Pilots of the Polish Air Force saw action from the first day of World War 2 until the final victory in Europe. Flying hopelessly outmoded P.11 fighters in defence of their country in September 1939, a handful of aviators inflicted serious losses on the Luftwaffe before being overwhelmed. The survivors escaped to then neutral Hungary and Romania, before being ordered to France by the new C-in-C of exiled Polish Armed Forces, General Sikorski. With the invasion of Western Europe in May 1940, the surviving pilots were once more thrust into desperate action in newly-formed Polish units

Although only in their early 30s, Robert Gretzyngier and Wojtek Matusiak are not only co-editors of Poland's most pre-eminent monthly aviation journal, Skrzydlata Polska, but they have also researched the subject of Polish aces more thoroughly than any other aviation historians in Europe. Indeed, their knowledge of non-Polish RAF aces in general rivals that of many British historians.
As well as being an expert on Polish military aviation, Robert Grudzien is an accomplished artist. He currently works as an aviation author and artist. Mike Chappell enlisted in the British Army in 1952 and retired in 1974, after seeing service in Malaya, Cyprus, Swaziland, Libya, Germany, Ulster and home garrisons. He began painting military subjects in 1968 and since then has gained worldwide popularity as a military illustrator. Mike has also written and illustrated many books in the Osprey Military list.