Incredible portraits of the Polish pilots who flew during WWII and never returned home

Michal Solarski is careful to mention that he's a photographer, not a historian.

However, it was his fascination with history, specifically World War II's effect on the Polish people, that guided him to create his newest photography book: "The Airmen."

The few remaining Polish Air Force (PAF) pilots are the subject of Solarski's long-term project. The PAF's history, generally lost in a wash of tragic World War II stories, is important not to sweep under the rug, Solarski says.

Forced to evacuate their country after the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Polish fled to Hungary, Romania, France, and finally, Britain.

"By the mid-1940s some 35,00o Polish airmen, soldiers, and navy personnel arrived in the UK, making up the largest non-British military force in the country," Solarski tells Business Insider. "Of those, some 8,500 were airmen."

At first deemed "suspicious" by the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the Polish proved their allegiance by helping to deter the German invasion of the UK during the 1940 Battle of Britain.

Here, learn more about the PAF's rich history, its forgotten heroes, and Solarski's drive to document them before they disappear.