No. 316 Squadron — Polish (City of Warsaw)

No. 316 “City of Warsaw” Squadron (Polish: 316 Dywizjon Myśliwski “Warszawski”) was formed at RAF Pembrey on 15 February 1941, one of the Polish fighter squadrons raised in Britain under an agreement with the Polish government-in-exile. It flew Hurricanes on defensive duties over south-west England before converting to Spitfires and moving to RAF Northolt, where it joined the No. 1 Polish Wing flying offensive sweeps across northern France. In 1944 the squadron re-equipped with the North American Mustang III: a detachment first, then the whole unit, engaged the V-1 flying-bomb campaign from the south coast, claiming some 74 kills. From October 1944 it escorted Bomber Command’s resumed daylight offensive into Germany. Notable aircrew included wing leader Aleksander Gabszewicz and future Avro Arrow test pilot Janusz Żurakowski. The squadron disbanded on 11 December 1946.