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00:00In the summer of 1940, a desperate battle raged in the skies of England.
00:08If Britain lost, Hitler would invade.
00:14At the heart of the fight was one remarkable squadron.
00:18Brave, rebellious, unconventional.
00:22303 Squadron shot down twice as many Germans
00:26and boasted one of the Battle of Britain's greatest aces.
00:31The pilots kept a record of their exploits in a unique diary.
00:37But it isn't written in English.
00:40Allied fighter! Polish pilots!
00:43303 Squadron was made up of Poles who came here to fight for freedom
00:49and helped change the course of British history.
00:52How in hell do you think you're going to fight the Germans
00:55if you can't even fly the ruddy aeroplane?
00:58My men did not come all this way to sit around learning English.
01:03Using the accounts of the Squadron Aces
01:06and the testimony of the pilots who knew them.
01:09This is the untold story of the Battle of Britain.
01:14Only the English Channel and a few hundred RAF pilots stood between Britain and invasion.
01:23Now Adolf Hitler stood just as Napoleon had stood more than a hundred years before.
01:28As Britain prepared to fight to the death, thousands of Polish servicemen came here, the last free country in Europe.
01:37We knew that England would continue fighting, you see, and that we could sort of join them.
01:46They fled their homeland and crossed Europe.
01:47Now the Poles had only one desire, to fight the Germans.
01:49Now the Poles had only one desire, to fight the Germans.
01:51Our country was defeated. We wanted it back. The commitment was total.
01:58The Poles were eager to fight. Britain was short of pilots. There was just one problem.
02:08Next. None of them spoke the language. The only English words we knew were yes and no. The only problem was knowing which to use.
02:18Jan Zumbach had qualified as a pilot two years earlier and already seen action in France.
02:23The only English words we knew were yes and no. The only problem was knowing which to use.
02:28Jan Zumbach had qualified as a pilot two years earlier and already seen action in France.
02:35Have you typhus?
02:37He described the obstacles he and his fellow airmen faced in his memoir.
02:42Have you migraine?
02:44We were continually at cross purposes with the British officials.
02:47Have you TB?
02:48A friend of mine had just about run out of patients when one doctor solemnly inquired.
02:52Have you had VD?
02:53Had VD?
02:54Had VD?
02:56Had VD?
02:57What's that?
02:58So, he took a chance.
03:00Answered.
03:01Yes.
03:02And was promptly holed off for a vigorous massage of the prostate.
03:05Examination, please.
03:07But they couldn't understand what you were saying.
03:10And I'm quite certain we couldn't understand what they were saying.
03:13Because I myself didn't know a word of English.
03:17And that was a great barrier, both socially and, more importantly, operationally.
03:24But Britain was desperate.
03:26On July the 22nd, 303 Polish Squadron was formed at London's RAF Northolt.
03:33To overcome the language barrier, its pilots were placed under English-speaking commanders.
03:39Captain John Kent, an experienced Canadian pilot, recalled his reaction at having to chaperone the poles in his autobiography.
03:48It was just about the last straw to find myself posted to a foreign squadron that had not even been formed.
03:54I was thoroughly fed up and despondent.
04:04Kent wasn't alone in his view.
04:07Hello, boys!
04:09They didn't think we really have any stomach for fight anymore.
04:16That we are a spent force and that we are an embarrassment and a burden.
04:22Out of all the poles, only two of them have any English at all.
04:25Kent's commanding officer was Ronald Kellett.
04:28It was his job to turn 303 into a fighting force.
04:31The men are being taught basic operational vocabulary.
04:34All I know about the Polish Air Force is that they lasted three days against the Luftwaffe.
04:39Well, let's hope we can make them shine more brightly operating from England.
04:44Time was running out.
04:51Germany's high command wanted to complete the invasion of Britain before the winter set in.
04:57In early August, the Luftwaffe intensified its mission to destroy Britain's defences.
05:03The Germans had two and a half thousand aircraft.
05:06The RAF, just over 600.
05:09Angels!
05:14Angels!
05:16Meanwhile, Zumbak and his fellow pilots were confined to the classroom.
05:21Pancake!
05:22Every morning a bus would take us ten miles to Uxbridge to learn the basic vocabulary which would be coming over the earphones.
05:27Pancake!
05:29Angels for thousands of feet altitude.
05:31Angels!
05:32Pancake for landing.
05:34Pancake!
05:35Bandits for enemy planes and so on.
05:37The angel, it's the height.
05:40You see.
05:41A dozen thousands usually.
05:44Bandits.
05:45Bandits.
05:46Bandits.
05:47After three or four weeks of very intense classes, my vocabulary was good enough to say, read a paper.
05:54But I couldn't pronounce it.
05:56Captain John Kent came up with his very own strategy to vault the language barrier.
06:08Aeroplane.
06:09Air.
06:10O.
06:11Plane.
06:12Sam.
06:13Sam.
06:14Sam.
06:15Sam.
06:16I had to learn some Polish.
06:17Sam.
06:18Sam.
06:19I had to learn some Polish.
06:20Sam.
06:21A lot.
06:22I went round the aircraft giving English names for the various parts.
06:28And getting the Polish in return.
06:30Wing.
06:31Skshedla.
06:32Skshedla.
06:33Skshedla.
06:34Skshedla.
06:35Skshedla.
06:36Skshedla.
06:37Skshedla.
06:38Gradually, I worked out a complete procedure in Polish and had it all written down phonetically on my knee pad.
06:44It worked very well and amused the Poles a lot.
06:47Skshedla.
06:48Kent.
06:49Skshedla.
06:50No.
06:51Kentowski.
06:52Kentofski.
06:53Skshedla.
06:54Kentofski.
06:56Skshedla.
06:57Skshedla.
06:58Skshedla.
06:59Skshedla.
07:00Skshedla.
07:01Despite Kentowski's efforts, the Poles were increasingly frustrated.
07:06Skshedla.
07:07Skshedla.
07:08Skshedla.
07:09Skshedla.
07:10Skshedla.
07:11It was almost a year since they'd fled Poland.
07:13But instead of flying fighters the British commander Kellett had them training on bicycles.
07:19Poles wanted to go to battle straightway and Kellett didn't want to allow it until they
07:26were ready to cope with the radio communications as a force.
07:34Zumbach was starting to doubt he would ever get back in the war, child's plight.
07:40If the British are wasting so much time with their childish exercises, when all of us have
07:44already won arrows, how long is it going to take them to train up their young recruits
07:49from scratch?
07:50And will I eventually get an enemy in my sights before he won the war?
07:54You man, stop that!
08:00We were all very, very eager to get on with flying, but we had to wait, so we were a bit
08:07so frustrated.
08:08Listen, you're here to train for battle with the Germans and not to...
08:14all around and argue with each other.
08:18So when exactly will my men start training in hurricanes?
08:21Witold Urbanovic was a legendary Polish flying instructor, desperate to get his pilots back
08:26in action.
08:27I brought my cadets from Poland through Romania, Syria and France.
08:32I don't want people crashing around the sky until they understand what they're being told
08:35to do.
08:36My men did not come all this way to sit around learning English.
08:39There's nothing more that we can show the poles on trainers.
08:49Very well.
08:52Have the squadron proceed to operational training.
08:54The poles of 303 were finally back in the air.
09:05But before they could fight the Germans, they had to learn to fly in formation the British
09:10way.
09:14Perhaps the training period was unnecessarily prolonged, and this certainly irked the pole.
09:20But we still had to be quite sure they knew how we operated.
09:27Back home, the poles had flown planes with fixed undercarriages.
09:32In a British fighter, they had to remember to lower the wheels before landing.
09:39Not all of them did.
09:41We had several aircraft landed with the undercarriage retracted.
09:45One of these was put down by Sergeant Franeshek, and I tore him off at first class strip.
09:54Do you have any idea of the damage you've just caused?
09:57He didn't know what I was saying, but he knew he had to answer in a foreign tongue and kept
10:01repeating.
10:02Oui, mon commandant.
10:03Amongst some of the things I said to him was.
10:05How in hell do you think you're going to fight the Germans if you can't even fly the
10:10ruddy aeroplanes?
10:13Oui, mon commandant.
10:16Go on.
10:17Go on.
10:19What Kent didn't know was that Joseph Frantishek had already shot down 11 German aircraft in
10:25France.
10:26Dismissed.
10:28But Frantishek would soon show Kent exactly what he was capable of.
10:39By mid-August 1940, Britain had lost half its frontline pilots.
10:43The saying was that if you lasted the first week of an operational tour, you were probably
10:52quite safe.
10:56The British believed the German invasion was just weeks away.
11:00With recruits as young as 18 being killed quicker than they could be trained, the RAF was losing
11:06the battle for Britain.
11:07There were chaps who have flown, for example, 15 hours and they were thrown into the battle.
11:17A lot of them didn't come back from their first flight.
11:24Despite this, the experienced poles of 303 were still not cleared for action.
11:31On the 30th of August, the British commander Ronald Kellett led them on yet another training
11:35flight.
11:38But this would be a training flight with a difference.
11:41As Ludwig Paskiewicz wrote in the squadron diary.
11:45After climbing about 10,000 feet, we flew northward.
11:52After a while, I noticed ahead a number of aircraft carrying out various turns.
11:56Plank one, plank one to have a new leader.
11:59Bandits, twelve o'clock!
12:01Paskiewicz was an experienced pilot.
12:03Had not yet engaged the enemy in combat.
12:06Bandits, twelve o'clock!
12:13The training flight had strayed into a battle.
12:15A German raid was under attack over St Albans.
12:18The sight of the enemy was too much for Paskiewicz.
12:24Without waiting for orders from his British squadron leader, he took matters into his own hands.
12:31I opened up throttle and bent in the direction of the enemy.
12:40I noticed at my own altitude a bomber turning in my direction.
12:45When he noticed me, he dived sharply down. I turned over and dived after him.
12:50I noticed the black crosses on wings.
12:54Then I aimed at the fuselage and opened fire from about 200 yards, later transferring it to the port engine which I set on fire.
13:06I drew very close and I gave him another burst.
13:09Almost one year after the invasion of Poland, Ludwig Paskiewicz claimed 303's first victory against the Germans.
13:22He hit the ground without pulling out of dive and burst into flames.
13:27I have fired at enemy aircraft for the first time in my life.
13:34Training flights are precisely that. Training flights.
13:40That means you don't go gallivanting around the sky shooting up Germans.
13:43The safety of your squadron is your first consideration.
13:51However, I do feel it is my duty, despite my better judgement, to congratulate Pilot Officer Paskiewicz on making the squadron's first kill.
14:03Sir?
14:05Well done.
14:07Thank you, sir.
14:10Very good.
14:14Carry on.
14:21Although he had already been in action in Poland and France, it was Paskiewicz's first kill.
14:27He was hugely elated and so were we.
14:29Under the circumstance, sir, I do think that we might call them operational.
14:36That night, Kellett put in a call to fight a command.
14:40Thank you, sir.
14:43The Poles were back in the war.
14:49303's first operational day marked a bitter anniversary.
14:54It was a year ago that the Germans had invaded Poland.
14:56Naturally, every pilot wanted to share the honour of the first battle.
15:01We had to draw lots for the different flights.
15:04I was lucky enough to draw the short straw.
15:08We're flying.
15:10Our aim was to be active and to fight.
15:15We were not fighting for England or France.
15:19We were waiting for our country.
15:21The pilots knew full well what Nazi invasion meant.
15:28In Poland, the wholesale destruction of a people was underway.
15:34Schools and colleges had been shut.
15:39Teachers and doctors shot.
15:40And the first prisoners had arrived at a slave labour camp called Auschwitz.
15:56Since leaving Poland, Miroslav Feric had made it his duty to keep a record of events in what became the Squadron Diary.
16:03We are surprised that Adolf isn't taking advantage of this beautiful weather.
16:11You'd think he'd be bombing so hard you could hear echoes across the island.
16:16But it hasn't started.
16:18It was Feric, you see, that kept the diary.
16:23And he would invite other pilots to make a contribution.
16:28I was never invited to that, you see.
16:31I was too small of a little minnow, you see, among the aces.
16:37What's going on?
16:39Maybe it's a lack of personnel.
16:40Maybe it's a lack of personnel.
16:44He's planning something.
17:00After an agonizing day-long wait, at 5.50 the Poles were finally scrambled for action.
17:05Fighter Command Radar detected 200 German aircraft crossing the channel.
17:15303 was about to be tested in battle for the first time.
17:23Get the targets and go get them.
17:26Feric had fought the Germans in Poland in outdated aircraft.
17:30Now he experienced his first dogfight with the enemy in a modern British fighter.
17:36I caught up with him easily.
17:39He grew in my sights until his fuselage fit the whole luminous circle.
17:44It was certainly time to fire.
17:46I did so quite calmly and was not even excited, rather puzzled and surprised to find that it was so easy.
17:53Quite different from Poland, where you had to scrape and strain until you were in a sweat.
18:02And then instead of getting the bastard, he got you.
18:06These Poles said they loathed the Germans.
18:10All we were interested in was to destroy airplanes.
18:15Whereas the Poles, they wanted to kill anybody that was in these airplanes.
18:20In less than 15 minutes of furious vengeance, each of the six pilots of Kellett's flight had shot down a Messerschmitt.
18:38Witold Urbanovic recorded the spectacular first day in the Squadron Diary.
18:45This is dated the 31st of August 1940.
18:56And there's actually an illustration here of the action that went on.
19:01I'm looking to see if there's an indication of how well it went.
19:08The exact count, I can't tell by the writing, but I get the sense that this was a very successful engagement.
19:16Here they are!
19:20Get the whiskey down, Barry!
19:21Our squadron leader took us by Rolls-Royce to the Orchard in Reislip.
19:27They had found out on the grapevine that the Poles had brought down six Messerschmitts, and they were celebrating.
19:34The Orchard is a nice big bar, with a very pretty bar made. That was the important thing.
19:43They wanted to drag us into the middle of the dance floor, but we wouldn't let them.
19:52We don't want to make a song and dance about our achievements.
19:56But news of the Poles' success had spread far beyond the Orchard.
20:02From the Chief of Air Stock, Sir Cyril Newell.
20:05Magnificent fighting, 303 Squadron. I'm delighted.
20:14The enemy has shown that Polish pilot's definitely on top.
20:18Congratulations.
20:20303 Squadron has opened its account with a vengeance.
20:29The Poles had joined the battle just in time.
20:31Hitler's planned invasion was thought to be only weeks away.
20:37Repeat again, please, Goddard.
20:40Captain John Kent, the sceptical Canadian chaperone, was with 303 over the south coast on the second day in action.
20:48Realise we are only six.
20:51Kent's flight of six planes faced 150 enemy aircraft.
20:56The stand, 206.
20:58Be careful.
20:59Kent described how the Poles dealt with such overwhelming odds in his autobiography.
21:08Sergeant Rogowski, who was doing search formation behind, pulled up and went head on into the middle of them, closely followed by Franacek.
21:16The German formation split up and a general melee ensued.
21:19Kent watched amazed as the Poles flew head on at the enemy bombers.
21:28With a closing speed of over 600 miles an hour, the slightest error would be fatal.
21:33Streams of great trace of smoke crisscrossed the sky in all directions.
21:39It was impossible to hold a steady aim.
21:42And snap shooting was the order of the day.
21:45In the frenzied dogfight, a Messerschmitt repeatedly latched onto Kent.
21:50But each time it closed in for the kill, it was chased off. By a Polish pilot.
21:56Kent was certain of one thing. The Poles hadn't learned to fly like this in England.
22:13Back at Northolt, Kent did his best to express his gratitude.
22:26Thanks. For keeping that Hun off my tail. The Hun off my tail.
22:33Okay.
22:39Not one, Messerschmitt. Six.
22:46But not all of 303 had returned to base.
22:51In defiance of orders, Joseph Frantishek and another pilot were harrying Germans all the way back to France.
22:57Frantishek had a habit of departing from the squadron and hunting on its own, which was perhaps against the discipline.
23:08But at the same time, because of his individual expeditions, his victories mounted.
23:16Frantishek, a Czech pilot who had joined the Poles when his own country surrendered,
23:22was well on his way to becoming one of Britain's highest scoring aces.
23:25From Air Vice Marshal Keith Park.
23:36The group commander appreciates the offensive spirit that carried two Polish pilots over the French coast in pursuit of the enemy today.
23:46This practice is not economical or so sound now that there is such good shooting within sight of London.
23:53Ooh!
24:08I'm killing Germans.
24:10Many excellent pilots have died due to lack of discipline.
24:13Do you want to become one of them?
24:17I fly alone.
24:23In a unique compromise, it was agreed.
24:28From now on, Frantishek could leave formation to hunt alone.
24:31In just six days fighting, 303 shot down 24 enemy aircraft without the loss of a single pilot.
24:43We were one fighting family.
24:45Together we dreamed of a brighter tomorrow, when after the war, we would return to our motherland.
24:50As the battle entered a bloody new phase, the Poles would be at the heart of the defence of Britain.
24:59In this historic battle, the mightiest air force after the British is the Polish Air Force.
25:07Every day we are winning against the Germans.
25:09In just one week, the Poles of 303 had overturned British prejudice and proved their fighting spirit.
25:16On the afternoon of September the 7th, they shot down 16 enemy aircraft in less than 15 minutes.
25:23It was a record unbeaten by any other RAF squadron.
25:32Gentlemen, be vigilant and careful to preserve your lives.
25:40Poland will need you at the end of this war.
25:42That same day, the German war machine unleashed its fury on a new target. London.
26:04Millions of firebombs rained down on the great city of London.
26:07Hitler's planned invasion was imminent.
26:13In preparation, the Luftwaffe attempted to smash the spirit of the British people.
26:19As he flew over the capital, 303's Canadian captain, John Kent, witnessed the aftermath of the first day of the Blitz.
26:29I could see the fires that the Luftwaffe had started on this, the first raid on London.
26:33I had not realized that I could feel so deeply.
26:38But at that moment, I would have butchered any German I could lay my hands on.
26:44I was beginning to understand the attitude of the Poles.
26:49They were very much like us.
26:51We found that apart from the language and the national differences, that we thought and they thought more or less on the same lines, which was kill the Hun.
27:05But not everyone believed a handful of ill-disciplined Poles could be shooting down so many Germans.
27:15Chief Skeptic was their own group captain, Stanley Vincent.
27:22Treat these claims with a lot of reserve.
27:24Sir?
27:26I want you to go through them with a fine tooth comb.
27:29Yes, sir.
27:33But Vincent didn't wait for the intelligence officers' report.
27:37When the Poles took off on the 11th of September, Vincent went on his very own spying mission.
27:42He followed the 303 going into action and he kept his distance and wanted to see how they do. He wanted to find out for himself.
27:57He didn't have to wait long.
27:59Bandits, three o'clock!
28:00A veteran of the First World War, Vincent had never seen flying like this.
28:12The Poles had jumped in on the scattered individuals and suddenly the air was full of burning aircraft.
28:18Parachutes and pieces of disintegrating wings.
28:23It was all so rapid, it was staggering.
28:26The British trained pilots to fire from around 400 yards.
28:31The more experienced Poles were able to fly to within 100 yards before they opened fire.
28:37The effect was devastating.
28:40I think anybody who was keen, and they were, and some of us were keener than others, was the closer you got in, the better.
28:50A bomber aeroplane is quite a large target when you get that close.
29:00Every time Vincent tried to get a German in his sights,
29:04a pole dived in front of him and shot down his target.
29:08Vincent was transformed, from sceptic to believer.
29:12I told Wilkins that what they claimed they did indeed get.
29:16Any luck, sir?
29:20My God! They're doing it.
29:23Sir?
29:25Scramble!
29:27The success of 303 Polish Squadron was becoming a powerful weapon of British propaganda.
29:31Squadron leader Urbanovic is watching his boys getting into formation.
29:35It'll be known within an hour or so whether a German plane has been shot down, or maybe two or three or even more Germans.
29:43Good luck!
29:44The British believed Hitler's planned invasion was just days away.
29:57On the 15th September, the Luftwaffe launched what it intended to be a final knockout blow, to destroy London and Britain's morale.
30:06This day would decide the fate of Britain, and stretch every pilot to breaking point.
30:21A 400-strong enemy armada crossed the channel.
30:24At 11.15, the poles were scrambled and thrown into battle.
30:31I had shot down Adonye, then had to hide in the clouds with a bunch of Messerschmitts in hot pursuit.
30:37Even for experienced pilots like Zumbach, the stress of two weeks' combat had taken its toll.
30:44For the first time in my life, I was really afraid.
30:47The fear makes everybody cautious, so a degree of fear is a good thing.
30:56The important thing is to overcome the fear.
31:00And naturally, the longer you fly, that process of initial fear, of overcoming the fear, wears you out.
31:09Everybody was afraid at one time or another.
31:16You don't know what the hell is going to happen, where are you going, and how the other side will react.
31:24Seconds seem to pass like minutes.
31:27You live in a kaleidoscope of rage and icy detachment, continually alternating fits of attack and escape.
31:33Now freezing, now sweating.
31:39Then, suddenly you emerge with a shock of surprise into a peaceful sky, as if you'd died and been reborn into another world.
31:49You block out if you're in a turn.
31:52It's dangerous, because at the time when you're blocking out, you can't see.
31:57You don't know who is behind you.
32:02Mr. Schmitz! Mr. Schmitz!
32:04Behind you! Behind you!
32:06Burn it!
32:07I pulled myself together and managed to knock out one of the chasing Messerschmitz before running for cover.
32:12I had to fade into a fat cloud bank, keeping an eye on my surroundings through gaps in the clouds.
32:17In the first epic battle of the day, 303 helped stop the German bombers reaching their targets, and claimed ten kills.
32:24But the squadron joker, zoomed back, was to run out of luck.
32:33Messerschmitz especially used to come in, dive, and out.
32:37You know, in the air, when you're there, it's only in seconds.
32:46Oh, I've been hit several times, but I've been down twice, only twice.
32:51And each time, I got away. You see.
33:03It's bound to be France, I told myself. You're as good as in prison.
33:15I carefully fold my parachute, feeling pleased with myself for having kept hold of the ripcord.
33:20The sign of a cool head.
33:23Some men appear, and fire each time I make the slightest move.
33:30They all come to a halt.
33:33Except for one man, who approaches with a peculiar weaving walk.
33:37He's pissed, I think.
33:39So, I took out my pistol, held it at arm's length, and threw it away.
33:44Then I see his uniform. It's British.
33:49At the top of my voice, I yell out,
33:51Allied fighter! Polish pilot!
33:54Sorry I fired! I didn't aim at you!
33:58Then why did you fire? I threw my gun away!
34:02To stop you moving!
34:05You're standing in the middle of a minefield!
34:10Zumbach was out of the fight.
34:13But the biggest day of the Battle of Britain was only halfway through.
34:23On the afternoon of the 15th of September, a second wave of German bombers pressed home their attack.
34:31As the battle neared its climax, every available aircraft was scrambled to fight for the survival of Britain.
34:37Up to 10 o'clock, 175 German aircraft had been destroyed in today's raids over this country.
34:48The Poles had only nine aircraft left.
34:51At 2.25, they were scrambled to help repel a 300 strong enemy force.
34:56Between 350 and 400 enemy aircraft were launched in two attacks against London and South East England.
35:06About half of them were shot down.
35:08Only seven aircraft made it back to Northland. Five were so badly shot up, Kellett said they were fit only for scrap.
35:20Today was the most costly for the German Air Force for nearly a month.
35:26Against immeasurable odds, the RAF held its own.
35:29The losses were so high that the Luftwaffe High Command realised that they won't be able to achieve air supremacy.
35:39His plan to break Britain from the air had failed.
35:45Two days later, Hitler postponed the invasion.
35:49That same day, Joseph Frantishek, who hunted alone, became the first 303 pilot to receive a British medal for bravery.
36:00This pilot has taken part in practically every operational flight carried out by this squadron.
36:09He has shown great gallantry in always attacking vastly superior numbers of enemy aircraft.
36:19With 17 confirmed kills, Frantishek became the highest scoring Allied Ace in the Battle of Britain.
36:25He was killed less than a month later.
36:30303 Squadron had shot down twice as many Germans as the leading British unit, for a third of the losses.
36:40On the 26th of September, King George VI made visits to congratulate the Poles.
36:47He was so proud. He said, we knew that meant something, Poland.
36:52He is so proud.
36:55The keeper of the squadron diary, Miroslav Feric, made sure that the King ended up in the book.
37:04Whiskey, gin, sherry. Cherry brandy.
37:08Precisely why I'm not drinking.
37:10The Messerschmitt!
37:11I don't care what it's called.
37:13Operational for under one month, on the 27th of September, 303 notched up their 100th kill.
37:19But the squadron's pride in its extraordinary success was overshadowed by a tragic loss.
37:26They found Pasha.
37:27Ludwig Paskiewicz, the pilot who broke formation to make 303's first kill, had been shot down.
37:39He was only the fifth pilot of 303 to die.
37:43Jan Zumbach commemorated him in the squadron diary.
37:48The pilot who broke formation to make 303's first kill had been shot down.
37:56He was only the fifth pilot of 303 to die.
38:00Jan Zumbak commemorated him in the squadron diary.
38:04He was one of our best friends.
38:07A brilliant pilot, in love with his role.
38:12He gave his life to flying, and flying took his life.
38:18He did not die of natural causes or in an accident.
38:23He died in battle, having achieved what he'd always dreamed of.
38:28Victory.
38:31He will be welcomed to the squadron of heaven.
38:36To Pasha.
38:37Zumbak survived.
38:39He later became a smuggler, mercenary, and ran a nightclub in Paris.
38:43The war had more than four years to run.
38:48But by October 1940, the Battle of Britain was over.
38:53Most historians agree that the Battle of Britain was won by a narrow margin.
39:00And it could be argued that perhaps this narrow margin was supplied by the 303 squadron.
39:12It is with genuine regret and sorrow that I terminate my association with the finest squadron the RAF has ever seen.
39:19Captain John Kentofsky left 303 to lead his own squadron.
39:25My profound thanks for keeping me alive and teaching me how to fight.
39:30Never mind the flannel.
39:35In the book.
39:36Miroslav Feric was killed on patrol in 1942.
39:45His precious diary was continued in his memory.
39:53By the end of the war, the 303 squadron diary filled seven volumes.
40:07None of the 303 aces who fought in the Battle of Britain are alive today.
40:15Every year, a dwindling band of veterans gather at the Polish memorial at Northolt to honour the fallen and keep their stories alive.
40:23This is my highest decoration, Virtuti Militari.
40:32It's one of the highest Polish decoration for bravery.
40:37And here, defence medal, defence of the country is Britain, you see.
40:42In spite of their sacrifice, Poland would be denied its freedom when the war ended.
40:59In February 1945, with victory in sight, the Allied leaders met at Jalta.
41:05Britain, which had gone to war to defend Poland, now faced the growing power of the Soviet Union.
41:13Jalta was complete reversal of the British stand.
41:20And it was terrible shock for the Polish forces, which fought so valiantly.
41:28To pacify Stalin, at the end of the war, the Allies handed control of Poland to the Communists.
41:38The dream of freedom the Poles had fought and died for was over.
41:43The Western Allies won their war.
41:46Everybody won, except us. We lost.
41:49We lost.
41:56In June 1946, Britain held a spectacular Allied victory parade.
42:03Czechs, Chinese and Iranians all marched down the Mall, past King George VI.
42:10But not a single Pole.
42:12My father was on the sidelines. As the parade was going down the Mall, not only given no credit for it, but basically being denied existence.
42:25It broke his heart. Plain and simple, it broke his heart.
42:30Not one of the 200,000 Poles who fought fascism marched with the Allies that day.
42:36Britain did not invite them, for fear of offending Stalin.
42:39We felt that the Allies really betrayed us.
42:43We were absolutely shattered.
42:46We were in despair, really, what to do.
42:50What about you, Vanovic?
42:53Will you go back to Poland?
42:55The papers are saying you should go home.
42:59Rebuild your country.
43:02There's no work for you here now.
43:04No.
43:06You know who brought us to France.
43:08And to here.
43:10You have won the war.
43:12But we have lost it.
43:14Vytold Urbanovic did later return to Poland.
43:16Accused of spying here to flee to America.
43:18Other pilots were not so lucky.
43:19A lot of my friends did go back.
43:21And some of them, or a lot of them actually, made a sticky end.
43:24Unless you were a communist, you said there was no future for you.
43:26At the end of the war, we were really not wanted in this case.
43:29But we were not so lucky.
43:31And some of them, or a lot of them actually, made a sticky end.
43:34And some of them, or a lot of them actually, made a sticky end.
43:37Unless you were a communist, you said there was no future for you.
43:46At the end of the war, we were really not wanted in this country anymore.
43:55There is so many of us, and we are competing for the jobs.
44:06People didn't really mind where we go, didn't particularly press us to go here,
44:15or they just get out of the country, leave, go back to Poland, or go anywhere you like.
44:21I think we never been really welcome by English, really welcome.
44:28That's for sure.
44:31Rather, some may be polite and so, because we know English politeness,
44:37but not as a real welcome to this country Polish people.
44:42I don't know why not.
44:50I don't know why not.
44:51I don't know why not.
44:52I don't know why not.
44:53I don't know why not.
44:54I don't know why not.
44:55I don't know why not.
44:56I don't know why not.
44:57I don't know why not.
44:58I don't know why not.
44:59I don't know why not.
45:00I don't know why not.
45:01I don't know why not.
45:02I don't know why not.
45:03I don't know why not.
45:04I don't know why not.
45:05I don't know why not.
45:06I don't know why not.
45:07I don't know why not.
45:08I don't know why not.
45:09I don't know why not.
45:10I don't know why not.
45:11I don't know why not.
45:12I don't know why not.
45:13I don't know why not.
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