The aircraft were only ordered in the summer of 1939, war had broken out by the time they were due to be delivered. According to Michael Alfred Peszke in "The Forgotten Campaign: Poland's Military Aviation in September 1939", The Polish Review, Vol. 39, No. 1, efforts at obtaining aircraft from the United States broke down due in July to lack of currency. Britain and France were furiously re-arming themselves, but France agreed to the sale of 140 Morane-Saulnier MS 406s (120 according to Jerzy B. Cynk's The Polish Air Force At War, to be delivered by October 1939). The British offered to sell 100 Fairey Battles (which wouldn't have been much use even if they had been delivered) but were reluctant to spare any Hurricanes or Spitfires, the RAF being desperately short themselves, agreeing to 14 Hurricanes in July 1939 (according to Peszke; Cynk mentions 14 Hurricanes and 1 Spitfire) but these had not been delivered by September either. Polish fighter pilots were therefore stuck with their outdated aircraft, only those who escaped to join the French and British air forces would get to fly the MS 406 and Hurricane.