RAF No 315 (Deblin) Squadron

Motto: -

Formed at Acklington on 21 January 1941 as a Polish fighter unit, it was equipped with Hurricane Is in February and moved to Speke in March.

In July 1941 the squadron moved to Northolt and re-equipped with Spitfires beginning offensive sweeps over the continent. These offensive operations interspersed with defensive duties in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland became the order of the day until 315 joined the 2nd Tactical Air Force in November 1943.

Mustangs replaced the Spitfires in March 1944 and in June the squadron covered the invasion of Normandy but instead of moving to France, it was retained in the UK to combat V-1 flying bomb attacks. With this threat reduced the squadron began bomber escort missions from East Anglia.

In November 1944 the range of the Mustang led the squadron to be posted to Peterhead in Scotland to provide protection to Coastal Commands strike wings operating off the Norwegian coast. A return to East Anglia came in January 1945 and from then until the end of war the squadron was involved in offensive sweeps over the Low Countries. The squadron was retained in Fighter Command until disbanding at Coltishall on 14 January 1947.

Squadron Codes used: -
OG Allocated Apr - Sep 1939
PK Jan 1941 - Jan 1946

No 315 (City of Deblin) Polish Fighter Squadron
315 Dywizjon Myśliwski 'Dębliński'

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 that fought 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.

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 probable, 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 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 and 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.

No. 315 (Deblinski) Squadron RAF

Group	Squadron	Base	County	Arrived	Comments
13	315	Acklington	Northumberland	21/01/41	Formed. Hurricane I, 02/41.
9	315	Speke	Lancashire	13/03/41
11	315	Northolt	Middlesex	14/07/41	Spitfire IIa, 07/41. Spitfire IIb, 07/41. Spitfire Vb, 08/41.
9	315	Woodvale	Lancashire	01/04/42
11	315	Northolt	Middlesex	05/09/42	Spitfire IX, 11/42.
12	315	Hutton Cranswick	Yorkshire	02/06/43
82	315	Ballyhalbert	County Down	06/07/43
11	315	Heston	Middlesex	13/11/43	Mustang III, 03/44.
2TAF	315	Coolham	Sussex	01/04/44
2TAF	315	Holmsley South	Hampshire	22/06/44
2TAF	315	Ford	Sussex	25/06/44
2TAF	315	Brenzett	Kent	10/07/44
11	315	Andrew's Field	Essex	10/10/44
12	315	Coltishall	Norfolk	24/10/44
14	315	Peterhead	Aberdeenshire	01/11/44
11	315	Andrew's Field	Essex	16/01/45

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

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	Mk.III

Notable pilots

• Francis S. Gabreski
• Janusz Zurakowski
• Eugeniusz Horbaczewski

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.