Aces High - Stanisław Skalski

 

Stanisław Skalski was a Polish top fighter ace of World War 2. He was also the most efficient Polish pilot of 1939 campaign with 4 1/2 victories. Though the Polish aircraft (PZL11c) were rather outdated it was impressive result.

After the evacuation to England (he refused to fly in France) he was posted to 501 RAF squadron flying with Hurricane Mk I. He served there during the Battle of Britain. Flying with Hurricane he collected 4,5 confirmed victories and 2 damages. 

 

In 1941 he joined Polish 306 RAF squadron equipped with Spitfire Mk IIb. Serving in 306 squadron he gained 4 more confirmed victories +1 possible. 

In 1942 he was posted to Polish 316 RAF squadron equipped with Spitfire Mk Vb. As the new Fw190A overhelmed RAF aircrafts those days, Skalski added only 1 confirmed, 2 possible, 1 damage victories. 

During 1943 Skalski was nominated as a commander of Polish Fighting Team, C flight of 145 squadron in Tunisia. As the Poles had an opportunity to fly with brand new Spitfire Mk IX the Skalski's payroll raised by 3 confirmed victories and 1 damage. 

After returning to England he was offered a position of Acting Wing Commander of Polish 133 Fighter Wing. He flew on new Mustang Mk III aircraft till the 2nd August 1944. In April 1945 he asked to be dismissed from Polish Air Force. It was said that Skalski wanted to join to fight against Japaneese in the Far East. He wasn't successful as the war was ended. Being faced by devil's alternative: going back to Poland sold to Stalin or stay in the exile, he chose, returning to his country.

Initially he was accepted into the Air Force in Poland but soon the top ace was accused of espionage and sentenced to death. He spent 9 years in communists prison waiting for execution. Finally he was released and the sentence was cancelled. His story is one of many similar sad stories of Polish soldiers serving for (as they think) freedom of their country in the exile.

In Blood Red Skies, Stanisław Skalski ace card was released in the first unofficial fun series. His profile is very interesting for those who are looking for an offensive turning fighter ace. The +1FP bonus gives him advantage during the fight. Tough ace skill make him resilient for boom chits while Acrobatic ace skills gives opportunity to found optimal attack position.

 

 

    

Now the Blood Red Skies players are able to build up all the Skalski's personal aircrafts as the Arek Stamm decided to design new ace decal set dedicated to this Polish ace. The set is available on his Facebook marketplace. It consist of six models. 

 

The first Skalski's plane is PZL-11c from 142 fighter squadron. Most of the victories from 1939 he gain on this plane. My PZL11c is a Roc-Works 3d printed model. The colours I've chosen were from the Hataka dedicated Polish Air Force range (Light Polish Khaki + Light Blue Grey). The checkers on upper wing surfaces were positioned asymetrically. The reason was to decrease aiming abilities of the enemy. Though, PZL11c is outdated in 1939 compare to Bf109E, in our game it is low cost turning fighter which means interesting option for those who want to play more experienced pilots.

   

The second plane is Hurricane Mk I from 501 RAF squadron flown by Skalski during Battle of Britain. I've chosen 3d printed model from Planeprinter range as it better fit to Mk I than Warlordgames option. I used Hataka range RAF dedicated paints (Dark Earth, Dark Green, Sky type S). Many players choosing Hurricane Mk II which is close to the German Bf109E (in terms of stats, BTW only Mk II card is officially released by Warlordgames). Mk I is significantly slower than Bf109E, with limited maneouverability so rather tricky to play. 

Third Skalski's plane was Spitfire Mk IIb. As the early Spitfire with HS cannons is unavailable I decided to use Roc-Works Spitfire Mk Vb (which looks similar) and painted in early war camo (Dark Earth/Dark Green/Sky) with 1941 modifications as tail band and spinner in Sky colour. Markings represent Spitfire Mk IIb 1941from 306 "Toruński" Polish RAF squadron. Mind unsusual positioning of Polish national marking (checker)

The next Skalski's Spitfire was Mk Vb with markings from 316 "Warszawski" Polish RAF squadron. The model is also Roc-Works Mk V painted with mid war RAF camo: Ocean Grey/Dark Green/Medium Sea Grey with Sky spinner and tailband. As for all my RAF planes I used Hataka range dedicated set.

The last Skalski's Spitfire is Mk IX with Polish Fighting Team (also known as Skalski Circus) markings. It is Bluefalcon range 3d printed model. As a C flight within 145 RAF squadron Polish Spitfires were painted in typical Desert camo (Dark Earth/Mid Stone/Azure Blue) with - probably - blue code letters and red spinner. Some of the historians belive that Skalski Circus Spitfires could be in Temperate Sea Scheme (Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey/Sky) as they were delivered from Malta.

As an Wing Commander of Polish 133 Fighter Wing in 1944 Skalski fly on Mustang Mk III. My model represent final version of the plane (without invasion stripes). The model is Roc-Works Mustang Mk III painted in typical RAF 1944 camo. 

Another shots of Skalski's aircrafts