Polish Wings No 2
Morane MS 406C1
Caudron Cyclone CR 714C1
Bloch MB 151/152
Online & printed reviews
IPMSUK Magazine
Skrzydlata Polska - Polish Aviation Magazine
IPMSUSA.org
Reviewed By Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146
The
Book
This series of
excellent paperbacks originating in Poland covers a little known but
significant part of the history of World War II in the air, the
contribution of numerous Polish airmen and support personnel who
continued fighting after the Nazis and Soviets had taken over their
homeland in 1939. The major problem the author had was finding
documentation and records concerning the operation of Polish units
fighting in the French and Finnish air forces.
The book covers three main types used by Polish units, the Caudron CR
714, the Morane MS 406, and the Bloch MB 151 and MB 152. (For some
reason, the title has two of the types in reverse order). The author
goes through each type known to have been operated by Poles, and tells,
when possible, the fate of both the pilots and the airplanes. Numerous
photos, some taken by Luftwaffe personnel after the French surrender,
identify specific aircraft. In addition, color profiles show the
markings and camouflage used, and each aircraft is discussed in detail.
In reality, about the time of the surrender, many Poles escaped to
Britain, where they formed a very effective part of the Royal Air Force
during the Battle of Britain. One photo shows a Bloch MB 152 after its
arrival in Britain, complete with RAF insignia, a candidate for an
unusual model if I ever saw one.
This series, Polish Wings, has other works on this subject, including a
work on Spitfires flown by Polish pilots, which is known as Polish Wings
6, and is distributed by Mushroom Model Publications, but this is
probably an earlier issue published entirely in Poland, although the
text is completely English. Both are very high quality publications,
although the one on the French fighters is a little on the specific side,
giving details and operational unit histories rather than overall
commentaries. A section at the end discusses camouflage and markings,
which adhered closely to those of the French. There are even a few color
photos, including a couple of a French Douglas DB-7 light bomber
captured by the Germans, with some MB-152's in the background. That was
icing on the cake, as I've never seen color photos of that vintage from
France before.
Reccomendation
If you have any interest in French fighters operated by the Poles, this
book is worth getting. These books fill in the gaps in any library, and
provide excellent documentation for models of aircraft that are outside
of the usual standard types that most modelers seem to concentrate on.
Don't miss out on this one. Highly recommended.
Internet Modeler
Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl
The newest
title in the Polish Wings series is an English-language reprint of the
original Polish release, and it covers three French aircraft flown by
Polish pilots in 1940. The French Air Force was the location of many
Polish pilots who managed to escape before the German occupation. This
was a short-lived freedom, of course, as France fell just as quick as
Poland. For those few months, though the Polish pilots proved themselves,
flying a wide variety of aircraft.
The format of the book is broken down by aircraft type, starting with
the Caudron, then the Morane, and finally the Bloch. Each section
presents the individual aircraft in both photographs and color profile
illustrations, making this book a great modeler’s reference.
Complementing these illustrations and photos are the captions, which
offer more useful information.
The subject of Polish pilots flying with the French is not a mainstream
topic, so this book is a very welcome addition to any World War Two
collection. The quality of the photos and illustrations is excellent,
and will undoubtedly tempt many to build up one or three of these
aircraft.
JP4 - Italian aviation magazine.
ModellingMadness.com
Reviewer: Scott Van Aken
Stratus
has been redoing several of their earlier books into English and this
one follows on to their very successful book on the Spitfire. The book
offers a look into the operations of French types by Polish pilots. In
some cases it was entire units, while in others it was with the pilots
in French squadrons.
The real beauty of this book lies in the photographs and the profiles
that it provides. We are in real luck as the book excels in both
categories. When you add in that it covers three rather rare types as
operated so briefly by Polish pilots, then these are well worth the
price.
Three different aircraft are covers. First is the Caudron C.714. As many
of you know, this aircraft was really only flown in combat by Polish
pilots attached to the French Air Force in the last month or so before
France surrendered in mid June of 1940. This section, as in the other
two, has a complete rundown of the aircraft used and the pilots to which
they were assigned. There are well over a dozen color profiles and other
views of these planes as well as a number of photos of these planes that
I have never seen before. I wish I had them when doing my Battle Axe
kit.
Next is the MS.406. While these planes were far more common, they also
had Polish units where the fuselage had the checkerboard roundel. In
addition, Polish pilots flew with 'regular' French units. Again, a lot
of color profiles, three-view drawings and lots of great photos.
The last type is the Bloch MB.151/152. This is the smallest section as
it only covers those planes flown by Polish pilots. No separate Polish
unit was set up with these aircraft.
This is an outstanding book and is well worth the investment on the
strength of the photos and color profiles alone.
Mini Replika - Polish magazine for modellers.
Cybermodeler.com
By Ray Mehlberger
This latest book in the
Stratus series, from Mushroom Model Publications (MMP), “Polish Wings”
(Polskie Skrzydla), is an updated English language version of the Polish
original. It covers Polish use of three French fighter designs in 1940.
Many Polish pilots, aircrew and ground staff escaped to France, and were
formed into autonomous units or allocated to French operational
squadrons. This book describes and illustrates the aircraft used in
training units and active squadrons, with aircraft identities and codes
listed, plus their final fates.
The book comes in a 8” x 11 ¾” soft-cover format of 54 pages. It is
profusely illustrated with 158 black and white wartime photos. There are
a few rare wartime color photos too. The color profiles have many that
are new to this edition. There are 52 of these. Four of them are
3-views, six are 2-views and one is a 4-view.
The relevant French camouflage and marking schemes are also described in
detail. There are 8 data lists included. What is really neat, about the
color profiles, is that they appear right next to actual photos of the
aircrafts being depicted. Cool!
Aircraft enthusiasts and modelers will find this an invaluable addition
to their references on these French fighter aircraft.