The Polish Pilots Who Fought for Britain
World Wars
•
5m 52s
In the summer of 1940 Britain fought a battle for survival against the might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. This Battle of Britain would see German air attacks on British airfields, cities, factories and docks. Brave RAF pilots intercepted these raids, but Britain was not alone. Among the RAF and Allied fighter pilots who flew that summer were 145 Poles, veteran pilots who were forced to escape their country as it was crushed between the jaws of a Nazi-Soviet attack in 1939. This short documentary explores the vital Polish contribution to the Allied effort during the Battle of Britain.
Up Next in World Wars
-
Jan Stangreciuk: Veteran. Hero. Guine...
Of all the clubs in the world, perhaps the most extraordinary is the Guinea Pig Club, a group of Second World War veterans that suffered terrible injuries and were then treated by pioneering surgeon Archibald McIndoe. Today there are only a handful left. Dan visits Jan Stangreciuk, one of the few...
-
Max Eisen: Surviving Auschwitz
Max Eisen was only 15 when he and his family were taken from their Hungarian home to the infamous Auschwitz Concentration Camp during the Second World War. All of his relatives were killed; only Max survived to see VE Day and eventual liberation. 74 years on from being liberated, he talks about t...
-
The Battle of Okinawa
On 1 April 1945, as the Second World War in Europe was reaching its end, one of the bloodiest battles in the whole conflict commenced on a small island south of mainland Japan. It was the Battle of Okinawa. Saul David comes on the show to provide a fascinating rundown of this truly horrific battle.