The September Campaign was fought by the 23rd Observation Squadron as part of the aviation of the “Kraków” Army, and subsequently the “Karpaty” Army and the “Małopolska” Army Group. In accordance with the “aviation deployment plan,” from September 1, the 23rd Squadron was subordinated to the commander of the “Bielsko” Operational Group and moved to a field airstrip in the area of Palczowice. Upon returning from a briefing at the staff headquarters of the “Bielsko” Operational Group, observation Lt. Władysław Rewakowicz informed the personnel of the outbreak of the Polish-German war.
The first combat mission was assigned to observation Lt. Radomir Walczak and Cpl. pilot Adam Bujak. They conducted reconnaissance of the terrain along the Cieszyn–Frýdek axis and the roads along the Zebrzydowice–Karviná–Moravská Ostrava axis. During the mission, the pilot was wounded in the leg, and his RWD-14 “Czapla” aircraft was shot up by heavy anti-aircraft fire. Reconnaissance reports were dropped onto the signal panels of the major units. At the same time, the crew of observation Lt. Antoni Wayda and 2nd Lt. pilot Zdzisław Hirsz was conducting reconnaissance of the area around Zakopane. In the afternoon, the squadron received orders to reconnoiter the area of Sucha–Chabówka–Nowy Targ–Zakopane and the valleys of the Biały and Czarny Dunajec rivers. The mission was carried out by observation Lt. Wacław Raczyński and 2nd Lt. pilot Tadeusz Kaszycki.
The pilot recounted the course of the flight as follows: “We took off from Palczowice. Shortly after takeoff, we were fired upon by the anti-aircraft defense of the reserves of the 6th Infantry Division in the area of Zator — fortunately for us, inaccurately. We were flying at an altitude of about 200 meters due to poor vertical visibility. In the area of Zakopane–Nowy Targ and Nowy Targ–Jaworzyna, we identified significant enemy armored-motorized forces engaged in combat with our units, which, pushed back by overwhelming firepower, were slowly giving ground. The ‘Czapla’ was repeatedly caught by streams of enemy projectiles, but I managed to avoid being hit. After completing the mission and dropping the report as instructed, on the return flight our aircraft was fired upon. It was our own forces guarding the Kraków bridge, letting us know they were on alert… But this time too, the bullets missed us, and after a 1.5-hour flight we landed at 5:41 PM in Palczowice.”
At the same time, the crews of observation Lt. Włodzimierz Czupryk with Cpl. pilot Walenty Kopa and observation Lt. Jan Waciński with Cpl. pilot Czesław Sulikowski were reconnoitering the army’s front and its southern flank. Both crews returned in shot-up “Czaplas.”
On September 2, the crew of Lt. Wacław Raczyński flew to the area of Nowy Sącz, while observation Lt. Władysław Rewakowicz with Cpl. pilot Karol Kłyszcz flew to the area of Żywiec–Milówka–Pilsko. Cpl. Kłyszcz was wounded in the neck by anti-aircraft artillery fire. The area of Frýdek–Fryštat was reconnoitered by observation Lt. Oskar Sablik with Cpl. pilot Antoni Kępczyński. Their aircraft, damaged by anti-aircraft fire, crashed during landing. The crew escaped without injuries. Meanwhile, observation Lt. Waciński and Cpl. pilot Bednarski reconnoitered the Pobiednik airfield. During the night, the squadron’s ground echelon moved there from Palczowice. However, the aviation commander of the “Kraków” Army ordered the unit’s relocation to the Balice airfield. Thus, the field airstrip at Palczowice ceased its operations.
