A brief history of the heroic unit of American pilots who flew for Poland in the Soviet-Polish War of 1919-1920.
As World War I was ending in late 1918, Poland was struggling to maintain its independence as the veil of Communism heavily shrouded neighboring Russia. In the first days of independence, a group of American pilots embraced the Polish cause and volunteered for service with the Polish forces. Sixteen Americans joined four Poles and a Canadian pilot to form the 7th Squadron of the Polish Air Force. The Americans included Merian C. Cooper, a former U.S. Air Service pilot in France and POW in a German camp, and Cedric E. Fauntleroy, an experienced WWI pilot who had served on the Western Front.
In honor of the American Revolution hero, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the "Kosciuszko Squadron" was born as part of the Polish Air Force. The squadron emblem, a distinctive Polish four-cornered cap and crossed scythes on a field of thirteen stars, combined powerful Polish and American symbols. The cap and scythes commemorated Kosciuszko's famous victory over the Russians in 1794, which owed much to the local peasantry's gallant charge, and the 13 stars represented the original American colonies.
The American aces were trained under unusual conditions - in a train of specially designed rail cars that included their headquarters, repair shops and bunks. They received the same pay and rank as their Polish counterparts. They were effective in the Kiev Offensive in April of 1920. Flying leftover planes from World War One, the squadron became known for their low-altitude, machine gun strafing runs that angered the Soviet Commissars so that a bounty of 12,500 rubles was placed on each American flyer's heads. In case of capture, each Kosciuszko pilot carried a vial of potassium cyanide.
After being shot down, the Bolsheviks captured Merian Cooper behind enemy lines. He told the Russians that he was an enlisted man as he has a huge bounty on him. A few months later, Cooper escaped from his prison camp in Moscow and made it to safe passage in Latvia.
In August of 1920, the Kosciuszko Squadron helped to defend Lwow, fought in the Battle of Warsaw and was able to cripple the Russian cavalry at the Battle of Komarow. In 1920, the Americans flew over 400 missions and both Cooper and Fauntleroy were awarded the Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military honor.
Three Americans died while serving in the squadron: Edmund P. Graves, Arthur Kelly and T.V. McCallum. After Poland's victory in the war, every year Warsaw would commemorate the three Americans who died while serving in the squadron's ranks. In World War II, Polish pilots from the 303 "Kosciuszko" Polish Fighter Squadron flew Spitfires for the Allies in the Battle of Britain.
Sources
Central Connecticut State University. Department of Polish and Polish American Studies. New Britain, CT.
Murray, Kenneth Malcolm. Wings Over Poland. The Story of the 7th Kosciusko Squadron of the Polish Air Service 1919, 1920, 1921. D. Appleton & Co. 1932.
"Kosciusko Squadron" Time. October 10, 1932.
"Obituary: Edmund P. Graves"The New York Times December 2, 1919.
 |
 |
 |
