Polish Armament in 1939–45 article is a list of equipment used by Polish army before and during the Invasion of Poland, foreign service in British Commonwealth forces, the resistance Polish Home Army and last campaign to Germany with the Red Army in 1945. The list includes prototype vehicles.
Aircraft
Fighters
PZL P.7 (149) PZL P.11 (325)
Bombers
PZL.23 Karaś (250) PZL.37 Łoś (120+) PZL.43 (54)
Strategic and photo-reconnaissance aircraft
RWD-14 Czapla (65)
Air ambulances
RWD-13 (≈100) Lublin R-XVI (7)
Trainers
Bartel BM-4 (≈75) PWS-16 (40) PWS-18 (18) PWS-26 (310) RWD-8 (550+) RWD-17 (≈30)
Prototypes
LWS-3 Mewa PWS-35 Ogar PZL.38 Wilk PZL.50 Jastrząb PZL.46 Sum
Foreign aircraft Schreck FBA-17 LeO H-13 LeO H-135 Latham 43 Avro Tutor Mk. I (2 examples) Breguet Bre XIX B.2 CANT Z.506B Airone (1 example) Fokker F.VIIb-3m/M (21 examples)
Aircraft in use by Polish Air Force in France (1939–1940) Bloch MB.152 Caudron C.714 C1 "Cyclone" Koolhoven F.K.58 Morane-Saulnier M.S.406
Aircraft in use by Polish Air Force in Great Britain (1940–1947) Avro Lancaster Boulton Paul Defiant Bristol Beaufighter de Havilland Mosquito Fairey Battle Handley Page Halifax Hawker Hurricane Supermarine Spitfire Taylorcraft Auster Vickers Wellington Vickers Warwick Westland Lysander Consolidated B-24 Liberator North American B-25 Mitchell North American P-51 Mustang
Aircraft in use by Polish Air Force in Soviet Union (1943–1945) Yakovlev Yak-1b Yakovlev Yak-9 Ilyushin Il-2m Petlyakov Pe-2 Polikarpov UTI-4 / I-16 UTI Polikarpov U-2 / Po-2 Shcherbakov Shche-2 Yakovlev UT-2
Military vehicles
Tankettes
TK-3 TKS TKS with 20 mm NKM
Tanks
Renault FT Vickers E 7TP jw (jednowieżowy-single turret; 37 mm Bofors anti-tank gun) 7TP dw (dwuwieżowy-twin turret; with two wz. 30 Brownings) Renault R35 Hotchkiss H35
Armored vehicles
Samochód pancerny wz. 28 Samochód pancerny wz. 29 Samochód pancerny wz. 34 Samochód pancerny Kubuś (improvised) Samochód pancerny Peugeot (French production)
Utility vehicles
Sokół 1000 C2P C4P C7P Polski-Fiat 508 Polski-Fiat 508/518
Polski-Fiat 621 Ursus A Krupp L2H43 (bought from Germany before WW2)
Armored trains and annex equipment
Armoured Train Number 11 "Danuta" Armoured Train Number 12 "Poznańczyk" Armoured Train Number 13 "Generał Sosnkowski"
Armoured Train Number 52 "Piłsudczyk" Armoured Train Number 53 "Śmiały" Armoured Train Number 54 "Groźny" Armoured Train Number 55 "Bartosz Głowacki"
Prototypes
TK-1 TK-2 TKF TKW TKD TKS-D Renault wz. 32 PZInż. 130 amphibious tank PZInż. 140(4TP) reconnaissance tank 10TP wheel & track fast tank 14TP medium tank (never completed) WB-10 (2 prototypes) PZInż 222 (12 prototypes)
Vehicles used by Polish troops in Great Britain
Universal Carrier Covenanter (used for training) Light tank Mk VIB (used for training) Crusader M3A1/A3 Stuart M5A1 Stuart Matilda Mk I (used for training) Cromwell cruiser tank Valentine Mk III (used for training) Challenger Mk VIII M3 Lee M4 Sherman Sherman Firefly Archer Achilles Sexton Crusader III AA M16 MGMC M17 MGMC Bedford OXA GM C15TA ACW-IP M3A1 Scout Car M5/A1 half-track Willys MB
Vehicles used by Polish troops in the Soviet Union
BA-20 BA-64 T-60 T-70 T-34/76 T-34/85 SU-57 SU-76 SU-85 SU-100 ISU-122 ISU-152 SU-152 (used for training) IS-2 heavy tank ZIS-5/5V truck Studebaker US6 – US design also produced in USSR Willys MB
Captured German/Italian vehicles German Steyr RSO Sd.Kfz. 251/1 ausf. D Sd.Kfz. 251/9 Sd.Kfz. 250/10 Marder II Jagdpanzer 38(t) StuG III G Panzer II Panzer IV J Panzer V Italian AB 41
Small Arms
Helmets
Adrian helmet Stahlhelm M16 Hełm wz. 31 SSh-39 SSh-40
Edged weapons
Bagnet wz.1898/05
Sidearms
Pistolet wz. 35 Vis (Similar to Colt M1911 but with some differences and in 9x19mm) Nagant wz.1932 (design form Nagant M1895) M1917 revolver Bergmann 1910/21 (modified to use Soviet PPS-43 magazine) Tokarev TT-33
Submachine gun
Mors submachine gun (Prototype, modelled after the German ERMA EMP-35) Sten gun Thompson submachine gun PPD-40 ERMA EMP PPSh-41 PPS submachine gun Błyskawica Machine pistol Bechowiec-1 Choroszmanów submachine gun (based roughly on the Soviet PPD-40) KIS Machine Pistol (copy of sten gun)
Rifles and carbines
Karabin wz.98 (copy of Gewehr 98) Karabin wz.98a Karabinek wz.29 Karabinek wz. 91/98/25 (modified from Mosin Nagant rifle) Karabinek wz.98 PWU Kbsp wz. 1938M (Only 150 made) Lebel M1886/93 Berthier M1907/15 rifle MAS-36 StG 44 Lee–Enfield No.1 Mk III and No.4 Mk I Mosin–Nagant M91/30 SVT-40
Machine guns
Browning wz.1928 (copy of BAR M1918) Chauchat 1915/27 Ckm wz. 25 Hotchkiss (modified Hotchkiss M1914 to use 7.92x57mm) Ckm wz.30 (copy of Browning M1917) Ckm wz.32 FM 24/29 light machine gun Bren machine gun Browning M1919 Browning M2HB DP-27 Maxim wz. 1910
Grenades
Defensive grenade wz. 33 Offensive grenade wz. 33 Defensive grenade wz. 24 Offensive grenade wz. 24 Mills bomb RGD-33 grenade Molotov fire grenade (homemade from Polish Home Army) ET-38 ET wz.40 (Also known as ET-40 "Filipinka") R wz.42 (Also known as "Sidolówka")
Grenade launchers
Granatnik wz.36
Anti-tank weapons
Kb ppanc wz.35 Boys anti-tank rifle PIAT PTRD-41 PTRS-41 Panzerschreck
Artillery
Mortars
wz.18 mortar (Stokes mortar) wz.18/31 mortar (Brandt Mle 27/31 produced under license) wz.28 mortar (Polish produced Stokes mortar) (Brandt Mle 27/31 produced under license)
Field cannons
75 mm armata wz.1897 76.2 mm armata wz.02/26 + 75 mm armata wz.02/26 105 mm armata wz. 13 105 mm Armata wz. 29 120 mm Armata wz. 78/09/31 120 mm Armata wz. 1878/10/31
Howitzers
Haubica 100 mm wz. 1914/19A & wz. 1914/19P (produced around 900 pieces of their own licensed) 155 mm haubica wz. 1917 Skoda 220 mm howitzer
Mountain guns
Canon de 65 M (montagne) modele 1906
Anti-tank guns
Wz.36 Bofors ( hundreds more were produced by SMPzA based Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun)
Anti-aircraft guns
40 mm armata przeciwlotnicza wz. 36
75 mm Armata przeciwlotnicza wz.1922/1924 75 mm armata przeciwlotnicza wz.36
Naval weapons
Surface vessels, submarines and other ships Destroyers ORP Błyskawica ORP Grom ORP Burza ORP Wicher ORP Garland ORP Orkan ORP Huragan ORP Piorun Escort destroyers ORP Krakowiak ORP Kujawiak ORP Ślązak Cruisers ORP Dragon ORP Conrad Heavy minelayer ORP Gryf Minesweepers ORP Jaskółka ORP Rybitwa ORP Mewa ORP Czajka ORP Czapla ORP Żuraw Submarines ORP Orzeł ORP Sęp ORP Wilk ORP Ryś ORP Żbik ORP Jastrząb ORP Dzik ORP Sokół Torpedo vessel ORP Mazur Auxiliary boat ORP Nurek Sea patrol boat ORP General Haller River patrol boat
Coastal artillery defenses Heliodor Laskowski's Artillery Battery No. 31 (XXXI) - four 152 mm coastal cannon "Smok Kaszubski" improvised armored train Armored Train (Unknown name)
River boat local projects Type I fast monitor Type MC monitor
References