The Polish Air Force was small, and its aircraft, among the finest in the world when they first appeared, were mostly obsolescent in 1939. Polish pilots, however, were second to none. They fought the Germans skillfully and bravely in 1939. Many escaped the fall of Poland, later manning several excellent squadrons in the Royal Air Force.

Despite German claims, the Luftwaffe did not destroy the Polish Air Force on the ground in a surprise attack at the start of the war. The day before the German invasion, the Polish government ordered the Air Force's aircraft to disperse to secret airfields. The Germans did not detect this, and the Luftwaffe struck empty airbases.

Even though the Polish Air Force escaped the brunt of the surprise attack, its small size meant the Luftwaffe had air superiority over Poland. The Polish Air Force fought the campaign valiantly, but without affecting the final outcome in any significant way.

The Polish fighter force consisted mainly of P.7s and P.11s. The P.7a was definitely obsolete by this time, underpowered and underarmed. The P.11c, which traced its origin directly to the P.7, was not quite obsolete. Although all P.11c aircraft had fittings to hold four machine guns, only about 20% had four, with the remainder having only two. The P.11g was the planned upgrade of the P.11, and it approached the limits of its airframe. One P.11g was on hand in September, out of 300 on order.

The P.24 was one of the most advanced fighters in the world when it appeared. For a long time, the Polish Air Force refused to use it, because, unlike the P.11, its engines were made in France, not Poland. (The Poles were justly afraid of being cut off from their supply of engines should war break out with Germany.) The Air Force did finally order 70 P.24Hs in the spring of 1939, but subsequently cancelled the order when the French proved unable to supply sufficient engines even during peacetime.

The Sokol represents a new generation fighter Poland was planning to have enter service in 1940. The limits of the P.11 had been reached, and, even if a Polish engine were available, the P.24 also could not be significantly improved. (The putative P.24H rates out at 4F4 0/8.)

Despite the delay getting a new fighter mandated into production, it was Poland's only choice. The Sokol's rating is a guess of what the Polish aircraft designers would have achieved. "Sokol,' by the way, means "falcon." The name of the fighter is used instead of a designation as there were three designs competing for selection: the P.45 (one prototype under construction), the PWS.42 (under design), and the RWD 25 (under design).

The MS.406 is the French MS.406 fighter. Poland ordered 160 of these, to give the Air Force a modern fighter until the Sokol came on line. Poland also ordered one Spitfire I and 14 Hurricane I aircraft. Of all these, only one demonstrator Hurricane was in Poland in September 1939.

Poland had an undistinguished attack bomber force, comprised mainly of P.23B bombers. The P.46A and P.48A were modern attack bombers, planned for 1940, but neither were remarkable.

Despite mediocre attack bombers, Poland had good standard bombers. The P.37B was approaching obsolescence, but was fine for its time. The new P.49A was a thoroughly modern bomber design, equal to the best bombers of any nation in 1939-40.

As with fighters, Poland ordered foreign bombers to supplement its domestic production. They ordered 100 of the British Battle bomber, although none arrived before the war. This was just as well-the Battle was an unfortunate choice, being unsuited to modern air operations, as the British would discover in France. It's less than sterling qualities are shown in part by its "LB" air unit type: it has a type B bomber's vulnerability to fighters and a type A bomber's vulnerability to AA fire.

The Poles also ordered Z.506B floatplane bombers from Italy. Of 30 ordered, the Poles had received one.

Poland also actively exported aircraft to the "minor powers" of Europe, an arrangement that suited all sides- Poland received vitally-needed foreign currency while the other nations received first-rate (for their times) combat aircraft. Popular models were also produced under license in various nations. These aircraft included:

P.11 b: 50 to Romania in 1933-34.
P.11f: Romanian licensed version of the P.11c, about 80 of which were produced in the mid-1930s.
P.24A: 14 to Turkey and 5 to Greece.
P.2413: 14 to Bulgaria.
P.24C: 26 to Turkey and 20 to Bulgaria.
P.24E: 6 to Romania, plus another 40 built there under license.

P.24F: 25 to Greece in 1938 and 26 ordered by Bulgaria, of which 22 were delivered before Poland was overrun. The optional P.24F of the Polish Air Forces represents the retention of the Greek and Bulgarian P.24s.

P.24G: 6 to Greece.

P.24: In addition to the above, Turkey produced about 100 P.24s under license, variously built to the A, C, F, and G model specifications. In 1939, furthermore, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, and Yugoslavia had all ordered or were negotiating for P.24s, while Greece was considering purchasing more of the aircraft.

P.43B: An upgraded P.23, 42 ordered by Bulgaria (of which 37 were delivered, April-August 1939). The optional P.43B of the Polish Air Force assumes Poland appropriates the Bulgarian order.

Inside Europa First to Fight Designer's Notes Part III: Poland [Europa 25]

Introduction and Strategic Situation
Defense in Depth Plan vs. Actual Polish Plan
Orders of Battle: Army
Orders of Battle: Air Force
Orders of Battle: Navy
Table 1: 1939 Polish Tanks and Armored Cars
Table 2: Polish Aircraft

Inside Europa First to Fight Designer's Notes Part II, Section B Germany [Europa 24]

German Army Divisions and Panzer Troops
Mountain Troops and Infantry
Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineer/Construction Troops
Security Troops
The Replacement Army
Luftwaffe
Kriegsmarine
Brandenburgers
SS and SA
Table 1: 1939 German Tanks
Table 2: 1939 German Divisions: Authorized Organizations
Table 3: German Divisions: Authorized Strengths
Table 4: German Aircraft

Inside Europa First to Fight Designer's Notes Part II, Section A Germany [Europa 23]

Introduction
Army Re-armament and Manpower
Strategic Situation
Germany-Allies Strength Comparison
German High Command and the Government
Volksdeutsch Resettlement 1939-1942
The Wehrkreis System
Frontier Defenses and Border Regt Commands