315 Squadron claims, 18 August 1944
 

On 18 August 1944 the Mustangs of 315 Squadron attacked Fw190s taking off from the Beauvois airfields.

Horbaczewski of 315 squadron was I assume leading the attack and therefore his three kills (claimed by his wingman) were probably among those Fw190s taking off (obviously he was not killed after a dogfight). This appears to indicate that he attacked 7./JG26 which scrambled from Beauvois-Tille and lost two pilots. Their sister squadron 8./JG26 managed to scramble and claim victories (and lose aircraft) after the initial raid.

This is all conjecture on my part but based on the remarkable accuracy of the Polish claims and the LW losses. This is not meant to denigrate the Horbaczewski (who has been over twenty years something of a Star among the aces) but to establish a bit more about his last dogfight.

K

Re: 315 Squadron claims, 18 August 1944
 

I have researched the dog fight in great depth, and I can assure you, it is not possible to make any sense out of it. Aircraft mingled over a small area in a total mess, and possibly at some point JG joined, but without such crucial details like German crash location, witness accounts, German reports, etc., no matches are possible, wild guesses at best.

Re: 315 Squadron claims, 18 August 1944
 

A fair point Franek. My scenario was based on pure conjecture, linked to the times of Fw190s being claimed, which were obviously not linked to the take off of the fighters. My thoughts were that the Fw190s were not warned very much before the attack and that Horbaczewski must have been lost before his wingman made his own claim and those of the rest of 315 squadron who were following. Also I assume Horbaczewski's last moments are not recorded. Was he shot down by AA?

K

Re: 315 Squadron claims, 18 August 1944
 

Well, the mess is because Germans were taking off from two adjacent airfields. F/S Słoń, I think Yellow 4 noticed waving grass, and called S/L Horbaczewski, who ordered him to lead the attack. He followed with his Red Section, and in the effect got into a gaggle of Fw 190s, S/L Horbaczewski Red 1 following two Fw 190s, himself followed by another two Fw 190s, chased by P/O Nowosielski Red 2. Then there were other Mustangs making attacks, so it turned into a real mess, with Fw 190s running into various directions, some chased by Mustangs. Repeated attacks lasted for a while, so it was not a single attack.
The last moments of Horbaczewski are known, but do not lead to any definite conclusion. His Cas P4 report does not contain extra information. Germans filed a little bit excessive claims, but no reports are known, so we cannot be sure. Only one German pilot lived long enough to provide his account, so unless some extra stuff shall appear, I am afraid we will never know.