The Polish Fighter Pilot Joke

Note 1:- Readers in the UK will no doubt remember this as the joke that caused Des O'Conner's TV show to be cancelled, after Stan Boardman told it live, on prime-time television - with Des looking on, horrified.

Note 2: American readers, who are accustomed to "Polish" jokes, may be expecting this to be an anti-Polish joke which depicts Polish people as stupid. It's not. In fact, the stereotype of Poles in this country is probably very different to that of the US, since the main thing that people think of here - when they think of Poles - are all the Polish airman who fought for the RAF in the Battle of Britain, and the Polish paratroopers who fought at Arnhem.

Note 3: When telling this joke, it's best to drag it out as long as you can. But I've shortened it a bit here. (It's also better told than written).

The Joke

A BBC TV journalist is interviewing a elderly former Polish fighter pilot.

Interviewer: So Mr Stanczewski, I understand that in 1943 you shot down five German aircraft in a single engagement. Could you tell us what happened?

Polish Fighter Pilot: Well we were flying at 20,000 feet when we spotted five Fokkers flying along below us. So we dived down and I aimed at one of the Fokkers and fired a burst from my machine guns right into him and he exploded. Then I saw that one of the Fokkers was on my tail, so I pulled round in a loop and got behind him, and fired and he went down on fire. I looked around and saw two Fokkers attacking my squadron leader, so slipped in behind them, and fired, and that was another Fokker going down in flames. The other Fokker tried to get away from me, but I got right up behind him, and blasted him with my machine guns and turned over and exploded. There was only one of the Fokkers left now, and he was trying to get away, but I flew up behind him, shot - bang, bang, bang - and he blew up too!

Interviewer: I should point out for the benefit of the viewers at home, that the Fokker was a type of German aircraft used in the war.

Polish Fighter Pilot: No, no, no - these fokkers were Messerschmitts!

(As you can see, it doesn't really work when written, but you get the gist).

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