Polish Airmen in the Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain was still gaining momentum when a flight of young Royal Air Force pilots climbed into their Hawker Hurricanes on the morning of August 8, 1940. Bringing up the rear of the formation was a young Polish pilot, Witold Urbanowicz, who had escaped his country when the Germans and their Soviet allies overran it in September 1939. Assigned to the vulnerable “tail-end Charlie” position, he knew that if the enemy attacked he would probably be their first target, but he did not care. He was grateful beyond words for any opportunity to strike back at the Nazis.