1 Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego, Mińsk Mazowiecki - 1 Eskadra Lotnicza
An impulse buy
A patch for 1 Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego, Mińsk Mazowiecki - 1 Eskadra Lotnicza flying MiG29UBs.
The patch design based on the famous Kościuszko Squadron emblem first created by American volunteer pilot Eliott Chess, one of 21 American airmen who volunteered to fly with the fledgling Polish Air Force in the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919–1920 where they served with distinction and gallantry in the Polish 7th Air Escadrille (7. Eskadra Lotnicza). The tradition of the Kościuszko Squadron continued after the Americans returned home in 1921. One of the Warsaw-based fighter squadrons of the Polish Air Force, the 111 Eskadra Myśliwska (111th Fighter Flight) of the 1 Pułk Lotniczy (1st Air Regiment), adopted the Kościuszko name and badge...
Above: Men of the Polish 7th Air Escadrille (7. Eskadra Lotnicza) the original "Kościuszko Squadron".
Above: Ansaldo A.1 Balilla fighter ‘1’ of the 7th ‘Kościuszko’ Squadron stationed at Mokotów shortly after the Polish-Bolshevik War.
... during WWII the ‘Kościuszko’ Squadron was reformed in Great Britain as No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron (303 Dywizjon Myśliwski "Warszawski im. Tadeusza Kościuszki). 303 Squadron pilots aerial combat skills and determination helped defeat the German Luftwaffe during the most critical days of the Battle of Britain...
Above: A No. 303 Squadron Spitfire funded by the Municipal Borough of Hendon in north-west London. Sitting in the cockpit is RAF pilot T. B. Sim, who served with No. 303 Squadron for a brief period.
...In the spring of 1996, a group of veterans of No. 303 Squadron led by Witold Urbanowicz, the legendary commander of the unit during the Battle of Britain, formally handed the unit’s traditions to 1 Eskadra Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego (1st Fighter Squadron) of the then 1 Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego ‘Warszawa’ (1st Fighter Regiment ‘City of Warsaw’).
Three years later, in the spring of 1999, six pilots of the 1 Eskadra Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego based at Mińsk Mazowiecki
became the first Polish component of the united NATO forces when Poland joined the Treaty. Now after subsequent
reorganisations, 1 Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego (1st Tactical Squadron) is based at 23 Baza Lotnicza (23rd Air Base) at Mińsk Mazowiecki.
Below, the MiG29 aircraft of today’s squadron display the famous badge.
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