Polish 303 (Kosciuszko) Squadron pilot Sgt. Tadeusz Andruszków downs a Heinkel He 111 on 26th September 1940 in the skies over Britain. Having previously shared in the destruction of a Do 215 on September 15th, the He 111 would be his only successful full claim. The next day on the 27th September he was shot down by a Bf 109 over Horsham, Sussex, flying this same Hawker Hurricane. Andruszków was killed in the crash. He was 19 years old.
No. 303 Squadron became the most successful Fighter Command unit in the Battle of Britain , shooting down 126 German machines in only 42 days.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, who led Fighter Command, would later write:
“Had it not been for the magnificent material contributed by the Polish squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say that the outcome of the Battle would have been the same.”