History
It inherited the traditions, along with the emblem and a large part of the initial crew, of the pre-war Polish III/3 Fighter Squadron composed of the 131st and 132nd Fighter Escadrilles.
The Squadron was one of the four Polish-cored Royal Air Force squadrons that participated in the Battle of Britain. It consisted mostly of Polish pilots, many of whom were veterans. The squadron was formed on July 10, 1940. They piloted some Hawker Hurricanes and were put under the No. 12 Group RAF. As the combat became more fierce, the 302 was moved to RAF Duxford, north of London, where the squadron operated from September 14 through September 25. Having enjoyed some success on East Coast patrols following the Battle of Britiain, No. 302 Squadron re-located to RAF Jurby, Isle of Man, where they commenced night flying training and low level work. At some point afterwards the squadron operated from Chailey. On June 11, 1944, 302 became the first Polish Squadron to land in France, five days after D-Day. It was fighting as part of No. 131 Polish Fighter Wing when its airfield was attacked by Jagdgeschwader 1 during Operation Bodenplatte in January 1945.
No. 302 Polish Squadron lost 20 pilots killed, 12 missing and 9 taken prisoners, 63 aircraft destroyed and 43 damaged by the enemy’s air defense.
It was disbanded on 18 December 1946, at RAF Hethel. A replica Hurricane in 302 squadron markings is the gate guardian at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.
Read more about this topic: No. 302 Polish Fighter Squadron
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