Kraków 2007-11-20
2nd Fighter Aviation Regiment in Krakow.
1944 – 1966.
Entry.
Soviet plans included the creation of a Polish air force as the 3rd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Division. Due to the lack of appropriate equipment, the 3rd Fighter Aviation Division was formed, consisting of three fighter regiments, which were given the designations 9. PLM, 10. PLM, 11. PLM. As a side note, at that time it was written "fighter aviation regiment", not "fighter aviation regiment". The basis was the operational order of September 7, 1944, which mentioned the establishment of the 1st Mixed Air Corps. The location was Karłówka in Ukraine.
On September 17, 1944, training of pilots from the 9th PLM began at the Krasnogród airport, and pilots from the 10th PLM and 11th PLM began at the Karlovka airport. The basic aircraft was the Yak-1 fighter. Readiness to start hostilities was achieved at the beginning of 1945, and on January 20, 1945, the division began to be based in Poland. The Muscovites took great care to ensure that the Poles did not fight in the eastern territories of the Republic of Poland, and they started fighting only after crossing the Bug River. The redeployment was carried out in several air and wheeled phases and was completed in March 1945.
The first battles took place at the end of March 1945, destroying enemy planes and fortifications. The division took direct part in the fighting for Berlin. For its combat efforts, the division received the Grunwald Cross, 1st class and the title of Brandenburg.
Period of Peace.
After the end of hostilities, the division, as the 3rd Brandenburg Fighter Aviation Division, was ordered to return to the country to the Kutno airport (Kutno airport hub). After some time, the 10th PLM was transferred to Krakow to the Czyżyny airport.
In 1946, regiments; The 9th PLM, 10th PLM, 11th PLM were subordinated directly to the Air Force Command and on January 24, 1946, by order of the Supreme Commander of the Polish Army, the 1st Fighter Aviation Division with its composition was established; 1. PLM in Warsaw, 2. PLM in Kraków (previous 10. PLM), 3. PLM (previous 11. PLM).
This organizational system lasted until 1950. Due to the war in Korea, the Muscovites forced Poland to expand its army to an excessive size in relation to its actual needs. Therefore, new tactical formations began to be created. The 2nd PLM in Krakow emerged from the structures of the 1st DLM and on its basis the 7th DLM OPL with headquarters and command in Krakow was formed. There were to be three fighter regiments within the 7th DLM OPL; in addition to the 2nd PLM in Kraków-Czyżyny, the newly created 39th PLM in Mierzęcice and 40th PLM also in Mierzęcice.
The era of turbojet-powered aircraft.
At the end of the 40s, it was already known that the end of piston-powered fighters was approaching and the first turbojet-powered planes were being introduced into service. 2. PLM was one of the first to be armed with the new type of fighters. Initially, these were to be Yak-17 planes.
The basic training of pilots was to take place in Radom. But the war in Korea accelerated the process of introducing new technology. The new Bemowo airport in Warsaw is becoming a place for organizing a new type of units. Both first fighter regiments (1st PLM from 5th DLM and 2nd PLM from 7th DLM) trained simultaneously. In 1950, fighter units prepared to accept turbojet-powered aircraft. It was already known that the aircraft would be the Yak-23 fighter, the mass production of which had even begun to be prepared in Mielec. To make it easier for pilots to switch to a turbojet aircraft, a two-seat Yak-17 W (UTI) aircraft was used.
In mid-1951, more modern MiG-15 turbojet fighters began to arrive at the Bemowo airport. Then, a decision was made that all Yak-23 fighters, approximately 100 of them, would serve only the 7th DLM, i.e. the 2nd PLM, the 39th PLM and the 40th PLM.
Kraków-Czyżyny Airport.
In the 1950s, the airport had a runway measuring 1,900 m x 45 m, with a concrete surface. Airport coordinates 50.04 N 19.47 E. Runway orientation 08/26. The airport had full facilities. At that time, it was also used as a civilian airport for the city of Krakow. Currently (2000) the airport serves as an Aviation Museum. It has a runway measuring 720 m x 60 m, is entered in the register of civil airports and is used occasionally.
Kraków – Czyżyny. 1952.
In 1952, the 2nd PLM with Jak-23 aircraft began its operations at the Czyżyny airport in Krakow. The Pustynia Błędowska training ground was intensively used in the training process. The unit’s commander at that time was Jan Frej-Bielecki. Based on the personnel of the 2nd PLM, two more hunting regiments were organized, which together with it constituted the 7th DLM OPL. It was the 39th PLM and the 40th PLM. The Mierzęcice airport, near Katowice, was expanded for the newly formed regiments.
In 1957, in the Military Aviation, on the wave of social movements, further serious changes took place. Soviet officers left their command positions in the Polish People’s Army. Additionally, the Polish Air Force already had a significant number of modern combat aircraft manufactured in Poland. 2. PLM has lost its importance. The first reason was equipment. The regiment was one of the military units that used the technically obsolete Yak-23 aircraft for the longest time. The second reason was the long distance from the potential opponent. The third reason was the creation of a large city – Nowa Huta. The airport in Czyżyny is located between large cities, or rather in the center of the Krakow agglomeration, in the east-west direction. Therefore, it was decided to partially relocate the 2nd PLM to the Balice airport.
Nevertheless, the 2nd PLM was still part of WOPL OK and WL and safely performed its tasks, improving the level of soldiers’ training. At the beginning of the 1960s, the airport in Czyżyny became a base for no longer used flying equipment and slowly became a museum. The airport area was used many times to organize air shows for the inhabitants of Krakow. I myself was a spectator of such shows in 1966, when Lim-1/2 fighters and parachute jumps were demonstrated in the air.
Disbandment of the 2nd PLM in Kraków-Czyżyny.
The 2nd PLM in Czyżyny was disbanded, and its number and traditions were taken over by the 4th PLM in Goleniów, which in 1967 was renamed the 2nd PLM Kraków in Goleniów. Most of the planes from the disbanded 2nd PLM were transferred to the Łask airfield.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman