No. 309 POLISH SQUADRON
Mustangs of 309th Polish Army-Cooperation Squadron. 309 Sqn used Mustangs I and IA from July 1942 until February 1944, when it converted to Hurricanes until October 1944, at which time it re-equipped with Merlin-engined Mustangs III and IV. The Squadron served at Findo Gask in Scotland from November 1942 until March 1943, operating mainly on shipping reconnaissance missions.
309th Polish Army-Cooperation Squadron badge “Land of Czerwien”
“…We should remember that, during the turning-point of history, Polish airmen were almost the only allies – apart from Commonwealth nations – who fought in strength at our side. In that battle alone Polish Airmen brought down or crippled over two hundred enemy aircraft…”
The Rt. Hon. Lord Vansittart Pc, GCB, MVO.
After the collapse of France in 1940, a large part of the Polish Air Force contingent was withdrawn to the United Kingdom. However, the RAF Air Staff were not willing to accept the independence and sovereignty of Polish forces and initially Poles were only admitted to Royal Air Force units. Because of that, the majority of much more experienced Polish pilots had to wait in training centres, learning English Command procedures and language, while the RAF suffered heavy losses due to lack of experienced pilots. On June 11, 1940, a preliminary agreement was signed by the Polish and British governments and soon the British authorities finally allowed for creation of two bomber squadrons and a training centre as part of the Royal Air Force.
Initially the Polish airmen were compelled to wear British uniforms, fly British flags and pass two oaths, one to the Polish government and the other to King George VI of the United Kingdom. However, after the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk and the arrival of hundreds of Polish airmen from France, the situation changed. On August 5, 1940, the British government finally accepted the Polish Air Force as a sovereign, allied military formation. From then on the airmen were part of the Polish Army, flying their own standards and wearing British uniforms but with Polish rank insignia. Although still subordinate to British command, the Polish units were directly subordinate to a Polish inspector of the Air Forces, who in turn was responsible to the Polish government.
The first squadrons were 300 and 301 bomber squadrons and 302 and 303 fighter squadrons. The fighter squadrons, flying the Hawker Hurricane, first saw action in the third phase of the Battle of Britain in late August 1940, quickly becoming highly effective. Polish flying skills were well-developed from the Invasion of Poland and the pilots were regarded as fearless and sometimes bordered on reckless. Their success rates were very high in comparison to the less-experienced British Commonwealth pilots.[2] 303 squadron became the most efficient RAF fighter unit at that time[3]. Many Polish pilots also flew in other RAF squadrons. In the following years, further Polish squadrons were created: 304 (bomber, then Coastal Command), 305 (bomber), 306 (fighter), 307 (night fighter), 308 (fighter), 309 (reconnaissance, then fighter), 315 (fighter), 316 (fighter), 317 (fighter), 318 (fighter-reconnaissance) and 663 (air observation/artillery spotting). The fighter squadrons initially flew Hurricanes, then Supermarine Spitfires, and eventually some were equipped with P-51 Mustangs. Night fighters used by 307 were the Boulton-Paul Defiant, Bristol Beaufighter and the de Havilland Mosquito. The bomber squadrons were initially equipped with Fairey Battles and Vickers Wellingtons, then Avro Lancasters (300 sqn), Handley Page Halifaxs and Consolidated B-24 Liberators (301 sqn) and de Havilland Mosquitos and B-25 Mitchells (305 sqn). 663 flew Auster AOP Mk Vs.
On April 6, 1944, a further agreement was reached and the Polish Air Forces in Great Britain came under Polish command, without RAF officers. After the war, in a changed political situation, their equipment was returned to the British. Due to the fact that Poland ended in Soviet occupation, only a small proportion of the pilots returned to Poland, while the rest remained in exile.
A memorial to those Polish pilots killed while on RAF service has been erected at the south-eastern corner of RAF Northolt aerodrome. On the public highway, it is accessible without entering RAF areas. It is adjacent to a junction on the A40 Western Avenue; the official name for this junction is still “Polish War Memorial”.
No. 309 Squadron (Ziema Czerwienska)
Formed at Abbotsinch on 8 October 1940 in the Army Co-operation role from Polish personnel. It was proposed that it should work with the Polish Army, them training in Scotland and was equipped with Lysanders for this purpose. Lysanders remained the squadron’s main equipment until March 1943, but in July 1942 some Mustang Is were received, which were used for tactical reconnaissance operations over France. In February 1944 the squadron converted to the Hurricane IV due to the unreliability of the Mustang I’s Alison engine. Hurricane IICs replaced the IVs in April and Mustangs returned in October in the form of the Merlin engined Mk III. In December 1944 the squadron became a bomber-escort unit based in East Anglia, remaining as such until the end of the war. The unit remaining part of Fighter Command until disbanding on 6 January 1947 at Coltishall.
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