No. 315 (City of Dęblin) Polish Fighter Squadron () 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 15 squadrons of the Polish Air Force in exile that served alongside the Royal Air Force (RAF) in World War II.Lewis 1968, pp. 95–97; 125. It was named after the city of Dęblin, where the main Polish Air Force Academy has been since 1927.
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 Bf 109s destroyed, three probables and three damaged. The squadron returned to Lancashire in April 1942, located 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 In June 1943, the squadron was withdrawn to Yorkshire, then to County Down, Northern Ireland in July.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 it joined No. 133 Wing RAF of the 2nd Tactical Air Force. The squadron was re-equipped with the Mustang Mk III, which the squadron 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 and JG26, which was in the process of taking off and landing near Beauvais, France. In the ensuing battle, the squadron was credited with 16 victories, 1 probable and 3 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 6 aircraft (one of which was claimed to be a Lockheed P-38 Lightning).
The squadron later carried out operations over Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, where the squadron carried out sorties until the end of the war. The squadron claimed 86.33 confirmed victories, 18 probable and 26 damaged. After the war, 315 Squadron remained part of RAF Fighter Command until it was disbanded on 14 January 1947.
Commanding officers +Commanding Officers, 1941–1947Rawlings 1978, p. 401.FromToNameRemark 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 Jan 1947 Jan 1947Tadeusz Tamowicz
Aircraft operated +AircraftRawlings, 1978, p. 401Halley 1988, p. 365.Jefford 2001, p. 88.FromToAircraftVersion 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. VbLF.Vc March 1944 December 1946 North American Mustang Mk.III
Notable pilots Eugeniusz Malczewski Francis S. Gabreski Janusz Zurakowski Eugeniusz Horbaczewski Brunon Semmerling
See also Air Force of the Polish Army List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain Military history of Poland during World War II
References
Citations
Bibliography
External links
– historic photographs