Dyvitsjon 303
The Dywizjon 303 (English. Polish RAF Fighter Squadron 303, Polish: 303 Dywizjon Myśliwski "Warszawski im. Tadeusza Kościuszki", German. 303rd Squadron) was a Polish fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force in World War II . It was drawn up in Great Britain on August 2, 1940 on the basis of a military agreement between the Polish government in exile and the British government . It was named after Tadeusz Kościuszko . Her badge shows the traditional Polish Konfederatka cap and two crossed scythes as symbols of the Kościuszko uprising of 1794.
On August 31, 1940, their training was declared over and the squadron was considered operational.
The squadron had the highest rate of German aircraft shot down among the Allied forces during the Battle of Britain . During the landing operation Jubilee in August 1942, the unit also had the highest kill rate. In December 1946 the squadron was disbanded (October 1940-1944).
literature
- Jerzy B. Cynk: The Polish Air Force at War: The Official History, 1943-1945 . Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0-7643-0560-3 (English)
- Arkady Fiedler : Dywizjon 303 . London, Roy, 1942. Squadron 303: The Polish Fighter Squadron with the RAF (English translation) . New York: Roy, Publishers, 1943. German translation: Staffel 303. The Polish fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain , Bochum 2010; ISBN 978-3-00-030122-3
- Robert Gretzyngier: Poles in Defense 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 (English)
- Lynne Olson, Stanley Cloud: A Question of Honor. The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II . New York: Knopf, 2003. ISBN 0-37541-197-6 (English)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Simon Worrall: Refugees: Great Britain's Secret Weapon Against the National Socialists . In: National Geographic . November 9, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ↑ Bloody foreigners. Untold Battle of Britain. , Channel4, November 6, 2016