1st September 1939

1^st September 1939

(web.ccsu.edu)

Germany invades Poland! At 0440hrs Units of The Luftwaffe were reported crossing the German/Polish Border.

• 0400-0500hrs; Wielun is the first Polish town to be bombed by the Luftwaffe, and is flattened by I./St.G 76 from Nieder-Ellguth flying 29 x Ju87b and (29+?) Ju87b of I./St.G 77 from Ottmuth. (Mistakenly (I believe) ascribed to I./KG76 flying Do17 from Breslau-Schöngarten in some accounts.) Shortly afterwards 29 x Ju87b of I./St.G 2, from Nieder-Ellguth, also attacked the town according to some reports. This was either an exercise in terror bombing to see what collateral damage could be inflicted with the weapons available; or a raid on Polish Cavalry units that went wrong due to ground fog covering the town. Opinion seems to be divided. But ground skirmishes in that area later that day are a Polish success
• At 0532hrs, 2^nd.Ltn. Stanislaw Skalski and Lt.Marian Pisarek both flying PZL P-11c of 142-III/4 and 141-III/4, shot down a Hs126 reconnaissance aircraft in the area of Torun, Poland. Enemy Unit unknown.
• At 0630hrs Lt.Aleksander Gabszewicz of 113-IV/1(?) and Andrzej Niewiara (?)in P-11c shot down a He111 from KG27 in the Bugo-Narew area.
• Airfield at Rumja (Naval Air Squadron), bombed at dawn by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Airfield at Puck (Naval Air Squadron), bombed by 20 Luftwaffe He111,(UU), at 0600hrs destroying ammunition and killing Eskadra personel.
• Airfield at Grudziadz bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Port of Gdynia bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Airfield at Torun bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Chojnice bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU); ground skirmish here leads to Polish success.
• Airfield at Tczew bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Plock Airfield bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Lodz bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Czestochowa bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Tomaszow Mazowiecki bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Krosno bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Radom bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Biala Podlaska bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Katowice airfield bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU); ground skirmish here leads to Polish success later that day.
• Krakow bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Lwow bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Brzesc bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Terespol bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Warsaw bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Myszyniec bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU); ground skirmish leads to Polish success
• Lublin airfield bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Wilna airfield bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Kida airfield bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Glodno airfield bombed by Luftwaffe, (UU).
• Cptn. Medwecki, 121-III/1 taking off from Balice, is shot down and killed by a Ju87b of St.G2 based at Neider-Ellquth
• Lt. Wladyslaw Gnys, 121-III/1 claims a Do17
• 2^ndLt.Borowski of 113Esc shoots down a stray Me109e (UU)(poss. 2.JG21)over Warsaw, the 1^st of the war.
• During an intercept by 52 aircraft of the Fighter Squadrons of the Pursuit Brigade 6 x  He111 of KG27 are shot down. The escort of Me110c from I/LG1 shot down Cptn Olszewski of 123-III/1and 3 others from the Eskadra flying P-7. Lt.Col Leopald Pamula claimed 2 x Me109e but 3 x P-11c were shot down, a P-11 crashed on landing.
• At 0900hrs over Zegrze,(N.Warsaw) altitude 4,500m, 2 x PZL P.24 (UU) shot down by Me110c of I.(Z)LG1 from Gutenfeld Afld.
• At 1630hrs, near Modlin, Lt. Aleksander Gabszewicz in P-11c, of 113-IV/1(?)shot down and wounded, enemy unit (UU) (Possibly JG21)
• At 1655hrs over Warsaw 2 x PZL P.24 ((UU) shot down by Me109d of 1./JG21(JG54) from Gutenfeld Afld.
• At 1708hrs, over Warsaw 2 x PZL P.24 (UU) shot down by Me109d of 2./JG21 (JG54)from Gutenfeld Afld.
• At 1710hrs, over Warsaw, a PZL-P.24 (UU) shot down by Me109d of 2./JG21 (JG54) from Gutenfeld Afld.
• At 1710hrs over Marklowice, 2 x PZL P.24 (UU) shot down by 3/JG21 (JG54) from Gutenfeld Afld.
• At1710hrs, 1,500-2,00m alt. over Warsaw, 6 x PZL P.24 (UU) shot down by I.(Z)LG1, Me110c from Jesau Afld.
• At 1719hrs, a PZL P.24 (UU) shot down north of Warsaw, by Me109d of 3/JG21 (JG54) from Gutenfeld Afld.
• 161-III/6 in the Lodz Area flying PZL P-11c are unable to make contact with Luftwaffe intruders despite several sorties.

  
  

Map1. Polish Air Force and Luftwaffe dispositions.

--o<O>o--

Notes (inevitably there will be lots of explanitary notes early on, these will reduce in time, for instance I will not post again that times are approx.)

• Times are all approximate based on logbooks or personal remembrance of participants, or their close relatives from stories told to them.

• (UU) = Unit Unknown At This Time and will be updated as information becomes available.
• All aircraft are noted as singular to avoid confusion, (i.e. 1 x Me110c; 2 x Me110c; etc. This does not necessarily mean the same aircraft is involved , just the same action.
• Due to the fact that Luftwaffe pilots used German versions of Polish town names, more research needed to identify Luftwaffe targets, bearing in mind that Polish Eskadra were at dispersal airfields.