Under French Skies

   At the beginning of March 1940 the squadron was ready to go into action flying the Morane-Saulnier MS.406 fighter. To the pilot's surprise the unit received new orders, to change from the planes that they were flying to the Renault Caudron CR.714 "Cyclone" fighter. With the obvious delays that such a change of aircraft type would entail, which would mean that they would have to start their training all over again. The Polish pilots did not finish their latest round of training on these new fighters before end of Soviet-Finnish war.
   It should be understood, that at this time, that the French Air Force was running at an unserviceability ratio of 78% in combat aircraft. New aircraft were being delivered to air force depots missing many items essential for combat operations. As the aircraft depots filled up with unfinished aircraft, French fighter squadrons slipped in their ability to defend French airspace. These missions were called Defense Aerienne du Territoire (Territory Air Defence).
   Possible reasons for the orders to switch the GC I/145 from the MS.406 to the CR.714 can be found in the facts that between February and March 1940 only thirty-seven and twenty-five MS.406 fighters were delivered in these respective months to the Centre de Reception des Avions de Serie (C.R.A.S., Centers for the Acceptance of Service Aircraft). Another reason to consider was the fact that the Arme'e de l' Air (French Air Force) at this time was fixated on the Groupes de Chasse de Defense (G.C.D., Fighter Group Defense) strategy. The G.C.D. were for the defense of important metropolitan, industrial and military facilities. A third reason was that, since the CR.714 was to have been delivered to Finland before the hostilities ended between that country and the Soviet Union, thisaircraft had already been counted as surplus to French fighter needs. France needed modern fighters and the MS.406 was needed for front line French units. The CR.714 was considered surplus to their current needs.
   With the end of the Finnish crisis the French authorities wanted to disband the Polish fighter squadron. The Polish government in exile was definitely against this form of thinking. Finally, on 6 April 1940, the French High Command of Aviation decided to establish the GC I/145 "Warsaw" Polish Fighter Squadron (Groupe de Chasse Polonaise de Varsovie I/145). After its official establishment, the GC I/145 received a few MS.406s and was ordered to defend the area around Lyon alongside the French GC III/9.

   The author Grzegorz Slizewski can be reached at his e-mail address.