Between July and the end of October 1940, a pivotal and desperate battle took place in British skies. The German Luftwaffe launched huge assaults with the aim of obliterating the Royal Air Force. At its zenith, the RAF had only 749 fighter aircraft available compared to the Luftwaffe’s 2,550. It was the Battle of Britain.
Eighty-five years ago, the Battle was fought, and won, by pilots and groundcrew from more than a dozen Allied nations. Among them were brave Polish airmen.
Ludwik Paszkiewicz was among the first to fight in WW2. A pilot in the Polish Air Force at the Nazi invasion of his country in 1939, he was able to escape to France to continue the fight. Following the fall of France in the summer of 1940 he joined more than 8,000 fellow Polish airmen in England. He joined No. 303 Squadron at Northolt on its formation at the start of August.
303 Squadron
The squadron was predominantly made up of Polish airmen, but the RAF was uncertain of their abilities and they were on extended training that summer. However, on 30th August, Ludwik was on a training exercise in his Hurricane when he spotted a German bomber. He broke away from the formation. His own official account says: “I opened up the throttle and went in the direction of the enemy…Then I noticed, at my own altitude, a bomber with twin rudders – probably a Dornier – turning in my direction…Then I aimed at the fuselage and opened fire from about 200 yards, later transferring it to the port engine, which I set on fire…”
