The Second Polish Republic spent huge amounts of money on the development of the military industry and the purchase of new weapons, of course, as a percentage of GDP, and not in absolute numbers. After all, Poland was a poor country during the interwar period, torn apart by domestic political turmoil, it is still expanding due to a long period of divisions and is entangled in unstable international alliances. Despite this, the Polish defense industry developed relatively quickly, and domestic technical thought did not differ from the world level. Already in the early 1930s, Poland was a country with one of the largest armored armies (thanks to several hundred TKS and TK3 tankettes) and with the best PZL P.11 fighter of its time. Unfortunately, the procurement and development of new types of weapons went unevenly.
Several types of modern weapons were purchased:
Bofors 37 mm vol. 36 anti-tank rifles (excellent weapons against German and Soviet tanks, in 1939 Polish troops had about 1200-1400 guns).
The Bofors 40 mm vol. 36 anti-aircraft gun (350 such guns formed the basis of the conspiracy of the Polish Army), — 152.4 mm vol. 30 Bofors Laskovsky battery in Hela (it effectively kept the German fleet at a distance).
the seaplane torpedo bomber Cant Z506B (the purchase procedure was suspended by the Italians for political reasons, only one unarmed copy arrived in Poland).
Ships ORP Griffin, ORP Burza, ORP Orzel, etc. - a very expensive purchase, unjustified from the point of view of military tactics, dictated by political motives.
Seaplane Cant Z506B
At the last minute before the start of the war, several more purchases were made late, and the equipment could not be used:
Renault R-35 (49 units) and Hotchkiss H-35 (3 units) tanks reached Poland via Romania, but due to conservative decisions, they did not participate in the fighting.
Fairey Battle I aircraft (100 obsolete British bombers), Hawker Hurricane (14 good British fighters), Supermarine Spitfire (one of the newest British fighters) did not reach Poland in 1939.
Numerous cars and trucks (mostly licensed by Italian Fiat), artillery tractors, and communications equipment were also put into service — all too late and in too small quantities.
In addition to differences in the quality of weapons, an important factor was the ratio of the size of the army and the number of vehicles. The Germans outnumbered the Polish army almost twice in terms of the number of soldiers and guns, four times in the number of tanks and five times in the number of aircraft. Bookmark Coupon Mama and shop the UK for less.
Several types of modern weapons were purchased:
Bofors 37 mm vol. 36 anti-tank rifles (excellent weapons against German and Soviet tanks, in 1939 Polish troops had about 1200-1400 guns).
The Bofors 40 mm vol. 36 anti-aircraft gun (350 such guns formed the basis of the conspiracy of the Polish Army), — 152.4 mm vol. 30 Bofors Laskovsky battery in Hela (it effectively kept the German fleet at a distance).
the seaplane torpedo bomber Cant Z506B (the purchase procedure was suspended by the Italians for political reasons, only one unarmed copy arrived in Poland).
Ships ORP Griffin, ORP Burza, ORP Orzel, etc. - a very expensive purchase, unjustified from the point of view of military tactics, dictated by political motives.
Seaplane Cant Z506B
At the last minute before the start of the war, several more purchases were made late, and the equipment could not be used:
Renault R-35 (49 units) and Hotchkiss H-35 (3 units) tanks reached Poland via Romania, but due to conservative decisions, they did not participate in the fighting.
Fairey Battle I aircraft (100 obsolete British bombers), Hawker Hurricane (14 good British fighters), Supermarine Spitfire (one of the newest British fighters) did not reach Poland in 1939.
Numerous cars and trucks (mostly licensed by Italian Fiat), artillery tractors, and communications equipment were also put into service — all too late and in too small quantities.
In addition to differences in the quality of weapons, an important factor was the ratio of the size of the army and the number of vehicles. The Germans outnumbered the Polish army almost twice in terms of the number of soldiers and guns, four times in the number of tanks and five times in the number of aircraft. Bookmark Coupon Mama and shop the UK for less.
