At the heart
of the battle — 1944/1945
Built in April 1944, observation aircraft Auster Mk IV MT255 s/n 799 G-ANHU is another type of aircraft flown by Polish airmen during the war. The task of these unarmed aircraft was to locate targets for artillery, correct fire, carry out reconnaissance, perform liaison flights and familiarise army officers with the battlefield.
The Auster was used by Poles in the ATA, Polish fighter squadrons, and the Polish No. 663 Artillery Co-operation Squadron in Italy.
Our aircraft, MT255, served with 659 AOP Squadron supporting the 1st Canadian Army — which included the Polish Armoured Division under General Maczek. From the Invasion all the way to the end of the war, for a full year, this unassuming aircraft was in the thick of the fighting.
This is the first genuinely — without inverted commas — combat aircraft used in the Second World War by Polish airmen that is in fully airworthy condition in Poland.
Jacek MainkaMT255 — from Normandy
to Konstancin
659 AOP Squadron formed at RAF Firbeck — initially on Auster III, from March 1944 on Auster IV
MT255 (c/n 799) built — assigned to 659 AOP Squadron, supporting 1st Canadian Army and Maczek's Division
Combat service — from the Invasion through France, the Benelux countries and into Germany
MT255 transferred to Spain — civil registration EC-AXR (from 6 Oct 1964)
Return to the United Kingdom — registration G-ANHU
Owned by David John Baker (United Kingdom)
Restoration and test flight — Ronald Henry Cooper
Ownership transferred to Jacek Mainka. Ferried to Poland together with Mark Rumble. Visits to RAF Wattisham and Mińsk Mazowiecki
Participation in the 68th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino, flying over the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw. Flight dedicated to Maj. Jan Paśnicki — pilot of 663 Squadron in Italy (1945)
MT255 flown by Jadwiga Piłsudska-Jaraczewska — ATA pilot of Spitfires, Hurricanes, Mustangs and Austers. Flight over Sulejówek
Entered on the Polish Civil Aircraft Register as SP-YHU (HU — in memory of the aircraft's "British" identity). Invasion stripes painted — which the aircraft originally carried in 1944
| Serial | MT255 |
| s/n | 799 |
| UK Reg. | G-ANHU |
| Polish Reg. | SP-YHU |
| Engine | Lycoming O-290 |
| Power | 130 hp |
| Max. speed | 198 km/h |
| Crew | 2 |
| Squadron | 659 AOP |
| Army | 1st Canadian |
| Including | Maczek's Division |
| Year built | 1944 |