Comments by "Ray Purchase" (@raypurchase801) on "Amazon MGM Studios"
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Here are the reasons why the Poles did so well in the battle: Luck, training and tactics.
LUCK - The earliest phase of the BoB saw the RAF being attacked out of the sun as they climbed from their bombed-out airfields. Hurricanes climbed more slowly than Spitfires and were more vulnerable. The RAF suffered very heavy casualties. The Poles were kept out of this early phase of the Battle.
TRAINING - The Poles were among the most highly trained pilots on Earth. Many had previously been aircrew during the invasion of Poland. They escaped to France, but the French were uncertain of the abilities of the Poles, so they were retrained. Then the Poles escaped to the UK, and were again retrained because the RAF used control from the ground and couldn't speak any English.
In air combat, there is no substitute for time spent in the cockpit and mastering your aircraft.
TACTICS - The RAF had determined specific tactics for attacking bombers, which were ineffective. Instead, the Poles used the tactics they'd adopted in their obsolete PZL fighters a year later: Dive on the enemy, close to point-blank range and open fire with a zero-deflection shot. This was the perfect tactic. As Bader told his pilots, "Get as close as you can before opening fire. When you think you're far too close, get even closer".
The highest-scoring BoB ace was a Czech, who'd been trained in his own air force, escaped and been retrained in the Polish Air Force, escaped and been retrained with the French, then escaped and retrained with the RAF.
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