**** DONE: Mustang Mk III of No. 315 (Polish) Squadron RAF, Sqn Ldr E.Horbaczewski

[imalko]

Username: imalko
First name: Igor
Category: Category 2/Intermediate
Scale: 1:72
Manufacturer: Academy
Model Type: Mustang Mk III
Details: FB382 'PK●G', No. 315 (Polish) Squadron RAF, Sqn Ldr E.Horbaczewski, Coolham South and Ford, June-July 1944
Decals: provided with the kit



It’s already evident (not surprisingly though due to the theme of the GB) that we are going see a lot of P-51 Mustangs in this Group Build. Here’s my small contribution - 1/72 Academy kit to be finished as Sqn Ldr Horbaczewski’s mount as shown on the profile in the attachment below. The profile illustrates hastlly application of the "invasion stripes" on the aircraft fuselage on the evening before D-day.

[imalko]

Eugeniusz Horbaczewski was born in 1917 in Kiev, but was raised in Poland. Graduating from Flight School he was made 2nd Lieutenant in 1939. He didn’t get any combat assignment however during the German invasion of Poland and evacuated with other Polish pilots finding his way to Britain in June 1940. After completing flight training on British aircraft, Horbaczewski was in August 1941 assigned to the Polish No. 303 Squadron flying Spitfire Mk Vs. In February 1943 he volunteered for the Polish Fighting Team, also known as the "Skalski's Circus", attached to the Desert Air Force. Operating from March 1943 in the Tunisia Campaign, the Flight was attached to No. 145 Squadron RAF. He also saw action with No. 43 squadron over Malta, Sicily and Italy. On 16 February 1944, Horbaczewski took command of the Polish No. 315 Squadron, flying the new P-51 Mustang Mk III.

During his service with No. 315 Squadron Horbaczewski distinguished himself on more than one occasion. On 22 June 1944, during a ground attack on German units near Cherbourg, the aircraft piloted by Lt. Tadeusz Tamowicz was damaged and forced to land. Horbaczewski landed nearby on an airstrip just built by the Americans. He found Tamowicz, who had injuries to both legs and flew two of them back across the Channel to the home base of Coolham. In the summer of 1944 the No. 315 Squadron also took part in special missions to hunt V-1 flying bombs, Horbaczewski knocking down four of the squadron's total of 53 V-1s.

On 18th August 1944, Horbaczewski led his squadron of 12 aircraft over France on a 'Rodeo' mission. The Poles, using an element of surprise, attacked a group of 60 Fw 190 of Jagdgeschwader 2 and 26, over an airfield near Beauvais. Horbaczewski quickly shot down three Focke-Wulfs, but went missing during the dogfight. In 1947 the wreck of his Mustang with his body was found crashed near Valennes.

Exact circumstances are unclear - he was probably shot down in combat by an aircraft of II/JG26. The Poles were credited with shooting down 16 aircraft during this engagement, with the only loss their Squadron leader (according to German documents, eight Fw 190 of JG 26 and four of JG 2 were destroyed). According to official lists, Horbaczewski was the third best Polish fighter ace, with 16.5 confirmed kills (16 individual and one team one) and one probable kill.

[imalko]

And finally here are the kit parts. Looks like very nice and fairly detailed. Hope the parts will fit well. Decal sheet is provided with full complement of invasion stripes, but I still haven’t decided whether to use these or to simply paint the invasion stripes myself.

[kgambit]

Great job on the research. Should be a good one.

[Airframes]

Looks like a nice kit Igor, and great background info and pics. There's one photo there I hadn't seen before, with H on the wing with his crew chief.
I think I'd be tempted to paint the AEAF stripes - decal stripes rarely conform or fit very well and, when they do, they look far too neat and tidy,and too 'bright', like a modern-day restoration at an air show! Notice the slight uneveness in the pics (worse when seen close up) and the density of the black - it's nowhere near what 'real' black paint would be like, having been quickly applied, and a distemper-type paint.
Looking forward to seeing this one come together!

[Wurger]

Nice to see that choice Igor. Great looking Mustang Mk.III. I can't wait to see the final effect.
However Horbaczewski's Mustang with invasion strips was also FB166.

[imalko]

Thanks for taking interest guys. Terry, I'm also leaning towards painting the stripes myself for the same reason you mentioned. Wojtek, according to my research Horbaczewski flew several Mustangs designated 'PK●G' and two among them, FB382 and FB166, were painted with full complement of invasion stripes. On the day he was killed, he apparently flew a FB387 however and this later aircraft wasn't painted with D-Day stripes.

[Wurger]

Several is a little bit exaggerated. A few P-51s of the code sounds better. The FB387 was his personal machine and was used in August of 1944 shortly befor his last fligh and dogfight. During the last sortie he flown P-51 FB355 PK-K probably of bare metal colour. The FB166 was used soon after D-Day.

[imalko]

Pure matter of expression Wojtek. I wrote "several" meaning "more then one". But, no matter...
So, I see - he wasn't flying he's usual mount on the day of his death after all, but another Mustang coded FB355 "PK-K". Interesting...

[Lucky13]

Looking forward to this one Igor.....and not wood!?

[rochie]

i'm sure this will look great when done Igor

[Crimea_River]

Looking forward to seeing this build.

[vikingBerserker]

Great choice Igor!

[lesofprimus]

Great choice.. Wonder what the swastica kills next to the cross kills denote???

[imalko]

Dan, I believe that swastika kills refer to V-1s shot down.