Łask 2008-01-14
31st Fighter Aviation Regiment in Łask. 1951 - 1958
Then the 31st Aviation Training and Combat Regiment in Łask. 1958 – 1967
31 PLM was established to function as a typical combat regiment. Organizationally, the regiment was subordinated to the 5th Fighter Aviation Division of OPL OK, together with the 1st PLM in Warsaw and the 13th PLM in Łęczyca. The first activities to begin the formation of the regiment began in 1952. In 1953, the basic structure of the unit already existed and flight training was underway. From the very beginning, the regiment was equipped exclusively with turbojet-powered fighters. The basic aircraft was the Lim-1/2.
On November 7, 1957, there was another case of desertion of a Polish pilot using Lim-2 aircraft No. 1B 19-019 / 1919. This time 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 brutally respond to such cases. Actions were taken immediately and were severe.Of course, for those who stayed in Poland. 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 The regiment was withdrawn from the structures of the 5th DLM OPL OK.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 of these activities was that the planned training regiment in Tomaszów Mazowiecki was not established. The 31st Regiment 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 discipline, warning, and rarely being transferred to a lower official position. Until the end, the prison sentence was accompanied by the deprivation of civil rights, which was severely felt by the families left behind in the country.
31st Aviation Training and Combat Regiment. 1958 – 1968
In the period 1958 - 1968, the 31st Regiment performed training tasks. Pilots came to the regiment 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.
Airport in Łask. 2008 year.
The airport in Łask 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, elevation 193 m. The airport has a RWY with a concrete surface, dimensions 2,500 m x 60 m, orientation 11/29.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman