No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron
No. 301 (Pomeranian) Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Operation Millennium, Operation Intonation, Operation Response, Operation Revenge, Battle of the Ruhr, Warsaw Uprising | |
Insignia | |
Squadron Codes | GR (Jul 1940 - Apr 1943, Nov 1944 - Dec 1946) |
Aircraft flown | |
Bomber | Fairey Battle Vickers Wellington |
Transport | Handley Page Halifax Consolidated Liberator Vickers Warwick |
No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron "Land of
History
No. 301 Squadron (Bomber Command)
Prior to the outbreak of
Polish airmen were initially stationed at a military camp in
301 (Polish) Squadron was initially commanded by
On 20 October 1940 the squadron was withdrawn from active service and re-equipped with heavier Vickers Wellington Mk IC bomber, with a crew of six instead of three. Crew training in night flying and use of the new aircraft proceeded through mid-December. Ground crew support for the squadron was expanded, however it did not reach British norms and amounted to some 220 men.[6] On 22 December, the squadron's first mission in the Wellington (and the only that year) was flown against oil refinery facilities in Antwerp (three aircraft).[9] In total, in 1940 44 missions were performed, with one Fairey Battle crew killed in action.[10] Following a raid on Bremen on the night of 1 January 1941, the squadron was shaken when bad weather and poor visibility resulted in the loss of 3 of their aircraft and 11 airmen when the planes crashed while attempting to come down through a snowstorm at RAF Waddington.[9] Wet ground made Swinderby airfield unsuitable for use, and the entire squadron was grounded (from February it operated temporarily from other airfields).[9]
After several weeks the weather improved and 301 Squadron rejoined the bombing campaign over France and Germany. Targets struck included, among others, Bremen, Hamburg, Cologne, Brest and Essen. On 17 April 1941 three crews took part in bombing of Berlin for the first time.[11] On 18 July 1941 the two Polish bomber squadrons were moved to RAF Hemswell. In 1941 the squadron's aircraft undertook 436 missions, with a loss of 9 crews.[10] On 12 February 1942 the squadron took part in an exceptional daylight operation against Channel Dash of German battleships, but did not find targets due to bad weather.[12] On 28 March 1942, during a raid against Lübeck, one crew shot down Junkers Ju 88 night fighter.[13] On the night of 30/31 May 1942, fourteen aircraft took part in a thousand-bomber raid against Cologne (Operation Millennium), without losses.[14] This was Arthur Harris' first large formation raid. On the night of 2/3 June the squadron took part in the second thousand-bomber raid on Essen, losing one crew, but in another smaller scale Essen raid on 5/6 June two crews were lost.[14] On 25/26 June fourteen crews bombed Bremen in last thousand-aircraft raid, losing a crew of the squadron commander Stanisław Krzystyniak (taken prisoners).[14] On 2/3 July yet another two crews were lost over Bremen, with the new squadron commander Maj. Maksymilian Brzozowski, who was taken prisoner as well.[14] Over the night of 21/22 July, another two crews were lost to enemy flak and night fighters over Duisburg.[15] In total, six crews were lost in June and five in July 1942, making these months the worst in the squadron's history.[10]
From end of May 1942 the squadron also performed low-level night mining sorties against German waters, in addition to the airwar over Germany.
Because of losses suffered in 1942 and limited possibility of Polish replacements, in March Polish and British authorities decided to disband the unit and transfer the crews and ground crew mainly to No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron, which was undergoing a conversion to Avro Lancaster heavy bombers.[18] On 1 April 1943 the squadron was withdrawn from operation, and on 7 April 1943 reduced to a sole number.[18] In Bomber Command the squadron had completed 1326 aircraft missions in total, dropping 3,217,553 pounds of bombs (1470.4 tons) and 499,500 pounds of mines (228.2 tons), losing 35 crews.[10] 439 Polish airmen served through this period. 139 of them were killed in action (including five in training crashes), 55 were taken prisoner of war (two of whom were murdered after Stalag Luft III escape: Włodzimierz Kolanowski and Paweł Tobolski).[19] The airmen were awarded with 153 Virtuti Militari 5th class crosses, 8 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 9 Distinguished Flying Medals.[20]
C Flight No. 138 Squadron / No. 1586 Flight
From October 1941 several Polish volunteer crews, among others from No. 301 Squadron, were attached to the
It was still named locally by their ex 301 crews and Polish authorities as No. 301 Squadron Land of Pomerania.[5] On 22 December 1943, the Polish flight was transferred to Campo Cassale near Brindisi, Italy, from where it flew special operations duties over occupied Europe. An effort was undertaken to supply Polish insurgents after the start of the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944.[5] Flights to central Poland were especially difficult, lasting up to eleven hours. To honour a commitment of crews, on 15 September 1944 Polish C-in-C Kazimierz Sosnkowski gave the No. 301 Squadron an additional name: Obrońców Warszawy (Defenders of Warsaw).[18]
No. 301 Squadron (special duties / Transport Command)
On 7 November 1944, the unit was reformed at Brindisi, Italy, when No. 1586 Flight was renamed back to 301 Squadron. The squadron operated the Handley Page Halifax and Consolidated Liberator until February 1945, flying supply missions to occupied Europe. The last flight to Poland was accomplished on 28 December 1944.[5] On 28 February 1945 the squadron was subordinated to RAF Transport Command, and on 15 March 1945 returned to RAF Blackbushe, England, to operate the Vickers Warwick.[5] In 1946, the squadron re-equipped with the Handley Page Halifax again until 301 Squadron was disbanded at RAF Chedburgh on 18 December 1946.
Crews of C Flight No. 138 Squadron, No. 1586 Flight and No. 301 Squadron performed 1335 special duties missions totaling 9933 flight hours (including 423 missions in 3892 flight hours to Poland), dropping 1577 tons of supplies and paradropping 693 men.[5] Losses were 167 KIA, 18 MIA and 49 POW (33.5 crews), mostly in flights to Poland (24 crews).[5]
Thus, 301 Squadron was in fact two completely different units, with two different roles and different aircraft types; one operated bombers, the other performed transport special duties. With the closure of 301 (bomber) Squadron, most crews and aircraft joined another Polish bomber squadron (No. 300) losing their original hexagonal griffin emblem to adopt the 300 Sq. chevron. The remaining 301 crews moved to a completely different (transport) squadron, No. 138. Later, they used a new circular 301 emblem which included the original 301 Pomeranian griffin.
Patch
Initially the bomber squadron's unofficial insignia was a pre-war insignia of the 41st Reconnaissance
Commanding officers
Officers commanding No. 301 Squadron[23]
From | To | Name |
---|---|---|
22 July 1940 | 26 July 1941 | W/Cdr Roman Rudkowski |
26 July 1941 | 1 April 1942 | W/Cdr Witold Piotrowski |
1 April 1942 | 26 June 1942 | W/Cdr Stanisław Krzystyniak (MIA, POW) |
26 June 1942 | 3 July 1942 | S/Ldr Maksymilian Brzozowski (MIA, POW) |
3 July 1942 | 16 July 1942 | F/Lt Stanisław Doliński (acting) |
16 July 1942 | 23 September 1942 | W/Cdr Henryk Kołodziejek |
23 September 1942 | 7 April 1943 | W/Cdr Adam Dąbrowa |
C Flight No. 138 Squadron / No. 1586 Flight / No. 301 Squadron: | ||
1 April 1943 | 14 June 1944 | S/Ldr Stanisław Król |
14 June 1944 | 6 May 1945 | S/Ldr / W/Cdr Eugeniusz Arciuszkiewicz |
6 May 1945 | W/Cdr Teofil Pożyczka |
RAF advisor was S/ldr C.G. Skinner.
Aircraft operated
From | To | Aircraft | Version |
---|---|---|---|
24 July 1940 | November 1940 | Fairey Battle | Mk I |
20 October 1940 | August 1941 | Vickers Wellington | Mk IA (for training) |
31 October 1940 | December 1941 | Vickers Wellington | Mk IC |
August 1941 | March 1943 | Vickers Wellington | Mk IV |
1 April 1943 | Handley Page Halifax Consolidated Liberator |
Mk II, Mk V Mk V, Mk VI | |
15 March 1945 | Vickers Warwick | C Mk III |
See also
- Polish Air Forces in Great Britain
- Polish contribution to World War II
- List of RAF squadrons
Notes and references
- ISBN 83-11-07695-2.
- Hodyra, Piotr (2016). 301 Dywizjon Bombowy 1940-1943 (in Polish). Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawnicza Alma-Press. ISBN 978-83-7020-664-2.
- Edward Raczyński, The British-Polish Alliance; Its Origin and Meaning. The Mellville Press, London, 1948
- ^ ISBN 83-11-07695-2.
- ^ a b Hodyra (2016), p. 13
- ^ a b c d e Hodyra (2016), p. 53-54
- ^ ISBN 83-11-07695-2.
- ^ a b Hodyra (2016), p. 145-146
- ^ a b Hodyra (2016), p. 16-18
- ^ a b Hodyra (2016), p. 20-21
- ^ a b c Hodyra (2016), p. 24-26
- ^ a b c d e f Hodyra (2016), p. 98
- ^ Hodyra (2016), p. 28-29
- ^ Hodyra (2016), p. 50-51
- ^ Hodyra (2016), p. 59
- ^ a b c d e Hodyra (2016), p. 66-72
- ^ Hodyra (2016), p. 77
- ^ a b Hodyra (2016), p. 84-89
- ^ a b Hodyra (2016), p. 91-92
- ^ a b c d Hodyra (2016), p. 93-96
- ^ Hodyra (2016), p. 125-131
- ^ Hodyra (2016), p. 101
- ^ Hodyra (2016), p. 45-46
- ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
- ^ Hodyra (2016), p. 105-106
- ^ Hodyra (2016), p. 23, 155-159