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BOXART STORY #8281
The activities of the RAF Fighter Command in the
spring of 1944 were mainly focused on supporting
Allied air superiority over the western part of
Europe and on blowing wide open the Western Front.
The tasks of the fighters therefore consisted in
escorting tactical and strategic bombers and, above
all, in attacks on ground targets that supported the
main adversary, the German Luftwaffe, as well as
the transport infrastructure.
The Second Tactical Air Force was set aside within
the RAF to coordinate the air force with ground
forces, especially in the post-invasion period. Its
headquarters was established on June 1, 1943, and
more than seventy squadrons from the fighter and
bomber headquarters of the RAF (including all three
Czechoslovak fighter squadrons) were gradually
included in it.
Changes to the structure required reorganization
at Fighter Wing level. Polish fighter squadrons were
also included in the new organizational structure, for
which the 131st and 133rd Fighter Wings were created.
While the 131st Fighter Wing consisted of Polish Nos.
302, 308 and 317 Squadrons, the 133rd Wing had the
306th, 315th and 129th (British) Squadrons under
it. The 131st Fighter Wing flew British Spitfire Mk.IXs
and the 133rd used Mustangs Mk.IIIs. The main task of
both units was to support the invading troops directly
on the front line. This is also why troops were moved
to the continent as soon as the situation allowed. The
Spitfire Mk.IXs were equipped with bombs weighing
250 pounds under each wing, or 500 kg bombs under
the fuselage. Before and after the invasion, fighter
planes operated at ground level, where they were
easier prey for German light and medium flak, but
also German fighter planes, especially in the pre-
invasion period. Another significant opponent of
these operations was the difficulty of comparative
navigation, flying purely according to maps, without
the possibility of support from operation centers and
often complicated by the unclear situation on the
front.
In the period before the invasion, in addition
to these ground attacks, Polish airmen from both
fighter wings also participated from time to time in
the search and destruction of V-1 missile launch sites,
and the escort of American, also as RAF bombers. The
tasks were challenging. Many took off two or three
times a day, the ground crews worked tirelessly from
morning to late evening or through the night to get
the planes ready for the next day.
The Poles participated in the invasion itself on
June 6, 1944, in the form of repeated armed patrols
covering the disembarking troops. Similar tasks were
repeated in the following days. Already on the fifth day
of the invasion, the 302nd squadron became the first
Polish unit to land in liberated territory in northern
France. The landing took place after a morning patrol
over the combat area for refueling. The newly built
landing strip (RRS
-
Rearming and Refueling Strip)
was used for this. The Poles then continued their
patrol before returning to their English base.
In order for air units to be able to move to France
permanently, demanding preparations had to be
undertaken. Practically all airports on the western
part of continent were damaged by previous Allied
bombings or by German units during evacuation.
Often, it was the result of both. Build facilities for air
and ground personnel, aircraft maintenance, arming
and refueling presented significant challenges. And
although the engineer troops, following behind the
invading troops, did what they could, the desire
of the ground troops to have their air support and
protection as close as possible could only be fulfilled
after several weeks. Provisional airstrips and often
primitive facilities were created in the front area.
The 131st Fighter Wing, of which the 302nd Squadron
was a part, moved to France on August 3rd, 1944.
Its temporary home was an airstrip in northwestern
France designated B-10, near the village of Plumetot
in northern Normandy. From there, the airmen
continued to attack German ground and naval forces.
Conditions at Plumetot were difficult. Airmen slept
in tents, there was no protection for parked aircraft,
significant when you consider that the base was still
within range of German artillery. Hot days filled the
air with dust, while rainy days created ubiquitous
mud. Combat activity was demanding, each squadron
engaged in several combat operations a day.
One of the members of the Polish 302nd ‘City of
Poznaň’ Squadron, who participated in its operations
for a long time, was twenty-five-year-old W/O Henryk
Dygala, whose Spitfire LF Mk.IXc became the subject
for Kateřina Borecká's box art for a kit of this type in
2012. which we are currently producing as a second
re-release.
In the following months, the 302nd Squadron,
and with it the entire 131st Fighter Wing, undertook
operations in the campaigns to liberate Western
Europe and to occupy Germany, such as the Ardennes
offensive, the German Operation Bodenplatte, and the
operations in the north of Germany. The unit ended
the war at Base B-113 near Bremen. After the war,
it was part of the British Occupation Forces, after
which it returned to Great Britain at the end of 1946.
The 131st Fighter Wing was disbanded on January
3rd, 1947. A large part of the Polish airmen decided
not to return to their homeland, for which they had
fought throughout the war, because it was already
clear that a communist future awaited them. Many of
Polish airmen therefore remained in the UK. One of
them was W/O Henryk Dygala, who lived there until
the age of 83.
Illustration: Kateřina Borecká
Over the Normandy Rooftops
Text: Jan Zdiarský
INFO Eduard40
March 2024