Polish Forces

An Italian sea plane for the Poland

IMC Archives

A part the Spain, which employed some exemplars of this aircraft, the Poland could have been another foreign user the Italian-built Cant-Z-506 Airone (Heron). Indeed the Polish Navy purchased six Cant-Z-506B and the first of them, drove by a Polish crew (: pilot Lieut.cdr. R. Borowiec, 2nd pilot p/o S. Witas, navigator Lieut. K. Wilkanowicz, mechanic p/o F. Grzesiak, radio p/o W. Wzorek) arrived at in Poland at naval air base (Baza Lotnictwa Morskiego) of Puck, 44 kilometers north of Gdansk, on 27 August 1939. The Puck’s base was destroyed on the first day of the war when, at 05,10 a.m. September 1st 1939, was raided by German bombers in a surprise attack, killing the commander officer cdr. E. Szystowski, first Polish officer killed in the WW2. On the next night another air attack destroyed almost all the Polish sea planes except Lublin R-XIII G/hydro survived and the Cant Z-506B. This latter was transferred at Lublin where was destroyed by a German raid on 11 September 1939. The other five Cant-Z-506 of the Polish purchase and never delivered was taken over by the Italian Air Force as planes 10th Series. Photos of the Polish’s Airone was unknown and for this reason I submit this picture of a Spanish Cant-Z-506 under overhaul at San Juan air harbor, Pollença, Mallorca, of Spanish Air Force’s Escuadrilla 1-E-73. Victor Sierra