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 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200070031-4

Baltic coast form a defensive barrier from the East German border eastward to the Soviet border.

In addition to the Polish SAM defenses, there are three Soviet SA-2 battalions and nine Soviet SA-2 battalions located in Poland. The Soviet SAM units are elements of the Northern Group of Forces; the SA-2 is used for defense of Soviet field forces and the SA-3 used for defense of Soviet tactical airfields.

3. Training

A. Aviation

The air training system is based upon the policies and doctrines of the USSR, although tailored to Polish needs. The system consists of two training phases - informal pre-military training followed by formal military training at any of three Polish military aviation schools. Initial pre-military training for those aspiring to become pilot and navigator candidates is available to aviation clubs in many cities throughout the country and conforms to the Aviation Pre-Military Training Program. This program has two states, first gliders and then powered aircraft. Training is available for those 16 to 18 years old and is conducted during the summer vacation months. After pre-military aviation training, officer candidates enter one of the new 4-year officer aviation schools. (There are indications that not all schools are participating in the 4-year program at this time.) The 4-year officer aviation school is a new level of training that began with the 1967-68 academic year. Prior to this, the school program was 3 years. The purpose of this change is to raise the academic qualifications of future officers to the equivalent of a higher education. The length of the academic program of most officer schools was raised to 4 years, and the schools were granted the right to award the title of engineer in a definite specialty.

There are three career officers schools - at Deblin, Olesnica, and Jelenia Gora. To qualify for admission, one must be a Polish citizen, 17 to 23 years of age, unmarried, a graduate of a secondary school, have passed an examination in mathematics as well as physical and psychological examinations, and have been found to be politically and morally acceptable. The Jan Krasicki Officers Air Force School, at Deblin, trains officer pilots and navigators. The curriculum includes aircraft design, theory of flight, engine instruction, navigation, simulated flying in Link trainers, instrument instruction, and flight training in jets, as well as military and social theory.

The General Walery Wroblewski Technical Officers Air Force School, at Olesnica, trains cadets in four technical specialties: aircraft maintenance (airframes and engines), aircraft weapons, equipment, and radio-technical installations. Graduates are appointed to positions of technicians in operational units or are assigned as instructors in military schools.

The Captain Sylvester Bartoski Officers School of Radiotechnicians is located at Jelenia Gora. This joint-services school offers technical instruction in radar operations. Also, courses in radio technology and artillery are taught with emphasis on their operation.

The first year of flight training includes about 40 hours of actual flying time in a conventional trainer and covers basic flight patterns and formation flights plus some Link trainer experience. During the second year of training the cadet receives about 50 hours of flight training and during the third year about 60 hours, all aimed mainly at improving pilot techniques during daylight and good weather conditions. Final examinations are held several months after the end of the third year of training. Successful candidates are then commissioned as second lieutenants and assigned to operational units.

The final phase of pilot training is in a frontline regiment. Following the Soviet practice, the third squadron of all Polish regiments is a training squadron, and it is within this unit that the newly qualified pilot gains experience in his aircraft. The Polish aviation training center at Modlin gives advanced flying for prospective squadron and regimental commanders, navigation training, and transition training for FISHBED-type aircraft.

In addition to normal squadron training, mobility and local air defense exercises are held regularly. In these exercises units deploy to and operate from auxiliary airfield, some of which are temporary grass fields. Air defense units are given a limited amount of ground-support training, and tactical units conduct air defense training. The Air Force also takes part in Warsaw Pact exercises that involve deployment of units to Czechoslovakia and East Germany. Many exercises also require the Air Force units to operate from bases occupied by the Soviet 24th (Germany) and 37th (Poland) Tactical Air Armies.

Because of severe economy measures, fighter pilots average only 8 to 10 hours of flying per month, and bomber pilots receive only slightly more. Such limitations would normally have an adverse effect on the overall capability of the air force as a fighting force. However, the preflight briefing and post flight debriefing that is a prerequisite for all flights is intensive and may partially compensate for this limited flying experience. The operational units maintain a respectable fighting capability.

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200070031-4