Most fighter squadrons were divided to the Army's command structure, to support and defend the Army's ground forces. Only the units of the 1st Warsaw Air Regiment (Sq No: III/1 and IV/1) were bound to the Brygada Poscigowa (Pursuit Brigade) with the assigned task of the defence of the Polish capital. Just before the German attack, the IV/1 Squadron was strengthened with the addition of the 123rd Eskadra Mysliwska (Fighter Eskadrille) of the 2. Krakow Air Regimment. This fighter Eskadrille was equipped with P.7 fighters. Colonel (Col.) Stefan Pawlikowski, the veteran of French skies in the period of WW1 and the Polish-bolshevist war of 1920, took command of the Brigade.
On 1 September 1939, at 6:30 A.M., from observation points in Mlawa city, there arrived at the Brigade HQ a message about incoming enemy bomber groups attacking Warsaw. Colonel Pawlikowski ordered the launch of the entire Pursuit Brigade. After take-off, the Polish fighters joined formation over Legionowo. At about 7:00, in the Bugo-Narew area, the Brigade attacked a group of about 80 He 111s of the LG 1 and KG 27 "Boelcke". This German bomber formation was given fighter protection by 20 Bf 110s from the I(Z)/LG 1. In this very intense aerial engagement, which lasted over a 40 minute period, combat took place between 154 aircraft from both sides.
The first Polish pilot to engage the enemy formation was from the section led by Lieutenant (Lt.) Aleksander Gabszewicz, the tactical officer of IV/1 Squadron. After machine-gun fire from both Gabszewicz and Corporal Andrzej Niewiara, one of the damaged He 111s came down in a northerly direction and soon crashed during an emergency landing, hitting one of its wing in a tree.
In the area of Wyszkow, Second Lieutenant (Sec.Lt.) Jerzy Palusinski attacked a formation of twelve (12) Luftwaffe bombers. After shotting down one of the bombers Palusinski was wounded in the hand, his wrist-watch saved him from more serious injuries. Palusinski was forced to make an emergency landing near the village of Kobylka. There were also other Polish fighter pilots that achieved their first kills. Some of those that scored aerial victories were Captains (Cpt.) Adam Kowalczyk, commander of IV/1 F.Sq, and Juliusz Frey, the Escadrille leader. Second Lieutenant Hieronim Dudwal also gained his first victory, which would amount to four in the September campaign.
In this first aerial combat there were only three P.7 fighters from the 123rd Eskadrille that took part. The reason for so few P.7 fighters to be committed to this first combat was because the commander of IV/1 FS decided to check the ability this old fighter's ability in air combat against the Luftwaffe. Pilots from the Krakow Regiment attacked a group of seven He 111 bombers. Second Lieutenant Jerzy Czerniak, together with Corporal Stanislaw Widlarz shared one of the He 111 bombers.
The Polish side did not avoid losses. Boleslaw Olewinski bailed out from his flamming P.11 fighter, both with injuries and burns. Second Lieutenant Stanislaw Szmejl was forced to amke an emergency landing with a damaged fuel tank. A number of the Polish planes received combat damage from machine-gun and cannon fire and needed service and repair. On the German side in these combats, Major (Maj.) Walter Grabmann, one of the famous "Legion Condor" from Spain and the commander of I(Z)/LG 1, was wounded.
At about 12:00 P.M., another group of German bombers flew in the direction of Warsaw. Two sections of P.11 fighters from the 112nd Escadrille took off to intercept the German intruders. The two groups clashed over Wilanow. A formation of nine Do 17 bombers were intercepted by the Polish fighters and a running fight ensued. The German planes attempted to escape in the direction of East Prussia. After the attack of Lt. Stefan Okrzeja, one of bombers exploded in the air. Evidence of Okrzeja's victory was established when small pieces of the exploded bomber were found between the cylinders of his victorious P.11's engine.
The second big air combat that first day of the war started in the Modlin area about 16:30. This time Polish aviators battled against 30 He 111 and Do 17 bombers and nine Ju 87 Stukas, which were escorted by 20 Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters. Second Lieutenant Jan Borowski was patroling over teh Las Kabacki (Kabacki Forest) area. Borowski intercepted a single Bf 109 piloted by Oberst (Colonel) Henschke, another veteran of the "Legion Condor". Another Bf 109 was shot down by Cadet Jerzy Radomski, who after landing reported that he shot down an "avionette" (a sporting light plane!). Not so luckily were Cadet Janusz Macinski, who emergency landed near Sulejowek, and Lt. Gabszewicz, who was forced to bail out. Hanging from his parachute, Gabszewicz was attacked by an agressive Bf 110 fighter. The attacking German fighter left a lot of holes in his parchute. Flying nearby was Sec.Lt. Tadeusz Sawicz, who arrived with help and at the last moments saved Gabszewicz's life. The German pilot was forced to retire from the scene. Bofore reaching ground surface defenseless Gabszewicz was covered by another pilot, Wladyslaw Kiedrzynski.
Because these morning missions were so successful, the pilots of the 123rd Escarlille, flying P.7 fighters, decided that the next time they started on aerial combat missions, they would not fly with just sections, but all their planes. On this unit's next combat mission they were bounced by Bf 110s. During the initial attack, Cpt. Mieczyslaw Olszewski, the Escadrille commander was killed. Olszewski's P.7 crashed near Legionow. Other pilots that survived this combat by parachute were: Sec.Lt. Stanislaw Czternastek, Sec.Lt. Feliks Szyszka and Cadet Antoni Danek. Stanislaw Czternastek, the first pilot just mentioned above landed safely in the Nowy Dwor Mazowiecki area. The other two pilots were attacked by the Luftwaffe pilots. Szyszka, while hanging in his parachute, was hit sixteen times and landed on the bank of the Wisla river. After receiving help from civilians Szyszka was transported to the hospital. Another two P.7 pilots, Sec.Lt. Erwin Kawnik and Corp. Henryk Flamme were forced to emergency land near Zakroczyn in heavily damaged planes. The Luftwaffe's adversaries, Bf 110s of I.(Z)/LG 1, claimed 5 PZL-fighters shot down - 3 by Hauptmann Fritz Schleif, one each by Unteroffizier Sturm and Unteroffizier Lauffs.
In another aerial combat Lt.Col. Leopold Pamula, second commander of the Pursuit Brigade, also took part. Pamula arrived directly from HQ and immediately ordered one of pilots to leave the cockpit of his fighter. Lieutenant Colonel Leopold Pamula directly entered the battle. In a duel with two Bf 109s he was shot down and bailed out. Also wounded during this aerial combat was also pilot Zdzislaw Horn, who entered into a comma just after returning, upon landing Horn could not exit his cockpit. Over Praga Cpt. Gustaw Sidorowicz, commander of the 111 F.Esc., clashed with pair of Bf 109 fighters. The result of this combat was 1:1 -- one of the Germans was probably shot down, but the injured Sidorowicz was forced to make an emergency landing.
During most of the day of 1 September 1939, most of the German bombers were not able to reach their targets of the Polish capital city. The German bombers were forced to drop their bombs on fields near Warsaw and then made their return to East Prussia. In Warsaw itself, very few bombs fell on the city. During the entire day's combats, the Pursuit Brigade lost one pilot killed, and another eight were hospitalized. Ten aircraft were lost, while another 24 were heavy damaged. At 20:00, the Brigade had only 20 fighters ready for take off. Aviators of the Brigade downed twelve Luftwaffe planes and four were shared with the 152nd Escadrille pilots, which took part in the afternoon battle. Another five kills were claimed as probable and ten enemy planes were damaged.
The pilots of the 152nd Fighter Eskadrille awaited for their take off signals since the early morning. The first message about enemy aerial activity arrived at about 16:00, with a large formation of Luftwaffe aircraft coming toward the direction of the Modlin area. To defend the city immediately, nine P.11 fighters took off. When the Polish pilots spotted the enemy group they forgot about their main task, the defence of the city. Sections led by Lt. Marian Imiela and Sec.Lt. Anatol Piotrowski entered in pursuit. The Polish fighters caught the German planes far of Warsaw, in the Jablonna and Legionow area. First to attack was Sec.Lt. Piotrowski who bounced a He 111 with a good targeted series of shots. The German plane went down, however the defencive gunner's fire hit the Polish fighter. The P.11 came down in an attempted forced landing. Unfortunately for Piotrowski, Bf 109s then come out from clouds, and at a very low altitude, they flammed the defenceless P.11. The Polish pilot had no chance so survive. Another aviator of the 152nd Eskadrille was Sec.Lt. Jan Bury-Burzymski. In a vertical atack in the Buchnika area, Bury-Burzymski was able to down a He 111. This Eskadrille, together with the Pursuit Brigade, scored four additional kills. After this battle, which lasted over one hour, the Polish pilots returned to their airfield.
