantisek ..."dzielny czech" in english"A BRAVE CHECH" was the 303 SQUADRNON PILOT..as per "dywisjon 303"book written by Arkady Fiedler.i will never forget HIS name.back in Poland we used to have an exam for a pilot licence starting from a glider pilot licence and up.A part of the exam was the aviation history.i could not forget his name AND I NEVER WILL..there were a very few....winston churchill story is a fake..what he said; was not about polish;,czech,canadians,us,french..and many more..pilots (don't ever forget all OTHER PERSONELL ,LIKE: NAV.,MECHANICS,RADAR,METEO ETC).his statement was about aviators,that save his own ass and BRITAN....i believe hi had sold IN JALTA,WITH JOSEFH S...MY COUNTRY..FOREVER!!!!
Back in 1995 i studied ww2 as part of my uk GCSE`s We learnt about the battle of Britain and about the brave actions of the poles..My history teacher was friends with a ex fighter pilot so we had some first hand accounts of their proficiency. Much respect
+Adam Potoczny Když jsme tedy takoví, jak nás popisuješ, proč jsme vůbec šli bojovat za Británii, když jsme takoví zbabělci? Mohli jsme zůstat sedět doma a nic nedělat. Měl bys vystrčit hlavu z písku a něco si přečíst, než vypustíš takovou lež.
Niemcy wjechali czołgami do Pragi bez walki, do Warszawy nie wjechali wcale, Warszawy nigdy nie zdobyli militarnymi działaniami, tylko zbrodniczymi bombardowaniami, dlatego poddano Warszawe, bo cierpiała ludnośc cywilna.
The contribution that Polish Airmen and soldiers made to Britains war effort has never been properly recognised. Those heroic fighters deserve an enormous thank you.
Who says it wasn't "recognised"? The fact is that the sacrifices that Britain made to saving Poland has never been properly recognised. That heroic nation deserves an enormous Polish thank you.
"I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it and to live or die for it" Casimir Pulaski one of many Poles who have changed the world and fought for freedom around the world.
Thank you very much and my respect to all those Polish people (and all nationalities) who sacrificed and suffered so much. As I am British, I am appalled by the ignorance of our government. You all deserve to be greatly honoured and remembered
Some quotes about 303 from Americans: Later on, the 303 received a copy of Collier's from the United States, where Capt. Newell O. Roberts recalled: "They sent us to train with the hottest combat squadron in Britain, the 303rd Polish Pursuit Group. They were flying Spitfires. Those Polish kids taught us everything they had learned in combat over Europe. Then we went along on seven combat operations over France. On none of these were we jumped by the Jerries. By the time we reached Africa, we knew how to sweep the sky of Jerries and Eyties. The Poles are the best sky fighters I saw anywhere." August 1943 was even busier. Many "Ramrod" missions were flown. On several occasions, Poles also escorted American B-17s. On August 17, while escorting some 60 B-17s, the 303 led by F/Lt Arct surprised a group of FW190s sending down four of them without losses, with F/Sgt Chudek scoring twice. Escorting the Fortresses sometimes meant air-sea rescue. John Keema recalls: "On August 24, 1943 a flight of fighters from the 303 and 316 squadrons came to our assistance as we were trying to return to base from a bombing mission over France. Our B-17 had a couple of engines shot out and as we headed home alone, we were attacked by German fighters. S/Ldr Falkowski 303 CO (leading the Wing. WR) ordered some pilots to escort us back. We were attacked by FW-190's, and one of them was shot down by F/Lt Longin Majewski and F/Sgt Tadeusz Szymkowiak. We ditched in the English Channel and the Polish pilots radioed our position to Air-Sea Rescue. They stayed with us until we were rescued. A few days later we were to visit the 303 but weather prevented our doing so."
When we had a month stay at Chelsea service apartment near Kensington ,there were some Polish ladies working in house keeping and I noticed that they are hard working people.
i've got johnny kentowski's autobiography; he was not a great writer, but his testimony to the poles is sincere and remarkable. so many people live their lives today unknowingly owing thanks to those fighters.
Yes and Poland gave the translation machine to first French, and then after fall of France to Britain. yet British are giving credit to Turing, even though they were using Polish machines to conduct translation.
Dont know how other foreign pilots and their homelands. But former Czechoslovakia had to pay GreatBritain after war all expenses spent on czechoslovakian pilots - accomodation, uniforms, training and so on. Czechoslovakia had to pay in gold for letting their pilots fight for foreign country! It is a fucking disgrace and shame for Great Britain claiming this from somebody who bled for two countries at once! Not so many people know this. It has a good reason not to be mentioned. GB should have licked soles of Polish, Czechoslovakian or any foreign pilot for being in RAF action against Germany. It is some kind of betrayal from ally. Nobody even cared about Czechoslovakia or Poland. Where was France or GB in 1938-39?
funkydonkey11051989 Poland had huge reserves of gold transported to Britain at the beggining of the war. This gold stayed there, since Polish had to pay for their Government in Exile expenses. Like drinks, cigars and shows. Fkin disgrace.
It should be mandatory for all those so-called leaders in London to take to heart what happened at the end with the apeasement to that Russia. Nothing changes, does it? And where does it leave us? With weak leaders from Attlee onwards.
My father was Polish and here as a member of the air force in WWII. I never fail to be amazed at the hypocrisy of the allies supposedly winning the war when a lot of Europe including Poland whose invasion by Germany was the reason for declaring war on Germany were still invaded after the war. In other words a lot of them were worse off than before the war began. Yet everybody just sat back and let those 3 old men divide up Europe nobody else had a say except the U.S., the U.K. and Russia. The whole war seemed to have been for nothing ending in a collusion in swopping of one tyrannical regime for another? All that slaughter for what ? There were an awful lot of suspicious goings on to allow the Russians the control they got. For want of a better word I'm British.
+jack freeman I'm sorry but you dont' understand a bit of WWII history. Hitler planned to strike Soviets with Poland as an ally. Then, he planned to strike France and Britain leaving Poland controling the situation on East. It was obvious for British politics so they cheated Poland giving false guarantees, which converted Beck (Polish PM) to reject Hitler's offer. That unleached his furry on Poland, because it destroyed his plan. When Hitler turned his death machinerry to Polish soil Britain was doing everything which was possible to postpone Britains engagement. Polish nation was bleeding to death while Churhil was drinking his whisky. Britain didn't give a shit to fulfill guarantees given to Poland, that thrown Poland to battle vs Hitler. Hitler never ment to attack Poland. He needed Poland to realise his plan. It was you as a target. It was France, it was Soviets. I'm god damn sorry that history turned so awfull for us Poles. I'd rather se Britain to suffer and us drinking whisky.
+Bart B No disrespect but I was aware of this beginning which led to the so called phoney war whilst the allies did nothing but wait in France. My main point was pointing out the compounded hypocrisy at the end of the war when not just Poland got sold out but a huge part of Europe too. Also the strange very questionable death of Sikorsky who wouldn't have just accepted the division of Europe had he still been alive. No doubt other nasty things went on related to other countries ending up behind the iron curtain.
+jack freeman did we need another 5 millions deads to have the soviets at the Manche, just to prove your point ? Read about General Plan Ost and operation unthinkable. Then you'll understand than those old men weren't that idiots.
Millions died because of Stalin anyway and the Russians would have backed down if the allies had been united. I feel your statement is an exaggeration.
Exaggeration ??? the soviets destroyed 80 german divisions and had ten of thousands of tanks, artillery and mecanized trucks, the westerners had get rid of 20 of those divisions only. They were never a threat for the Red Army and everyone knew that. Did you never heard of operation unthinkable ? And nobody was going to have a sequel of ww2 for the polish.
Poland, your warriors are brave, brave men. You fought for a free world, a world without prejudice or hate, a world were we don´t discriminate. Battle of britain was won with the help of the polish. Polish pilots, you have my salute!
polish paratroopers saved my fathers life when they got in between a ambulance with a red cross on it being machine gunned by drunk Russian troops. would not be here today if it was not for polish soldiers...( bless them all )
My father served in the RAF during the war, and he would often tell me about the admiration and respect that British airmen had for their Polish allies, so having watched this documentary I feel so ashamed about the post war treatment of these men by my country.
@@adrianrokosz1054 is there anywhere in poland that holds a victory day for british pilots?.. you forget something, poland was the start of the ww2 problem, it fell in a few weeks to the germans who took your airfields and bases etc etc etc , england gave the polish the tools to fight back... you were fighting for your freedom... the aircraft the poles flew were english planes.. polish planes were no match for a 109.. ours were.
@@enochpowel4580 Really Enoch. Before the treaty where Poland teamed up with Britain and France all sides were negotiating. Russians wanted Poland as an Ally, Germany wanted Poland as an ally, Britain and France wanted Poland as an ally. Germany also wanted Britain and France as allies. Why did you fail to mention this? What is your agenda? You make it sound like Poland was colluding with Germany to invade Russia. I bet they were also colluding with Russia to attack Germany. Now who were the British, French and Polish colluding to attack? Germany? Russia? or someone else?
@@enochpowel4580 Your point being what Enoch? Which British pilots liberated Poland from the Germans? Had that happened do you think they would not have such a commemoration in Poland nowadays? You do know that Poland was not liberated by the allies but occupied by the Russians during WW2 don't you? The Russians then occupied Poland until 1993 when the last Russians troops left Poland and returned to Russia due to the agreement between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at Yalta.
My Dad flew single-seat, single-engine jet fighters for over 20 years, and his fighter pilot friends were always among the few people around whom I felt welcome and safe from teasing, such as I got in school. So 303 Squadron are heroes to me for being pilots, for striking back against bullies, and for also having lives mostly at least as sad as mine. Bless you and your families.
I would like to thank all the Polish flyers,soldiers and sailors who helped fight the Nazis from exile in England, although small in number your contribution to help the allies win the war was essential. I would mostly like apologize to the way Britain treated you after the war ended , Poland was still not free and that Lunatic Stalin was an even bigger mass murderer than Hitler, how did we thank you ?? by sending you back to an enslaved Poland !! what the h*ll were we thinking ?? Not Britain's Finest Hour, could someone who speaks Polish please translate this apology so the families of those brave men can know this Anglo baby boomer will NEVER forget their sacrifice.
My uncle was a Polish serviceman in the British Army during WW2. He was sentenced to death for being a trainee officer in the Polish Army, then sent to a slave labour (death) camp in Siberia. Having been released, he walked to the Arabian Gulf and took a ship to the UK, and joined the British Army on arrival. After the war, he wondered about going back to Poland, so he visited the Polish Embassy in London to ask for advice. The officer carefully checked to see if she could be overheard, closed the door, and simply and very quietly advised him not to. He later found out that ex-servicemen returning to Poland (and other countries under Soviet control) were routinely sent to prison camps and most died there. After 15 very lean years in England he met and married my aunt, and became an Englishman - sort of......
@ii Clan If you mean that you don't know how to get a polish keyboard you can download one from iTunes/Play Store for a phone or change settings in control panel for a computer. If you commented just to say that you can speak polish but can't read/write in polish then I would like to thank you for making such a groundbreaking and important announcement to all of RUclips.
I was at school with a grandson of one of those many brave Poles who stood up and were counted amongst our strongest friends, this was commonly known in my generation and I find it sad that such an important part of our history is not being passed on by our schools.
Flying in formation was what the Luftwaffe expected. 303 were too determined to payback what they had done to Poland. Luckily, a Polish pilot had the temerity to keep a diary of their exploits over the German pilots. The Poles will never forget that they were not represented at The London Victory Celebrations of 1946, yet the Poles saved their British backsides in September 1940. Churchill treacherously sold out the Poles by handing Poland to Stalin & Communist Russia. I have visited the Polish Memorial in Northolt, London to pay my respects to those pilots that did so much for England under extreme threat of Nazi occupation but saved by the Polish Pilots courageous & brave actions. I salute them.
What rubbish! Many other Nations contributed pilots to serve in the RAF but majority were British. We saved our selves mainly by our own effort in1940. We had no realistic hope of winning the war without the help of the USA. Do you not know that Stalin invaded Poland at the same time as Hitler. Stalin took Eastern Europe by force it was not "handed" to them, it was never ours to "give"! We had the option to stay out that war but our word was our bond. We destroyed our economy for decades because that. This Anglophobia makes me sick, if we are such an odious country how come so many foreigners want to live here?
There is a new movie coming out next month (August 2018) called Hurricane. Although a drama It honours these brave pilots and tells the truth about how they were treated. A nice touch during filming was the families of the pilots were invited to a party during the film shoot at a UK airfield and for many it was the first time they had met. Anyone who enjoyed or was interested in this youtube video will love Hurricane. The truth always comes out in the end.
+Filip Žižak Those who where fighting for freedom and peace are heroes. Nationality doesn't matter but we must remeber our heroes and history. Greetings from Poland, Croatia is beautiful country:)
About six years ago I was on a coach going from the South West of France to Poland. It was a long journey and a large number of the passengers were Poles who clearly worked abroad but were returning home for whatever reason. As the bus crossed the border from Germany into Poland the driver who was also a Pole announced over the speaker system ' ladies and gentleman - we are now on Polish soil.' The whole bus load of people stood up and cheered. It is a moment I will never forget and showed so clearly the proud and fervent love the whole nation has for it's country. That is something that seems to be missing in Britain.
Absolutely Bandit..... British youth have been indoctrinated to see their country's history as a litany of evil and wrongdoing, by generations of lefties in Govt and the education system... the same lefties who are now filling young ones heads in school with all the current gender, mental elf and self hatred BS, instead of teaching them the sciences and arts.
In all, 30 Polish airmen out of 145 were killed during the Battle. One of them died at the hands of an angry crowd in east London. He had baled out of his fighter and landed, injured in Wapping. His incoherent rambling was mistaken for German and he was set-upon by the people who had gathered round him. They were incensed by recent Nazi raids on civilian targets, but he was a member of the RAF. The close range tactics used by the Poles led to suggestions of recklessness, but there is little evidence for this view. For example, the death rate in 303 Squadron was lower than the average rate for other RAF squadrons, despite the squadron having been the highest-scoring Allied squadron during the Battle.
I can tell You how it works as I played a lot computer games and I believe it's the same stuff. Once You are approaching target aircraft with no fire he is not trying to swerve perhaps not being aware of being in fire range or not knowing at all that somebody is on his tail or perhaps thinking it's not an enemy flying in formation. Once You open fire target will most likely do some sharp manoeuvre. Firing from far got very low success rate mainly not only because of not being able to aim properly on target, but due to the time bullets got to travel. Until they will reach the target target is not there so it's more thinking ahead and luck factor involved + wasting a lot of ammo which is limited. Fire on close range is more straightforward. You're aiming almost where You want to hit while from far distance You got to sometimes aim even few lengths of aircraft further away especially chasing him in loop for an instance.
303 was excellent, but not the highest scoring squadron in the Battle of Britain. It did have the highest RATE of kills over time, though. If the Battle of Britain had lasted longer, and the supply of experienced Polish pilots had been there, then it would have been the highest scoring squadron.
The British did the same thing to the Polish paratroops who took part in "Operation Market Garden." In fact they treated all of the Polish heroes the same way.
Polish paratroopers were used as scapegoats even thought they alone held off escape line- without them no one would came out of this alive. After that Gen. Sosabowski was dismissed and he also lost his rank in the army. He never came back to Poland as he would be for sure sent to prison by communist gov.
after the war he worked on an assembly line at an electronics company in London. when he died most of his friends from the factory did bot know he was a decorated general till his honors where red out loud at his funeral
+KingDT2007 It's too bad he didn't make his way to America after the war- if I had been in his place, I would have had a hard time stomaching even the SIGHT of the British-! But as an American, I'm embarrassed to say that the U.S. has done more than its share of treachery and back-stabbing, too.
William Dean As an Australian we also remember WW1 and British attitudes. As Australians we also remember WW2 and the USA attitude. Never seen a Hollywood movie yet with Australian pilots and aircraft yet at the end of WW2 Australia had the 4th biggest Airforce in the world. About 6,000 up to date aircraft. The only Hollywood movies are the USA trying to claim a big part of Australian troops pushing back 30,000 experienced Japanese in New Guinea over the Kakoda Trail. Before the USA arrived. The first time the Japanese had been stopped except by the USSR in 1937. At least given time the British do give others credit. A quality the USA has yet to develop. It must be something to do with a deep down insecurity in the USA.
The Polish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain were by far the best airmen of their day. Their flying skills and fearless character made them the most deadly opponent the Luftwaffe ever faced.
And what was their reward after war when polish pilots came back to their country? For many of them jail and tortures... gen. Skalski barely survived. Thanks to ZSRR and Jews
Yes. because he was shooting down old 1931 Polish PZL P11 aircraft in his Bf 109 and old Russian Polikarpov I-15 Biplanes. Once the Polish had decent contemporary aircraft, like the Hawker Hurricane or Supermarine Spitfire, it was a different story. In the early days of the BoB, the Polish didn't use the traditional fighter pilot tactic of closing in on your enemy from behind. They attacked from head on. Why do you ask - because those bloody old P11's couldn't fly fast enough to close in on a German bomber, never mind a Messerschmidt 109. They had to close with the enemy, head on. Bloody brave Polish pilots I say. Once they became familiar with the Hurricane and Spitfire they started to use the more traditional and less suicidal tactics. God Bless RAF Polish "Kościuszko" Squadron 303. At lease as a former Brit, I remember them.
Are YOU joking? Why did the German Luftwaffe lost in the Battle of Britain if they had way more airplanes? So many airplanes and German aces and the Polish pilots were shooting them down like ducks. Think. :)
@@keandle S..t, one guy in 100s of replies that actually knows how they trained Polish fighters before 1939. Thanks. In writings left by Polish pilots, eg. Skalski, he describes how lucky they were when trained in Toruń as opposed to Dęblin, because they could fly more and try different techniques. He said himself that 'Toruń' squadron had more than twice flight hours comparing to most of the other places in Poland. Yes one of crazy techniques was head on attacks as you wrote, and they did with life amunition. Surr many Poles were confused by the 'RAF formation', since it didn't provide enough protection in their opinion, so they mostly flew the way it they did it during training exercises in Poland, maybe a bit crazy in the eyes of the RAF, but quite effective. I was born in city of Grudziądz, in '39 just 20km from Prussian border. Also a military place with one of first military pilot schools (Air Fighting and Bombing) in Poland (actually the Prussians built the air base there in early 1900s), where many of pilots that flew during the BoB and WW2 studied. There was also an infantry and cavalry that stationed in the garrison. Cheers
Polish fighter squadron 303 was the highest scoring squadron during the Battle of Britain. The pilots were experiwnced and unbelievably stubborn, dedicated 1000%.
I think it was 603 spitfire squadron who were the highest scorers, their kills were mostly the germans top fighters, not light bombers. 303 kills using fact based evidence have been reduced from 149 to 127 to 55 by one polish historian and 59 by another, a brit historian made it 48. 303 were all experienced professional veterans all put together in 2 squadrons. Experienced brit pilots were spread out in the various squadrons to bring on the new pilots, they had lost hundreds of pilots by the b of b having seen much more action over a much longer time period. Statistics and reality,
Well done the Polish Air Force Fighter Squadrons that fought in the BAttle of Britain. I saw that had the record for kills. However they weren't honoured in the Victory Parade as Churchill didn't want to cause offence to the Russians. WEAK in the extreme. The Poles were also the first to crack the Enigma code. Very Clever people. I worked with a man who had been a German POW in WWII in Poland and the things he learned to do made it easy to follw him in the work. Sadly we often do not honour our friends with the rewards and praise they deserve.
I rarely comment on this website. But I want to say this: as a British citizen I have always been proud of the fact that Britain entered WW2 to honour a defence agreement with Poland, not because it was attacked. I am also ashamed that so little is known in the UK about Squadron 303 and the contribution of other Polish fighting forces. Now, post-Brexit when Polish people are vilified as "foreigners", I want to say, thank you.
@@atrlawes98 So you don't know the postwar history of your own country, especially the exploits of Athlee and alike ones towards those brave heroes left alone with nothing for their sacrifice, no thanks and, what most important, no way back to their promised free homeland. You can't imagine this drama. But life can teach such as you other way.
I am an 82 year old Brit brought up in Cranleigh, Surrey, underneath the sound of “dogfights”. I was only 4 to 9, then. As I grown older, my understanding of the Poles has grown year by year. I am ashamed of the way my country treated them, but they were not alone. UK should be a land fit for heroes, but sadly, it is not. For a time I lived at Ruislip, near Northolt. Today, whenever I meet Poles, I tell them how much we owe to them and, if possible, they should visit the Polish war memorial at Northolt. John Nolan
respect to you sir
Thank You. Simple"thank you'' from British citizen is more important for us than official thanks from UK as the state.
Much respect to a man of great heart and great conscience.
Thank you for your kind words John, I hope to visit it one day. I am Polish myself but I'm fascinated by Celtic and British culture.
Lot of love from Poland ❤
My father was Polish and fought at Monte Cassino With General Anders army, he lived in England longer than in Poland he refused British nationality, he said i was born a Pole i will die a Pole, God bless Ojciec. Long live Poland.
Dobry Ojciec
God bless him and tbe 2 Corps. My parents were both polish and dad was in the first Polish armoured division. Heroes, one and all
Salutes to your fathers courage.
My grandmother and my grandfather also fought at Monte Cassino with Anders and The Polish II Corps. Grandmother was a driver at 316 Transport Company and grandfather was at Machine Gun Company. Later grandfather was a shooter and meteorological observer at 318 squadrons. After the war, both returned to Poland, which with time turned out to be not the best decision in their life. And my grand uncle was a mechanic at 304 bomber squadron but he chose to live in Great Britain after the war.
My great-grandfather was one of them. I'm the coat of arms of Lubicz
A Polish pilot sees a German airplane and a Russian airplane. Which one does he shoot down first? The German. Business before pleasure.
Kurczę balde
You made my day :D
Alojzy Ptyś Let me compliment you on your subtle and insightful mastery of the English idiom! Just so you know, I'm American, not English.
Cheers!
Always lmao
Alojzy Ptyś obvious troll is obvious, sorry for this guy...
Jim DeCamp The best joke ever! xD Dziękuję :D
We must not forget the Czech pilots as well, all these people were extremely Brave and Heroic and I at 104 who served in WW2 in the SOE salute them.
Josef Frantisek, mentioned few times in the documentary was actually Czech :). That is why he got that "guest" status to allow him free hunting...
We love Josef Frantisek.... the best RAF pilot !!!
Respect from Slovakia.
If you mention the Czechs, you have to include the New Zealanders. Remember that a New Zealander was in charge of 303 Squadron. His name was Keith Park.
@@piecka2308 squadron leader Ronald Keller lead the brave poles of 303. Johnny Kent and Athol Forbes were the flight commanders, don't forget 302 polish squadron who drew first blood against the Luftwaffe. There are many of us younger Brits who are awhere of the debt we owe to the poles.
To my Polish warrior friends - thank you. I am British. What the 303 did was nothing less than heroic. We honour you and we will never forget you.
Thank You for kind words for Poles.
As a former soldier it touched me. God bless you
Thanks Brit...better later then never...
Thank you Sir.
I've never heard anyone say anything but good things about the Free polish forces during WW2 they are not forgotten
But I've never heard a Pole even acknowledge that Britain went to war over the invasion of Poland .........
My grandfather was one of the Polish pilots in Britain, flying bombers for most of the war. 86 missions. If he was around today, I would tell him how proud I am to be his granddaughter.
💕💕
We are all proud of him!!!
86 missions. What an absolute hero.
Most likely 304 squadron. Some were sub hunters along the coast as well.
one of my teachers was married to a Polish Spitfire pilot. He was much older than her, and I briefly met him only a couple of times. Lovely, lovely man who gave up his family and country for mine. Never forget.
My father was a Canadian Spitfire pilot, a squadron leader, who fought in the Battle of Britain.
He was reluctant to talk about it. I learned only a few things from him about the horrific experience.
He talked about the camaraderie of his fellow pilots.
He talked about how fast he pulled the rip cord on his parachute when he was shot down and then landed on the British beach.
And he talked how much he liked and respected these Polish pilots.
My teacher at primary school was Mrs Olenski. She was married to Zbigniew Olenski, a Polish fighter pilot who flew with 234, 609 and 316 squadrons. After the war he was involved in aerodynamics research including work at Avro on the Vulcan bomber. I still have my school report from 1968 signed by Anne Olenski!
I AM ENGLISH ANGLO SAXON : MY WIFE WAS POLISH HER UNCLE A PILOT IN THE POLISH A.F HE AND HIS SON VANISHED DURING THE OCCUPATION IN POLAND . I MARRIED HER IN CANADA, I MISS HER, MY WIFE FOR 56 YEARS. I DID MY TIME FOR KING AND COUNTRY, MOSQUITO PILOT ' I HAVE NOTHING BUT ADMIRATION AND PRIDE FOR MY FELLOW AIRMAN AND FRIENDS IN THE POLISH AIR FORCE. MAY GOD REST THEIR BRAVE SOULS, AND MAY THEY BE FOREVER REMEMBERED.
TheRAFfc was g42d
Bravo Sir and thank you for your service.
Yes, but why the caps lock?
I salute you! RAF Regiment gunner!
You may be English, but you are no Anglo-Saxon, unless you are over 1,400 years old! The Angles and the Saxons (and the Jutes) had long ceased to think of themselves as either Angles or Saxons (nobody referred to themselves as Anglo-Saxons) centuries before the Norman Conquest. You are ENGLISH, which means you have not only Angle/Saxon/Jute DNA, but also Ancient British (i.e. Welsh), Danish, and Norman DNA. That mongrel mixture is what makes the English what they are.
My Polish hubby is a patriotic man, how he’s always so proudly sharing about his country’s history to me and about his granddad who also fought in the war. Highly respect for Poland and all the Poles!❤️
I knew about the Polish contribution to the Battle of Britain since the 70s, my Aunts neighbours were Polish WWII ex-pats and lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester close to a small Ukrainian community. The old boy was ex-RAF, and never spoke about the horrors, but he had a stack of medals. He would sit there in his Polo neck sweater, patting the tobacco down in his pipe demanding to know how I was doing at school, and what was my batting average in cricket! His wife, a lovely lady, very humble and hard working. She'd be up at 6am to clean the steps of the terraced house, and my aunts steps, every day! For years my aunt didnt know she was doing that, and was moved when she found out. They were an impeccable calibre of people, from a bygone age and more English than the natives in my experience.
I’m also from Manchester (Wythenshawe) and I know that club.
As my dad always used to say, "Mad bastards. Very brave. Bloody good shots." Dad was in RAF Bomber Command aircrew.
"Because we (Poles) do not beg for freedom, we fight for it" - Gen. Witold Urbanowicz 303 squadron commander.
It was the difference, Poles fought to kill, English made war. The goal was not the same, vengeance for Poles, survival for English.
@@gillesguillaumin6603 wielokrotnie agentura i pieniądze z Anglii doprowadziły do krwawych przelewów krwi w Polsce, niestety Polaków uczciwość graniczyła z naiwnością ... dziś choć parę procent społeczeństwa już rozumie że głośno nawołujący "do broni" przywódcy to najczęściej obca agentura wpływu
Another time when Poland helped to save Europe.
@@woodb51 😂😂🤣
@@woodb51 do you even believe such a BS?! Pols could save their own ass for even a month. Being small part of British air force and got couple of lucky shots makes you so fucking kucky? Why you pols are so rude and stupid. Germans and Russians didn’t give you enough lesson. I guess not.
I just finished reading "A Question of Honor". It not only covers 303 Squadron and all other Polish fighter and bomber squadrons flying for the RAF, but also the Polish ground, armored and airborne units that fought so gallantly and effectively for the allies throughout the war. (The II Polish Corps, for example, was described by General Patton as "The best turned out fighting formation I have ever seen" and successfully took Monte Casino in Italy when all other units had failed.) The book also deals with the politics of the time. As an American and Marine Corps veteran, I am ashamed to say that it wasn't just Britain that sold out the Poles but the United States as well. FDR, for all of his blustering about the Atlantic Charter and guaranteeing the rights of all nations to self determination after the war, still sold out Poland to Stalin just as Churchill did because they were afraid of offending "Uncle Joe". And despite what this film said about the Yalta Conference, the sell out had occurred at the Tehran Conference several months earlier when FDR and Churchill agreed to allow Stalin to take Poland. (Hypocritically, FDR asked the other two not to publicize that fact because he was running for reelection and was worried about losing the Polish-American vote.) Poland, by the way, was the ONLY country conquered by the Germans which did NOT have Quisling type collaborators to form a pro-Nazi government. Poland began the war in 1939 when they were invaded and didn't quit fighting until the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945. They deserved far better than the betrayal their British and American "allies" gave them.
Is this in English?
@@megantopolski6999 Yes it is, and more than worth reading.
@@tomjustis7237 Thanks pal.
One of the best forigner author about 303 squadron
@@megantopolski6999 both Polish and English
This is 11 years old now. The film moved me, but I am easily impressed by the Polish. My Troop Sgt was a Pole who escaped from the nazis at the age of 15 in 1939, made his way to England, lied about his age and joined the 7th Armoured Brigade and fought right throughout the North African Campaign. Then Korea, and he was MY Troop Sgt ! Talk about luck !! Without doubt the best man I have ever known, am 73 now and feel that as passionately as when I decided he was, which was not long after I left the Army. Sgt Dick Stawicki of the Royal Tank Regiment. Ty Sarge ! :)
You might like the autobiography of Australian comedian, Magda Szubanski. She discovered her Polish dad was in the Resistance in Poland in his mid teens - and became the go to man for executing informers, etc. It was an extraordinary discovery for her.
Jesteś kurwa polski. Nie ścigali cię naziści tylko Niemcy.
An excellent educational documentary. many thanks for sharing it. My Aunty married a Polish soldier who was badly wounded and somehow made it to England. He like the others of his generation was a polite hard working gentleman who made his life over here after the war. The people did not let the Poles down it was the damn politicians as usual playing their stupid games. To this day I have great respect for the Polish people and their sad history of that time. My hope and I and I am sure, that this and other documentaries will educate our nation and give them gratitude as to the great contribution of courage and sacrifice that these brave men gave to our country. "We will remember them".
Polish Air Force. I salute you.
As do most British people.
@@MegaBoilermaker Thank you guyz, but we only helped in the most critical part of Battle. Dowding made first modern air defense system that worked just perfect. Germans never have any chance to win this battle. But in 1940 nobody knew how efficient your air defense is, all numbers were secret and our pilots did really amazing things to help you win this battle. Their heroism, and maybe even more proffesionalism makes me proud, that we were important part of your victory
Anyway BoB was the end of saying 'stupid things' about Polish resist in 1939 and RAF stayed our the best ally in ww2.
Long live Poland, long live England. Don't forget we were allies in the the darkest time in history.
Frantisek was a Czech brother in Polish crew, hero and though crazy warrior.
YES, I am Polish and recognize his valour and bravery with little recognition by "historians".
When brothers fight together to face the enemy, nobody stands a chance.
@@es8428 True. Slava. :)
I think he was one of the greatest from the greatest!
For my part as a child during that dreadful period, I salute the Polish People and their flying ability to fight against the enemy, especially in the Battle of Britain.
As a Welshman I am disgusted by the British Government attitude towards their bravery and courage, for not recognizing them as a major part of the destruction of the Luftwaffe .
My thanks to Poland and the men that fought and flew in that holocaust.
Thank You.
A few good men
Thank You Sir !
There were lots of pilots from all over the world. Poles did their bit. Look at the roll call at the end of the Battle of Britain film.
Clive, well said.
I was a kid during the war and didn’t understand that Northolt airfield a mile down the road was home to 303 Polish sqdn.
Watched them take off in groups and return singly and sometimes damaged.
I’m a Brit and I owe them respect.
Bless you, sons of Poland. We will never forget.
+Jan Kowalski Actually true .__.
+thelongslowgoodby Ilove you...
+Jan Kowalski Actually, much earlier: in July 1941, a few weeks after Germans launched 'operation Barbarossa' - although the RAF witnessing the courage and commitment of the Poles finally did change their attitude toward them and at least acknowledged the injustice being done to them as the "strongest, the most loyal and faithful, and the most persistent European ally of all" (Air Ministry memo, Jan. 17, 1946, FO 371/115. PRO), which was after the British government decided at the end of the war that "everything should be done to ensure that as few Poles as possible remain in this country [Britain]" ("Forgotten Few", by Adam Zamoyski, p. 203). The British media helped to propagate this idea so well that Count Raczyński observed that "the common view is that the Poles have outlived their usefulness and deserve to be kicked from time to time, or at least given cold douches" ("In Allied London", Count E. Raczyński, p. 217). The Polish pilots who defended Britain after being made into celebrities and revered just a few short years back started hearing things like "Go home you dirty [?!] Pole!", yelled on a streetcar in Blackpool by several passengers to a Polish pilot and his wife ("Forgotten Few" A. Zamoyski, p. 193, similar situations described by many others).
+Chorus et Cantus This was also after the Poles who fought with the Allies
were unceremoniously being sent (many back, as they had been survivors of the Katyn massacre or the Gulag) into the clutches of the communist regime that the Soviets, with full acceptance from the Western allies and against all the promises that had been made to the Poles when they were needed to help in the war effort against Germans, installed in post-war Poland. While Germans had been conducting what Labour MP Seymour Cocks described as follows, "We are witnessing in Poland a cold-blooded and deliberate murder of a nation." ("Poland in the British Parliament 1939-1945", Volume II, Wacław Jędrzejewicz, (ed.), p. 3), the Soviet rule over Poland since their treacherous invasion on Sept. 17, 1939 (today being its 76th anniversary), 17 days after Germans, was 'little short of genocide', as described by the American diplomat and historian George Kennan ("George F. Kennan and the Origin of Containment, 1944-1946", p. 28). The two (Germans and the Soviets) had a joint goal: "the Polish nation, as a nation, was to be destroyed once and for all [...] by the selective murder of all its potential leaders. [...] Poland, one of the great historic nation states of Europe, was to be so destroyed that it could never rise again", as noted by the British writer Louis FitzGibbon ("Katyń Massacre", 1977, p.14).
+Chorus et Cantus Yes, this is very true how English people treated this Polish Pilots.
,,Everybody won, except us."
Poland lived on as people's republic. The Soviet-organized Polish People's Army fought just as hard as the Polish formations organized by the Brirish...
@@VersusARCH Where they fighting ? Fighting for Russians ? They mordered too many Polish soldiers after World War II... 1945-1955. Russish propagand in Polish TV talking about "Terrorists in forests", that were soldiers from west frontline World War 2 !!!
No mercy for communists SHITS.
@@VersusARCH they invaded poland and took it for another 44 years
@@mymodels1317 44
We love freedom. Fighting against imperial
as an american I can say that the poles were never given the respect they deserved, now that you have the freedom you deserve I hope we do not abandon you.
Im about to write this. after they risked their lives,
@@MrHoojaszczyk Even today, most Poles don't trust anyone to be an ally. Given the sorry performance of French (Promises not kept) and British ("Not One Grenadier for Danzig"). Despite this, Polish Soldiers, Airmen and Sailors died serving under overall British Command. Poles are loyal to a fault but are despised for it.
Zbigniew Biernacki Some of my New Zealand relatives fought alongside Polish forces at Monte Cassino and had the highest respect for them. From 303 squadron to remnants of Polish naval and army forces I have only heard the most admirable comments and deep regret that more could not have been done for them. They were difficult times.
our rules is ...Respect and Freedom
We’ve sent troops to the polish border lately to support them as a NATO member state. What happened in 1939 will not happen easily again.
respect and love from Pakistan to brave polish pilots.
they not only help UK in war but After war some of them came Pakistan and Help us to build our Air force
They did more this. They helped Britain break the enigma code of the Germans as they were some of the best cryptographers. They understood the German mindset as well. They fleed with all this knowledge back to England. Without their help the war would have dragged on and cost more lives.
They deserve to be treated with respect. They earned it!
Big ups! Never underestimate a people that have been invaded. The Polish were a great asset to the whole word during WW II!
Yes 27th, Poles did "brake" (break) the Enigma Cod. The caught it in the Baltic, cleaned it, put it in a frying pan w/ a little butter, and then broke bread with it. It was delicious. I love Cod. Great fish.
Poles didn't help, Poles did break the enigma code.
1973saoirse Arogant moron.Poles did break the Enigma cod in 1932
Jacob Jackiewicz code* Cod is a fish.
thank you brothers from Poland-Moravia -Czechoslovakia. Díky bratři Poláci-pozdrav z Moravy.
Diki bratře z Moravy....I was riding by KOLO across your beautiful Morava one week ago....great country, great people. Greetings from Poland.
Thanks brother! Greetings from Poland!
Greetings from England. Moravian Slivovica is very nice 👌
I'm reading a compulsory book by Arkady Fiedler about Squadron 303 and there's a chapter about your pilot Jozef František. He was a hero! Zdravím, čeští bratři! 🇨🇿🇵🇱
@Piotr Stowski Moraviany ])
When only a teenager, I read my father's copy of "I Saw Poland Betrayed: An American Ambassador Reports To The American People" by Ambassador Arthur Bliss Lane, describing the Katyn Forest Massacres and other horrors. This was written after WWII. So there were some people who tried to help the Poles. We sometimes had Polish refugees in our home after WWII. In order to to take over Poland, the Russians had to kill off a third of the population. They are a tough people with a remarkable history. The book is available for $.99 in the Kindle edition.
Hans Frank, the Nazi military governor of Poland once said "If I had to hang a poster for every 10 Poles I have had killed, there would not be enough forests in Poland to supply the paper."
Between two warring powers run by two despotic dictators. The Poles would suffer again and again.
A little-known fact - the Russians were murdering us before the war. Many Poles lived in the areas of today's Belarus and Ukraine due to the fact that these were the lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Those Poles who stayed on the Soviet side after the Treaty of Riga were mostly murdered. the so-called Polish NKVD operation
My father volunteered for service into the RAF from America (USAAF) prior to the US entering the war. In 1942 he was assigned to Colern RAF Station in Wiltshire, England (the Polish Air Field) near Bath England with the Polish Night Fighters. He told me they were the bravest pilots he ever flew with and they knew no fear. I'm writing this on June 5th, 2019 on the eve of the 75th D-Day anniversary and thinking about all of the brave men that stood up and defeated the Nazi regime. Someday soon I wish to visit Poland on a trip to Europe.
thanks for you testimony, come visit us in Poland :)
come visit us
come visit poland, you see for what we fight !!!
I think you might find that's Calne, Wiltshire near where the RAF station was. There was another RAF base at Yatesbury also, there was a hospital there and my father who was a trained Nurse in the RAF medical branch was stationed there for some time before he was transferred to number 50 MFH RAF (mobile field hospital) that unit was the first RAF field hospital in France after D-Day ( D+7 ) dad took us to around Yatesbury, Calne and Devizes on the way back from our Devon holidays several times, and he took us to a small churchyard where there were a lot of graves of Polish aircrew. My dad said they were very brave people. I was only nine or ten then. I think the churchyard was at Yatesbury but I can't be sure. I've now looked it up, and yes it was in the churchyard of All Saints Yatesbury. There are 19 WW2 graves, plus 3 polish airmen buried there.
@@samrodian919 great info to share. The things your dad must have seen!
Poland never dies.
Polish pilots were excellent. Not only in the RAF squadron 303 but also in other parts of the RAF. Polish pilots carried out very many difficult and dangerous transport flights where resistance fighters in the occupied countries received weapons and other supplies, delivered by air drop from RAF aircrafts piloted by polish airmen.
According to statements from Danish resistance fighters, the Polish pilots were very good at finding the drop points, thereby considerably reducing the risk of being detected by the Germans. - Also to be remembered are the Polish contributions to breaking the German Enigma code.
"Polish contributions to breaking the German Enigma code."-> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_contribution_to_World_War_II and in between mine detector, which help to win in El Alamain/ Africa/ and remove millions of mines after the war or find some silver, gold coins also
The end of the movie broke my heart. People who gave so much, who risked their lives were treated so badly and betrayed at the end. Shame on Britain ....
The USA made the decisions at the end of the war. The fact that Britain declared war on Germany because they refused to leave Poland was neither here nor there to them. That was not the reason they came into the war in Europe.
I'm English and the way we treated the polish pilot's and people incenses me
Robert Bryant The Socialists didn’t work for Stalin, Churchill worked with Stalin to preserve British influence. Don’t kid yourself, Britain wasn’t hijacked by a leftist ideology, it turned its back on Eastern Europe for its own gain.
Neutral but blockading Japan, no wonder a war started.
At the end of the war, all nations were impoverished from funding wwII. There was no money left to fight against communism. That's the facts, Jack.
R.I.P to Canadian Squadron Leader John Stewart Hart (1916-2019), the last surviving Canadian #BattleofBritain pilot who flew a Spitfire with the Royal Air Force. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Aces in exile
My grandfather, who fought in the RAF in WW1 and fought with the RCAF in WW2. My Dad remembered stories about how many pilots came from all over. Men from invaded and occupied countries. My grandfather still remembered a little Spanish, Polish and French as he told stories. He didn’t talk about the actual brutality of war,or the death and destruction, but about the friendships and comrades. My father was “left behind”, as the baby of the family, he was only 5 in 1938. He lost his brother. Both aunts also enlisted and I can’t remember what their designation was. My father served our country for 32 years. I am immensely proud of them all.
@@leslieshand4509 woww impressive life of your grandfather. Tell him thank you from me. Best regards from Poland.
@@marcinpietrzak1824 my grandfather is long past, and it’s been 9 years since my Pops left me. I still miss him everyday. He was an amazing man, and I was blessed. And Polish pilots who fought in WW2 and died flying have never been properly remembered
3 Polish mathematicians were also instrumental in setting the path for the breaking of the Enigma code; Turing may have improved on the theory and on building a more sophisticated "bomba" or calculating machine, but all of the Brit codebreakers stood on the Pole's shoulders.
+pepe cohetes i dont think so there were all nationalitys involved there buddy noone was above the rest many of them did not even speak to eachother they werent allowd to so it was nothing but a team effort thats what wins all wars !!!
+Raymond Jordan although it is true that all nationalities/ethnicities were involved in the intelligence sections of the Allie's war efforts. The Poles smuggled out to England their deciphered enigma messages and the keys to decoding them. The development of an English copy of the enigma machine was largely due to their efforts.
James Rather first of all they were not mostly polish most of them were british and a few americans and a few polish dude there were all kindsa people in there but they were all seperated buy them little huts and for the most part they couldent even speak with eachother unless it was important i seen a great doc. about it it was really good wish i could remember were i seen it maby history channel but it was a good one take care dude
+Raymond J educate yourself dude... "British codebreakers had enjoyed a few successes against early Enigma machines in the mid-1930s but as war approached they had hit a cul-de-sac. The Poles were far ahead thanks to some remarkable breakthroughs (successes that so infuriated Knox he threw a tantrum). Whereas Britain still used linguists to break codes, the Poles had understood that it was necessary to use mathematics to look for patterns.
They had then taken a further step by building electro-mechanical machines to search for solutions (known as "bombas", perhaps because of the ticking noise they made)."
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28167071
Chris Gryckiewicz one tiny peice of help from the polocks and suddenly they won the war hahahahhahahahhahhahahhahah NOT
hats off polish pilots, may u rest in the squadron of heaven,
and to all "the few" as Churchill called them. they all did there part
I grew up during the Cold War, in an area of the State of New York with a very large ethnic Polish population. Many of my friends had last names ending in "ski" or "czyk". In all the 20th century, I can't think of another country that got such a raw deal as Poland, without the Polish people doing anything to deserve it. They were cursed by geography. Those Poles and their descendants that came to the United States were fine friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens. The volunteer fire department in my town was dominated by men of Polish extraction. Perhaps it served as an outlet for the natural bravery represented in this video.
Fucked from the east and the west.
"n all the 20th century, I can't think of another country that got such a raw deal as Poland, without the Polish people doing anything to deserve it.
...except...be Polish..
"They were cursed by geography."
...you dumb fuck, by that logic so was every country in Europe.
How stupid can you fucking be to not understand that if you have a list of 50 countries that have a long history of taking part in wars against each other, forming various alliances for mutual defense and then getting into wars anyway, that some of these countries are going to benefit from this and some are going to hate life really badly?
That is what they get for being Polish and being proud of being Polish and refusing to consider themselves German or Austrian and being proud Germans or Austrians, or even Swiss. Seriously do you not understand that in life you don't have to be extremely stupid to be extremely unhappy? Just stupid enough!
Germany overwhelmingly dominated Europe in the first stage of WW2. Most sensible non-German Europeans accepted this and to a degree they collaborated with the Nazis. Most, who did not, were either shot or sent to the death camps or enslaved by the Nazis. The ones who decided to actively take-up arms against the Nazis, well after the Nazis had overrun their own countries? Tell me this: how were they ever going to be seen by the British as anything other than charity-cases with the British suffering to protect, house and feed them?
The mistake the foreigners make when they move to a foreign country is to mistake the charity of some as charity from the whole. For every "good person" that you meet who is happy to help you? There are 20 people who would be even more happy if you'd leave their fucking country and get the hell back to your own country.
@@touristguy87 Stuck for all it’s history between Fritz and Ivan. Poles are great people but victims of geography.
Are you from Riverhead, by chance?
@@paulpski9855 Sorry, I’ve never heard of Riverhead.
We should never forget the bravery of our Polish brothers. Heroes all.
Kozacki dokument, świetnie zrobiony. Zważając, iż jest to brytyjska produkcja szacunek za nie zatajoną końcówkę.
I had the honour of caring for one of the polish fighter pilots in his later years as he succumbed to dementia. He had settled in Australia post war years and led a good life here before illness set in.
+mirimar69 Thank you very much for taking care of our countrymen, our heroes.
My pleasure
God bless you
Thank you for your work!
Yes, You are right, You had the honor. God bless You
Poland always have God, Honor and Country.
God Bless Poland.
Sadly that's all they have.
@@zbigniewbiernacki3682 Sadly Zbysiu, you have none.
Before watching this film i had no idea of the great talent and sacrifice that the polish airmen have to the British people. I am a British national and think that it is disgraceful that we were never taught about this in history lessons at school. There is a Polish memorial to a fighter plane that crashed not to far from where I live and I have often wondered about the part the Polish player in the great war. I will think about what I have learned from watching this film whenever I visit there in the future. Thanks to all the Polish who helped us Brits in the war effort, you certainly deserve to be remembered better that you have in the past.
Wow!! Brings tears to my eyes... Im very humbled... Bless you sons of Poland... And May you all RIP.
As the Grandson of a British airman (LAC Joseph Gilman)who served as ground crew for 300/301 at RAF Bramcote and briefly 303 I salute the polish airmen. My grandad said they were the bravest and best the RAF had, and he went on to serve with 229 in North Africa.
+Dave The Bass And I salute you, Sir! Thank you for your account.
As ground crew did grandpappy use lots of polish? #ChromeBits
Salutes are not hereditary. You have no authority.
i salute you. My grandfather he fought in a squad 305 as a navigator. He died in battle.
Thank You Sir!
Thank You very much. We remember Polish fighters as well as Your granddad.
Go Poland!!!! Respect!
I have read both For Your Freedom and Ours, and A Question of Honor. These men were heroes! The way they were treated at the end of the war was disgusting! I live in Paphos, Cyprus now and have had the pleasure to meet one of the pilots grandsons!
The Poles have been soldiers all over Europe.The Germans,Austro-Hungarian Empire,Russians,etc have served in their armies for centuries.They are a martial race like many in the history of the world.Luckily for us Americans we had a Polish General named Pulaski and a few others fight in our army during the Revolution.WWI and WWII thank god we had thousands of Poles and Polish Americans fighting for America.They are indeed fine warriors!!
reddevilparatrooper You just explained something for me. I am Australian but our surname was originally Polish. There has been something military about the entire family for Generations. My Grandfather was an Australian Champion rifle shooter. Now I know where it comes from. The Polish culture coming down the male line. When I remember my Grandfather I could see him in the manner of those few old Polish pilots. The look also. Pity but it is very close to the Russian Cossack tradition. Men's men, fierce honorable warriors when necessary. Charrming as the British ladies said. I am 68 but it brings memories of my Grandfather back.
Kościuszko!
For centuries? How many? 😂
Very well done film, and should be watched by all who are not thoroughly familiar with the history of WWII. The lessons of Poland's betrayal should not be forgotten.
Poland is one of the unsung heroes of Europe. But, my grandparents and mother, like most Poles, rarely 'toot their horns' over accomplishments. They just do what needs to be done. No complaining. It is a cultural thing. A true 'can do' attitude. It is the way I was brought up. I can not help but be very proud of my Polish heritage when I see things like this video. The USA's top Fighter Ace Francis Gabreski was of Polish heritage.
he was trained by polish pilots in britan, he learned polish tactics there.
You may also find on YT first ever spitfire flying in Poland in this or in 2017 year. It was borrowed from english gent ,owner of that spitfire ,to the son of the one of that polish pilots from the Battle of Britain. There was interview with that guy who brought that first ever spitfire to Poland. And he said something shocking at least for me, that every spitfire and hurricane planes used by those polish squadrons fighters in Britain was actually bought and paid off in gold evacuated just before WWII to Britain , by polish government in exile. So they not only fought and died for Her Majesty but also used equipment and airplanes officially belonging to Poland and polish forces in exile. Btw no one of spits or hurricanes ever come back to Poland after the war.
From other hand :)
Polish squadrons in Britain: (not only 303)
300 Dywizjon Bombowy ("Ziemi Mazowieckiej")
301 Dywizjon Bombowy ("Ziemi Pomorskiej")
302 Dywizjon Myśliwski ("Poznański")
303 Dywizjon Myśliwski ("Warszawski im. Tadeusza Kościuszki")
304 Dywizjon Bombowy ("Ziemi Śląskiej im. Ks. Józefa Poniatowskiego")
305 Dywizjon Bombowy ("Ziemi Wielkopolskiej im. Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego")
306 Dywizjon Myśliwski ("Toruński")
307 Dywizjon Myśliwski Nocny ("Lwowskich Puchaczy")
308 Dywizjon Myśliwski ("Krakowski")
309 Dywizjon Współpracy ("Ziemi Czerwieńskiej")
315 Dywizjon Myśliwski ("Dębliński")
316 Dywizjon Myśliwski ("Warszawski")
317 Dywizjon Myśliwski ("Wileński")
318 Dywizjon Myśliwsko-Rozpoznawczy ("Gdański")
663 Dywizjon Samolotów Artylerii
Polski Zespół Myśliwski (Polish Fighting Team)
*****
Yes. There was more polish squadrons. Second thing is that only half of polish pilots fougt in polish squadrons. Second half was spread among english squadrons.
+Jacek Placek The 4th air power in allied countries after US, UK and USSR.
+Jacek Placek
145 Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain out of around 3,000.
My uncle was a CO of No. 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron from 3 April 1944 to 9 September 1944 :)
+Emil Wolf :)
Very impressive . I knew that the Polish were one those who liberate us (The Netherlands) during WWII. There are several places that will remind you and honoured the Polish people. In my neighbourhood there is a "General Maczek Square' or 'The Polish Liberatorlane'.
thank you for that Theo. General Maczek is our great hero; and after the war, he ended in England as a fucking bartender when everyone should bow to him.
Thank you Theo. Arnhem, Breda... Yet I met people in my life who made fun of it 😔
I have always been impressed by Dutch remembering General Maczek.
@@01LadyAnna in Breda there is even a museum called after him. In my birthplace (Stadskanaal) there is a General Maczek Square and at the border of the square there is a war monument with the logo of the Polish 1st Panzer Division and contains sand from the birthplace of General Mazcek and sand from the Polish Fields of Honour (Breda). If some people make fun of it, well they don't know anything about history.
@@xXTheoLinuxXx Thank You. Those heroes shall never be forgotten and knowing the history is the key to our future ❤
I am a 62 year old American, I have read and watched many stories about WW2, first I have heard of these Great Polish Fighters. Thank You ! And I had a Polish Step Father from 1970 to 1973, Ed Orkowski, He never talked about War.
You should see if he has war record with Americans, Australians, Canadians or Brits. Did he say A, N, AF?
Was he Resistance? Check their records?
When I was about 10 - 14 years old a Polish man lived across the street. He was a wonderfully kind, gentle man. I had absolutely no concept of how he came there or what his story might have been. I suspect now it might have been similar to these. I regret the missed opportunity of learning more.
He could have also been a Polish Jew. He might have had no family left to return to Poland, so wanted to avoid reminders of all the people he lost.
Watching this moves me as an Australian. Officially we are of German Heritage but our surname is of Polish origin. Looking at some of those now very old Poles brings back memories of my Grandfather. It makes me realise he still carried a lot of his Polish heritage. Honorable. Cheeky. Arrogant if necessary. Humble when it was necessary. Never backed away from a worthwhile fight and most of all the dignity and character and the physical characteristics. A man's man but very charming with the ladies. That really got at Grandma sometimes. Yes he was just like them. That is culture.
sounds like the kind of man who would start a war and then lose it
I had no idea about the snub given the Polish veterans at the end of the war, scandalous to say the least .
@@touristguy87 Reading your comments reminded me of a famous quote that applies to you. "I judged the Poles by their enemies. And I found it was an almost unfailing truth that their enemies were the enemies of magnanimity and manhood. If a man loved slavery, if he loved usury, if he loved terrorism and all the trampled mire of materialistic politics, I have always found that he added to these affections the passion of a hatred of Poland. She could be judged in the light of that hatred; and the judgment has proved to be right." - Gilbert Keith Chesterton
@@saintsone7877 well, I'm sure that their enemies were, um, their enemies.
what you think of the Poles is another thing entirely
I'm a 73-year-old American I never realized the contributions the Poles made to the Battle of Britian. Thank you for enlightening MEeee. Such a sad ending.
Poland was betrayed by the WW II allies multiple times.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_betrayal
It is shameful that Poland and other freedom loving eastern European countries were treated as bargaining chips to avoid aggravating Stalin at Yalta.
@@ru.kiddingme Thank you, I read that Wikipedia link you included in your reply.
Franciszek Gabryszewski (Francis Gabreski) born in the USA from Polish family... ace in WW2 and Korean War
@@peter2346 Thank you.
@@ru.kiddingme Britain and USA for geographical and tactical reasons had no chance against USSR . The Western alliance had no perfected the atom bomb by then.
Thanks Poland, and we will not forget the help we got from Poles in Norway when the Germans came. Poles, Brits, French and Norwegians fighting together on the mountain tops, that must have been some sight!
PhantomTD Yeah but nobody helped Poland when they were supposed to be working together
you did forget them when you voted brexit
@@imedi why you mix brexit for this. I am Polish and to me is disgusting, how the left discovered and began to use Poles after the referendum. To the referendum, the media demonized Poles, as was the problem with emigrants, it was always pointed out to the Poles. A mass of hate, lies and blunt propaganda. Political correctness did not allow pointing to other minorities, that's why Poles were blamed. For me, brexit is an obstacle, I would prefer him not to be, but it is the British decision that I am a guest here. For this I am impatient with those socialist parasites who have such an influence on Politics in the UK and EU. You do not understand, the Poles were betrayed by the Allies - because they let Poland be taken over by these Soviet socialist bandits. Poles are in the UK, because these idiots ruled in Poland for 50 years, the war and communist governments caused a huge crisis in Poland. THESE SOCIETICS caused mass emigration of Poles. So now how socialists pretend to be friends and take care of brexit is just rude. It was socialists who caused mass emigration of Poles. So now the socialists pretend to be friends and are concerned about brexit is the meanness, that is ridiculous.
...at the same time a polish submarine ORP Orzeł sank german vessel with 400 soldiers onboard aiming towards Norway
Podziękowali nam w jałcie
At the end it broke my heart to learn that all other allies including Chinese and the Iranians took part in the marching pass celebration except the polish,who were integral part of the allies forces.
I am reminded of the comments of a WWI pilot who said that (to paraphrase) it was the hunters who lived; those checking their armourments, whereas those who were concerned with their safety never lasted.
The Poles clearly had the grim determination of vengeance in their hearts that perhaps surpassed our comparatively shallow aspirations of valour.
On January 25th 2022, I raise a glass to those who fought for me, an unknown boy who would be born some 25-30 years following their sacrifices that allowed me to become the 50 year old man that I am today. I hope that my life, those of my parents and those who follow can do justice to these incredibly gifted and amazing men.
Fabulous pilots great people! My uncle served with some of the Polish pilots. We must never forget their bravery and full commitment to fight the hun. Thank you Poland!
for what? wasnt it polands war in the first place?
@@britnic5394k
All I know, is I grew up in a Polish neighborhood and I wouldn't trade ANY of my Polish friends or their families for ANYTHING OR ANYBODY IN THE WORLD!
I had no idea how Britain treated the Pols in their country after the war had ended. It just gives me just another reason to say SCREW THE CROWN!
Google "Operation Unthinkable" and say "Screw the United States of America" instead :)
Henrik Knudsen
we love you too...
olish pilots were among the most experienced in the battle, most of them having already fought in the 1939 September Campaign in Poland and the 1940 Battle of France. Additionally, prewar Poland had set a very high standard of pilot training. No. 303 Squadron, named after the Polish-American hero, General Tadeusz Kościuszko, achieved the highest number of kills (126) of all fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it only joined the combat on 30 August 1940. These Polish pilots, representing about 5% of total Allied pilots in the Battle, were responsible for 12% of total victories (203) in the Battle and achieved the highest number of kills of any Allied squadron.
using whose equipment.
Excellent British film on the 303 squadron........finally.
These Bloody foreigners, are my Polish brothers!!! Because I am a Hungarian American.
Greetings from Poland hungarian brother!!
Pragnę podziękować moim polskim i słowackim braciom za ich odwagę thank you
This translates to: I want to thank my Polish and Slovak brothers for their courage
I was very fortunate to be assigned to Marion Kozuba-Zozubski when he came out to Aden in 1966. (I showed him round the Federation). He taught me to 3-point land a DC3 (not allowed); would leave the flight deck and, in so doing, switch off a fuel supply. After I had dealt with the problems he set, he would return to the flight deck and say, "Tony, you will always find some idiot who drops you in it". The Poles did things their way and with reason. Marion was a great guy.
BTW Josef Frantisek was Czech, he joined the Polish military when you (the west) sacrificed his country to Hitler.
weird that we are neighbours and dont realy like ourselves but if anyone wants to invade/rule us we cooperate like badasses. 😈
freedom over all!!
it's too bad i have gotten to your msg so late..i used to be a pilot myself...and i know the history...Josef Frantisek ..."dzielny czech" in english"A BRAVE CHECH" was the 303 SQUADRNON PILOT..as per "dywisjon 303"book written by Arkady Fiedler.i will never forget HIS name.back in Poland we used to have an exam for a pilot licence starting from a glider pilot licence and up.A part of the exam was the aviation history.i could not forget his name AND I NEVER WILL..there were a very few....winston churchill story is a fake..what he said; was not about polish;,czech,canadians,us,french..and many more..pilots (don't ever forget all OTHER PERSONELL ,LIKE: NAV.,MECHANICS,RADAR,METEO ETC).his statement was about aviators,that save his own ass and BRITAN....i believe hi had sold IN JALTA,WITH JOSEFH S...MY COUNTRY..FOREVER!!!!
CZESC I CHWALA WAM WSZYSTKIM ZA TO CO PRZEZYLISCIE WTEDY... I PO BITWIE O WIELKA BRYTANIE..
HOW DO I SPELL BRITAIN? is it britan or what?or may be brutus? go fig..!
Yes, he was from Czechoslovakia
Back in 1995 i studied ww2 as part of my uk GCSE`s
We learnt about the battle of Britain and about the brave actions of the poles..My history teacher was friends with a ex fighter pilot so we had some first hand accounts of their proficiency.
Much respect
Josef František was a Czech pilot.
I bless Polish co-fighters, but there was also 4 Czech Squadrons 310, 311, 312 and 313 :-)
Nobody said he didn't
Josef František was a Czech pilot.you're right
+Adam Potoczny Když jsme tedy takoví, jak nás popisuješ, proč jsme vůbec šli bojovat za Británii, když jsme takoví zbabělci? Mohli jsme zůstat sedět doma a nic nedělat. Měl bys vystrčit hlavu z písku a něco si přečíst, než vypustíš takovou lež.
MoeSzyslak2001
W 1938 jak broniliście Pragi?, i jak długo sie broniliście?
Niemcy wjechali czołgami do Pragi bez walki, do Warszawy nie wjechali wcale, Warszawy nigdy nie zdobyli militarnymi działaniami, tylko zbrodniczymi bombardowaniami, dlatego poddano Warszawe, bo cierpiała ludnośc cywilna.
I'm glad Polish fighters fought with our Czechoslovak fighters. In one battle. In one big battle about the future of the world.
Pozdrawiam Ciebie Bracie
Felony Kwazimodo Tebe taky, bratře. C:
In memory of of the forgotten pilots who helped win a War & then forgotten by the ones they helped to achieve the task of winning.
rubbish
I’m ashamed of that period. My wife is polish and I’m so glad she is young enough not to have seen communism. 303 your awesome
The contribution that Polish Airmen and soldiers made to Britains war effort has never been properly recognised. Those heroic fighters deserve an enormous thank you.
Who says it wasn't "recognised"? The fact is that the sacrifices that Britain made to saving Poland has never been properly recognised. That heroic nation deserves an enormous Polish thank you.
"I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it and to live or die for it"
Casimir Pulaski
one of many Poles who have changed the world and fought for freedom around the world.
Thank you very much and my respect to all those Polish people (and all nationalities) who sacrificed and suffered so much. As I am British, I am appalled by the ignorance of our government. You all deserve to be greatly honoured and remembered
Some quotes about 303 from Americans:
Later on, the 303 received a copy of Collier's from the United States, where Capt. Newell O. Roberts recalled: "They sent us to train with the hottest combat squadron in Britain, the 303rd Polish Pursuit Group. They were flying Spitfires. Those Polish kids taught us everything they had learned in combat over Europe. Then we went along on seven combat operations over France. On none of these were we jumped by the Jerries. By the time we reached Africa, we knew how to sweep the sky of Jerries and Eyties. The Poles are the best sky fighters I saw anywhere."
August 1943 was even busier. Many "Ramrod" missions were flown. On several occasions, Poles also escorted American B-17s. On August 17, while escorting some 60 B-17s, the 303 led by F/Lt Arct surprised a group of FW190s sending down four of them without losses, with F/Sgt Chudek scoring twice.
Escorting the Fortresses sometimes meant air-sea rescue. John Keema recalls: "On August 24, 1943 a flight of fighters from the 303 and 316 squadrons came to our assistance as we were trying to return to base from a bombing mission over France. Our B-17 had a couple of engines shot out and as we headed home alone, we were attacked by German fighters. S/Ldr Falkowski 303 CO (leading the Wing. WR) ordered some pilots to escort us back. We were attacked by FW-190's, and one of them was shot down by F/Lt Longin Majewski and F/Sgt Tadeusz Szymkowiak. We ditched in the English Channel and the Polish pilots radioed our position to Air-Sea Rescue. They stayed with us until we were rescued. A few days later we were to visit the 303 but weather prevented our doing so."
Katarzyna, thank you for your factual teaching. God bless America and President Trump and Trump family.
The Poles are rarely given the respect they deserve but I respect them and give huge thanks for what they did for my country.
which was.....?
When we had a month stay at Chelsea service apartment near Kensington ,there were some Polish ladies working in house keeping and I noticed that they are hard working people.
@@ihs51 so are many others.
i've got johnny kentowski's autobiography; he was not a great writer, but his testimony to the poles is sincere and remarkable.
so many people live their lives today unknowingly owing thanks to those fighters.
I remind you that Enigma had been broken by three Polish mathematicians
Thank you my friend. The Poles weren't too bad at parachuting or killing panzers either.
Yup
Hmm, wasn't it Alan Turing who broke it? There is a monument of him at my Uni.
Zygimantas Adomavicius Both Rejewski's team and Turing's broke the code ;)
Yes and Poland gave the translation machine to first French, and then after fall of France to Britain. yet British are giving credit to Turing, even though they were using Polish machines to conduct translation.
Dont know how other foreign pilots and their homelands. But former Czechoslovakia had to pay GreatBritain after war all expenses spent on czechoslovakian pilots - accomodation, uniforms, training and so on. Czechoslovakia had to pay in gold for letting their pilots fight for foreign country! It is a fucking disgrace and shame for Great Britain claiming this from somebody who bled for two countries at once!
Not so many people know this. It has a good reason not to be mentioned.
GB should have licked soles of Polish, Czechoslovakian or any foreign pilot for being in RAF action against Germany.
It is some kind of betrayal from ally. Nobody even cared about Czechoslovakia or Poland. Where was France or GB in 1938-39?
funkydonkey11051989 Poland had huge reserves of gold transported to Britain at the beggining of the war. This gold stayed there, since Polish had to pay for their Government in Exile expenses. Like drinks, cigars and shows. Fkin disgrace.
Poland had to pay 68 millions to British for maintance of Polish Forces
@@pendrakhon gold was stolen, pozdrawiam
This is an amazing story. It should be mandatory for all British school children to see.
It should be mandatory for all those so-called leaders in London to take to heart what happened at the end with the apeasement to that Russia. Nothing changes, does it? And where does it leave us? With weak leaders from Attlee onwards.
My father was Polish and here as a member of the air force in WWII. I never fail to be amazed at the hypocrisy of the allies supposedly winning the war when a lot of Europe including Poland whose invasion by Germany was the reason for declaring war on Germany were still invaded after the war. In other words a lot of them were worse off than before the war began. Yet everybody just sat back and let those 3 old men divide up Europe nobody else had a say except the U.S., the U.K. and Russia. The whole war seemed to have been for nothing ending in a collusion in swopping of one tyrannical regime for another? All that slaughter for what ? There were an awful lot of suspicious goings on to allow the Russians the control they got. For want of a better word I'm British.
+jack freeman I'm sorry but you dont' understand a bit of WWII history. Hitler planned to strike Soviets with Poland as an ally. Then, he planned to strike France and Britain leaving Poland controling the situation on East. It was obvious for British politics so they cheated Poland giving false guarantees, which converted Beck (Polish PM) to reject Hitler's offer.
That unleached his furry on Poland, because it destroyed his plan.
When Hitler turned his death machinerry to Polish soil Britain was doing everything which was possible to postpone Britains engagement.
Polish nation was bleeding to death while Churhil was drinking his whisky. Britain didn't give a shit to fulfill guarantees given to Poland, that thrown Poland to battle vs Hitler.
Hitler never ment to attack Poland. He needed Poland to realise his plan. It was you as a target. It was France, it was Soviets.
I'm god damn sorry that history turned so awfull for us Poles. I'd rather se Britain to suffer and us drinking whisky.
+Bart B No disrespect but I was aware of this beginning which led to the so called phoney war whilst the allies did nothing but wait in France. My main point was pointing out the compounded hypocrisy at the end of the war when not just Poland got sold out but a huge part of Europe too. Also the strange very questionable death of Sikorsky who wouldn't have just accepted the division of Europe had he still been alive. No doubt other nasty things went on related to other countries ending up behind the iron curtain.
+jack freeman did we need another 5 millions deads to have the soviets at the Manche, just to prove your point ?
Read about General Plan Ost and operation unthinkable. Then you'll understand than those old men weren't that idiots.
Millions died because of Stalin anyway and the Russians would have backed down if the allies had been united. I feel your statement is an exaggeration.
Exaggeration ??? the soviets destroyed 80 german divisions and had ten of thousands of tanks, artillery and mecanized trucks, the westerners had get rid of 20 of those divisions only.
They were never a threat for the Red Army and everyone knew that.
Did you never heard of operation unthinkable ?
And nobody was going to have a sequel of ww2 for the polish.
Poland, your warriors are brave, brave men. You fought for a free world, a world without prejudice or hate, a world were we don´t discriminate. Battle of britain was won with the help of the polish. Polish pilots, you have my salute!
God bless Poland may the motherland live forever. Polish people have always fought for freedom.
babygorillaz They’ll never lose that
babygorillaz - and prosecute anyone who says otherwise.
Er no they have not you tosser
“We don’t beg for freedom, we fight for it”
@@daevid6016 that why poland fell in a few weeks?
polish paratroopers saved my fathers life when they got in between a ambulance with a red cross on it being machine gunned by drunk Russian troops. would not be here today if it was not for polish soldiers...( bless them all )
My father served in the RAF during the war, and he would often tell me about the admiration and respect that British airmen had for their Polish allies, so having watched this documentary I feel so ashamed about the post war treatment of these men by my country.
Greetings from Poland :) I admire and respect British pilots who decided to not join march of victory in London 1946 in solidarity with Polish pilots.
before the war, poland was teaming up with hitler to attack the ussr.. hence the outcome after the war, stalin wasnt going empty handed either...
@@adrianrokosz1054 is there anywhere in poland that holds a victory day for british pilots?.. you forget something, poland was the start of the ww2 problem, it fell in a few weeks to the germans who took your airfields and bases etc etc etc , england gave the polish the tools to fight back... you were fighting for your freedom... the aircraft the poles flew were english planes.. polish planes were no match for a 109.. ours were.
@@enochpowel4580 Really Enoch. Before the treaty where Poland teamed up with Britain and France all sides were negotiating. Russians wanted Poland as an Ally, Germany wanted Poland as an ally, Britain and France wanted Poland as an ally. Germany also wanted Britain and France as allies. Why did you fail to mention this? What is your agenda?
You make it sound like Poland was colluding with Germany to invade Russia. I bet they were also colluding with Russia to attack Germany. Now who were the British, French and Polish colluding to attack? Germany? Russia? or someone else?
@@enochpowel4580 Your point being what Enoch? Which British pilots liberated Poland from the Germans? Had that happened do you think they would not have such a commemoration in Poland nowadays? You do know that Poland was not liberated by the allies but occupied by the Russians during WW2 don't you? The Russians then occupied Poland until 1993 when the last Russians troops left Poland and returned to Russia due to the agreement between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at Yalta.
My Dad flew single-seat, single-engine jet fighters for over 20 years, and his fighter pilot friends were always among the few people around whom I felt welcome and safe from teasing, such as I got in school. So 303 Squadron are heroes to me for being pilots, for striking back against bullies, and for also having lives mostly at least as sad as mine. Bless you and your families.
I would like to thank all the Polish flyers,soldiers and sailors who helped fight the Nazis
from exile in England, although small in number your contribution to help the allies win the war was essential.
I would mostly like apologize to the way Britain treated you after the war ended , Poland was still not free and that Lunatic Stalin was an even bigger mass murderer than Hitler, how did we thank you ?? by sending you back to an enslaved Poland !! what the h*ll were we thinking ?? Not Britain's Finest Hour, could someone who speaks Polish please translate this apology so the families of those brave men can know this Anglo baby boomer will NEVER forget their sacrifice.
Well said!
My uncle was a Polish serviceman in the British Army during WW2. He was sentenced to death for being a trainee officer in the Polish Army, then sent to a slave labour (death) camp in Siberia. Having been released, he walked to the Arabian Gulf and took a ship to the UK, and joined the British Army on arrival. After the war, he wondered about going back to Poland, so he visited the Polish Embassy in London to ask for advice. The officer carefully checked to see if she could be overheard, closed the door, and simply and very quietly advised him not to. He later found out that ex-servicemen returning to Poland (and other countries under Soviet control) were routinely sent to prison camps and most died there. After 15 very lean years in England he met and married my aunt, and became an Englishman - sort of......
@ii Clan If you mean that you don't know how to get a polish keyboard you can download one from iTunes/Play Store for a phone or change settings in control panel for a computer. If you commented just to say that you can speak polish but can't read/write in polish then I would like to thank you for making such a groundbreaking and important announcement to all of RUclips.
who was invaded by the germans? which country lost 500 thousand people because of that?
@@psk1w1 Good man
I was at school with a grandson of one of those many brave Poles who stood up and were counted amongst our strongest friends, this was commonly known in my generation and I find it sad that such an important part of our history is not being passed on by our schools.
Exactly ... did you ask someone why? Ask if you are not afraid ...
Flying in formation was what the Luftwaffe expected. 303 were too determined to payback what they had done to Poland. Luckily, a Polish pilot had the temerity to keep a diary of their exploits over the German pilots. The Poles will never forget that they were not represented at The London Victory Celebrations of 1946, yet the Poles saved their British backsides in September 1940. Churchill treacherously sold out the Poles by handing Poland to Stalin & Communist Russia. I have visited the Polish Memorial in Northolt, London to pay my respects to those pilots that did so much for England under extreme threat of Nazi occupation but saved by the Polish Pilots courageous & brave actions. I salute them.
Thank You so much! Greetings from Poland.
What rubbish! Many other Nations contributed pilots to serve in the RAF but majority were British. We saved our selves mainly by our own effort in1940. We had no realistic hope of winning the war without the help of the USA. Do you not know that Stalin invaded Poland at the same time as Hitler. Stalin took Eastern Europe by force it was not "handed" to them, it was never ours to "give"! We had the option to stay out that war but our word was our bond. We destroyed our economy for decades because that. This Anglophobia makes me sick, if we are such an odious country how come so many foreigners want to live here?
@@keithchapman109 Most is a good word. Because the smaller rest, though more effective in combat, meant almost nothing.
There is a new movie coming out next month (August 2018) called Hurricane. Although a drama It honours these brave pilots and tells the truth about how they were treated. A nice touch during filming was the families of the pilots were invited to a party during the film shoot at a UK airfield and for many it was the first time they had met. Anyone who enjoyed or was interested in this youtube video will love Hurricane. The truth always comes out in the end.
I watched Hurricane yesterday. I'm sorry to say so, but apart from bad CGI it adds little or nothing to "Bloody Foreigners".
Poles helped save Vienna in 1683 and Britain n 1940
+Billy Ray also the Polish - Soviet war 1920 Poland saved Europe
+Billy Ray Poles and Croats are fucking guardians of Europe. But what do we get in return?
+Filip Žižak Those who where fighting for freedom and peace are heroes. Nationality doesn't matter but we must remeber our heroes and history. Greetings from Poland, Croatia is beautiful country:)
hubert wawrzyniak Easy for you to say
blackzed of course
About six years ago I was on a coach going from the South West of France to Poland. It was a long journey and a large number of the passengers were Poles who clearly worked abroad but were returning home for whatever reason. As the bus crossed the border from Germany into Poland the driver who was also a Pole announced over the speaker system ' ladies and gentleman - we are now on Polish soil.' The whole bus load of people stood up and cheered. It is a moment I will never forget and showed so clearly the proud and fervent love the whole nation has for it's country. That is something that seems to be missing in Britain.
Absolutely Bandit..... British youth have been indoctrinated to see their country's history as a litany of evil and wrongdoing, by generations of lefties in Govt and the education system... the same lefties who are now filling young ones heads in school with all the current gender, mental elf and self hatred BS, instead of teaching them the sciences and arts.
In all, 30 Polish airmen out of 145 were killed during the Battle. One of them died at the hands of an angry crowd in east London. He had baled out of his fighter and landed, injured in Wapping. His incoherent rambling was mistaken for German and he was set-upon by the people who had gathered round him. They were incensed by recent Nazi raids on civilian targets, but he was a member of the RAF.
The close range tactics used by the Poles led to suggestions of recklessness, but there is little evidence for this view. For example, the death rate in 303 Squadron was lower than the average rate for other RAF squadrons, despite the squadron having been the highest-scoring Allied squadron during the Battle.
I can tell You how it works as I played a lot computer games and I believe it's the same stuff.
Once You are approaching target aircraft with no fire he is not trying to swerve perhaps not being aware of being in fire range or not knowing at all that somebody is on his tail or perhaps thinking it's not an enemy flying in formation.
Once You open fire target will most likely do some sharp manoeuvre.
Firing from far got very low success rate mainly not only because of not being able to aim properly on target, but due to the time bullets got to travel. Until they will reach the target target is not there so it's more thinking ahead and luck factor involved + wasting a lot of ammo which is limited. Fire on close range is more straightforward. You're aiming almost where You want to hit while from far distance You got to sometimes aim even few lengths of aircraft further away especially chasing him in loop for an instance.
303 was excellent, but not the highest scoring squadron in the Battle of Britain. It did have the highest RATE of kills over time, though. If the Battle of Britain had lasted longer, and the supply of experienced Polish pilots had been there, then it would have been the highest scoring squadron.
Not true only 8 people died from 303 squadron and they killed at least 128 hostiles.
Source? The story of East European RAF piots being killed bt friendlies is a common enough story, but never to my knowledge substantiated.
It scored more kills in the BoB than any other squadron engaged, no? It's a bit daft to count scores from before or after.
The British did the same thing to the Polish paratroops who took part in "Operation Market Garden." In fact they treated all of the Polish heroes the same way.
Polish paratroopers were used as scapegoats even thought they alone held off escape line- without them no one would came out of this alive. After that Gen. Sosabowski was dismissed and he also lost his rank in the army. He never came back to Poland as he would be for sure sent to prison by communist gov.
after the war he worked on an assembly line at an electronics company in London. when he died most of his friends from the factory did bot know he was a decorated general till his honors where red out loud at his funeral
+KingDT2007 It's too bad he didn't make his way to America after the war- if I had been in his place, I would have had a hard time stomaching even the SIGHT of the British-! But as an American, I'm embarrassed to say that the U.S. has done more than its share of treachery and back-stabbing, too.
And how they threat retired Gurkha soldiers?
William Dean As an Australian we also remember WW1 and British attitudes.
As Australians we also remember WW2 and the USA attitude.
Never seen a Hollywood movie yet with Australian pilots and aircraft yet at the end of WW2 Australia had the 4th biggest Airforce in the world. About 6,000 up to date aircraft.
The only Hollywood movies are the USA trying to claim a big part of Australian troops pushing back 30,000 experienced Japanese in New Guinea over the Kakoda Trail. Before the USA arrived. The first time the Japanese had been stopped except by the USSR in 1937.
At least given time the British do give others credit.
A quality the USA has yet to develop.
It must be something to do with a deep down insecurity in the USA.
The Polish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain were by far the best airmen of their day. Their flying skills and fearless character made them the most deadly opponent the Luftwaffe ever faced.
And what was their reward after war when polish pilots came back to their country? For many of them jail and tortures... gen. Skalski barely survived. Thanks to ZSRR and Jews
are you joking? One german air force ace have more kills , than the whole polish air force.
Yes. because he was shooting down old 1931 Polish PZL P11 aircraft in his Bf 109 and old Russian Polikarpov I-15 Biplanes.
Once the Polish had decent contemporary aircraft, like the Hawker Hurricane or Supermarine Spitfire, it was a different story.
In the early days of the BoB, the Polish didn't use the traditional fighter pilot tactic of closing in on your enemy from behind. They attacked from head on.
Why do you ask - because those bloody old P11's couldn't fly fast enough to close in on a German bomber, never mind a Messerschmidt 109. They had to close with the enemy, head on.
Bloody brave Polish pilots I say.
Once they became familiar with the Hurricane and Spitfire they started to use the more traditional and less suicidal tactics.
God Bless RAF Polish "Kościuszko" Squadron 303. At lease as a former Brit, I remember them.
Are YOU joking? Why did the German Luftwaffe lost in the Battle of Britain if they had way more airplanes? So many airplanes and German aces and the Polish pilots were shooting them down like ducks. Think. :)
@@keandle
S..t, one guy in 100s of replies that actually knows how they trained Polish fighters before 1939.
Thanks.
In writings left by Polish pilots, eg. Skalski, he describes how lucky they were when trained in Toruń as opposed to Dęblin, because they could fly more and try different techniques. He said himself that 'Toruń' squadron had more than twice flight hours comparing to most of the other places in Poland. Yes one of crazy techniques was head on attacks as you wrote, and they did with life amunition. Surr many Poles were confused by the 'RAF formation', since it didn't provide enough protection in their opinion, so they mostly flew the way it they did it during training exercises in Poland, maybe a bit crazy in the eyes of the RAF, but quite effective.
I was born in city of Grudziądz, in '39 just 20km from Prussian border. Also a military place with one of first military pilot schools (Air Fighting and Bombing) in Poland (actually the Prussians built the air base there in early 1900s), where many of pilots that flew during the BoB and WW2 studied. There was also an infantry and cavalry that stationed in the garrison.
Cheers
"...We don´t ask for freedom. We fight for it!" (Witold Urbanowicz)
Polish fighter squadron 303 was the highest scoring squadron during the Battle of Britain. The pilots were experiwnced and unbelievably stubborn, dedicated 1000%.
I think it was 603 spitfire squadron who were the highest scorers, their kills were mostly the germans top fighters, not light bombers.
303 kills using fact based evidence have been reduced from 149 to 127 to 55 by one polish historian and 59 by another, a brit historian made it 48.
303 were all experienced professional veterans all put together in 2 squadrons.
Experienced brit pilots were spread out in the various squadrons to bring on the new pilots, they had lost hundreds of pilots by the b of b having seen much more action over a much longer time period.
Statistics and reality,
no your wrong there.
Well done the Polish Air Force Fighter Squadrons that fought in the BAttle of Britain. I saw that had the record for kills. However they weren't honoured in the Victory Parade as Churchill didn't want to cause offence to the Russians. WEAK in the extreme.
The Poles were also the first to crack the Enigma code. Very Clever people. I worked with a man who had been a German POW in WWII in Poland and the things he learned to do made it easy to follw him in the work. Sadly we often do not honour our friends with the rewards and praise they deserve.
our grandfathers thank you for your words
no it was alan turing who was english, the first enigma was useless and outdated. as for friends, this was polands war not englands war.
to Polish sisters&brothers any soldiers alive from this squadron if you know them please tell my respects from Turkish Republic too.
I rarely comment on this website. But I want to say this: as a British citizen I have always been proud of the fact that Britain entered WW2 to honour a defence agreement with Poland, not because it was attacked. I am also ashamed that so little is known in the UK about Squadron 303 and the contribution of other Polish fighting forces. Now, post-Brexit when Polish people are vilified as "foreigners", I want to say, thank you.
because they are. the same as an american would be...
I wouldn’t say calling someone a foreigner is vilifying them. It’s just a statement of fact.
they are foreigners, and you are to them.. polish airmen dead ww2 1900.. raf 70 thousand... who should be thanking who.
@@atrlawes98 So you don't know the postwar history of your own country, especially the exploits of Athlee and alike ones towards those brave heroes left alone with nothing for their sacrifice, no thanks and, what most important, no way back to their promised free homeland. You can't imagine this drama. But life can teach such as you other way.
poles are the gutsiest Europeans always supporting the freedom of the people even today they do so fighting against European union
long live polska..