No. 306 "Toruń" Polish Fighter Squadron ( pl, 306 Dywizjon Myśliwski "Toruński") was one of several Polish squadrons in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It was formed as part of an agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1940.

History

Formed on 28 August 1940 at

RAF Church Fenton Royal Air Force Church Fenton or RAF Church Fenton was a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south east of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England and north west of Selby, North Yorkshire, near the village of Church Fenton. The station wa ...

, the squadron inherited the traditions, along with the emblem and a large part of the initial crew, of the pre-war Polish ''Torunian'' Fighter Squadron. The bear climbing a tree (

Coat of arms of Madrid The main components of the Coat of arms of Madrid (the bear and the tree) have their origin in the Middle Ages. The different coats of arms have experienced several modifications, losing for example motifs often displayed in early designs such as w ...

) was an emblem of the No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron, the unit of the first (British) commander of the new squadron, F/Cdr. Douglas Scott. Throughout its existence, the squadron claimed 68 confirmed kills, 16½ probable and an additional 26 damaged. In addition, the crews of the 306 downed 59 enemy

V1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

s. It was disbanded in December 1946 after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Commanding officers

Rawlings 1978, p. 393. :pl:Dywizjon 306

Aircraft

* Hawker Hurricane Mk I – from 4 September 1940 * Hawker Hurricane Mk IIA – from 5 April 1941 * Supermarine Spitfire Mk I i Mk II – from 12 July 1941 * Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB – from 11 December 1941 * Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX – from 29 November 1942 * Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB – from 13 March 1943 * North American Mustang Mk III – from 26 March 1944

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Delve, Ken. ''The Source Book of the RAF''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1994. . * Gretzyngier, Robert. ''Polish Aces of World War 2'', Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 1998. * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * Jefford, Wing Commander C.G. ''RAF Squadrons: a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2001. . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (Revised edition 1976). . * Grodyński, Andrzej S.T. (306 Squadron Pilot) ''The Grodyński Brigade''. Charleston, USA: CreateSpace 2013. .

External links

Polish Squadrons in the RAF

Personnel of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain 1940–1947
{{Authority control 306 306 306 Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946