A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War IIA Question of Honor is the gripping, little-known story of the refugee Polish pilots who joined the RAF and played an essential role in saving Britain from the Nazis, only to be betrayed by the Allies after the war. After Poland fell to the Nazis, thousands of Polish pilots, soldiers, and sailors escaped to England. Devoted to liberating their homeland, some would form the RAF’s 303 squadron, known as the Kosciuszko Squadron, after the elite unit in which many had flown back home. Their thrilling exploits and fearless flying made them celebrities in Britain, where they were “adopted” by socialites and seduced by countless women, even as they yearned for news from home. During the Battle of Britain, they downed more German aircraft than any other squadron, but in a stunning twist at the war’s end, the Allies rewarded their valor by abandoning Poland to Joseph Stalin. This moving, fascinating book uncovers a crucial forgotten chapter in World War II–and Polish–history. |
Contents
| 3 | |
| 16 | |
Poland Will Fight | 35 |
We Are Waiting | 56 |
Sikorskis Tourists | 74 |
When Will We Start Flying? | 92 |
The Battle of Northolt | 109 |
My God They Are Doing It | 127 |
Speak of Them Never | 254 |
The War Is in Poland | 273 |
A Question of Honor | 286 |
People of Warsaw To Arms | 309 |
A Tale of Two Cities | 337 |
A Distant View on the Polish Question | 354 |
Light and Darkness | 372 |
For Your Freedom and Ours | 394 |
The Credit That Is Their Due | 149 |
The Glamor Boys of England | 168 |
The ColdBlooded Murder of a Nation | 187 |
Are There Any Frozen Children? | 210 |
I Can Handle Stalin Better | 235 |
Epilogue | 416 |
Notes | 429 |
Bibliography | 468 |
Acknowledgments | 477 |
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aircraft airfields airmen Allied ambassador American Anders attack Battle of Britain began bombers bombing Bór-Komorowski British camps Churchill's combat commander Communist Curzon Line Cynk Dęblin declared defeat eastern Poland enemy Europe Ferić diary fight fighter pilots flying foreign Forgotten France František French German Harriman Hitler Home Army Hurricane Ibid Jan Zumbach Katyn Kellett Kennan Kent killed Kościuszko Squadron land later leaders Łokuciewski London Lot A V Lublin Luftwaffe Lwów Messerschmitt Mikołajczyk military Mirosław Ferić mission months Moscow nation Nazi never Northolt officers parachute planes Poland Poles Polish Air Force Polish government Polish government-in-exile Polish Institute Polish pilots political postwar president Press prime minister Red Army resistance Roosevelt Russians September shot Sikorski Soviet Union Stalin Stanisław Tadeusz Tehran territory told troops United uprising Varsovians victory Warsaw Warsaw uprising Wings Winston Churchill Witold Urbanowicz women World wrote Yalta York young Zamoyski Zdzisław Krasnodębski