Could the british....?

Question

have won the battle of britain without the help of the polish forces assisting them?

Answer 1

While the Polish pilots fought valiantly (and disobeyed orders to engage the enemy on at least one occasion), they were only used sparingly during the Battle of Britain (the high command claimed it was because of the language barrier). The Poles made little differance, due to their small numbers. There are claims that, on average, the Poles who fought with the RAF actually had a higher kill percentage than RAF pilots.

Answer 2

Free Pole pilots played an important role in the air battle over britain.
By all accounts they were absolute madmen when it came to fighting the Luftwaffe.
The Brits had been pounded for years & winning the "battle of britain" with or without help ,ultimately put off a German invasion.
If I had to guess, I'd say it would have been a closer call without them.

Answer 3

The RAF needed all the help they could get; the Poles, Czechs, Canadians, South Africans and all the rest provided that help. No one can say whether the loss of a single squadron would have cost them the battle... but they were there and the battle was won.

Answer 4

I think they could have, the Poles were a relative minority within the RAF. There were free French, Czechs, Americans, Belgians, Dutch, Canadians, Etc, in the RAF in 1940 as well as Poles.
The battle though actually turned on the shift in the Luftwaffe's bombing stratergy from the RAF's airfields to the cities (it's believed the Luftwaffe came within one week of crushing the RAF). So I think the Luftwaffe were the biggest help to the RAF.

Answer 5

Another interesting point is that the Poles helped greatly in the decoding of the German Enigma machine which allowed the Allies to read many of the Nazis' secret messages during the war.

So we're very glad the Poles were on our side!

Answer 6

We'll never know exactly, but the sacrfice of Polish pilots was a great service to Britain.

Answer 7

Yes. Although some pilots were Polish they were relatively few in number and had to be trained to fly British airplanes and use British tactics.

Answer 8

If you mean without the Polish Pilots assisting them then I would say no. That battle was fate.

Answer 9

Well, maybe the Poles could have been replaced by additional Brits. That's not the point though. The Poles did a fantastic job and it's another reason to welcome Polish immigrants into the UK.