No. 307 (Polish) Squadron, also known as No. 307 (City of Lwów) Squadron ( pl, 307 Dywizjon Myśliwski Nocny "Lwowskich Puchaczy" ) 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 The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

in 1940. It was the only Polish

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

squadron in RAF service. No. 307 Squadron was named after the Polish city of

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

, and was nicknamed "Eagle Owls".

History

Boulton Paul Defiant I ‘N1671’ (16927125759)

The nickname ''Lwowskie Puchacze'' ( NOM) – "Lwów Eagle Owls" was chosen for the night fighter squadron, as the

eagle owl The American (North and South America) horned owls and the Old World eagle-owls make up the genus ''Bubo'', at least as traditionally described. The genus name ''Bubo'' is Latin for the Eurasian eagle-owl. This genus contains 19 species that ar ...

is a nighttime avian predator that is present in Poland. The squadron inherited the traditions of the Polish pre-war 6th Aviation Regiment, that was stationed in

(now Lviv), with a history dating back to the defence of Lwów and

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

from invading Ukrainian forces in the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918–1919. After its formation in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

on 24 August 1940, :pl:Dywizjon 307 No. 307 Squadron was assembled at

RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey Royal Air Force Kirton in Lindsey or more simply RAF Kirton in Lindsey is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. It's an RAF habit (inherited from the RFC) to name its bases after the nearest railw ...

on 5 September 1940 as a night fighter unit, flying the

Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any fixed forward-firing guns ...

turret-fighter. It then took up residence at

RAF Jurby Royal Air Force Station Jurby or more simply RAF Jurby is a former Royal Air Force station built in the north west of the Isle of Man. It was opened in 1939 on of land acquired by the Air Ministry in 1937, under the control of No. 29 Group, ...

, on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

. The sole surviving example of the Boulton Paul Defiant, serial number N1671, served in the squadron and can be seen on display at the

Royal Air Force Museum Cosford The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, located in Cosford in Shropshire, is a free (currently, 2022) museum dedicated to the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force in particular. The museum is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departme ...

. In August 1941 the squadron converted to Beaufighters which it flew until being re-equipped with

Mosquitoes Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small Diptera, flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish ...

in December 1942. Between April 1941 and April 1943 the squadron was based at RAF Clyst Honiton, now Exeter Airport, defending the south-west of England from enemy night bombers. The first Beaufighter victory was on 1 November 1941, when a crew shot down one

Dornier Do 217 The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bombe ...

from II./

KG 2 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 2 " Holzhammer " (KG 2) (Battle Wing 2) was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during the Second World War. The unit was formed in May 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17 light bomber, Dornier Do 217 and Junkers Ju 188 heavy bo ...

and damaged another (claimed as shot down).Janowicz 2018, p.30–33 That month, two more bombers were shot down and one damaged. However, several of the squadron's aircraft were lost in crashes in the following months, mostly due to weather conditions or the unreliable engines of the Beaufighter Mk IIF variant.Janowicz 2018, p.33–33 On 3/4 May 1942 when 40

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

bombers attacked Exeter as part of the

Exeter Blitz The term Exeter Blitz refers to the air raids by the German '' Luftwaffe'' on the British city of Exeter, Devon, during the Second World War. The city was bombed in April and May 1942 as part of the so-called "Baedeker raids", in which targets ...

of the

Baedeker raids The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of aerial attacks in April and May 1942 by the German ''Luftwaffe'' on English cities during the Second World War. The name derives from Baedeker, a series of German tourist guide books, includ ...

there were only three Polish No. 307 Squadron Beaufighters available to defend the city.Janowicz 2018, p.37–38 They managed to intercept and shoot down four of the German bombers that night (all confirmed kills). That month, the squadron re-equipped with the improved Beaufighter Mk VIF.Janowicz 2018, p.39 In total, Beaufighter crews shot down fifteen bombers with three probables and six damaged; the last victory was the shooting down of a Do 217 on 24/25 September 1942.Janowicz 2018, p.42–44 From 1943 the squadron was based at

RAF Predannack Predannack Airfield is an aerodrome near Mullion on The Lizard peninsula of Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The runways are operated by the Royal Navy and today it is a satellite airfield and relief landing ground for nearby RNAS Culdrose. ...

, Cornwall, and was active as a night intruder unit over airfields in occupied France. This changed in January 1945, when its role was switched to bomber support, combating German night fighters. In 1945-46 it was based at

RAF Horsham St Faith RAF Horsham St Faith is a former Royal Air Force station near Norwich, Norfolk, England which was operational from 1939 to 1963. It was then developed as Norwich International Airport. RAF Bomber Command use The airfield was first developed ...

near Norwich. The squadron was disbanded on 2 January 1947 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Commanding officers

Rawlings 1978, p. 394.

Aircraft operated

Honors

On 15 November 2019, the Polish 307 night fighter squadron was honoured for defending the British city of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

from a German blitz campaign 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 ...

. A Polish white-and-red flag fluttered over the city in the south-west

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

honouring the pilots who prevented the complete destruction of Exeter in the 1942

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

attack.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Delve, Ken. ''The Source Book of the RAF''. Shrewsbury, 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). . *Janowicz, Krzysztof. ''Polacy i Beaufightery''. "Aeroplan" nr. 5-6/2018 (134–135) (in Polish)

External links

Detailed information on No. 307 Squadron

Personnel of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain 1940–1947
{{Authority control

307 __NOTOC__ Year 307 ( CCCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Maximinus (or, less frequently, year 1060 ...

307 Squadron No. 307 Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1947 Poland–United Kingdom military relations