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Tadeusz Sawicz
Tadeusz Władysław Sawicz (13 February 1914 – 19 October 2011) was a Polish World War II fighter pilot. He served in the Polish Air Force, and after the fall of Poland, he served in the Polish and allied units in France and United Kingdom. He was the commander of several air units, including the No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron, 1st Polish Fighter Wing, 3rd Polish Fighter Wing, 131st (Polish) Fighter Wing and 133rd Fighter Wing. He participated in the Battle of Britain and was ranked as the 82nd highest scoring Polish fighter pilot of the war. In addition to receiving Poland's highest military decoration, the Virtuti Militari, he was awarded a British Distinguished Flying Cross, an American Distinguished Flying Cross and the Dutch equivalent, the Airman's Cross or ''Vliegerkruis''. In 2006 Sawicz was appointed honorary brigadier-general in the Polish Air Force. After the war he emigrated to Canada. At his death he was believed to have been the last surviving Polish pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a Warsaw metropolitan area, greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents, which makes Warsaw the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th most-populous city in the European Union. The city area measures and comprises Districts and neighbourhoods of Warsaw, 18 districts, while the metropolitan area covers . Warsaw is an Alpha global city, a major cultural, political and Financial centre, economic hub, and the country's seat of government. Warsaw traces its origins to a small Fishing village, fishing town in Masovia. The city rose to prominence in the late 16th century, when Sigismund III decided to move ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3rd Polish Fighter Wing
The 3rd Polish Fighter Wing ( pl, 3 Polskie Skrzydło Myśliwskie) was a mainly Polish formation of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, that flew Supermarine Spitfires. It was part of the Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain. It was formed in June 1943, as the 2nd Polish Fighter Wing, from two Polish squadrons, the No. 302 Polish Fighter Squadron and No. 317 Polish Fighter Squadron. In September it was merged into the 1st Polish Fighter Wing (which was soon thereafter renamed the 131 Wing). It was reorganized in February 1944. Its composition would not be stable, as Polish Squadrons were frequently exchanged between three Polish wings (the No. 131 Wing RAF (1st Polish) wing, the No. 133 Wing RAF (2nd Polish) wing, and the 3rd Polish Fighter Wing). At various times, this wing included other Polish squadrons, such as the No. 303 Squadron RAF and No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron No. 316 "City of Warsaw" Polish Fighter Squadron ( pl, 316 Dywizjon Myśliwsk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dornier Do 17
The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing aircraft, the lightly built craft had a twin tail and "shoulder wing". Sometimes referred to as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' ("flying pencil"), it was popular among its crews due to its handling, especially at low altitude, which made the Do 17 harder to hit than other German bombers. The Do 17 made its combat debut in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, operating in the Condor Legion in various roles. Along with the Heinkel He 111 it was the main bomber type of the German air arm in 1939–1940. The Dornier was used throughout the early war, and saw action in significant numbers in every major campaign theatre as a front line aircraft until the end of 1941, when its effectiveness and usage was curtailed as its bomb load and range were limi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PZL P
PZL (''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'' - State Aviation Works) was the main Polish aerospace manufacturer of the interwar period, and a brand of their aircraft. Based in Warsaw between 1928 and 1939, PZL introduced a variety of well-regarded aircraft, most notably the PZL P.11 fighter, the PZL.23 Karaś light bomber, and the PZL.37 Łoś medium bomber. In the post-war era, aerospace factories in Poland were initially run under the name WSK (Transport Equipment Manufacturing Plant), but returned to adopt PZL acronym in late 1950s. This was used as a common aircraft brand and later as a part of names of several Polish state-owned aerospace manufacturers referring to PZL traditions, and belonging to the ''Zjednoczenie Przemysłu Lotniczego i Silnikowego PZL'' - PZL Aircraft and Engine Industry Union. Among the better-known products during this period is the PZL TS-11 Iskra jet trainer and PZL-104 Wilga STOL utility aircraft. After the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, these ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the end of World War II in 1945. It was one of the most advanced fighters when it first appeared, with an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine. It was called the Me 109 by Allied aircrew and some German aces, even though this was not the official German designation. It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s. It was conceived as an interceptor, although later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and reconnaissance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pursuit Brigade
The Pursuit Brigade ( pl, Brygada Pościgowa) was a Polish World War II unit of the Polish Air Force. It took part in the Polish Defensive War of 1939 as the main aerial reserve of the commander in chief and was used for air cover of the Polish capital of Warsaw. It was similar in organization to the Bomber Brigade. It was composed of two squadrons, each in turn composed of a number of escadrilles. * Polish III/1 Fighter Squadron (''III/1. Dywizjon Myśliwski'') ** Polish 111th Fighter Escadrille (''111 Eskadra Myśliwska'') ** Polish 112th Fighter Escadrille (''112 Eskadra Myśliwska'') * Polish IV/1 Fighter Squadron (''IV/1 Dywizjon Myśliwski'') ** Polish 113th Fighter Escadrille (''113 Eskadra Myśliwska'') ** Polish 114th Fighter Escadrille (''114 Eskadra Myśliwska'') ** Polish 123rd Fighter Escadrille (''123 Eskadra Myśliwska'') By 1 September Pursuit Brigade had 43 PZL P.11 and 10 PZL P.7 fighters (Zaloga, p. 34). It was the most successful element of the Polish Ai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish September Campaign
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, and one day after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union had approved the pact. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty. The invasion is also known in Poland as the September campaign ( pl, kampania wrześniowa) or 1939 defensive war ( pl, wojna obronna 1939 roku, links=no) and known in Germany as the Poland campaign (german: Überfall auf Polen, Polenfeldzug). German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west the morning after the Gleiwitz incident. Slovak military forces advan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Podporucznik
''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, cs, podporučík, pl, podporucznik, russian: подпору́чик, bg, подпоручик, sk, podporučík) is the most Junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of Lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in anglophone countries. Russia and Russian imperial armed forces The rank was introduced first by Peter the Great in 1703 as an officer rank of the so-called ober-officer rank group. It belonged to rank class XIII (infantry), class XII (artillery, and engineer troops), and class X (guards) until 1884. In line with the military reforms in 1884, became in peace time. However, in the guards and the cossacks armed forces Cornet and Chorąży remained the lowest officer rank. The equivalent to was Michman in the Imperial Russian Navy, and governmental secretary (russian: губернский секретарь, gubernsky sekretar) in the civil a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World War. The Second Republic ceased to exist in 1939, when Invasion of Poland, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and the Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovak Republic, marking the beginning of the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of the Second World War. In 1938, the Second Republic was the sixth largest country in Europe. According to the Polish census of 1921, 1921 census, the number of inhabitants was 27.2 million. By 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, this had grown to an estimated 35.1 million. Almost a third of the population came from minority groups: 13.9% Ruthenians; 10% Ashkenazi Jews; 3.1% Belarusians; 2.3% Germans and 3.4% Czechs and Lithuanians. At the same time, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stretches back a millennium – since the 10th century (see List of Polish wars and History of the Polish Army). Poland's modern army was formed after Poland regained independence following World War I in 1918. History 1918–1938 When Poland regained independence in 1918, it recreated its military which participated in the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1921, and in the two smaller conflicts ( Polish–Ukrainian War (1918–1919) and the Polish–Lithuanian War (1920)). Initially, right after the First World War, Poland had five military districts (1918–1921): * Poznań Military District (Poznański Okręg Wojskowy), HQ in Poznań * Kraków Military District (Krakowski Okręg Wojskowy), HQ in Kraków * Łódź Military District (Łódz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 7th most-populous city in the European Union. The city area measures and comprises 18 districts, while the metropolitan area covers . Warsaw is an Alpha global city, a major cultural, political and economic hub, and the country's seat of government. Warsaw traces its origins to a small fishing town in Masovia. The city rose to prominence in the late 16th century, when Sigismund III decided to move the Polish capital and his royal court from Kraków. Warsaw served as the de facto capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, and subsequently as the seat of Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airman's Cross
The Airman's Cross ( nl, Vliegerkruis) is a military decoration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands created in 1941. The cross is awarded to members of the Dutch military who display initiative, courage, and perseverance against the enemy or during hostile actions during one or more flights. The cross is also awarded to allied pilots whose actions were of high importance to the Netherlands. A total of 735 Airman's Crosses have been awarded, most recently in 2007 to Royal Netherlands Air Force Major M. Duivesteijn, an F-16 pilot. Major Duivesteijn received the award because of his "exceptional courage and perseverance" during a 1999 flight that was part of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Other well-known recipients include Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema (the "Soldier of Orange"), Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, and Ida Veldhuyzen van Zanten. The Airman's Cross is the fifth-highest Dutch military decoration still being awarded for bravery (after the Cross of Merit). Description The Ai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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