RAF No 303 (Torun) Squadron

Aircrew RAF 303Sqn (Polish) pilots at awards ceremony 15 Dec 1940 IWM CH1840

The first four Polish recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross of No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron wearing their awards after a presentation ceremony by Air Marshal Sholto Douglas at RAF Leconfield, 15 December 1940. Left to right Squadron Leader Witold Urbanowicz, Pilot Officer Jan "Donald Duck" Zumbach, Pilot Officer Mirosław "Ox" Ferić and Flying Officer Zdzisław Henneberg.

Imperial War Museum IWM CH 1840 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205209998

Aircrew RAF 303Sqn (Polish) pilots at RAF Leconfield Yorkshire 24th Oct 1940 IWM CH1531

Flying Officer Zdzisław Henneberg, Flight Lieutenant John A. Kent "Kentowski" and Flying Officer Marian Pisarek, all from No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron, standing by Hurricane Mk.I (RF-F, V6684) at RAF Leconfield, 24 October 1940. Note the Squadron's badge over their heads.

Imperial War Museum IWM CH 1531 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205226391

Aircrew RAF 303Sqn (Polish) pilots at RAF Leconfield Yorkshire 24th Oct 1940 IWM CH1532

Flying Officer Zdzisław Henneberg, Flight Lieutenant John A. Kent "Kentowski" and Flying Officer Marian Pisarek, all from No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron, standing by Hurricane Mk.I (RF-F, V6684) at RAF Leconfield, 24 October 1940. Note the Squadron's badge over their heads.

Imperial War Museum IWM CH 1532 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205235029

Aircrew RAF 303Sqn (Polish) pilots at RAF Leconfield Yorkshire 24th Oct 1940 IWM CH1533

A group of pilots of No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron RAF standing by the tail elevator of one of their Hawker Hurricane Mark Is at RAF Leconfield, 24 October 1940. Left to right: Pilot Officer Mirosław "Ox" Ferić, Flying Officer Bogdan Grzeszczak, Pilot Officer Jan "Donald Duck" Zumbach, Flying Officer Zdzisław Henneberg and Flight Lieutenant John A. Kent "Kentowski", a Canadian who commanded the 'A' Flight of the Squadron at that time.

Imperial War Museum IWM CH 1533 http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205209978

Aircrew RAF 303Sqn (Polish) pilots at RAF Leconfield Yorkshire 24th Oct 1940 IWM CH1537

In the summer of 1940 the first Polish squadrons were formed in Fighter Command. No. 303 'City of Warsaw' Squadron was the top-scoring RAF unit in September 1940, with nine of its pilots claiming five or more kills. Pilot Officers Jan "Donald Duck" Zumbach (left) and Mirosław "Ox" Ferić, two of its aces, playing with the Squadron's mascot - a puppy dog. RAF Leconfield, 24 October 1940.

Imperial War Museum IWM CH 1537 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205219351

Aircrew RAF 303Sqn (Polish) pilots at RAF Leconfield Yorkshire 24th Oct 1940 IWM CH1539

Sergeants Eugeniusz Szaposznikow, Stanisław Karubin and Kazimierz Wünsche of No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron sharing a joke by one of the Squadron's Hurricanes at RAF Leconfield, 24 October 1940.

Imperial War Museum IWM CH 1539 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205235031

Aircrew RAF 303Sqn (Polish) pilots at RAF Northolt Sep 1940 IWM HU106457

Pilots of No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron resting in front of a dispersal hut at RAF Northolt, September 1940. From left: Pilot Officer Witold 'Tolo' Łokuciewski (leaning on the chair); Flight Lieutenant Witold Urbanowicz (seated in the chair in the foreground); Pilot Officer Zygmunt Wodecki, the Squadron's Medical Officer (in dark uniform); Sergeant Josef Frantisek (in the back, face partially covered); Flight Lieutenant John A. Kent "Kentowski"; Flying Officer Ludwik "Paszko" Paszkiewicz.

Imperial War Museum IWM HU 106457 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205222104

Aircrew RAF 303Sqn (Polish) pilots at Tadeusz Sawicz wedding ceremony 24 Aug 1944 IWM HU128081

Wing Commander Tadeusz Sawicz, the Commander of the 3rd Polish Fighter Wing, with his bride Mrs Diana Hughes after their wedding at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London, 24 August 1944. Air Vice Marshal Mateusz Iżycki, the Inspector General of the Polish Air Force, can be seen behind Wing Commander Sawicz. Mrs Hughes was a widow of Second Lieutenant Hugh Hesketh Hughes 103800 of the Welsh Guards, killed in action on 23 May 1940 in France.

THE POLES' REPUTATION FOR GALLANTRY TOWARDS WOMEN BECAME SO FAMOUS THAT SOME BRITISH PILOTS PRETENDED TO BE POLISH. COLLIER'S WEEKLY PUBLISHED A SUPPOSEDLY SUCCESSFUL PICKUP LINE DEVISED BY ONE OF THE RAF PILOTS: 'I AM A POLISH AVIATOR. PLEASE HAVE A DRINK WITH ME. I AM VERY LONELY' :-)

Imperial War Museum IWM HU 128081 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205393640

Aircrew RAF 303Sqn (Polish) pilot Sgt Josef Frantisek Czech Sep 1940 IWM HU106456

Portrait of Sergeant Josef Frantisek, the Czech fighter ace serving in No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron, the best scoring pilot of the Battle of Britain, September 1940. He is credited with 17 confirmed kills and 1 probable.

Imperial War Museum IWM HU 106456 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205222103

Profile 01: Hawker Hurricane MkI RAF 303Sqn RF-U Sgt. Joseph František P3975 England 1940. Sergeant Joseph František was a Czech pilot who, after fighting the Germans in Poland and France, was assigned at his request to the Polish 303 Squadron, where he became one of the highest-scoring aces in the Battle of Britain. Given his undisciplined tendency to break rank in pursuit of the enemy, it was thought less dangerous to his colleagues if František were to continue with the squadron as their "guest," flying patrols on his own.

On September 2, 1940, only a month after being posted, he shot down the first of seventeen German planes (and a final probable), a feat all the more remarkable in that they occurred within a single month of the four-month long battle. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal, a bar was posthumously added after František's death on October 8, a day after his twenty-seventh birthday.

Profile: According this source: Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, RF-U, P3975, No. 303 Squadron, Northoli, September 1940. In this machine Sgt Josef Frantisek (Czech) scored his first victory. Later, he claimed another three confirmed tallies achieved in its cockpit. Nevertheless, there were also other pilots of No. 303 Squadron at the controls of this mount such us P/O Witold Lokuciewski who succeeded in it on September 7, 1940. Two days later Sgt Josef Frantisek claimed a He.111 and Bf.109. During the engagement the Hurricane was extensively damaged, so Frantisek had to carry out a forced landing near Palmer. The P3975 was then repaired, and on September 17, 1940, flown by Sgt Miroslaw Wojciechowski, its machine guns destroyed a Bf.109. Throughout Battle of Britain, pilots of No.303 Squadron claimed 6-1-0 victories achieved in this aircraft.

Profile Source: REVI No.44

Profile 01: Hawker Hurricane MkI RAF 303Sqn RF-G Sgt. Stanislaw Karubin V7504 England 12^th August 1941

Hawker Hurricane MkI RAF 303Sqn RFJ John Alexander Kent nicname 'Johnny Kentowski' V6665 Northolt England 1940

Profile 01: Hawker Hurricane MkI RAF 303Sqn RF-J Sgt. Tadeusz Anduszków V6665 England 1940. Shot down whilst on patrol over Kent, another 303 squadron Hurricane was also lost this day, F/O. Ludwig Witold Paszkiewicz in L1696 RF-T, also killed. Sgt. Tadeusz Anduszków was also shot down only 12 days previously on the 15th September by Me109 over Dartford when he baled out safely. (Flying Hurricane P3939). Hawker Hurricane Mk.I flown by F/Lt John Alexander Kent who was the CO of 'A' Flight of No. 303 Squadron. Northolt, September 1940. On September 9th, 1940, Kent hit two German machines while flying this aircraft. Canadian origin pilot. Served with RAF. +1 additional Bf.109 destroyed on the ground. Took part in wars: Battle of Britain (1940), Intruder mission over France and Germany (1941-1945), Northern Africa (1940-1943). However, three days later the bird was shot down in a dogfight over London and crashed near Pembury. Its pilot F/O A. Cebrzynski succumbed to his injuries on September 19, 1940. The Hurricane V6665 was written off. Source: REVI No.44

Hawker Hurricane MkI RAF 303Sqn RFR Josef Frantisek R4175 England 1940

Profile 01: Hawker Hurricane MkI RAF 303Sqn RF-D England 1940. Czech pilot. After Czechoslovakia fell under German occupation he escaped to Poland and join the Polish Air Force to fight the Germans. He fight in 1939 with Polish AF, then fight with Polish units during Battle of France and Battle of Britain. Dead after forced landing. Pilot - Sgt. Josef Frantisek (he was Czechoslovakian). He suffered the fatal crash landing on this plane during a Battle of Britain, on 8th October 1940 in Ewel Sutton. The Airplane remained working, but the pilot died. He was holder of the DFM+B, the most scoring aces of the Battle of Britain: 17 German airplanes (6 bombers, 11 fighters). In fact, the letters 'RF' were the call letters of that squadron (thus their pilots were called 'Rafalki' among other Polish squadrons). Frantisek's personal mount. Northolt, September 1940. It was this machine in which Frantisek achieved 7 out of his 17 confirmed victories from 5 to 27 September, 1940. On 5 and 6 September, the Hurricane was hit by enemy fire, but the pilot managed to land safely in both cases. On October 8, 1940, Frantisek fatally crashed with this aircraft under obscure circumstances. Source: REVI No.44

Profile 01: Hurricane Mk I P3120 RF-A of No 303 'Polish' Sqn flown by Flg Off Zdzisław K Henneberg, September 1940

Profile 01: Hurricane Mk I P3700 RF-E of No 303 'Polish' Sqn flown by Flg Off Mirosław Ferić, September 1940

Profile 0A: Hurricane MkI RAF 303Sqn RF-V Paszkiewicz Zestrzelił R4217 England Sep 1940

Source: Militaria XX wieku Special 2007-03 (04) Kagero | Polish | 92 Pages