The Pursuit Brigade () was a Polish

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

unit of the

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, 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 26,000 military personnel an ...

. 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 Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, 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. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. It was similar in organization to the

Bomber Brigade The Bomber Brigade () was a World War II unit of the Polish Air Force commanded by płk obs. Władysław Heller. It resisted the Invasion of Poland in 1939 as the main aerial reserve of the commander in chief and was used for bombing enemy units i ...

. It was composed of two squadrons, each in turn composed of a number of escadrilles. 111_112_esk_mysl

* Polish III/1 Fighter Squadron (''III/1. Dywizjon Myśliwski'') **

Polish 111th Fighter Escadrille The 111th Fighter Escadrille of the Polish Air Force () was one of the fighter units of the Polish Army. Created in 1921, immediately after the end of the Polish-Soviet War, the unit inherited the traditions of the famous war-time Polish 7th A ...

(''111 Eskadra Myśliwska'') **

Polish 112th Fighter Escadrille The 112th Fighter Escadrille of the Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 20 ...

(''112 Eskadra Myśliwska'') * Polish IV/1 Fighter Squadron (''IV/1 Dywizjon Myśliwski'') **

Polish 113th Fighter Escadrille The 113th Fighter Escadrille of the Polish Air Force (Polish: ''113. Eskadra Myśliwska'') was one of the fighter units of the Polish Army at the beginning of World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 S ...

(''113 Eskadra Myśliwska'') **

Polish 114th Fighter Escadrille The 114th Fighter Escadrille of the Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 201 ...

(''114 Eskadra Myśliwska'') **

Polish 123rd Fighter Escadrille The 123rd Fighter Escadrille of the Polish Air Force (Polish: 123. eskadra myśliwska) was one of the fighter units of the Polish Army in 1939. History In September 1939 the 123rd Fighter Escadrille was part of the Pursuit Brigade. Some reports ...

(''123 Eskadra Myśliwska'') By 1 September Pursuit Brigade had 43

PZL P.11 The PZL P.11 is a Polish fighter aircraft, designed and produced in the early 1930s by Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze. Possessing an all-metal structure, metal-covering, and high-mounted gull wing, the type held the distinction of being widely cons ...

and 10

PZL P.7 The PZLP.7 was a Polish gull wing monoplane fighter aircraft designed in the early 1930s at the PZL factory in Warsaw. It was the main fighter of the Polish Air Force between 1933 and 1935. The PZLP.7 was replaced in Polish service by its follow- ...

fighters (Zaloga, p. 34). It was the most successful unit of the Polish Air Force during the Defensive War. On September 1, while defending Warsaw, it shot down 16 German planes, losing 10 of its own fighters. Over the first six days of the war, it is credited with shooting down 42 German airplanes. By that time, however, it had lost 38 of its 54 fighters. On 6 September, it was transferred from the Warsaw theatre to

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

(Zaloga, pp. 51–52).

References

*Steven J. Zaloga, Ramiro Bujeiro, Howard Gerrard, ''Poland 1939: the birth of blitzkrieg'', Osprey Publishing, 2002,
Google Print, p. 34
an
Google Print, pp. 51–52
Air force brigades of Poland {{PolishAirForce-stub