Łask 2012-06-09
31st Aviation Training and Combat Regiment in Łask.
1958 – 1967
In 1957, the 31st PLM in Łask, due to the escape of one of the pilots in the Lim-2 plane to the West, was demoted from the level of Fighter Regiment to the level of Training and Combat Regiment.
It should be mentioned that the Regiment, together with the 1st PLM and the 13th PLM, during this period, was among the elite units equipped with the latest equipment in Poland. In the first quarter of 1954, the Regiment received another batch of new Lim-1 aircraft, 13 of them.
On November 7, 1957, there was a case of desertion of a Polish pilot using Lim-2 aircraft No. 1B 19-019 / 1919, from the 31st PLM in Łask. The pilot of this unit, Lieutenant Bogdan Kożuchowski, hijacked a plane with board number 1919 to Sweden. It was a time when the communist system was well prepared to respond brutally to such cases. Actions were taken immediately and were severe. Of course, for those who stayed in the country. The unit was punished by reorienting its tasks, replacing equipment and changing its structural subordination. The regiment was withdrawn from the structures of the 5th DLM OPL OK. The regiment was subordinated to military education and became the 31st Aviation Training and Combat Regiment. An indirect effect was also the failure to establish a school regiment in Tomaszów Mazowiecki. The regiment in Łask was deprived of Lim-2 aircraft. However, the already exploited MiG-15 fighters were introduced.
Fortunately, this case of desertion was the last in the LWP fighter aviation. At the same time, since 1958, court judgments only applied to fugitives. Those responsible – let’s call it moral – were punished with disciplinary action, a warning, and rarely a transfer to a lower position. However, until the end, the prison sentence was accompanied by deprivation of civil rights, which was severely felt by the families left behind in the country.
31st Aviation Training and Combat Regiment 1958-1967
So, at the beginning of 1958, the 31st PLM was renamed the 31st Aviation Training and Combat Regiment. The commander, lieutenant colonel pilot Henryk Michałowski, remained in his position and rose to the rank of major general. The regiment operated in this condition until 1967.
We are not entirely sure whether these changes were so severe for the 31st Regiment? In fact, serving in Łask has become calmer and less stressful. Tasks became less tense. More attention could have been paid to flight safety. The supply of ammunition and bombs also decreased.From 1958, pilots came to Łask straight from schools in Dęblin and Radom. Here they improved their skills and performed their first training and combat tasks.
In 1963, due to the liquidation of the Rakowice – Czyżyny airport, the 2nd Fighter Aviation Regiment was transferred to the Łask airport. The Rakowice – Czyżyny airport was closed due to the construction of the Huta metallurgical plant named after the bandit Lenin and the expansion of the city of Nowa Huta.
In 1967, the communists ordered the restoration of historical numbering to military units from the Second World War. As a result, in 1968, the 2nd PLM was named the 10th PLM, and the 31st LPSzk-B in Łask was disbanded.
The 31st Combat Training Regiment trained 162 turbojet pilots between 1957 and 1963.In 1963, the 2nd PLM from Kraków (Czyżyny – Rakowice) was transferred to the airport in Łask. This happened pursuant to the Order of the Chief of the General Staff No. 062/Org of April 18, 1963. In May 1963, planes were airlifted to Łask Airport, and the remaining equipment and personnel were transported by echelon. Some of the equipment, already significantly worn out, also remained in Czyżyny and became exhibits of the newly established Aviation and Astronautics Museum. The army used Czyżyny Airport until 1970. Both aviation units in Łask were merged, and in 1967, they were reformed into 10 PLM. In Łask, the 10th PLM was a combination of equipment remaining from the 31st LPSzk-B and equipment of the 2nd PLM. The commander of the unit in Łask was still Lieutenant Colonel Pilot Janusz Kowalski.
Throughout its operation, the 31st LPSzk-B used aircraft derived from the MiG-15; MiG-15, MiG-15 bis, Lim-1, Lim-2, SB Lim-1, SB Lim-2. Piston-powered planes were also in stock; PZL CSS-13 (Po-2).
Commanders of 31 LPSzk-B:
Lieutenant Colonel pilot Henryk Michałowski 1956-1961 (Later, among others, commander of the Air Force, rank of major general). Lieutenant Colonel pilot Janusz Kowalski 1961-1963 (Later, he was, among others, the voivode of Siedlce, he had a doctorate).
Łask Airport.
Throughout its operation, the 31st Aviation Training and Combat Regiment used the Łask Airport. The airport is located approximately 5 km south-east of Łask. It is located between roads No. 44 and No. 483 in the village of Brodnica. Geographic coordinates 51.33 N, 19.10 E, at an altitude of 193 m above sea level. It has a strip with a concrete surface, dimensions 2,500 m x 60 m, orientation 11/29.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman