This particular aircraft, BH-E (HF598), is wearing the markings it carried
when based at RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire, in March 1943. HF598 unfortunately didn't survive the war. At 11.00 on December 19, 1943, the aircraft took off from RAF Ingham in Lincolnshire for an air test. The aircraft crashed eleven minutes later approximately one mile southeast of Hackthorn. The two pilots, F/O Jan Andrzej Ochedzan, age 27, and Sgt Feliks Antoni Bluj, age 21, were both killed. They are buried in Newark-upon-Trent cemetery (http://aircrewremembered.com/ochedzan-jan.html).
Even before the outbreak off WW2, Poland and Great Britain had formed an
alliance in case war erupted with Germany. An appendix within the agreement
allowed for two Polish bomber squadrons to be formed in the United Kingdom in
the case of war.
However, following the German and Soviet invasions of Poland, several
Polish units were created in France, and most airmen escaping west joined these
units. It was only after the fall of France that Polish airmen started to
arrive in numbers to Great Britain to join the Royal Air Force. Following their
arrival, Polish air personnel occupied a military camp in Eastchurch. Despite
the fact that many Polish aviators had combat experience, general wariness from
the RAF and lingual issues made the integration of the Poles into the RAF a
fairly difficult issue, as this excellent dramatized documentary about Polish
fighter pilots of No. 303 Squadron shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptijNcDanVw
On July 1, 1940, No. 300 Squadron Land
of Masovia (Polish: 300 Dywizjon Bombowy "Ziemi Mazowieckiej") was created as the very first RAF
unit manned by Poles, and it was based at RAF Bramcote in Warwickshire as part
of the Polish Air Forces in Great Britain. Oddly enough, most of the original
crews had served in Polish fighter units. In addition to the Polish crews,
several British advisers were attached to the unit as well as a British
adjutant, a few technical specialists and some clerical staff. No. 300 Squadron
was originally part of No. 6 (Training) Group, and it became fully operational
as part of No. 1 Bomber Group in August of 1940. The first mission was flown by three Fairey Battles against German shipping in Boulogne harbor between September 14 and 15.
As there were several Polish air crew already in Great Britain,
additional Polish bomber squadrons were formed on July 24. No. 300 Squadron was
initially equipped with the Fairey Battle light bomber, and from November 16,
1940, with Vickers Wellingtons, ranging from the Mk. IC, III, IV and finally
the Mk. X. On March 5, 1944, the unit was re-equipped with Avro Lancasters.
No. 300 Squadron took part in several of the notable missions and air
campaigns on the Western Front, starting with the Battle of the Barges aimed at landing craft and other naval assets
assembled for Operation Seelöwe, the
planned German invasion of England. The squadron also attacked the German heavy
cruiser Gneisenau in Brest as well as
the U-boat pens in St. Nazaire. Other missions included the Millennium offensive against Cologne,
the bombing of Hamburg (Operation
Gomorrah), the Battle of Berlin, D-Day, the bombing of the V-weapon sights
in 1944, and supporting the crossing of the Rhine. The last mission for No. 300 Squadron was flown against Hitler's residence in Berchtesgaden in southern Germany by 14 Lancasters on April 25, 1945, although the squadron continued flying missions to drop in all 152 tons of supplies to the famished Dutch population as part of Operation Manna up to May 7. After V-E Day No. 300 Squadron took part in Operation Exodus, the repatriation of British prisoners of war, as well as Operation Dodge, the transportation of British troops to Great Britain and finally in missions to fly Red Cross supplies to liberated Poles in German concentration camps.
The squadron logged 3,684 operational sorties and dropped nearly 10,000 tons of bombs as well as 1,400 mines over the course of two and a half years. It attacked 133 cities and other targets, and 107 decorations were awarded: one OBE, one BEM. one DSO, 63 DFCs, one DCM, one GCM, one MM and 37 DFMs. The squadron was disbanded on January 2, 1947, as the western Allies withdrew their support for the non-Communist Polish government in exile.
Commanders
The squadron logged 3,684 operational sorties and dropped nearly 10,000 tons of bombs as well as 1,400 mines over the course of two and a half years. It attacked 133 cities and other targets, and 107 decorations were awarded: one OBE, one BEM. one DSO, 63 DFCs, one DCM, one GCM, one MM and 37 DFMs. The squadron was disbanded on January 2, 1947, as the western Allies withdrew their support for the non-Communist Polish government in exile.
Commanders
Period
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Commanding
Officer
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Notes
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1 July 1940
|
with W/Cdr K. P. Lewis as a British supervisor
|
|
18 July 1941
|
||
27 January 1942
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||
1 August 1942
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Since 9 July a c/o commander
|
|
31 October 1942
|
||
4 May 1943
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||
18 November 1943
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||
18 January 1944
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||
1 April 1944
|
||
2 February 1945
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||
17 September 1945
|
Mjr pilot Romuald Suliński
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|
22 February 1946
|
Until the dissolution of the unit after the
Allies withdrew their support for the Polish government.
|
Bases
Period
|
Airlield
|
1 July 1940
|
|
22 August 1940
|
|
18 July 1941
|
|
18 May 1942
|
|
31 January 1943
|
Hemswell
|
22 June 1943
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Ingham
|
1 March 1944
|
(Wikipedia)
The box of the kit (front and back)
No. 300 Squadron insignia
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