POLISH SQUADRON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24399, 10 September 1940, Page 7

POLISH SQUADRON

TOLL OF ENEMY PLANES DASHING PART PLAYED (British Official Wireless). ...■ - :.'•' RUGBY, Sept. 8. (Received Sept. 9, at 7 p.m.) The pilots' own accounts of Saturday's daylight air attack on London reveal the dashing part played by a Ptilisfr squadron. Perfect timing betwteri three fighter squadrons was «aid to be responsible for smashing a .big enemy formation near East 'London Of these three squadrons a Polish squadron of Hurricanes had the largest bag. When the Poles arrived about 40 Dornier bombers were flying at 20,000 feet. Some distance behind and above was a small formation of Messerschmitts 110, and further behind still, at even a greater height, probably 30,000 feet, were Messerschmitts 109. The last-named were-attacked by Spitfires.. The Messerschmitts 110 did not seem to know what to do. One of the Hurricane squadron attacked the rear of a Dornier formation, which then turned east and provided the Polish squadron with a first class target. The Poles, who had been flying in sections of three.. one behind the other, strung round so that the whole squadron was almost broadside on to the bombers. They dived down 4000 feet out of the sun to attack, each member of each section choosing an individual target. • A British pilot, praising the age of the Poles, said: " They are tremendous' fighteri and their eh-

thusiasm is infectious. When they go tearing into enemy bombers and fighter's they go so close that you think they are going to collide." One Pole, after shooting down two Domiers, was himself attacked and baled out over Essex. He landed safely near Roughton and rejoined the squadron a few hours later. Three of the Poles got two bom tier s each, and a fourth eot one bomber and one fighter. In action with the Polish squadron was a Czechoslovak pilot who flew his plane to Poland after the invasion of his country by the Nazis. He fought in Poland last autumn and came to England with a squadron of his Czechoslovak fellow countrymen, who were in the air over London with their own squadron at the same time, bringing down five Nazi raiders.