''Squadron 303'' ( pl, Dywizjon 303) is a

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

book written by Polish author Arkady Fiedler and published by Peter Davies. It became his most popular book, selling over 1.5 million copies. Written in 1940, published in August 1942, the book is about the legendary No. 303 ("Kościuszko") Polish Squadron (Polish: 303 Dywizjon Myśliwski "Warszawski im. Tadeusza Kościuszki") of

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...

fighter pilots who flew with Great Britain's

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(R.A.F.) during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

. No. 303 ("Kościuszko") Polish Squadron continued the traditions of the earlier

Polish 7th Air Escadrille Polish 7th Air Escadrille ( pl, 7. Eskadra Lotnicza), better known as the Kościuszko Squadron, was one of the units of the Polish Air Force during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. Formed in late 1918, it was re-formed in late 1919 from US ...

( pl, 7. Eskadra Lotnicza) or "Kościuszko Squadron", as it was better known, which was one of the most active units of the

during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. Formed in late 1918, Polish 7th Air Escadrille was re-formed in late 1919 from American volunteers, initially commanded by Cedric Fauntleroy, then by

Merian Cooper Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker and Academy Award winner, as well as a former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Polish Air Force. In film, he is credited a ...

(who originally recruited the American pilots for this unit).

Background

Author Arkady Fiedler was a bestselling travel writer researching in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

when

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 ...

began. He made his way back to

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and joined the Polish Army in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

after Poland had fallen to the Germans. Fiedler managed to get to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with the other Polish forces after the

fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

, where he saw all the attention that the Polish pilots of 303 Squadron were getting from the British press—they were the highest-scoring Allied fighter squadron in the

. Fiedler recognized that their story would make a great book. He undertook to chronicle the extraordinary achievements of No. 303 (Polish) Squadron during the Battle of Britain with the blessing of Polish Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief Władysław Sikorski. Arkady Fiedler began writing ''303 Squadron'' “live” during the Battle of Britain, spending time with the Polish pilots and ground crew of No. 303 Squadron at their base at

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...

, West

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. He wrote the book in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

under the title ''Dywizjon 303''. It was translated into English by Jarek Garlinski and published in Great Britain in 1942 (where it went through several printings), and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1943. A clandestine edition of ''Dywizjon 303'' was parachuted into German-occupied Poland in 1943. Copies duplicated by the Polish Underground were secretly passed from person to person. The account of the successes of their fighter pilots, fighting in distant lands for freedom, boosted morale in the beleaguered country. The book inspired soldier-poe
Czesław ‘Czechura’ Kałkusiński
serving with a forest partisan unit of the AK (''

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

'') in the

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

region, to write a poem entitled “303 Squadron” which was set to music by his fellow soldie
Henryk ‘Garda’ Fajt
and soon found its way to London via the Polish Underground where it was played over the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and heard by Polish airmen serving in Great Britain. ''Dywizjon 303'' became a classic in Poland. It is one of mandatory lectures for Polish schoolchildren, and has gone through numerous Polish editions. In connection with the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2010, a new English translation was commissioned by publisher Aquila Polonica at the request of Fiedler's son. This is the first new English-language edition of ''Dywizjon 303'' since 1942, and for the first time in English identifies the pilots by their true names. This new edition contains nearly 200 historic photos, maps and other illustrations and supplemental material to set the story in historical context. Winner of the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for History and Silver Award for Interior Design (1-2 Colour). In "Flying" magazine, Lane Wallace noted, "Typically, fighter pilot stories are written either by individual surviving pilots or historians after the fact. But the pilots of 303 Squadron had an advantage when it came to recording their adventures accurately as they unfolded: Like Magellan, they had a professional writer assigned to the squadron and tasked with making sure their story wasn't mistold or forgotten". Writing in ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' about forgotten pieces of World War II history, such as the story of 303 Squadron, Sanjay Saigal asked, "shouldn't cultural literacy include knowing about Polish heroism in the defense of Britain?"

The changed names

All the names in that book were pseudonymous due to war time security concerns for the pilots and their families.

"Because the book was published during the war, in order to protect the Polish airmen and their families remaining in occupied Poland from German reprisals, Fiedler used pseudonyms for the airmen of 303 Squadron. This practice was mandated in a memo regarding confidential information issued by the Air Ministry dated Oct. 14, 1949. 3In connection with the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2010, a new English translation was commissioned by publisher Aquila Polonica at the request of Fiedler's son. 303 Squadron: The Legendary Battle of Britain Fighter Squadron is the first new English-language edition of Dywizjon 303 since 1942, and for the first time in English identifies the pilots by their true names."

Publishing history

Great Britain * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: M.I. Kolin, London, 1942. * ''Squadron 303: The story of the Polish Fighter Squadron with the R.A.F.''
Publisher: Peter Davies. London, 1942, 1943, 1945. * ''Squadron 303: The story of the Polish Fighter Squadron with the R.A.F.''
Publisher: Letchworth Printers. Letchworth, 1944, 1945. United States * ''Squadron 303: the story of the Polish Fighter Squadron with the R.A.F.''
Publisher: Roy Publishers. New York, 1943. * ''303 Squadron: The Legendary Battle of Britain Fighter Squadron''.
Publisher: Aquila Polonica. Los Angeles, California, 2010. Canada * ''Groupe 303''
Publisher: Les Éditions Variétés, Montréal, 1944. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Impr. Saint-Joseph. Montréal, 1945. Poland * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Wydawnictwo Oficyny Polskiej. Warsaw, 1943. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Towarzystwo Wydawnicze Załoga. Warsaw, 1943. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Oficyna Polska. Warsaw, 1943. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Wydawnictwo Ruchu Miecz i Pług. Warsaw, 1943. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: "Chrobry Szlak". Kielce, 1944. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Czytelnik. Kraków, 1946. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: ISKRY. Warsaw, 1956, 1957, 1957, 1958, 1960. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie. Poznań. 1965, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Siedmioróg. Wrocław, 1993, 1996. * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Wydawnictwo "Bernardinum" Sp. z.o.o. Pelplin, 2009, 2018. Argentina * ''Dywizjon 303''
Publisher: Osadnik. Pasadas, 1945. Germany * ''Staffel 303: Die polnischen Jagdflieger in der Luftschlacht um England.''
Publisher: Staffel-303-verlag. Bochum, 2010. Audio Book Poland * ''Dywizjon 303''
Narrated by Tomasz Marzecki. Publisher: Storybox.

References

{{Reflist Polish non-fiction books 1942 non-fiction books History books about World War II Aviation books