1st Fighter Group "Kr"

1st Fighter Group "Kr"
Active17 May – 19 June 1940
Allegiance Polish government-in-exile
Branch Polish Air Forces in France
RoleFighter air defence
Size4 pilots (until 12 June 1940)
7 pilots (after 12 June 1940)
Garrison/HQ
EngagementsSecond World War
CommanderZdzisław Krasnodębski

The 1st Fighter Group "Kr" (Polish: I Klucz Kominowy „Kr”) was an air unit of the Polish Air Forces in France, formed on 17 May 1940, being subordinated to the Fighter Squadron 1/55 of the French Air Force. It was commanded by major Zdzisław Krasnodębski. The unit served in the Battle of France during the Second World War, being stationed at the back of the front lines, with bases in the towns of Bordeaux, Châteaudun, Étampes, and Limoges. It was disbanded on 19 June 1940, shortly before the capitulation of France. Its pilots later joined the No. 303 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom.

History

Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 (top) and Koolhoven F.K.58 (bottom), the two types of fighter aircraft used by the unit.

The 1st Fighter Group was formed on 17 May 1940, during the Battle of France in the Second World War. It was under the command of Polish Air Forces in France, and being subordinated to the Fighter Squadron 1/55 of the French Air Force. The unit was commanded by major Zdzisław Krasnodębski. It was originally equipped with the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter aircraft, and later also with Koolhoven F.K.58.

It was formed and stationed in the commune of Châteaudun, France, behind the front lines. The ineffectiveness of the French command system caused the crews to be sent for missions too late, leaving them unable to intercept the enemy. The repeat of such situations prompted major Krasnodębski to request that Polish pilots be sent exclusively with Czechoslovak pilots, as he and his subordinates felt the French pilots lacked the will to fight. On 18 and 20 May, the unit moved to the aerodrome in Étampes near Paris. The unit participated in its first air battle on 3 June 1940, when it intercepted the German aircraft, during their air raid on an airfield in Châteaudun. On said day, pilot Stanisław Karubin achieved the unit's only air victory, shooting down a Dornier Do 17 bomber plane.[1][2]

On 12 June 1940, the unit was joined with the group commanded by lieutenant Franciszek Skiba. In the last days of the Battle of France, the group patrolled the area around the engine factories in Limoges, and between 16 and 17 June, it took part in the defence of Bordeaux. Shortly prior to the capitulation of France, the pilots of the unit flew to the city of Rochefort, from where they were transported via land to the port in La Rochelle, which formed an assembly point for Polish soldiers. On 19 June, they boarded ship Alderpool, which arrived in Plymouth, England on 22 June. The pilots were later assigned to the No. 303 Squadron of the Royal Air Force.[1][2]

Members

Major Zdzisław Krasnodębski, the commander of the air unit.

References

  1. 1 2 Olgierd Cumft, Hubert Kazimierz Kujawa: Księga lotników polskich poległych, zmarłych i zaginionych 1939-1946. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1989. ISBN 83-11-07329-5. (in Polish)
  2. 1 2 Janusz Zuziak: Wojsko Polskie we Francji. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawnicza Rytm, 2013, p. 285. ISBN 978-83-7399-580-2. (in Polish)
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