The Polish Fighting Team (PFT) ( pl, Polski Zespół Myśliwski), also known as "Skalski's Circus" ( pl, Cyrk Skalskiego), was a Polish unit which fought alongside the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

Desert Air Force The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 ...

in the North African Campaign of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during 1943. Its nickname was derived from its

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

, F/Lt

Stanisław Skalski Stanisław Skalski, (27 November 1915 – 12 November 2004) was a Polish aviator and fighter ace who served with the Polish Air Force and British Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Skalski was the top Polish fighter ace of the war and ...

History

In late 1942 Polish Air Force Staff Command requested RAF permission to send a group of specially chosen pilots to the North African theatre of operations to acquire experience in operating as a part of a tactical air force in preparation for future Allied landings on the European continent. Volunteers had to be experienced (with at least 30 operation missions completed) and some 70 volunteers were considered before 15 pilots were chosen for the operational tour of 3 months. Formed at

Northolt Northolt is a town in West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing. It had a population of 30,304 at ...

on 5 February 1943 as the Polish Fighting Team, initial preparations for overseas service took place at

RAF West Kirby RAF West Kirby was a Royal Air Force basic training camp near West Kirby, Cheshire, later Merseyside, England. Location The camp at Larton, then in Cheshire, was actually located from West Kirby village, from which it took its name. The camp ...

, and the unit embarked on 24 February, arriving in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

on 13 March 1943. The team was initially attached as 'C' flight, to No. 145 Squadron RAF of

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

S/L Lance Wade (another non-

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

enlistee), equipped with the Spitfire Mk V and operating from

Bou Grara Airfield Bou Grara Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, which was located near Golfe de Bou Grara (Madanin); about 360 km south-southeast of Tunis. It was a temporary airfield built by the United States Army Corps of ...

, 150 miles west of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. Commencing operations on 18 March the unit gained an immediate reputation for combat effectiveness. The unit re-equipped with the Spitfire Mark IX in late March. Flying officer Mieczysław Wyszkowski was the only casualty in the PFT, shot down and taken

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

on 18 April. Following the surrender of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

in Africa on 13 May, the PFT was disbanded. Three pilots stayed on and became part of Desert Air Force units; Skalski became

Commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

(CO) of No. 601 Squadron, Horbaczewski CO of No. 43 and Drecki a Flight Commander in No. 152.

Locations

* 13 March 1943 -

* 11 April 1943 - La Fauconnerie Airfield ( inland from

Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...

) * 15 April 1943 -

Goubrine Airfield Goubrine Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Tunisia, about 10 km south of Manzil Kāmil; 145 km south-southeast of Tunis. Its last known use was by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force in 1943 during the Nort ...

* 6 May 1943 -

Hergla Airfield Hergla Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Tunisia, which was located approximately 12 km north-northwest of Harqalah in al Janubiyah Wilayat province, about 90 km south-southwest of Tunis. During World War II it was used ...

* 20 May 1943 - Ben Gardane Airfield

Squadron equipment

* 15 March 1943 -

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

F. Vb Tropicalised and Vc (inter alia: AB168, ER539 -7) * 23 March - 26 May 1943 -

F. IXc (inter alia: EN261 -10, EN267 -5, EN268 -7, EN286 -8, EN300 -9, EN315 -6, EN361 -3, EN459 -1)

Scores

Personnel

* F/Lt

( CO) (claimed 3-1-0) *F/Lt Waclaw Król ( 2i/c) (3-0-0) * F/O

Bohdan Arct Bohdan Arct (born 27 May 1914 in Warsaw – 14 May 1973 in Siedlce, Poland) was a Polish fighter pilot of the Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain in World War II, and writer. Arct fought in the Polish armed forces until the fall of P ...

(1-1-2) *F/O Wladyslaw Drecki (1-0-1) *F/O

Eugeniusz Horbaczewski Eugeniusz Horbaczewski (28 September 1917 – 18 August 1944) was a Polish fighter pilot, a flying ace of World War II, also known as "Dziubek" (the diminutive of 'the beak' in Polish). According to official lists, Horbaczewski was the third hi ...

(5-0-0) *F/O Jan Kowalski *F/O Ludwik Martel (1-1-1) *F/O

Karol Pniak Karol Pniak (26 January 1910 – 10 November 1980) was a Polish World War II flying ace of the Battle of Britain. Originally a pilot for the Polish Air Force in the September Campaign of 1939, he later flew with No. 32 Squadron of the Royal Air ...

*F/O Kazimierz Sporny (3-0-0) *F/O Mieczyslaw Wyszkowski (

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

on April 18) (0-1-0) * W/O Marcin Machowiak (1-0-2) *W/O Wladyslaw Majchrzyk (1-0-1) *W/O Bronislaw Malinowski (2-0-1) *W/O Mieczyslaw Popek (2-0-1) *W/O Kazimierz Sztramko(3-0-0)

Notes

References

* Bohdan Arct: ''Cyrk Skalskiego'' Warsaw, 1970, MON {{WWII Polish Air Force in Britain Squadrons of the Polish Air Force Military units and formations of Poland in World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943