Polish Aviation - 1939 Fighter Units

 

AvStop Online Magazine


Polish Fighter Units - September 1939


The owl, in the left upper corner of the main aviation page, is actually the emblem of 113 Eskadra, one of the more successful Polish fighter units in the September 1939 campaign. On this page you'll see the insignia and statistics concerning this, and all the other regular Lotnictwo Wojskowe fighter squadrons. Aside from these, there were also some other units (most notably, the Deblin Group), which were organized ad hoc during the first days of fighting. One pilot, Lt. Henryk Szczesny, scored 2 kills while single-handedly defending Wielick airfield, flying the PZL P.11g Kobuz prototype. 

The numbers of kills by Polish units are cited after J. Pawlak's Polskie eskadry w wojnie obronnej 1939, which is an invaluable reference work for the subject. However, these numbers likely include a certain number of what should be classified as probable kills. Numbers given by Pawlak add up to 147 kills, while the actual number of confirmed kills in the Polish campaign, according to the war-time research by special Polish Air Force commission, was 126. There is also a likelihood of some overclaiming, but considering all circumstances, the actual number of German aircraft shot down by fighter pilots in the campaign was probably somewhere between 110 and 130. Given the enormous technical and numerical advantage of the Luftwaffe, these numbers show the excellent skills and determination of Polish fighter pilots, which they went on to prove in the Battle of Britain, and other campaigns on the Western front.


Brygada Poscigowa - Pursuit Brigade

 
III/1 Dywizjon Mysliwski - III/1 Fighter Wing
Commanding Officer:          Capt. Zdzislaw Krasnodebski
Tactical Officer:            Lt.   Arsen Cebrzynski 
Initial Strength:            17 PZL P.11c + 4 PZL P.11a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    19.5
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      6
Aircraft Lost:               19
Aicrew Lost:                 1 killed, 1 missing, 5 wounded     
 

111 Eskadra Mysliwska - 111 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Gustaw Sidorowicz
Initial Strength:            9 PZL P.11c
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    7.5
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      3
Aircraft Lost:               9
Aicrew Lost:                 1 missing, 4 wounded       
 

112 Eskadra Mysliwska - 112 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Tadeusz Opulski
Initial Strength:            6 PZL P.11c + 4 PZL P.11a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    9.5
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      3
Aircraft Lost:               10
Aicrew Lost:                 1 killed, 1 wounded        
 
IV/1 Dywizjon Mysliwski - IV/1 Fighter Wing
Commanding Officer:          Capt. Adam Kowalczyk
Tactical Officer:            Lt. Aleksander Gabszewicz 
Initial Strength:            13 PZL P.11c + 9 PZL P.11a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    26.5
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      9
Aircraft Lost:               15
Aicrew Lost:                 1 killed, 4 missing, 4 wounded     
 

113 Eskadra Mysliwska - 113 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Lt. Wienczyslaw Baranski
Initial Strength:            5 PZL P.11c + 5 PZL P.11a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    15.5
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      6
Aircraft Lost:               7
Aicrew Lost:                 1 killed, 1 missing, 1 wounded     
 

114 Eskadra Mysliwska - 114 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Juliusz Frey
Initial Strength:            6 PZL P.11c + 4 PZL P.11a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    8
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      3
Aircraft Lost:               8
Aicrew Lost:                 3 missing, 3 wounded       
 
Detached from III/2 Dywizjon Mysliwski - III/2 Fighter Wing

123 Eskadra Mysliwska - 123 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Mieczyslaw Olszewski
Initial Strength:            10 PZL P.7a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    3
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      2
Aircraft Lost:               6
Aicrew Lost:                 1 killed, 2 wounded        

Krakow Army Air Arm

III/2 Dywizjon Mysliwski - III/2 Fighter Wing
Commanding Officer:          Capt. Mieczyslaw Medwecki
Tactical Officer:            Capt. Walerian Jasionowski 
Initial Strength:            20 PZL P.11c
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    14
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      7
Aircraft Lost:               10 (4(!) shot down by Polish AA fire)
Aicrew Lost:                 3 killed   
 

121 Eskadra Mysliwska - 121 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Tadeusz Sedzielowski
Initial Strength:            10 PZL P.11c
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    8.5
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      4
Aircraft Lost:               6 (3 shot down by Polish AA fire)
Aicrew Lost:                 2 killed   
 

122 Eskadra Mysliwska - 122 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Mieczyslaw Wiorkiewicz
Initial Strength:            10 PZL P.11c
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    5.5
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      3
Aircraft Lost:               4
Aicrew Lost:                 none       

Poznan Army Air Arm

III/3 Dywizjon Mysliwski - III/3 Fighter Wing
Commanding Officer:          Maj. Mieczyslaw Mumler
Tactical Officer:            Capt. Kazimierz Wisniewski 
Initial Strength:            22 PZL P.11c
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    36
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      2
Aircraft Lost:               14
Aicrew Lost:                 2 killed, 6 missing, 5 wounded     
 

131 Eskadra Mysliwska - 131 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Jerzy Zaremba
Initial Strength:            10 PZL P.11c
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    11.5
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      1
Aircraft Lost:               3
Aicrew Lost:                 3 missing, 3 wounded       
 

132 Eskadra Mysliwska - 132 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Franciszek Jastrzebski
Initial Strength:            10 PZL P.11c 
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    20.5
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      1
Aircraft Lost:               11
Aicrew Lost:                 2 killed, 3 missing, 2 wounded     

Pomorze Army Air Arm

III/4 Dywizjon Mysliwski - III/4 Fighter Wing
Commanding Officer:          Capt. Florian Laskowski
Tactical Officer:            Lt. Franciszek Skiba
Initial Strength:            18 PZL P.11c + 4 PZL P.11a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    21
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      1
Aircraft Lost:               14
Aicrew Lost:                 4 killed, 1 missing, 1 wounded     
 

141 Eskadra Mysliwska - 141 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Tadeusz Rolski
Initial Strength:            10 PZL P.11c
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    6
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      1
Aircraft Lost:               7
Aicrew Lost:                 2 killed, 1 missing, 1 wounded     
 

142 Eskadra Mysliwska - 142 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Miroslaw Lesniewski
Initial Strength:            6 PZL P.11c + 4 PZL P.11a 
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    15
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      none
Aircraft Lost:               7
Aicrew Lost:                 1 killed   

Narew Army Group Air Arm

Detached from III/5 Dywizjon Mysliwski - III/5 Fighter Wing 

151 Eskadra Mysliwska - 151 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Lt. Jozef Brzezinski
Initial Strength:            10 PZL P.7a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    none
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      1
Aircraft Lost:               6
Aicrew Lost:                 1 missing, 1 wounded       

Modlin Army Air Arm

III/5 Dywizjon Mysliwski - III/5 Fighter Wing
Commanding Officer:          Maj. Edward Wieckowski
Tactical Officer:            Capt. Kazimierz Wolinski
Initial Strength:            9 PZL P.11c + 1 PZL P.11a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    8 (+ 2 balloons)
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      1
Aircraft Lost:               8
Aicrew Lost:                 1 killed   
 

152 Eskadra Mysliwska - 152 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Wlodzimierz Lazoryk
Initial Strength:            9 PZL P.11c + 1 PZL P.11a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    8 (+ 2 balloons)
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      1
Aircraft Lost:               8
Aicrew Lost:                 1 killed   

Lodz Army Air Arm

III/6 Dywizjon Mysliwski - III/6 Fighter Wing
Commanding Officer:          Capt. Stanislaw Morawski
Tactical Officer:            Lt. Tadeusz Jeziorowski
Initial Strength:            10 PZL P.11c + 2 PZL P.11a + 10 PZL P.7a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    14
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      3
Aircraft Lost:               18
Aicrew Lost:                 6 killed, 3 wounded        
 

161 Eskadra Mysliwska - 161 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Capt. Wladyslaw Szczesniewski
Initial Strength:            8 PZL P.11c + 2 PZL P.11a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    6
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      3
Aircraft Lost:               9
Aicrew Lost:                 2 killed, 2 wounded        
 

162 Eskadra Mysliwska - 162 Fighter Squadron

Commanding Officer:          Lt. Bernard Groszewski
Initial Strength:            10 PZL P.7a
Enemy Aircraft Shot Down:    8
Enemy Aircraft Damaged:      none
Aircraft Lost:               9
Aicrew Lost:                 3 killed, 1 wounded

 
 
 ŠAvStop Online Magazine                                                                                                      Contact Us              Return To News