24 Eskadra Rozpoznawcza 1939

Polish text.

This is a detailed history of one of the finest Polish squadrons fighting in the September 1939 campaign. Equipped with PZL.23 Karaś aircraft – the primary reconnaissance-bomber type of the Polish Air Force in the 1939 war – the unit operated on the southern sector of the Polish-German front, also carrying out combat missions over enemy territory.

Although Karaś squadrons suffered very heavy losses in 1939, the 24th Squadron, thanks to skilful tactics and efforts to replenish its equipment, ended the war by evacuating to Romania with the same number of aircraft it had taken to the front. It was also one of the few units to make operational use of the Polish Air Force’s newest reconnaissance aircraft – the LWS-3 Mewa.

The book includes colour plates depicting the aircraft of the 24th Squadron, including the first-ever presentation of Karasie armed with “Szczeniak” machine guns, as well as the Mewa, whose wartime camouflage has been reconstructed for the first time on the basis of photographs from September 1939. Another strong point is the unique collection of archival photographs, most of which have never been published before. Some of the pictures were taken during the campaign by Polish airmen themselves – a rarity that adds further value to this publication.

135 black-and-white photographs, 17 colour profiles.