Montpellier: Fighter Squadron
Online & printed reviews

IPMS UK Magazine

SAM
by Paul E. Eden
Montpellier Fighter Squadron, in Mushroom Model Publication's Blue Series of
unit accounts, sees Bartlomiej Belcarz again returning to his pet subject of
Polish pilots in French service, except this time the focus is on a group of
fighter pilots trained in France. Although Montpellier was never an official
name for their unit, these men fought with considerable honour and valour in
the few months that were available to them between their training at
Montpellier in 1939 and the fall of France.
Belcarz describes the pilots and their operations with considerable
authority, also providing comprehensive lists of data covering kills,
losses, personnel, etc.
The unit flew the MS.406, D.520 and MB.152 operationally and a 15-page
section of colour artwork provides inspiration for those wishing to model
these aircraft in a finish that's just that little bit different.

AiR Modeler 18

MiniReplika No 57 - Polish modellers' magazine (printed)

InternetModeler.com
Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

The opening moves of the Second World War saw Polish aviators moving around quite a bit, flying in the skies over Poland, France, and finally, England. The newest title in MMP’s Blue Series details the Polish aviators who served in the Armee d L’Air in 1940. After the fall of Poland, the Polish aviators were split between Great Britain and France, with the former getting the bomber crews and the latter the fighter pilots. The Montpellier Fighter Squadron was the result, a unit equipped with several different aircraft. Their successes over the skies of France were short-lived, though, as France soon fell to the Germans. While flying with the Armee de L’Air, though the Polish pilots of the Montpellier Squadron did quite well.
This is the first book in English on this unit (that I have found, anyway), and it is quite a thorough history of the Montpellier Fighter Squadron. The organization is mainly by the specific squadron sections, which were spread through GC I/2, II/6, II/7, III/1, III/2, and III/6. The main aircraft used was the Morane Saulnier MS 406, with some pilots flying the Curtiss Hawk 75, Bloch MB 152, and Dewoitine D 520. The well-written text is complemented by many photos of these aircraft, most of which have not been seen before. Like other MMP titles, this book finishes up with several pages of color profiles, bringing these aircraft to life.
For those interested in some of the lesser-known aviators of the Second World War, this is an excellent book to pick up.

Cybermodeler.com
By Ray Mehlberger

This latest book from Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) is in their usual 6 ½” x 9” soft cover format for their aircraft books. It is 128 pages long. The book is printed in Poland, in the English language, in cooperation with Stratus.

The book tells the story of the Polish fighter pilots, who escaped to France in 1939 and fought alongside the French in 1940. Officially, there was no such unit as the “Montpellier Squadron”, but it is a convenient shorthand for the group of Polish pilots who trained at the Centre d’ Instruction d’ Aviation de Chasse at Montpellier, before moving to a variety of operational units.

Mostly flying the Morane-Saulnier MS406, but also the Dewoitine D.530 and Bloch MB.152, the Polish pilots saw only limited action against the invading Germans, because of the confusions and indecisions of the time. They did achieve some successes, and suffered losses, but most of the pilots subsequently escaped to Britain and saw more extensive action with the RAF.

The author tells the stories of the individual pilots and their units, describes and illustrates the aircraft they flew and lists their victories and losses. There are many first-hand accounts of the time, 122 black and white wartime photos, 12 color profiles of the Morane-Saulnier MS406C-1 (one is a 2-view and two are 4-views), 2 color profiles of the Bloch MB152C-1 and a 2-view of the Dewoitine D.520C-1. Color illustrations include the cover art too.

The black and white photos include a post-war photo of the author with Stanaslaw Chalupa and a photo of Chalupa with the Consul General of France. There are 41 photos of pilots and other honoraries, with short biographies next to their pictures. Included also, are 14 information lists, 6 pictures of documents and 5 of group stamps. The last page of the book has photos of the metal and cloth Polish pilots cap badge, their breast badge and French pilot’s wings badge.

This is the complete combat history of the men of the Polish Montpellier Squadron – a group of Polish pilots who served with a number of Armee de L’Air units throughout the Battle of France in 1940. They were primarily with the Morane Saulnier MS406, as well as some Curtiss H.75A’s (not done as a color profile), the Dewoitine D.520 and Bloch
MB 152 aircraft. This book provides full details of the unit’s pilots and their victories and losses, plus details of the aircraft flown. The many photographs are rare and previously unpublished.
Bartomiej Belcarz has researched the air war in France in 1939/40 to PhD level. His published work in Polish, English and French is well known and highly regarded by military and aviation enthusiasts.

This is the first book in English which exclusively describes the heroic exploits of these WWII Polish pilots fighting for France.

On the back cover of the book is the cover arts for 2 other related MMP books: “13. (slow.) JG 52” and “Hurricane Ace Josef Frantisek, the true story”.

Highly recommended.

Hyperscale.com
Reviewed by Steven "Modeldad" Eisenman

This volume is the latest in Mushroom Model Magazine’s Blue Series that recounts the history specific squadrons and pilots. This volume focuses on the Polish pilots in France that made up the “Montpellier Fighter Squadron”. These pilots escaped Poland after it’s fall, through Hungary and Rumania, finding their way to France.

The first thing we learn is that there really was not a “Montpellier Squadron”. Rather, this was a label given to the first group of Polish pilots that arrived in France and trained at the Centre d’Instruction d’Aviation de Chasse at Montpellier, France. The name became associated with the pilots as they entered service in various units.

After training, the Polish pilots were not allowed to form their own Polish units, as they had wanted. Initially the French did not trust the Poles and felt it was better for them to be integrated into French squadrons.

The book provides an interesting perspective on blame and trust. The French felt that the Polish pilots, upon their arrival, could not be trusted believing the Poles had given up in the fight against the Germans. Later, as the French concluded the armistice with Germany, the French feared that the Polish pilots would not honor it and continue to fight on their own.
The book concludes with a most poignant observation, by a Polish pilot, about the state of mind of French pilots upon the fall of France.

The exploits of the Polish pilots are told based on each individual French squadron in which they served. Each squadron is allocated its own chapter. But the story is the same across the squadrons – a good fight against overwhelming odds and, hopefully, an escape from France, usually through North Africa.

This volume is filled with an excellent collection of photographs, the majority of which I have not seen before. Also sprinkled throughout are brief biographies of individual Polish pilots.

Finally, as has become the norm for books from Stratus publications of Poland, which published this volume for Mushroom, the profiles are of excellent quality.

But this monograph is not without some issues. First, the English is a bit “cumbersome” and the narrative does not flow particularly well. Second, I wish the author had, in the beginning, given a comparative of ranks in the Polish, French and British or US air force. There is list of pilots in the back with Polish and French ranks, but it is not as effective as it could have been. Finally, I would have liked to have learned more about the marking of the French aircraft with the Polish checkerboard, and issues that might have arisen. The aircraft, for all practical purposes, carried two sets of national markings.

Mushroom and Stratus must be commended for publishing monographs such as this one. The efforts and exploits of pilots from Poland and Czechoslovakia are over shadowed by writings about USAAF, RAF and especially Luftwaffe pilots.

No one who has any interest in the air warfare in World War Two should ignore this book. It provides a very good account of the Polish pilots during a tragic period of the war. The events, the pilots and the aircraft are all given their due.

Recommended.

ModelingMadness.com
Reviewer: Scott Van Aken

After the fall of Poland in 1939, many of the Polish military left the country and sought the opportunity to continue the fight against the Germans with the armed forces of other countries. When it came to pilots and ground crew, the UK wanted bomber crews and France wanted fighter pilots and mechanics. So it was that the British formed bomber units with Polish crews and the French started training fighter pilots to fly French aircraft.

This training took part in Montpellier and was planned by the Polish authorities to form an all-Polish Squadron. Of course, the French had other plans and wanted to integrate sections of Polish pilots into extant units. And that is just what happened.

Conversion training went much faster than expected by the French, but that shouldn't have been a surprise as these men were, for the most part, experienced pilots with hundreds of flight hours. They were provided MS.406 fighters. Not the best of the time and bordering on obsolescence, but they were all that was readily available.

This then, is the story of each of these various sections and their combat record from formation until the eventual collapse of the French government in June of 1940. Each section is dealt with separately and a provided in a diary format. There are photos of the pilots and planes involved with little biographies of these men placed in separate tables throughout the book. In addition to these pilots, those who flew as individuals with French units on the D.520 and MB.152 are also covered.

In line with other MMP books, there are a complete set of tables and many pages of superlative profiles and three-views, all in full color. Combined with an interesting selection of period photos, one has a complete look at the rather hurried and harried existence of these men. A book that I found to be quite interesting to read and I know you will as well.