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36Polish airmen currently on French soil %u2013 or making their way there from internment camps in Rumania, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania %u2013between the RAF and the Arm%u00e9e de l'Air. The British accepted 300 pilots and 2,000 other personnel for training in the United Kingdom, and declared their intention to form two Polish bomber squadrons equipped with Fairey Battles.2 The Poles volunteered partly because they were already familiar with British aero engines and partly because they thought it more likely they would see operational flying with the RAF than with the French. Among those who opted for training on bombers were a number of fighter pilots, including men of the stature of Stanislaw Skalski and Witold Urbanowicz, the future top scoring aces of the Polish Air Force. On arrival in this country, the Poles were despatched to Eastchurch and enlisted in the RAF Volunteer Reserve; taking the necessary oath of allegiance to the King. This was later amended, under the terms of the Anglo8Polish Agreement of 5 August 1940, which afforded the PAF independent status and recognised the authority of its Inspectorate General. All of the Poles in RAFVR service were duly transferred to the new air force, and henceforth its personnel swore loyalty to the Polish Republic and were permitted to wear PAF badges on their uniforms. The Polish airmen remained, nevertheless, fully integrated within the structure of the RAF with regard to operational control, and in matters of organisation, training and discipline.3 On 17 June 1940, thirty Czechoslovak pilots, the first of their national contingent, arrived by air at Hendon. These, and all other Czechoslovak airmen, joined the RAFVR and would stay there throughout the war; largely because the Czechoslovak Air Force%u2019s (CAF) small size necessitated the support of British ground crews.4 The signs were not at first encouraging. Historically, the Slavs and the British had had little contact with one another and it was easy for both groups to fall back on racial stereotypes. One Czech pilot had read that the British: %u2018%u2026.wore bowler hats, striped trousers, carried brief8cases and took no notice of anyone unless they were ill8treating a dog.%u20195 While a Polish flyer, interpreting their social reserve as coldness, believed that: