Polish Fighter Pilots – How They Fought

One of our bestselling books is the award-winning 303 Squadron: The Legendary Battle of Britain Fighter Squadron, by Arkady Fiedler, in an all-new English translation by Jarek Garlinski.

We recently came across the video below from the Imperial War Museum in London, about the Polish fighter pilots who helped save Great Britain from German invasion in the Battle of Britain, including the famous 303 Squadron.

Polish pilots were the largest contingent of non-British Commonwealth pilots in the Battle of Britain. In addition to all-Polish squadrons, individual pilots were embedded in various RAF squadrons, both fighters and bombers.

During the Battle of Britain—and, indeed, for the most critical year from June 1940, when France surrendered, through June 1941 when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union—Poland was Britain’s largest ally. Polish 303 Squadron was the highest-scoring Allied fighter squadron in the Battle of Britain—downing three times the average RAF squadron with one-third the casualties.

We’re working on a new video trailer for 303 Squadron, but in the meantime, we wanted to share this video from IWM, which contains lots of historic footage and photos: