Les Avianteurs Polonais en France 1940
Azur FR.ROM / Artipresse
Until the arrival of the book I must admit despite many years of reading about the history of WWII and in particular the war in the Air; I was completely unaware that Polish Airmen had fought for France as they later would for the British. This book gives the full story of the participation of Polish airmen in combat against the Luftwaffe during the Campaign of France.
Much of the staff of the Polish air force had withdrawn into Romania after the country's occupation by the Nazis in September 1939. From here the Polish airmen were sent to France, where they formed several units within the Air Force. After the French debacle they joined Britain where they continued fighting with the RAF until the end of the war.
The author has conducted long-term research in the Polish, French, and British archives; he met with most of the protagonists still alive at the time of the research. It is a study in depth in to this little known subject. The over 10 year of research have produced a leading reference work on this subject.
The book is a massive 416 pages illustrated with 772 photos and a hundred colour illustrations. It should be pointed out that the book is in French only. Even with my limited language skills it is fairly easy to follow the narrative, and the pictures/illustrations are undoubtedly first rate. Though to get the complete picture and a full understanding you will have to have fairly good French. Recommended.
Review sample courtesy of
Available direct from The Publisher