AAR - BrisWingsofGlory WGS Campaign 1, Mission 3 - Polish Air Force 1939-45

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Mission 3 Defensive Patrol Przemyśl 08-09-1939



A week after the invasion of their homeland it was now clear to the officers and men of 121 Eskadra Mysliwska that any help the British and French could now offer the Polish nation would be too little, too late. The Germans were at the gates of Warzawa and to the north and south of the capital enemy columns were pushing east. 121 Eskadra had been forced to pull back from Krakow and were now based just west of Lvov. Despite the reverses of recent days the squadron was still determined to take the fight to the Luftwaffe.



On the morning of 8 September 1939 podporucznik Władysław Gnyś (White 3) and starszy sierżant Marian Futro (White 2) are again in the air, conducting a defensive patrol west of Przemyśl. The skies were spotted with intermittent cloud at 4000 metres, which the Polish pilots were using to conceal their presence from the any marauding Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters.



Emerging from a cloud bank both pilots immediately saw a twin engine Dornier Do 17P flying away from and about a thousand metres below them.



The PZL P.11c fighters put their noses down and attack the German machine. As bullets from four machine guns strike the fuselage of Do 17P-1 4U+EK, the dorsal gunner Feldwebel Friedrich Pfeuffer grabs up his MG15 and returns fire, sending a steady stream of lead and tracer towards his attackers.



A burst struck the German bomber's starboard air cooled Bramo radial engine, damaging a couple of cylinders but not enough to slow the Dornier's progress (engine damage chit selection gave only 1 point of engine damage). Another burst holed the auxiliary fuel tank located in the forward bomb bay, sending a trail of white smoke trailing behind the aircraft. Fw. Pfeuffer also found his range, shooting up Władysław Gnyś' PZL, which also began to emit a steady stream of smoke.



Undeterred, both Gnyś and Futro dived down behind the Dornier, pressing home their attack at close quarters. As more rounds smashed into the Dornier Fw. Pfeuffer shifted his aim to the second PZL. Futro felt his controls become sluggish as 7.92mm rounds damaged aileron linkages.



Unable to turn with the Dornier due to his damaged controls st-sierz. Futro's PZL was hammered by burst after burst sent his way by Pfeuffer. Then a hail of rounds struck the cockpit, smashing the instrument panel, severing Futro's control column, and badly wounding the Polish NCO pilot. As his PZL went down out of control the wounded Marian Futro struggled to get out of the wrecked cockpit. Finally wrenching himself free of the harness, Futro jumped from the spinning fighter. Unfortunately the young NCO struck the vertical stabiliser of 'White 2' and was knocked unconscious. Twenty year old starszy sierżant Marian Futro fell to his death.



ppor. Władysław Gnyś in White 3 continued his pursuit of the Dornier as the German turned for home, ducking under a cloud bank.



To the west more Luftwaffe aircraft arrived in the battle area, two Messerschmitt Bf 110C-4 twin-engine fighters of Zerstörergeschwader 76.



ppor. Gnyś saw their approach but continued to shoot up the Dornier, hoping to finish the Luftwaffe bomber before the Messerschmitts could intervene.



But the Bf 110's quickly closed the range. The lead machine (3U+BS) flown by Oberleutnant Ernst Heidemann opened fire with his twin 20mm cannon and four machine guns. Despite the range Heidemann's aim was true and explosive shells tore though the Polish fighter causing heavy damage. Heidemann's second burst smashed into the Mercury radial engine, finishing the PZL. For the second time in just over a week ppor. Władysław Gnyś took to his parachute as his doomed aircraft crashed to earth. As he floated down all Gnyś could do was watch as the damaged Dornier withdrew to the west and the Messerschmitt 110's continued eastwards looking for more targets.



Dornier Do 17P-1 4U+EK returned to base sporting a number of holes courtesy of the 121 Eskadra Mysliwska. The aircraft was repairable but would play no further part in Fall Weiss. By the time the mechanics of 2./(F) Aufklärungsgruppe 123 had the Dornier serviceable a week later the war in Poland was all but over.



Campaign mission log 3 above.

[Lt. S.Kafloc]

This campaign just gets better and better.