Andrzej Glass: Evacuation
(Aero Technika Lotnicza, 10-12/1990)
fragments with pictures added
... Evacuation of the Polish aircraft to Rumania and Bulgaria started
from eastern Malopolska. Aircraft from Warsaw, being under siege, had been
evacuated to Hungary and Slovakia by September 22-26. On Sept 18 arrived
to Warsaw from Roumania with an RWD 13 major pilot Eugeniusz Wyrwicki, who
crashed on Mokotowskie airfield during landing. He brought orders of the
Chief Commander to the Defense Commander of the Capital. Later he flew with
PZL P.11a liaison and supply sorties to the surrounded fortress Modlin.
On Sept 23 at 2.30h he started with P.11a to Hungary, with col. Mateusz Izycki,
later the Chief Commander of the Polish Aitr Force in Britain.
P.11a was a single seatter, the pilot seat had been thus removed and both
pilots sat back-to-back (without parachutes), fastened with safety belt.
Aircraft landed in Hungary close to Hajduboszormeny, at 6.00h. After
overpainting Polish checkboard with white
the aircraft had been taken by col. Wyrwicki to Debrecen, later to Mátyásföld airfield.
The aircraft had been taken over by the Hungarian Air Force. It received G.191
serials and the red-white-green chevron insignia (Pict1
,Pict2) and was used by the military
as trainer until summer 1940. Later it was handed over to the Aeroclub of the
Technical University of Budapest, where served as acrobatic trainer and
glider towing aircraft. The aircraft had received civil registration HA-NBN.
It had been painted overall red with creme strips (
Pict3,
Pict4). Used until the autumn 1944.
On Sept 25 and 26 started from surrounded Warsaw southbound one R-XIIID,
probably 9 RWD 8 (two towing Komar gliders), one PZL 5 and two Bak motor
gliders. Gliders had been deteached and landed near Grójec. One aircraft
crashed in Swietokrzyskie Mountains. It is uncertain how many aircraft got
finally abroad. The crew of PZL - pilot lieutenants Bohdan Ardersz and
Ryszard Malczewski - got to Hungary, but it is not clear where their aircraft
had crashed. One Bak got to Roumania. One RWD 8 landed on Sept 25 in
Hungary at Tarackköz, close to Aknászlatiny.
From among the aircraft evacuated from the South-Eastern Poland one RWD 8,
white 152 from Deblin, landed on Sept 18 at Munkacs, close to Ungvár.
Both RWD kept Polish khaki camouflage, but received Hungarian chevron markings
and I-281 and I-282 serials. They were handed to the aeroclubs on summer 1940.
Used for glider towing in Central Training School. One RWD, civil registration
HA-RAA, had been painted in silver, the other one, civil registration HA-RAB,
retained khaki camouflage. Both used until the autumn 1944.
Accordingly to unverified sources one R-XIII and one RWD-14 Czapla landed in
Hungary, there is however no trace of them in the Hungarian sources.
Those aircraft crashed probably in the woods. Accordingly to German sources
one RWD 13 had been sold to the Hungarian in 1942, there is no such aircraft
however in the Hungarian registers. Hungary received, as booty, Polish gliders
Zaba, brought in spring 1944 from Ustrzyki Dolne to Budapest.
