Aircraft Books - Poland - History, Types and Construction

Kosciuszko, We are Here! - American Pilots of the Kosciuszko Squadron in Defense of Poland, 1919-1921

Poland was in ruins after World War I. The fighting front had rolled through some areas more than seven different times, and the result was the almost complete destruction of the roads, railways, bridges, water systems, and power plants.
The government was based mainly on civil servants of Polish descent who remained on the job after the fall of Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Even after Poland regained her independence in 1918, the borders were not yet defined and the nation was vulnerable to continued threats from Germany and Russia.

This work presents the story of the Kosciuszko Squadron, a small group of American flyers that formed without the support of the State Department and the American Expeditionary Force in Europe, to defend Poland from the Bolshevik armies and to prevent the communist revolution in Russia from uniting with a Germany frustrated by provisions of the Treaty of Versaille.

The book covers the events leading up to the formation of the squadron and the first efforts to enlist American military help for Poland in 1918. It explores why that small group of Americans felt compelled to fight for Poland and what they knew about who and what they were fighting for and against, and discusses the people, events, and issues that figured prominently in the war.
The Squadron was named, of course, in honor of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who famously came from Poland in 1776 to join the Colonial forces fighting the War of Independence from Britain.

Fokker E.V/D.VIII

This book in the popular Polish Wings series tells the story of the famous German parasol-winged WWI fighter monoplane in Polish Air Force service.
The Polish Air Force captured 17 of these Fokkers, but only seven (six E.V and one D.VIII) were in airworthy condition. All were used against Bolshevik forces in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920.
Lieutenant Stefan Stec earned the first kill for the Polish Air Force, by shooting down a Ukrainian Nieuport fighter on 29 April 1919. In 1921, the remaining Fokkers were withdrawn from front-line units and transferred to the Szkoła Obsługi Lotniczej (Air Personnel School) at Poznań-Ławica airfield.

The book includes over 120 photographs and nearly 30 colour plates to profusely illustrate these aircraft. Their technical details, military markings and maintenance stencils are shown in detail.

Polish Aviation Museum Cracow

The Polish Aviation Museum in Cracow, Poland, has an amazing collection of aircraft, including one of the biggest collections of MiG jets and WW I aircraft from the former Hermann Goering collection.

This independent guide to the collection describes and illustrates the aircraft in the display.

Packed with excellent colour photos, this book provides an essential guide to potential visitors, and a full reference for those unable to make the trip!

Polskie wytwórnie samolotów

Karaś, Junak, Iskra, Bies, and finally Orlik. Aeronautics enthusiasts will easily recognise the Polish aircraft with these names. Aviation has come a long way from the first coarse wooden structures wrapped in cotton canvas to today's modern half-shell models.

The history of Polish aircraft manufacturers begins in 1909, when the Warsaw Aeronautical Society Awiata was founded at Pole Mokotowskie. From there, the author takes us on a journey across the country.

In addition to the most well-known centres of the Polish aviation industry - WSK PZL Świdnik and Mielec, the Central Aircraft Study Institute in Warsaw - the book also tells the story of aviation in Poznań, Lublin, Łódź and Biała Podlaska.
The story of Polish aviation, however, is not only about factories and subsequent models of aircraft produced by them, but above all about people whose passion allowed first to develop and then to rebuild the industry destroyed by two world wars. Flight attendants, engineers and aviation enthusiasts are no less the protagonists of this book than the machines.

Text in Polish.

Lotniska w Polsce

The book takes a closer look at the history of airports in Poland. The authors describe Polish airports in an interesting way - those which used to serve regular passenger air traffic, those operating today and those planned.
Some of them, such as those in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz or Kraków-Czyżyny, no longer perform any function in aviation, while others, such as those in Gliwice and Słupsk, have lost their status and serve only aeroclubs. Currently, the Register of Civil Airports in Poland has 15 entries. More may soon be added.

The book is divided into chapters showing the development of civil aviation in a particular city. It is enriched by unique photographs and maps taking into account the location of airports performing both contemporary and former passenger functions. In addition, the current state of civil airport infrastructure is illustrated by diagrams created especially for this publication.

Text in Polish.

Polskie lotnictwo morskie 1920-1946

On February 10, 1920, independent Poland regained free access to the sea. General Józef Haller symbolically wedded Poland to the sea by tossing a platinum ring into the depths of the Baltic at the former German naval aviation base in Puck. This significant event led to the establishment of the Polish Navy and naval aviation in the Baltic Sea.

During the tragic September 1939, naval aviators had little chance to demonstrate their skills in the air due to overwhelming enemy superiority. However, they proved their fighting spirit by inflicting significant losses on the enemy during coastal defense operations.

Alongside British allies, the 304th Silesian Bomber Squadron was formed, operating within Coastal Command from May 1942. Their tasks included patrolling, convoy protection, and submarine detection and destruction.

The authors of this book aim to reintroduce readers to the important history of Poland's only naval aviation unit in the interwar period and its continuation alongside allies during World War II.
The book provides an overview of the challenges faced, operational methods, and the journey of Polish naval aviation from 1920 to 1946, when the 304th Squadron was disbanded in the UK. It is enriched with numerous archival and contemporary photographs, attack schematics, maps, and aircraft color plates.

Text in Polish.