Insurgent Troops

The Greater Poland Air Force 1919-1920

Mariusz Niestrawski

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In connection with the arrival of the 3rd Squadron in southern Greater Poland, on 10 June, the 2nd Squadron was moved to Kruszwica. From this airport, the unit was to conduct reconnaissance missions along the Bydgoszcz–Nakło–Piła section. Also on 10 June, the 1st Squadron returned to Poznań. One day later, in recognition of its service during the campaign in Galicia, the Supreme People’s Council honoured the squadron with metal eagles with a plaque with the following inscription: For the Defence of the Eastern Territories. The plaques were placed on the engine covers of each aeroplane in the squadron. The unit did not remain in the capital city of Greater Poland, but left at once for the airport in Wojnowice near Buk.

An LVG C.V reconnaissance aircraft with the side number 5 and the proper name ”Halka”, from the depot of the 1st Greater Poland Air Force Squadron at the time of its railway transportation to the Eastern Front. Photo from the collection of Priest R. Kulczyński SDB

A further enlargement of the air force in Greater Poland took place on 17 June 1919, when Squadron BR66 was moved from Warsaw to the Ławica airport near Poznań. This move was the result of an increase in the tension in the Polish-German relations and the concern that the Germans would not sign the peace treaty imposed on them, but rather resume their war-time operations. The squadron, dominated by Frenchmen, was commanded by the French officer, Captain Gontran de la Perelle.

 

In the second half of June, the 3rd Greater Poland Air Force Squadron, commanded at this point by Second Lieutenant Pilot J. Mańczak, was sent from Greater Poland to the east and landed in Stryi in Eastern Galician on 25 June.

 

By signing the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, the Weimar Republic waived all pretension to Greater Poland which was in the hands of insurgents, and also resigned from Gdańsk Pomerania. However, with regards to this second area, the administration and armed forces of the Weimar Republic were only just about to evacuate. In order to have an insight into the course of events in the Pomerania region, the Poles intended to use the 2nd Greater Poland Squadron. From the airport in Kruszwica, it conducted reconnaissance over the territory of the southern part of Pomerania, furthermore, Polish aeroplanes dropped leaflets for the Poles living in Bydgoszcz and Toruń. During one of these flights with leaflets, Sergeant Pilot Józef Mühlnikiel and Sergeant Observer T. Kostro got lost and found themselves flying over Piła. The Polish Halberstadt C.V was captured by two German Fokker fighter aircrafts, which escorted the Polish crew back to Polish territory. As the threat of a German attack receded, the number of squadrons in Greater Poland was reduced. On 30 July 1919, the 2nd Squadron was moved to Kruszwica to the Lithuanian-Belarussian Front.

Greater Poland’s Rumpler C.I No. 13046/17 after an unfortunate landing. Taken over by the Greater Poland insurgents on 6 January 1919, it was in stock at the Air Base in Ławica, at least till the end of August. Photo from the collections of the “Polona” Digital National Library.

 

The wreckage of a fighter plane–Albatros D.Va No. 7527/17. Until February 1919, it was part of the 2nd Greater Poland Air Force Squadron, later on, it was moved to the Aviation School in Ławica, and then to the Higher School of Pilots; finally decommissioned in April 1921. Photo from the collections of the “Polona” Digital National Library.

 

The wreckage of a fighter plane–an Albatros, which belonged to the Greater Poland Air Force. Photo from the collections of the “Polona” Digital National Library.

 

 

 

Damaged aeroplanes used by the Aviation School in Ławica: the reconnaissance aircraft - DFW C.V No. 2019/17 (Ławica Air Base No. 220/17) and the training aircraft Albatros B.IIa No. 1300/17 (No.: SLŁ 53/17). Standing on the left: Jan Jasiewicz – a pilot brought to Greater Poland by Colonel Gustaw Macewicz. Photograph taken in Ławica in 1919, from the collection of R. Kulczyński SDB

 

The aircraft hangar (i.e. Zeppelin hall) in Winiary near Poznań. Next to it, there is an elevated observation balloon. Photo taken from a height of 120m by Second Lieutenant Observer Stefan Korcz and Lieutenant Pilot Wiktor Lang.

Photo from the collections of the “Polona” Digital National Library

 

 

Crashed aeroplane - Aviatic C.III No. 12342/17, in the wreckage of which, Captain Pilot Wiktor Lang died (Ławica, 4 February 1920). The aeroplane was used in Greater Poland for training purposes from the moment of its capture at the Ławica Airport on 6 January 1919.

Photo from the collections of the “Polona” Digital National Library

 

 

The end of the military operations in Eastern Galicia in the middle of August made the return of the 3rd Squadron to Greater Poland possible and the unit was deployed in Buk. According to Ordre de Bataille, there were two squadrons representing the Polish Air Force in August 1919 on the Greater Poland Front: The 3rd Greater Poland Air Force Squadron and Squadron BR66, these formed the Air Group of the Greater Poland Front. In the former Poznań Province, there was also the 4th Combat Squadron, which was not fully operational yet, and the 1st Air Force Squadron which was a reserve unit.

Workshops of the Air Base in Ławica. In the photo there are reconnaissance aircraft –a Rumpler C.Ib No. 124/18 (German No.: 3088/18), a C.I No. 13./... and one other aircraft whose number is not visible, also an Albatros C.Ia No. 118/17 (German No. 15559/17). Photo from the collection of Priest R. Kulczyński SDB

Pniewski's Squadron set off for the Polish-Bolshevik Front on 3 September. Almost two weeks later, it joined the 2nd Greater Poland Air Force Squadron stationed in Babruysk. The third squadron stayed in Greater Poland for one more month – until the middle of October, where it was based in Buk, and then later, it was sent to the Lithuanian-Belarusian Front.

 

 

Accident of the reconnaissance aircraft - Rumpler C.I No. 2743/17 (Ławica Air Base No. 1/17), in which a student, Lance Corporal Bohdan Daszkiewicz was fatally injured. Photo from June 1919 from the collection of the “Polona” Digital National Library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two-engine bom

ber - Gotha G.IV from the depot of the 21st Destroyer Squadron.

Photo from the collections of the “Polona” Digital National Library

 

 

 

 

 

A crashed French reconnaissance aircraft - Bréguet XIVB2 from Squadron BR66.

Photo from the collections of the “Polona” Digital National Library

 

 

 

 

 

Wreckage of a crashed Albatros fighter aircraft, which belonged to the Greater Poland Air Force.

Photo from the collections of the “Polona” Digital National Library

 

 

 

Aircraft of the Greater Poland Air Force at the airport in Ławica during the celebrations of the 128th anniversary of the adoption of the 3rd of May Constitution. At the forefront, there is a reconnaissance aircraft – Rumpler C.Ib (Ma) No. 13029 (Ławica Air Base No. 107/17), behind it, there is the reconnaissance aircraft - LVG C.V No. 1099/18, then, there are three other LVG C.Vs, the last one in the row is an Albatros C.XV aircraft. In the background, another two-seater aeroplane is visible between the Rumpler and the first LVG.

Photo from the collection of Priest R. Kulczyński SDB

 

The centre of Środa Wielkopolska. Photo taken from a height of 200m on 19 July 1919 by Second Lieutenant Observer

Stefan Korcz and Sergeant Pilot Władysław (?) Bartkowiak. From the collections of the “Polona” Digital National Library

 

In summer 1919, in order to replenish stocks, the 10th Air Force Squadron was moved to the Airport in Ławica. It was supplied with French reconnaissance aircraft - Bréguet XIVA2s, and in winter, the personnel underwent their flight training in these planes. Because of the approaching date of the taking over of Gdańsk Pomerania by Poland, the squadron, which was subordinated to the Greater Poland Front command, started intensive intelligence and propaganda flights. In January and February 1920, the aviators of the 10th Squadron performed many tasks, flying over Bydgoszcz and Toruń, and on 17 February the unit changed its base to the airport in Bydgoszcz.

 

The 4th Combat Squadron also spent winter in Greater Poland. From the very beginning of the year 1920, the personnel worked on bringing their piloting skills to perfection. It also underwent training in aerial warfare and group flights. On 17 February 1920, the unit moved from Ławica to the airport in Bydgoszcz. During the training, two pilots died aviators’ deaths: in August 1919, Second Lieutenant Pilot Bolesław Szczepański, and in February the following year – Second Lieutenant Pilot Stefan Mierzejewski.

 

The sending of four strong air units by Greater Poland would not have been possible without the proper equipment and the appropriate number of well-trained flying and technical staff. Access to the necessary equipment, including aeroplanes, was ensured owing to the capture of the Air Base in Ławica and the aircraft hangar in Winiary.


 

 

However, a more serious difficulty was finding the appropriate number of soldiers and aviation officers, especially flight crew. This originated from the German discriminatory personnel policy in aviation. For this reason, there was a noticeable shortage of pilots and observers in Greater Poland at the beginning of the year 1919.

 

Only a couple of days after capturing the airport in Ławica, it became obvious that the number of aviators from the PMOPP was insufficient for any effective use of the assets collected on the premises of the Air Base. Therefore, Central Command made an appeal in the press in which it called any veterans of the German Air Force to appear at the Central Draft Office. This draft had the desired effect and even on the same day of the capture of Ławica, i.e. 6 January, Sergeant Pilot Wojciech Biały volunteered for active duty. A little later, the following observers were transferred from insurgent units and units of the regular Greater Poland Army to the new air units: Second Lieutenant Zdzisław Bilażewski, Sergeant Józef Klicze, Second Lieutenant Wiktor Karczewski, Second Lieutenant Józef Banaszak, Sergeant J. Szyfter (these two latter ones were balloon observers); pilots: Second Lieutenant J. Dziembowski, Second Lieutenant Franciszek Jach, Second Lieutenant Józef Hendricks, Second Lieutenant Stefan Łuczak, Sergeant Stanisław Rozmiarek, Sergeant Antoni Katarzyński, Master Corporal Kazimierz Jankowski, Corporal Józef Kukliński, Corporal Ludwik Patalas and two other non-commissioned officers –Czesław Wojtczak and Franciszek Przybylski, and also mechanics: Władysław Bartkowiak, Józef Wrzesiński and Kazimierz Brzeziński. The Greater Poland Air Force was also supplied by veterans of the German army from outside the region. Master Corporal A. Bartkowiak flew from the German airport in Bydgoszcz to the liberated territory using an Albatros D.III. Lieutenant B. Szczepański left Warsaw for Greater Poland.

 

A particularly pressing problem was the lack of aviation officers. In the middle of January, there were hardly two of them in Greater Poland: Second Lieutenant Observer F. Stempniewicz and Second Lieutenant Pilot J. Dziembowski. The decision was taken to bring senior officers from other partitions, however, the air force was to maintain its regional character, so the most distinguished non-commissioned officers of the Greater Poland Air Forces were promoted. Two experienced pilots - Józef Mańczak and Wiktor Pniewski became second lieutenants on 7 February. On 21 February, Pilots Ludwik Piechowiak and Wojciech Biały, Aviation Observers Feliks Górnicki and Andrzej Płachta and Balloon Observer Józef Szyfter were promoted to the lowest officer ranks. On 3 March, Kazimierz Mayer was appointed Second Lieutenant. This simplified promotion procedure was applied to a few officers who joined the Greater Poland Air Force from the German army: On 20 March, F. Stempniewicz became a lieutenant, and 10 days later, this privilege was given to J. Dziembowski. On 3 June, Stempniewicz held the rank of captain.

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