Polskie Wellingtony nad Chinami? O projekcie wykorzystania polskiego lotnictwa bombowego na froncie chińsko-japońskim w 1942 roku
Polish Wellingtons over China? A Discussion Concerning the Possible Use of Polish Bomber Squadrons on the Sino-Japanese Front in 1942

Summary/Abstract: At the beginning of 1942, the situation of the Kuomintang military forces, who had been fighting the Japanese since 1937, was extremely difficult. The Japanese attack on Burma cut the Chinese off from the much needed American and British supplies that were delivered via the so-called Burma Road. Chang Kai-shek’s envoys in Washington and London solicited all possible assistance, in particular air and material support for their ground forces. In March 1942, T. V. Soong, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kuomintang, met with the Prime Minister of the Polish Government-in-Exile, General Władysław Sikorski in Washington DC. Sikorski proposed to send two Polish bomber squadrons and a group of glider experts to the Sino-Japanese front, which would increase the transport capacity of the Allied aircraft maintaining the air bridge between India and the Chinese province of Yunnan. Despite the enthusiasm of the Chinese side, which was striving to sign a Polish-Sino-American treaty on this matter, Sikorski’s concept turned out to be impossible. This article presents the course of the talks between the Polish and the Chinese and discusses the main reasons why Polish-Chinese cooperation in the field of aviation did not take place.

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