Poles in Defence of Britain

To the Polish volunteers who were to fly and fight so brilliantly and tenaciously throughout the Battle of Britain, the United Kingdom was known as 'Last Hope Island'. Many lost their lives, such as Antoni Ostowicz, many achieved glory and became aces - such as Glowacki, Skalski and Witorzenc. The RAF came to depend on these men, with over 100 Polish pilots supporting almost 30 fighter squadrons, most especially 302, 303 and 307 (night fighter).

The result of years of research, Robert Gretzyngier's book includes detailed combat descriptions, personal accounts from combat reports, memoirs, and diaries from the Polish, British and German perspective. There is in-depth biographical data of all Polish pilots, giving full RAF and PAF careers and much tabular material in appendix form.

This book is a tremendous account of Polish contribution in those hectic days before the RAF began to take the offensive across the Channel, and is augmented by many hitherto unpublished photographs from private collections.

Robert Gretzyngier has for years studied Polish involvement in the air defence of the British Isles in WWII. He lives and works in Warsaw.