No. 302 Polish Fighter Squadron
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| 302 Dywizjon Myśliwski | |
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| Active | July 13, 1940 - January 13, 1947 |
| Country | Poland |
| Role | Fighter and escort |
| Part of | RAF Fighter Command |
| Engagements | Battle of Britain Mopping-up over France Defence of Exeter Convoy escort Operation Jubilee Bomber escort Battle of Normandy Crossing the Rhine |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | Hawker Hurricane Supermarine Spitfire North American P-51 Mustang |
No. 302 Polish Fighter Squadron (Polish: 302 Dywizjon Myśliwski) 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 1940. It was one of several Polish fighter squadrons fighting alongside the Royal Air Force during the World War II. It was disbanded in December 1946 shortly after the end of World War II.
It inherited the traditions, along with the emblem and a large part of the initial crew, of the pre-war Polish III/3 Fighter Squadron composed of the 131st and 132nd Fighter Escadrilles.
The No. 302 Squadron RAF was one of the four Polish-cored Royal Air Force squadrons that participated in the Battle of Britain. It consisted mostly of Polish pilots, many of whom were veterans. The squadron was formed on July 10, 1940. They piloted some Hawker Hurricanes and were put under the No. 12 Group RAF. As the combat became more elevated, the 302 was moved to RAF Duxford, north of London, where the squadron operated from September 14 through September 25. On June 11, 1944, the 302 became the first Polish Squadron to land in France, five days after D-Day. It was disbanded on January 13, 1947, in England.
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[edit] Bibliography
- Cynk, Jerzy B. The Polish Air Force at War: The Official History, 1939-1943. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0-7643-0559-X.
- Cynk, Jerzy B. The Polish Air Force at War: The Official History, 1943-1945. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0-7643-0560-3.
- Gretzyngier, Robert. Poles in Defence of Britain: A Day-by-Day Chronology of Polish Day and Night Fighter Operations, July 1940 - June 1941. London: Grub Street, 2001. ISBN 1-902304-54-3.
- Gretzyngier, Robert. Polskie Skrzydła 4: Hawker Hurricane, część 1 (in Polish). Sandomierz, Poland: Stratus, 2005. ISBN 83-89450-37-2.
- 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.
- Lisiewcz, M. et al. Destiny Can Wait: The Polish Air Force in the Second World War. Nashville, Tennessee: Battery Press, 1988. ISBN 0-89839-113-X.
- Zamoyski, Adam. The Forgotten Few: The Polish Air Force in the Second World War. New York: Hippocrene Books Inc., 1995. ISBN 0-718-0421-3.
[edit] External links
[edit] Related content
- No. 12 Group RAF
- List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
- Polish Air Forces in Great Britain
- Polish contribution to World War II
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