Why Polish Pilots Didn't Save Britain

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The great majority of British people know that Polish pilots fought in the Battle of Britain, and that they were highly regarded for their skill and courage. I certainly knew this when I first moved to Poland. What I did not know was that I would spend the next five years arguing against the absurd idea that Polish pilots ‘saved Britain.’

I not going to pretend that this argument comes up every day, but I am astonished by how often it does come up. This worries me, especially because it very often comes from young people. The reason it is worrying is because it reveals a distorted and ridiculously simplistic interpretation of history. People who do not understand history cannot learn from history and people who do not learn from history are prone to doing foolish things.

If you believe that Polish pilots saved Britain, or find yourself in conversation with somebody who does, ask this question: If a handful of Polish pilots saved Britain, why couldn’t all the Polish pilots save Poland? The entire Polish air force was in Poland in September 1939, but Poland fell. Only a small part of the Polish air force was in England during the Battle of Britain, but Britain did not fall. Were Polish pilots just not trying hard enough in 1939? Did they feel more passionate about defending Britain than their own country?

You’re probably thinking that the answer to this question is obvious, and you’re probably right – the Nazis had better planes than the Poles in 1939, and more of them. Immediately we come to the first reason it is false to say that Polish pilots saved Britain – pilots are no use without good planes. Britain had good planes, and a lot more of them.

Also obvious is that good planes are no use without good pilots. Many of the Poles who flew in the Battle of Britain were very good pilots. Were they born good pilots? Is the average Pole just better at flying than the average Brit? No, they were good pilots because they had experience. Many of them had just fought against the German air force in the defence of Poland and then, immediately afterwards, in the defence of France. Unsurprisingly, this was extremely good training for fighting the German air force in the defence of Britain.

The best evidence that experience makes for the most effective fighter pilots is provided by the top-scoring ace of the famed Polish 303 squadron. Unfortunately for red-and-white flag wavers, he wasn’t Polish. Josef František is credited with shooting down more planes than any other Allied pilot during the Battle of Britain, and he was a Czech. There are various theories as to why he ended up in a Polish squadron instead of a Czech squadron. They don’t matter. What is important is that he had fought in the defence of Poland and France. In other words, he had that vital experience.

303 squadron shot down more German aircraft than any other in the battle. Of the top six deadliest pilots in the squadron, one was Czech, one was Canadian and one was British. This proves one thing, that the pilots with the greatest experience, and the pilots who flew with them and rapidly learned from that experience, were the most effective.

Statistics are a dangerous thing to rely on, but some broad numbers are useful here. Polish pilots made up about five percent of the defenders and, according to their own claims, shot down 201 German aircraft, which is about 10 percent of the total. There is no doubt that Polish pilots, on average, were more effective than non-Polish pilots, but they were not so effective that the 2,750 other pilots might as well not have been there. The other 90 percent of German planes destroyed didn’t shoot themselves down.

I spent a lot of time flicking through forums while researching this topic. I read the same arguments played out again and again, sometimes in rational, calm tones, more often in semi-literate language thick with abuse. These arguments always end in a stalemate of statistics and references to obscure pieces of literature. The reason arguments about the Polish contribution to the Battle of Britain always end in stalemate is because they aren’t really about the Polish contribution to the Battle of Britain; they are about what Polish people believe the British think of them. There is anger on the Polish side and surprised anger in response on the British side. The average Brit has no idea why Poland would be angry with Britain, and the average Pole is shocked that Britain isn’t aware of their anger. Next week, I’m going to discuss why this situation has arisen.

Jamie Stokes