Polish WWII general's plane returns from Canada to Poland

The plane, used by Chief Commander of the Polish Armed Forces in 1943-44, General Kazimierz Sosnkowski, was transported from Canada to Poland. After World War II the aircraft was operated by a Canadian airline and later was placed in a museum.

The "Dakota DC-3, which was named 'Spirit of Ostra Brama' (Gate of Dawn), was General Sosnkowski's equivalent of Air Force One, the Polish Consul General in Toronto, Krzysztof Grzelczyk told PAP. "It featured a RAF logo because it was an aircraft of the British air force as well as a white and red checkerboard - the logo of the Polish Air Force," he said. After it has been identified as the Polish general's plane, a few Canadian enthusiasts undertook its restoration, the official added.

After years of renovations, efforts and arrangements, the plane was officially handed over to Poland during a ceremony held in Winnipeg last Friday. General Sosnkowski's plane was transported to Poland on board a Ukrainian Antonov, An-124 Ruslan, the largest mass-produced transport aircraft in the world.

The 'Spirit of Ostra Brama" is currently in Wroclaw, southwestern Poland, and will ultimately be exhibited at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw, Grzelczyk announced.