Page 35 - History of War - Issue 18-15

THE UNSUNG HEROES OF THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

‘I have fought a good fi ght’
The pilots of 303 Squadron were not
exclusively Polish. Two British, one Canadian
and one Slovakian also fl ew with the squadron,
alongside one of the most intriguing characters
of the entire war, the Czech pilot Josef
František. Unable to control his instincts when
in the air, he would leave his formation shortly
after take-off and head for the Channel, where
he would wait, alone, to ambush returning MESSERSCHMITTB
German planes after their missions. Perfecting
this technique to the level of an art form (the THEGERMANS’PREMIERFIGHTERINTHE
Polish pilots called it the ‘František method’), ALL-ROUNDERANDAWORTHYOPPONENTF
he scored 17 kills in the Battle of Britain to add
to ten from the Battle of France, but his mental The Messerschmitt Bf 109 could make a
state gradually unwound due to the intense and credibleclaimtobeingthebestfighterinthe
unrelenting pressure and he eventually died in Battle of Britain.
tragically needless circumstances, crashing his Thesuperiorarmamentofthe109(apairof t
plane while executing a victory roll. 20mmcannonswereteamedwithtwo7.9mm September 19
The squadron remains most famous, machine-guns)gavethemaheftypunch,
whiletheyenjoyedsignificantperformance
however, for its 37 Polish pilots, nine of advantages over both Hurricanes and Spitfires “THE MESSERS
whom died in the six weeks the squadron
at higher altitudes. Richard Overy has claimed
was operational during the battle. During that “if the Battle of Britain had been fought at BF 109 COULD MAK
those six weeks, they shot down 126 German
planes, the highest total of any squadron in 30,000 feet, the RAF would have lost it.”
the RAF. No less an authority than Dowding at The109alsobenefittedfromextensive
armour,addedpriortotheBattleofBritain,
Fighter Command recognised the tremendous which protected the pilot, but it could not turn as THEBESTFIGHTERINTHE
contribution made by the foreign pilots when
tightlyastheBritishfightersandtheGermans
he said: “Had it not been for the magnifi cent also suffered badly in the logistical department; BATTLE OF BRITAIN”
material contributed by the Polish squadrons
and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to
say that the outcome of the battle would have
been the same.” days of action at the end of September. He while, but its war was not over. It returned to
The Polish pilots within the RAF had at times fi nished with 15 victories to become the most actionin1941,thistimeinSpitfires.
appeared to be almost unstoppable. Sergeant successful Polish pilot of the Battle of Britain. ThememorialtothePolishairmenwho
Antoni Głowacki, of 501 Squadron, downed Although the battle was not to officially end fought during World War II was unveiled at RAF
fi ve German planes on 28 August, until 30 October, 303 Squadron’s contribution Northoltin1948,carryingthenamesofthe
becoming an ‘ace in a day’, while came to a conclusion on the 11th of that month 2,408menwhogavetheirlivesandbearinga
303 Squadron’s Witold Urbanowicz when the exhausted men were moved to RAF simplebutpoignantinscription:“Ihavefought
was known as the ‘ace of aces’, once Leconfi eld for some badly needed respite. The a good fight, I have finished my course, I have
shooting down nine German planes in three proud squadron became a training unit for a kept the faith.”
Front row from left, Polish flying ace
JanZumbach,WingCommander
Stefan Witorzenc and Flight Lieutenant
ZygmuntBienkowskiof303Squadron

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