- No. 315 Polish Fighter Squadron
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No. 315 (City of Deblin) Polish Fighter Squadron
315 Squadron LogoActive 21 Jan 1941 - 14 Jan 1947 Country United Kingdom Allegiance Polish government in exile Branch Royal Air Force Role Fighter Squadron Part of RAF Fighter Command Nickname Dywizjon Myśliwski "Dębliński" Commanders Notable
commandersEugeniusz Horbaczewski Insignia Squadron Codes PK (Jan 1941 - Jan 1946) No. 315 (City of Deblin) Polish Fighter Squadron (Polish: 315 Dywizjon Myśliwski "Dębliński") was a Polish fighter squadron formed in Great Britain as part of an agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the United Kingdom in 1941. It was one of several Polish fighter squadrons fighting alongside the Royal Air Force during the World War II. It was named after the city of Dęblin, where the main Polish Air Force Academy has been located since 1927.
Contents
History
The squadron was formed at RAF Acklington, England on 21 January 1941. The squadron, equipped with Hurricanes, was moved in March to RAF Speke, Liverpool, where it made frequent patrols over naval convoys as part of No. 9 Group RAF. Before July, when it came under Polish command, No. 315 was commanded by Squadron Leader H.D. Cooke.
In July it was moved to RAF Northolt, West London, re-equipped with Spitfires, and began to conduct offensive fighter sweeps over occupied Europe. During two operations over France, on 9 August, the squadron achieved its first aircraft claims– two destroyed BF 109s, three probable, and three damaged. The squadron returned to Lancashire in April 1942, based at RAF Woodvale, Sefton. The squadron returned to Northolt in September and resumed operations over France. In June 1943, the squadron was withdrawn to Yorkshire, then to County Down, Northern Ireland in July.
Having returned to England in November, the squadron moved to the south west in April 1944, where they joined No. 133 Polish Wing of the 2nd Tactical Air Force. The squadron was re-equipped with the P-51 Mustang Mk III, which they used for the remainder of the war. The squadron formed part of southern England's defence against the V-1 flying bombs and served in the Battle of Normandy.
During a sweep over France on 18 August, 12 Mustangs of No 315 engaged 60 German fighters of JG2 & JG26, who were in the process of taking off and landing near Beauvais, France. In the ensuing battle, the Poles were officially credited with 16 victories, one probable, and three damaged for the loss of one pilot, Squadron Leader Eugeniusz Horbaczewski. Conversely, German claims were that 12 aircraft had been lost and that they had themselves shot down six aircraft (one of which was claimed to be a P-38 Lightning).
The squadron later carried out operations over Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands, where they carried out sorties until the end of the war. The squadron's claims during the war amounted to 86.33 confirmed victories, 18 probable, and 26 damaged. After the war ended, No. 315 Squadron remained part of RAF Fighter Command until disbanded on 14 January 1947.
Commanding officers
From To Name Remark Jan 1941 Jun 1941 S/Ldr. H.D. Cooke British Officer Jun 1941 Sep 1941 Maj. Stanisław Pietraszkiewicz Sep 1941 Nov 1941 Kpt. Władysław Szczęśniewski Nov 1941 May 1942 Maj. Stefan Janus, VM, DFC May 1942 Oct 1942 Maj. Mieczysław Wiórkiewicz Oct 1942 Apr 1943 Kpt. Tadeusz Sawicz Apr 1943 Feb 1944 Kpt. Jerzy Popławski, DFC Feb 1944 Aug 1944 Kpt. Eugeniusz Horbaczewski, DSO Aug 1944 Apr 1945 Kpt. Tadeusz Andersz Apr 1945 Feb 1946 Kpt. Władysław Potocki Feb 1946 Dec 1946 Kpt. Janusz Siekierski Tadeusz Tamowicz Aircraft operated
From To Aircraft Version February 1941 July 1941 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I July 1941 August 1941 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IIa August 1941 November 1942 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb November 1942 June 1943 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX February 1943 March 1944 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vb, LF.Vc March 1944 December 1946 North American Mustang Mk.III Notable pilots
- Francis S. Gabreski
- Janusz Zurakowski
- Eugeniusz Horbaczewski
See also
- Air Force of the Polish Army
- List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
- Polish Air Forces
- Polish Air Forces in Great Britain
- Polish contribution to World War II
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918 -1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
- Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE,BA,RAF (Retd). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
- Matusiak, Wojtek with Robert Gretzyngier and Piotr Wiśniewski. 315 Squadron. Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model publications, 2004. ISBN 83-89450-00-3.
- Rawlings, John D.R. Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald & Jane's (Publishers)Ltd., 1969 (revised edition 1976, reprinted 1978). ISBN 0-354-01028-X.
External links
External links last verified on 14 January 2006
- Brief history of No. 315 Squadron (Official RAF site)
- A history of No. 315 Squadron by Wilhelm Ratuszynski
- Movement of No. 315 Squadron
- No. 315 Squadron Operations Record Books
- Photo Gallery of 315 Squadron
- Nos. 300-318 Squadron Histories on RAFweb
Related content
Polish Air Force in Great Britain during World War II Wings No. 1 · No. 2 · No. 3Squadrons 300 "Ziemi Mazowieckiej" · 301 "Ziemi Pomorskiej" · 302 "Poznański" · 303 "Warszawski im. Tadeusza Kościuszki" · 304 "Ziemi Śląskiej im. Ks. Józefa Poniatowskiego" · 305 "Ziemi Wielkopolskiej im. Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego" · 306 "Toruński" · 307 "Lwowskich Puchaczy" · 308 "Krakowski" · 309 "Ziemi Czerwieńskiej" · 315 "Dębliński" · 316 "Warszawski" · 317 "Wileński" · 318 "Gdański" · 663rd Polish Air Observation Post SquadronOther units Currently active Inactive 1 · 4 · 10 · 13 · 20 · 21 · 23 · 25 · 26 · 34 · 35 · 36 · 37 · 38 · 40 · 42 · 43 · 44 · 46 · 48 · 49 · 50 · 52 · 53 · 55 · 58 · 59 · 61 · 62 · 63 · 64 · 65 · 66 · 67 · 68 · 69 · 70 · 71 · 73 · 74 · 75 · 76 · 77 · 79 · 80 · 81 · 82 · 83 · 85 · 86 · 87 · 88 · 89 · 90 · 91 · 92 · 93 · 94 · 95 · 96 · 97 · 98 · 102 · 103 · 104 · 105 · 106 · 107 · 108 · 109 · 110 · 111 · 112 · 113 · 114 · 115 · 116 · 117 · 118 · 119 · 120 · 121 · 122 · 123 · 124 · 125 · 126 · 127 · 128 · 129 · 130 · 131 · 132 · 133 · 134 · 135 · 136 · 137 · 138 · 139 · 140 · 141 · 142 · 143 · 144 · 145 · 146 · 147 · 148 · 149 · 150 · 151 · 152 · 153 · 154 · 155 · 156 · 157 · 158 · 159 · 160 · 161 · 162 · 163 · 164 · 165 · 166 · 167 · 168 · 169 · 170 · 171 · 172 · 173 · 174 · 175 · 176 · 177 · 178 · 179 · 180 · 181 · 182 · 183 · 184 · 185 · 186 · 187 · 188 · 189 · 190 · 191 · 192 · 193 · 194 · 195 · 196 · 197 · 198 · 199 · 200 · 201 · 204 · 205 · 209 · 210 · 211 · 212 · 213 · 214 · 215 · 217 · 218 · 219 · 220 · 221 · 222 · 223 · 224 · 225 · 226 · 227 · 228 · 229 · 231 · 232 · 233 · 234 · 235 · 236 · 237 · 238 · 239 · 240 · 241 · 242 · 243 · 244 · 245 · 246 · 247 · 248 · 249 · 250 · 251 · 252 · 253 · 254 · 255 · 256 · 257 · 258 · 259 · 260 · 261 · 262 · 263 · 264 · 265 · 266 · 267 · 268 · 269 · 270 · 271 · 272 · 273 · 274 · 275 · 276 · 277 · 278 · 279 · 280 · 281 · 282 · 283 · 284 · 285 · 286 · 287 · 288 · 289 · 290 · 291 · 292 · 293 · 294 · 295 · 296 · 297 · 298 · 299 · 353 · 354 · 355 · 356 · 357 · 358 · 360 · 361 · 510 · 511 · 512 · 513 · 514 · 515 · 516 · 517 · 518 · 519 · 520 · 521 · 524 · 525 · 526 · 527 · 528 · 529 · 530 · 531 · 532 · 533 · 534 · 535 · 536 · 537 · 538 · 539 · 540 · 541 · 542 · 543 · 544 · 547 · 548 · 549 · 550 · 567 · 569 · 570 · 571 · 575 · 576 · 577 · 578 · 582 · 586 · 587 · 595 · 597 · 598 · 618 · 619 · 620 · 621 · 622 · 623 · 624 · 625 · 626 · 627 · 628 · 629 · 630 · 631 · 635 · 639 · 640 · 644 · 650 · 651 · 652 · 653 · 654 · 655 · 656 · 657 · 658 · 659 · 660 · 661 · 662 · 663 · 664 · 665 · 666 · 667 · 668 · 669 · 670 · 671 · 672 · 673 · 679 · 680 · 681 · 682 · 683 · 684 · 691 · 692 · 695
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