Supermarine Spitfire. European Users, part sixteen. Polish Spitfire users, part four.

 

As we have written in earlier posts, eight Polish Fighter squadrons served with the Royal Air Force (RAF), composed of seven fighter squadrons operating on Great Britain and north-western European Theatre of operations, plus one reconnaissance squadron operating in Italy and one short-lived squadron operating in Tunisia, were equipped at some points of their careers with Spitfires. 

After the end of the war, due to political decisions made by the Allies, the Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain did not return to Polish soil and were disbanded in the United Kingdom. 

In late 1945 just three Spitfires were sent to Poland, from Polish Air Force in Exile's stocks, as a gift from the RAF. One of them, whose pilot got lost on his way to Warsaw, was sent back to the British Occupation Zone in Germany. The other remaining two were taken to the Polish Army Museum, from where they were taken and destroyed in 1947 during the Stalinist period. 

It is worth mentioning the last Polish ace to fly the Spitfire, Miroslaw Wojciechowski, who joined the RAF post war and, after undergoing a refresher course on Spitfires Mk. XVIs, he was assigned to No. 2 Squadron in Germany to fly the PR. XIX. From December 1949 to February 1951 he flew his PR. XIX (PM627 OI-X) more than 30 times until the PR. XIXs were replaced by the jet-powered Gloster Meteor FR.9.

Sources:

1st AJ Press - Monografie Lotnicze 40 - Supermarine Spitfire 3 (translated)

2nd Osprey Publishing - Aircraft of the Aces 127 - Polish Spitfire Aces

Lavochkin La-5, Various users

 

The Lavochkin La-5 was a Soviet fighter aircraft from the World War 2 which was a development of the earlier LaGG-3. It was one of the most capable Soviet designs of the time and as such, it was used also by the following users:

• Germany: One La-5 was captured by the Germans on 30th July 1942 when Lt. Col. Nikolai Vlasov flew made an emergency landing at Larisov airfield, near Ostrov in Pskov, while a second La-5, belonging to the famous Valery Chkalov squadron was also captured and tested at the Rechlin Test Centre.  As we couldn't find graphical evidence about any of these, the profile shown below should be considered as speculative. 
  The Luftwaffe managed to capture a La-5F somewhere in Ukraine in 1943, and at least two La-5FN at the Gross-Schimanen airfield in East Prusia. One of those FN was captured in September 1944 and was tested extensively at Rechlin Test Centre. Despite showing inferior performance due to a long service record on the Eastern Front of the captured machines, (they were generally slower than the ones tested at the USSR by the Soviet Air Force -VVS-) the Germans felt that the aircraft showed good flying characteristics in every stage of flight with some exception at the diving phase, when the controls showed some stiffness. 
  Additional testing also showed that it was an excellent lo-to-medium dogfighter, particularly at the style of combat present at the Eastern Front and, furthermore, it had a better climb rate than the majority of German fighters up to 3.000 m (9842 ft). 
  The previous model, the La-5F, was captured, as stated previously, in 1943 in Ukraine, after a Soviet pilot made a forced landing on a German airfield and was tested by one of Luftwaffe's test pilots, Hans-Werner Lerche. 
• Poland: Poland got a single La-5FN in 1945 after the war when the Air Force of the Polish Army considered for a brief period of time about equipping some fighter aviation regiments with the La-5FN, so they received a single La-5FN to be flight tested, painted in Polish markings. However, the proposal was discarded soon as the Yakovlev Yak-9P was picked as the backbone for the Polish fighter aviation and, therefore, no flight testing were carried out with the single La-5FN, which is believed to be have been scrapped in 1949.
  

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavochkin_La-5
2nd Signal Squadron - Aircraft In Action 169 - La5-7 Fighters in Action
3rd https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/La-5/pages/Lavochkin-La-5F-captured-by-German-Forces-01.html

Tupolev SB & Avia B-71 in service with Poland and Slovakia.

 

The Tupolev SB was a high-speed, twin-engined three-seat Soviet monoplane bomber which flew for the first time in 1934. It was also built under license in Czechoslovakia under the denomination of Avia B-71. It was mainly used by the USSR, but there were some foreign users as well, among them, the following ones:

• Poland: During World War 2 some Polish pilots in the USSR were trained with the Tupolev USB (the dual-control trainer variant). These pilots belonged to the 9th Group stationed at Buguruslan, in Chkalov oblast (nowadays Orenburg oblast). Just after the war, five USB trainers were delivered to the Aviation Officers School at Deblin, in the Lublin Voivodeship, to serve as trainers. In 1947 they were re-engined with M-105 engines. This change required a redesign of the exhaust collector system, while different propellers with more ogival spinners were also installed. Three of the five USB served with the Wojska Lotnicze (Polish Air Force)  at the Aviation Officers School until August 1949. This marked the longest use of the Tupolev USB outside the USSR, than any other country.
  
  
• Slovakia: When Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in March 1939, the state was split into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the independent Slovak Republic. The Slovenské vzdusné zbrane ( SVZ - Slovak Air Force) had a total of 300 aircraft, among them three Avia B-71. 
  Just before the annexation, one B-71 had to perform a forced landing in the Slovakian part of Czechoslovakia, where it remained well after the split. Hungarian troops occupied the Carpatho-Ukraine region (Ruthenia) and looked to expand their borders in southern Slovakia. This soon led to various clashes which eventually escalated into the Slovak-Hungarian War of late March 1939 in the context of which, on 24th March ten Magyar Királyi Honvéd Legiero (MKHL - Royal Hungarian Air Force) Junkers Ju.86K-2 bombers attacked the airfield of Spisská Nová Ves, in the Kosicé region. This raid damaged one B-71 stationed there.
  The B-71 that force landed in Slovakia before the German occupation, was repaired during the spring of 1939 and received SVZ codes and the blue V3 registration. It was also fitted with German radio equipment, a direction finding loop antenna and an antenna mast mounted on the upper fuselage behind the cockpit. Two additional rack antennas were also fitted to the lower rear fuselage with the original retractable antenna being retained. Both balance weights were also removed from the lower right wing.
  On 18th April 1943 five Slovak airmen scaped to neutral Turkey in the blue V3 B-71. Sergeant Anton Vanko took off from Trencianske Biskupice airbase, close to the town of Trencin, in western Slovakia. Aboard the B-71 were Privates First Class J.Koman, J. Bzoch, L.Slezak and L.Pollak. The B-71 flew from Trencianske Biskupice to Kestanelik, in the Çanakkale province of Turkey, where they were interned for a brief period of time. The five Slovak airmen then travelled to England via North Africa, where they joined the various Czechoslovak Royal Air Force's (RAF) squadrons. Vanko became a Supermarine Spitfire pilot at the No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron at RAF Bradwell Bay, in Essex. Unfortunately he was killed in a take off accident on 8th December 1944.

Sources:

1st Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 194 - Tupolev SB in Action

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_SB
3rd https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/sb/tapani/b-71/czech%2Bslovak/czech%2Bslovak.htm

Messerschmitt Bf.108, part three

The Messerschmitt Bf.108 was a German single-engine sports and touring aircraft that was used by many countries all around the globe. Among many users, it was also used by the next ones:

• Brazil: At least one was used by Viaçao Aerea Rio-Grandese (VARIG) airline during the 1930s and was most probably used as a VIP transport.
• Chile: One Bf.108 was purchased directly to Messerschmitt by the Chilean senator Carlos del Campo in the mid-to-late 1930s. After a brief period of using it as his personal transport, he sold it to LAN (Linea Aérea Nacional - National Airline) who operated the aircraft as a VIP transport and was painted with the colours depicted below. With the outbreak of World War 2, as spare parts became a problem, it was sold again to another unknown customer who kept it left to rot in a barn. In the mid 1960s some Chilean air enthusiasts tried to buy the plane but the owner sold it to some North American customer. It was then when the trace of this Bf.108 vanished. According to some people it was sent to the USA where it was repainted and restored to flying condition, while some other claim that it was repainted and shown in a museum. However, the real fate of the aircraft is still a mystery.
• Czechoslovakia: The Czechoslovak Air Force operated some ex-German exemplars after the War. They were renamed as K-70 and served with the Transport Squadron based at Prague's Kbely airbase.
• Japan: The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service bought some few Bf.108 for testing purposes. They were assigned to the Army Aviation Experimental Centre in Japan, where they were tested during the 1930s. After testing they decided to not order them and they were passed on to Manchukuo, their main puppet state in Asia.
• Manchukuo: From 1936 until 1940 the Manchukuo National Airways (MKKK) (which in spite of its name was a paramilitary organisation) used some Bf.108 ceded from Japan for light transport and reconnaissance duties. 
• Norway: It seems that some few ex-German machines were used by the Royal Norwegian Air Force during the post-war period. As we couldn't find graphical evidence, the colours should be considered speculative.
• Poland: The Polish Central Staff for the Aviation League operated some ex-German Bf.108 during the post-war period. It was also used by the Polish Internal Security Corps which was the Polish counterpart of the Soviet NKVD.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_108

2. http://www.warbirdalley.com/bf108.htm

3. Wydawnictwo Militaria 149 - Messerschmitt Bf-108 Taifun

4. https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=347

Messerschmitt Bf.108, part two

The Messerschmitt Bf.108 was widely used across the world. Some of the users were:

• Nationalist China: Apparently Nationalist China had at least one Bf.108B-2 in the ranks of their Air Force at the year 1939. Further information is required and the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• United Kingdom: The Royal Air Force (RAF) interned four Bf.108s at the outbreak of the war and put them into service under the designation of "Messerschmitt Adlon". They became the fastest communication aircraft of the RAF but they were often mistaken for Bf.109s, so they weren't employed very much. After the war, captured exemplars were used until at least 1948.
• Poland: The Polish Air Force used some captured Bf.108 after the war. They served until the very late 1940s.
• USSR: Before the war with Germany, the Soviet Air Force bought some few Bf.108s for evaluation. During the World War 2, many captured exemplars were put into service with the Soviet Air Force.
• United States: The U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) evaluated some captured exemplars that were shipped to Freeman Army Airfield, in Indiana in September 1945. Apparently some of them served until the foundation of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and flew for some time with the new American roundel in 1947.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_108

2. http://www.warbirdalley.com/bf108.htm

3. Wydawnictwo Militaria 149 - Messerschmitt Bf-108 Taifun

4. https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=347