No. 315 Squadron — City of Dęblin

No. 315 (City of Dęblin) Polish Fighter Squadron was formed at RAF Acklington on 21 January 1941, one of sixteen Polish squadrons raised in Britain under the agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the United Kingdom. Named after Dęblin, the home of the Polish Air Force Academy since 1927, the squadron flew its initial patrols in Hawker Hurricanes before converting to Spitfires from July 1941, operating from RAF Northolt on offensive sweeps over occupied northern France. It re-equipped with North American Mustang IIIs in March 1944, providing long-range fighter cover during the Normandy landings as part of No. 84 Group, 2nd Tactical Air Force. On 18 August 1944 twelve of the squadron’s Mustangs engaged some sixty German fighters over France and were officially credited with sixteen confirmed victories, one probable, and three damaged — an action that typified the unit’s aggressive fighting record. Over its wartime career the squadron claimed 86.33 confirmed victories, with notable pilots including Eugeniusz Horbaczewski and the future test pilot Janusz Żurawski. The squadron also contributed to the defence of Britain against V-1 flying bombs in the summer of 1944 before moving to escort bomber and Coastal Command operations over the Netherlands. It was finally disbanded at Coltishall on 14 January 1947, its personnel returning to a Poland then under Soviet occupation.