June 21st: The Polish Aviation Museum

Poland had a thriving aircraft industry before the last war and also a well-trained air force, although their front line fighter planes were no match for Hitler’s blitzkrieg attach in September 1939. 11,000 Polish airmen subsequently made their way to the UK where they flew with distinction during the Battle of Britain. Flying our modern Hurricanes and Spitfires they could fight the Luftwaffe on even terms which did very successfully.

There’s a Spitfire here to commemorate this significant Polish contribution, but the predominant number of exhibits is from the Communist period. This was of great interest because some of these planes are rare or non-existent in the UK.

The soviet aircraft show starts in the car park, before we even enter the museum, where several dilapidated MIG fighter air frames have been dumped. This one looks like it’s just burst through the hedge and landed on the car. Note the high-tec binbag protective cover.

The museum entrance is solid and rather forbidding in typical Communist style. 

 There were a staggering number of MIG fighters of all types on show within the museum. Jane looks as if she’s wandering around a used car lot trying to decide which one to buy. I think she’ll go for the one with the red nose. It will look nice in the front garden and much more classy than a garden gnome.

The one below is a German Junkers used as a transport before, during the war and after. This particular plane was operated by the French until 1960, then it went to the Portugese Air Force until 1973 when it was donated to Duxford, Cambs. It was restored there and sold to the Polish museum in 2012. Unbelievably, I would have see this actual aircraft in Duxford.

 This one is a real oddity: the only crop spraying aircraft ever made to be powered by a jet engine. Its quirky name suits it, the Belphegor. You can see the chemical tanks joining the two wings.

The Pope’s helicopter. The Poles still adore their local lad who reached the top even though he died in 2005. Images of Pope John Paul II are seen on hoardings and buildings everywhere; he was born not far from Krakow and lived in the city when he was a cardinal. Maybe it’s no bad thing to have a hero that isn’t a football star/popstar/filmstar.

 How would you fancy flying one of these? It’s a Polish training glider from the 1950’s. Interesting point- there’s no cockpit, in fact nothing much at all. You are sitting on a wooden seat fixed to a narrow wooden strut. You’re presumably strapped in, with some basic controls, but it's completely open to the elements: it looks like a self-assembly kit with half the parts missing.  

This was the top Soviet fighter, a MIG 29. Top speed 1,500 mph. East Germany kept their MIG 29’s when Germany united in the late 80’s, and in 2002 they sold them to Poland – for 1 Euro each, because they needed major overhauls. The example here was operational until 2007 when it was retired to the museum. We weren’t told for how much the museum paid for it; perhaps they didn’t want to admit they’d paid over the odds and parted with 2 Euros.

Last picture is what the pilot of the MIG 29 would have needed to wear. It’s a G-suit that inflates on tight turns to stop him blacking out . It looks vaguely spooky, the sort of thing perhaps issued to a skeleton crew.

It was an interesting museum, especially so because many information boards were in English as well as Polish. However, it was sad that most of the open air exhibits were noticeably decaying. On the other hand,  I don’t suppose the country can afford costly preservation for these aircraft with so many other demands on public funds and especially so in times of recession.