Introduction:
One area overlooked by historians is the role of research and development (R&D) by the PAF (Polish Air Force) during World War II. For some, the subject lacks the ‘draw’ of operations and yet it is a vital role within both the army, navy and the air force. The need for R&D was not well understood by the Polish inter-war politicians which meant the Polish Air Force lost any combative superiority with the Luftwaffe by mid to late 1930s (Peszke, 2006). Despite this, R&D during the interwar period also enabled innovate designs such as Jerzy Rudlicki’s V-tail empennage for the 1934 Lublin R-XIX continued his aerodynamic design work Trebinski and Zalewski. Jerzy Dąbrowski (designer of the PZL.37) and others, served as technical officers in the Polish Air Force under RAF command. They worked at aviation firms including Percival and Folland Hamble factory, contributing directly to Allied aircraft production and development.
The Technical Department of the PAF Inspectorate General
The department was set up by S-Col. Władysław Bohuszewicz in July 1940 and was succeeded by S-Col. Mieczysław Konarski in 1941. The department’s initial role was to provide technical back-up for the PAF squadrons, and the second remit was to provide a comprehensive technical services. The third and more contested role was the provision of research and design for a future liberated Poland.
Polish personnel evacuated from France went straight into Maintenance Command with any surplus staff sent for retraining. The main base for the No. 13 Maintenance Unit was based at Henlow, Bedfordshire where instruction in servicing, maintenance and technical administration took place. Col. Tytus Karpiński was initially responsible for 500 technical personnel at the HQ Maintenance Command.
On 8th February 1942, the first technical unit, No. 1 Polish Repair Depot was formed at No. 30 MU in Sealand in Flintshire under the command of S/ Leader Kazimerz Kalina. The personnel were later supplemented by women from the Polish version of WAAF (Pomocnicza Lotnicza Służba Kobiet) (see https://polandinexile.com/article/polish-women-at-war/). Although the base was designated for routine aircraft and repairs, they also managed a small technical high school courses towards the end of the war.
In the D-Day planning, the technical units were committed to the 2nd TAF. On 27th May 1943, No.1 Polish Repair and Salvage Unit (RSU) was formed as a specialist fighter aircraft facility as part of the No. 71 MU under the command of F/ Lt. Waclaw Wiorkiewicz based in Slough. On 10th June 1943. No. 2 Polish Repair and Salvage Unit was formed specialising in bomber aircraft at No. 58 MU in Newark under the command of F/ Lt. Rudolf Płoszek. These units were mobile and had typically 5 officers and 60 airmen. The Polish Mobile Equipment Park was based at Northolt, Middlesex under the command of F/ Lt. Kazimierz Grabianowski and the unit was attached to No. 206 MU.
With the anticipated return of the PAF to Poland, the Polish Technical and Supply Branch, which was formed in July 1943, consisted of the Organization, Equipment, Maintenance and Supply alongside the Signals Sections who liaised with the R&D Section of the Ministry of Aircraft Production.
No. 1 RSU was dissolved and replaced by a much larger No. 411 RSU which was based at Heston on 1st September 1943 under the command of F/ Lt. Rafal Dąbrowski. The unit had specialist equipment and began work in November 1943. No. 1 Polish Air Stores Park was reorganised on 26th August 1943 t Hillingdon, Middlesex and would later be known as part of the Heathrow Airport complex. The commander was F/ Lt. Tadeusz Lukaszkiewicz.
Three Polish technical units of No. 84 Group were shipped to France and provided support for No. 131 and 133 Fighter Wings as well as the Norwegian No. 132, Czech No. 134 and No. 145 French Wings. No. 411 Polish RSU repaired 203 aircraft and salvaged 294 aircraft post-D-Day.
Their outstanding ability and duty are exemplified on repairing 21 aircraft of the No. 145 French Wing in 3 days after the V1 attack on the airfield at Antwerp. No. 408 ASP and No. 72 MTLRU kept squadrons flying in the rapidly changing front as the Reich began to collapse. By VE Day, the Polish RSU’s in the 2nd TAF and Maintenance Command had repaired 462 engines and 366 aircraft with a further 375 aircraft salvaged (Cynk, 1998).
The role of the armourers should also not be overlooked. The success of the PAF’s fighter squadrons can be put towards the zeroing of machine guns at a shorter distance than the RAF. Armourers were attached to the No. 411 RSU and briefed pilots and gunners on the technical aspects of the weapons.
At the outbreak of war, signals were relatively undeveloped. With the advent in the development of radar and advances in wireless communications, the formation of the Signals Branch in July 1942 made the organization more cohesive under the command of S/ Leader Stanisław Pociask. 5 Polish Motor Signals Units (N. 5090 ‘C’, 5091 ‘C’, 5088 ‘J’, and 5094 ‘K’ supported ‘Y’ Intelligence and Ground Control Interception Stations, No. 84 Group and 2nd TAF from their base at Cranfield. These technical services also included an aerial photo reconnaissance unit. Airfield construction units were organised within the RAF branch of the Army’s Military Technical Institution during the early stages of the war. After 1943 was incorporated into the PAF Inspectorate General. After D-Day, the construction units worked alongside the Allies repairing landing strips and airfields. By 1945, the units became the No. 5029 based at Gathwick Hall with No. 5351 Airfield Construction Wing being largely a training base.
Non-Technical Services:
This area of the PAF was subjected to numerous reorganisations throughout the war. Its main goal was to develop a wide range of services for the post war period as well as assisting the war effort. Initially part of the PAF Inspectorate General, roles and name changes makes it difficult to follow (Cynk, 1998). The services included a PAF Metrological Unit, PAF Medical Service and the Polish Chaplaincy Service based at the Ground Training Centre in Blackpool. Education played an important role too with personnel completing their tours of duty were sent to colleges and universities through the auspices of the Directorate of Education based in London.
The Poles were keen to produce their own papers or leaflets as part of the communication processes to cover war news as well as other aspects of life in Britain. Wiadomości za Świata (World News) was produced in Eastchurch from 1940. More specific news sheets like Skrzydła (Wings) a fortnightly print and Myśl Lotnicza (Air Thought) a monthly edition were printed in runs of around 4,000. Translation services for general and more specific technical publications played an important role too.
Polish Contributions: (Based on Orlowski, B. (2009 and 2012 articles).
- Weaponry: Rudolf Gundlach (1892—1957) invented a tank rotary periscope full-range (360°) vision through a prism mirror fitted in a mobile strap. Adopted by Vickers-Armstrong and US. Later appeared in Soviet T-34.
- Mine Detector Polish Mark 1 was a prewar design by the Warsaw military Special Signals Unit and manufactured in Britain with Józef Kosacki (1909-1990) supervising production and development was stronger and more efficient than other designs.
- A Polish Section with the Armaments Design Department in Cheshunt designed a small 20 mm anti-aircraft gun codenamed Polsten, built under the leadership of Jerzy Podsędkowski, of which more than 50 thousand units were produced.
- Capt. Kazimierz Januszewski designed a semiautomatic rifle EM2 (No.9 mk.1) also known as the Janson Rifle.
EM2 Rifle (Janson)
- Capt. Kazimierz Januszewski and Aleksander Czekalski helped with the R&D , under Sir Dennis Bruley, of a British non-recoil cannon capable of destroying German Tiger tanks in North Africa.
- Aircraft Improvements: Zbigniew Oleński introduced major improvements to the Spitfire’s field of view and provided easier evacuation in case the pilot had to parachute.
- T. Czaykowski in turn helped eliminate certain dangerous vibrations in the high speed interceptor Tempests against the V-1.
- A method invented by Wacław Czerwiński (1902-1988) for plywood hot forming made possible its substitution for aluminium and used in the N A – 6, Harvard II, the Anson, or the DH.98 Mosquito from a factory in Toronto, Canada.
- In 1940 Władysław Świątecki (1895-1944) designed a slip bomb device which worked on the multiple lever principle and fitted to British bombers.
- In 1943, Jerzy Rudlicki (1893-1977) further developed a special release gear for high altitude surface bombing, which was used in American B – l 7 Flying Fortress bombers.
- Communications: Wacław Straszyński (1905-1980) developed a high frequency radio direction finding system which could locate German submarines using on the sea surface high frequency radio communications.
- Engineer Heftman led a team making miniature radio stations of his own design from 1944. Used by resistance movements in German occupied countries.
- Henryk Magnuski (1909-1978) who worked for the American company Motorola designed the SCR-300, a light and relatively wide-reaching first military radio station based on frequency modulation for the lowest command levels.
- Zygmunt Jelonek (1909-1994) developed the WS Nr 10, a pioneering microwave radio set on world scale operating 8 communication channels on 4GHz. It enabled commanders to talk to combat forces engaged on Normandy beaches during the early June 1944 invasion.
- Wacław Szukiewicz (1896-1992) had prewar developed a synthetic rubber (erythrene) from potatoes and his success was limited by the powerful lobbying of the US oil producers which Roosevelt followed.
The next time you’re in an argument about Poland’s contribution to the Allies efforts, you can add these achievements to your list!
Selected References:
Cynk, J. B. (1998) “The Polish Air Force At War: The Official History”, Vol.2 , Schiffer Military History, USA.
Orłowski, B. (2009) “Polish Inventions: A Forgotten Contribution to the Allied Victory in World War II”, Organon, No. 41, pp.121-128.
Orłowski, B. (2012) “Giganci Nauki PL: polscy wynalazcy, odkrywcy, pionierzy nauk ścisłych”, KWARTALNIK, No.3, pp.1-7.
Peszke, M.A. (2006) “Poland’s Military Aviation, September 1939: It Never Had A Chance”, in “Why Air Forces Fail: The Anatomy of Defeat”, Higham, R and Harris, S (Eds), University of Kentucky, USA, pp. 13-39.
Trebinski, R. and Zalewski, P. (2005) “Polish Aviation Engineering: Past, Present and Future”, NATO Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) symposium (online).
