Origins Military aviation in Poland started before the officially recognised date of regaining independence (11 November 1918). The first independent units of the Polish Air Force were formed in 1917, before
World War I had come to an end. When the
Russian Revolution began and the tsardom gradually lost control of the country, Polish pilots took advantage of the chaos and formed spontaneous aerial units in areas of present-day Belarus, south Ukraine, and by the
Kuban river. Up until that point Polish pilots had only flown as members of Russian, German or Austro-Hungarian militaries.
Establishment Poland was under German and Austro-Hungarian occupation until
the armistice, but the Poles started to take control as the
Central Powers collapsed. Initially, the Polish air force consisted of mostly German and Austrian aircraft, left by former occupiers or captured from them, mostly during the
Greater Poland Uprising. These planes were first used by the Polish Air Force in the
Polish-Ukrainian War in late 1918, during combat operations centered around the city of
Lwów (now
Lviv). On 2 November 1918 pilot
Stefan Bastyr performed the first combat flight of Polish aircraft from Lwów. When the
Polish-Soviet War broke out in February 1920, the Polish Air Force used a variety of former German and Austro-Hungarian, as well as newly acquired western-made
Allied aircraft. Most common at that time were light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, among most numerous were French
Breguet 14 bombers, German
LVG C.V reconnaissance aircraft, British
Bristol F2B scouts and Italian
Ansaldo Balilla fighters. From 1924 to 1930 the primary fighter of the Polish Air Force was the
SPAD 61 and its main bombers were the French produced
Potez 15 and the
Potez 25, which was eventually manufactured in Poland under license from Aéroplanes Henry Potez. The first Polish-designed and mass-produced aircraft to serve in the country's air force was a high wing fighter, the
PWS-10, first manufactured in 1930 by the Podlasie Aircraft Factory.
Inter-war years and
Cedric Fauntleroy, fighting in the Polish Air Force as part of the
Polish 7th Air Escadrille, known as the "Kościuszko Squadron", 1920 In 1933,
Zygmunt Pulawski's first high wing, all-metal aircraft, the
PZL P.7a, was designed and produced, with 150 entering service. The design was followed by 30 improved
PZL P.11a aircraft and a final design, the
PZL P.11c, was delivered in 1935 and was a respectable fighter for its time; 175 entered service and it remained the only Polish fighter until 1939, by which time foreign aircraft design had overtaken it. Its final version, the
PZL P.24, was built for export only and was bought by four countries. A new fighter prototype, the
PZL.50 Jastrząb (Hawk), similar to the
Seversky P-35 in layout, was curtailed by the Nazi invasion and the
PZL.38 Wilk twin-engine heavy fighter remained a prototype.
Strength of Polish Air Force on 1 September 1939 medium bomber light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft
1940 (France) featuring the designation of the GC I/145 After the fall of Poland, the Polish Air Force started to regroup in France. The only complete unit created before the German attack on France was the
GC I/145 fighter squadron, flying
Caudron C.714 light fighters. It was the only unit operating the C.714 at the time. The Polish pilots were also deployed to various French squadrons, flying on all types of French fighters, but mostly on the
MS-406. After the surrender of France, many of these pilots managed to escape to Britain to continue the fight against the Luftwaffe.
1940–1947 (United Kingdom) Following the
fall of France in 1940, Polish units were formed in the United Kingdom, as a part of the
Royal Air Force and known as the Polish Air Force (PAF). Four Polish squadrons were formed: •
300 Squadron and
301 Squadron flew bombers, •
302 Squadron and
303 Squadron flew
Hawker Hurricane fighters. The two Polish fighter squadrons first saw action during the third phase of the
Battle of Britain in August 1940, with much success; with many of the pilots being experienced and battle-hardened during the
Invasion of Poland. The pilots were regarded as fearless, often bordering on reckless. However, success rates for these squadrons were often greater in comparison to UK and Commonwealth squadrons, with the 303 Squadron becoming the most efficient RAF fighter squadron at that time. Many Polish pilots also flew individually in other RAF squadrons. As
World War II progressed, a further twelve Polish squadrons were created in the United Kingdom: •
No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron (bomber, then
RAF Coastal Command), •
No. 305 Polish Bomber Squadron (bomber), •
No. 306 Polish Fighter Squadron (fighter), •
No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron (night fighter), •
No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron (fighter), •
No. 309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (reconnaissance, then fighter), •
No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron (fighter), •
No. 316 Polish Fighter Squadron (fighter), •
No. 317 Polish Fighter Squadron (fighter), •
No. 318 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (fighter-reconnaissance), •
No. 663 Polish Air Observation Post Squadron (air observation/artillery spotting), • and the
Polish Fighting Team also known as "
Skalski's Circus", attached to
145 Squadron RAF. church in London The fighter squadrons initially flew Hurricanes, then switched to
Supermarine Spitfires, and eventually to
North American Mustangs. 307 Squadron, like other
night fighter squadrons (such as
410 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force), flew
Boulton Paul Defiants,
Bristol Beaufighters and finally
de Havilland Mosquitoes. The bomber squadrons were initially equipped with
Fairey Battles and
Vickers Wellingtons. 300 Squadron was later assigned
Avro Lancasters, 301 Squadron
Handley Page Halifaxes and
Consolidated Liberators and 305 Squadron,
de Havilland Mosquitoes and
North American Mitchells. 663 Squadron (air observation/artillery spotting) flew
Taylorcraft Auster IIIs and Vs. After the war, all equipment was returned to the British, but only some of the pilots and crews actually returned to Poland, with many settling in the United Kingdom, some of whom returned to Poland in 1989 after the fall of communism.
1943–1945 (Soviet Union) Along with the Polish People's Army (
Ludowe Wojsko Polskie) in the
USSR, the Polish People's Air Force
(Ludowe Lotnictwo Polskie) was created, in defence of the Soviet Union against Nazi invasion. Three regiments were formed in late 1943: • the 1st Fighter Regiment "Warszawa", (equipped with
Yak-1 and
Yak-9 aircraft), • the 2nd Night Bomber Regiment "Kraków" (flying
Polikarpov Po-2 aircraft – produced in Poland as the
CSS-13 from 1949 onwards), • and the 3rd Assault Regiment (flying
Ilyushin Il-2 aircraft) were formed. During 1944–5, further regiments were created, coming together to form the 1st Mixed Air Corps, consisting of a bomber division, an assault division, a fighter division and a mixed division. After the war, these returned to Poland and gave birth to the air force of the
People's Republic of Poland.
1949–1989 In 1949, the
Li-2sb transport aircraft was adapted into a bomber and in 1950, Poland received
Petlyakov Pe-2 and
Tupolev Tu-2 bombers from the Soviet Union along with
USB-1 and
USB-2 training bombers. In 1950 also, the
Yak-17 fighter came into service, as did the
Ilyushin Il-12 transport and the
Yak-18 trainer. From 1951 onwards, the Polish Air Force was equipped with
Yak-23 jet fighters and
MiG-15 jets, along with a training version, the
MiG-15 UTI, and later, in 1961, the
MiG-17. As well as Soviet-produced aircraft, from 1952 onwards Soviet MiG-15 and later MiG-17 fighters were produced under licence in Poland as the Lim-1, Lim-2 and later the Lim-5. A domestic ground attack variant of the Lim-5M was developed as the Lim-6bis in 1964. The only jet bomber used by the Polish Air Force during this period was the
Ilyushin Il-28, from 1952 onwards. Poland used only a small number of
MiG-19s from 1959, in favour of the
MiG-21 from 1963 onwards, which became its main supersonic fighter. This aircraft was used in numerous variants from MiG-21F-13, through MiG-21PF and MF to MiG-21bis. Later, the Polish Air Force received 37
MiG-23s (1979) and 12
MiG-29s (1989). The main fighter-bomber and ground attack aircraft after 1949 was the
Il-10 (a training version, the
UIl-10, entering service in 1951). From 1965 onwards, Poland also used a substantial number of
Su-7Bs for bombing and ground attack, replaced with 27
Sukhoi Su-20s in 1974 and 110
Sukhoi Su-22s in 1984. Propeller-driven training aircraft, the
Junak-2 (in service since 1952), the
TS-9 Junak-3 (in service since 1954) and the
PZL TS-8 Bies (since 1958) were later replaced by a jet trainer, the domestically built
TS-11 Iskra. Another Polish jet trainer, the
PZL I-22 Iryda, was used for some time but, because of continuing problems, all machines were returned to
PZL for modification and did not resume service. The
Yak-12 was used as a multirole aircraft from 1951, the
An-2 from 1955 and subsequently the
Wilga-35 P. Transport aircraft used by the Polish Air Force during this period included: the
Il-14 (first in service in 1955), the
Il-18 (first in service in 1961), the
An-12B (first in service in 1966), the
An-26 (first in service in 1972), the
Yak-40 (first in service in 1973) and the
Tupolev Tu-154. A number of helicopters were used by the Polish Army: the SM-1 (a
Mil Mi-1 manufactured under licence), which was a multirole helicopter, in operation since 1956; the
Mil Mi-4, multirole, since 1958; the
PZL SM-2, multirole, since 1960; the
Mil Mi-2 and
Mil Mi-8 (later also
Mil Mi-17), multirole, since 1968 and the
Mil Mi-24, a combat helicopter, since 1976. Also the
Mil Mi-14, an amphibious helicopter, and the
Mil Mi-6, both used as transports. In 1954, the Polish Air Force was merged with the Air Defence Force, creating the Air and Country Air Defence Forces (
Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Przeciwlotniczej Obszaru Kraju – WLiOPL OK), a military organisation composed of both flying and anti-aircraft units. In 1962, the WLiOPL OK were separated back again into their two original component bodies: the Air Force (
Wojska Lotnicze) and the Country Air Defence Force (
Wojska Obrony Powietrznej Kraju).
Present-day operations at
ILA Berlin Air Show, 2016 After political upheaval and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and a consequent reduction in the state of military anxiety in the whole of Europe during the 1990s and early 2000s, the Polish Air Force saw reductions in size. On 1 July 1990 the Polish Air Force and the Air Defence Force were merged again (
Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej – WLiOP or WLOP). The attack capability of this force consisted primarily of
MiG-21s,
MiG-23s,
MiG-29s,
Su-20s and
Su-22s. The remaining Lim-6bis were withdrawn in the early 1990s, followed soon afterwards by the withdrawal of the remaining Su-20 aircraft. The small number of remaining MiG-23s were withdrawn by 1999. Throughout the 1990s, Poland did not purchase any new combat aircraft and only managed to acquire further MiG-29s, from the Czech Republic in 1995 and from Germany in 2004. MiG-21s were fully withdrawn from service in 2003. In 2004, the only remaining combat aircraft flown by the WLiOP were the
MiG-29 and the
Su-22. As of 2010, the fleet of Su-22s is in need of modernization to retain any value as a combat aircraft and its future is unclear. In 2002, the
F-16C/D Block 52+ from the American company Lockheed Martin was chosen as a new multirole fighter for the WLiOP, the first deliveries taking place in November 2006 and continued until 2008 under
Peace Sky program. As of 2011 the Polish Air Force has three squadrons of F-16s: two stationed at the
31st Tactical Air Base near
Poznań and the
10th Tactical Squadron at the
32nd Air Base near
Łask. The acquisition of the US F-16 was not without fierce competition from European aerospace companies; the sale was hotly pursued by the French company Dassault, with their
Mirage 2000 and by the Swedish company Saab, with the
JAS 39 Gripen. The Polish Block 52+ F-16s are equipped with the latest Pratt and Whitney F-100-229 afterburning turbofan engines, and the avionics suite includes the
APG-68(V)9 terrain mapping radar system and the
ALQ-211(V)4 electronic warfare suite. All Polish F-16s can carry modern US precision ordnance, ranging from the JDAM/JSOW to the latest in export-certificate-authorized air-to-air weaponry (including the
AIM-120C-5 and
AIM-9X). fighters (pictured in
USAF livery) In the aftermath of the
presidential Tu-154 crash in 2010 and later Polish-led investigation, the
36th Special Aviation Regiment, responsible for transporting the President and the Polish Government, was disbanded, while the defense minister resigned. A new unit, the 1st Air Base, replaced the 36th regiment. Between June 2010 and December 2017 most official flights were served by two leased
Embraer E-175 operated by the
LOT Polish Airlines. On 14 November 2016 the Defense Ministry ordered two
Gulfstream G550 VIP planes. On 31 March 2017 a deal with
Boeing Company was signed to supply two
Boeing Business Jet 2 and one
Boeing 737-800 for the head of state and the government transport. On 27 February 2014 Poland signed a €280 million contract with
Alenia Aermacchi for 8
M-346 Master advanced training jets. The first two Masters arrived in Poland accompanied by
Team Iskry on 14 November 2016. On 11 December 2014 Polish officials signed a contract with the United States for the purchase of 70
AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Stand off Missile, for US$250 million. Also contained in the contract are upgrades to the fleet of Polish F-16s to be completed by Lockheed Martin. On 28 May 2019, the Polish Minister of Defence announced that Poland had sent a request for quotation for the acquisition of 32 F-35A aircraft. On 11 September 2019, the Department of Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that Poland had been cleared to purchase 32 F-35A fighters, along with associated equipment, for an estimated cost of $6.5 billion. On 27 September 2019 the US Congress approved the sale. On 31 January 2020, Poland signed a $4.6 billion deal for 32 F-35A fighters. On 8 March 2022, the Polish government offered to transfer its entire MiG-29 fleet to the US government via
Ramstein Air Base as lethal aid to the Ukrainian air force against the
ongoing Russian invasion in return for aircraft of corresponding operational capabilities (most likely F-16s). The exchange was eventually not carried out. ==Equipment==