No. 18 Squadron — Polish

No. 18 (Polish) Operational Training Unit was established in mid-1940 to prepare Polish aircrew for service with the RAF’s Polish bomber squadrons, originally forming at RAF Hucknall before moving to RAF Bramcote in June 1940. The unit trained crews predominantly on Vickers Wellingtons — its initial equipment of Fairey Battles was quickly superseded — and fed graduates into Nos. 300, 301, 304, and 305 Squadrons. From 1 July 1942 the unit was made fully autonomous and formally retitled No. 18 (Polish) OTU, with a Polish officer in command of the station, reflecting how completely its character had been shaped by the exiled Polish Air Force. The OTU passed through several Bomber Command group headquarters during its existence, sitting under No. 91 Group from May 1942 before transfer to No. 93 (Bomber OTU) Group in September 1942, under whose authority it operated for most of the remainder of its life. In early 1943 the unit relocated from Bramcote to RAF Finningley near Doncaster, making use of satellite airfields at Bircotes and Worksop. By the close of 1944 the demand for new bomber crews had fallen sharply and the unit completed its final course before disbanding on 30 January 1945, having trained well over 2,000 airmen across more than 250 crews.