Sep 21
    Squadron 315 as a part of 1 Polish Wing was designated to form top cover - 26K - for 12 Blenheims. Takeoff at 2:30 pm. Led by S/Ldr Pietraszkiewicz were F/O Falkowski, P/O Miksa, F/O Drybanski, Sgt Matus, P/O Lukaszewicz, P/O Andersz, Sgt Czezowski and Sgt Jaworski. Rendezvous with bombers over Rye.
Once over France, S/Ldr Pietraszkiewicz with his formation went after low flying pair of Bf-109. He got both of them but eventually did not join the reforming squadron at 16K. During this time, pair of Messers engaged F/O Falkowski and Sgt Blok. F/O Falkowski damaged one Bf-109 while Sgt Blok being all alone with few e/a, destroyed two. S/Ldr Pietraszkiewicz crash-landed his Spitfire and became a POW. P/O Lukaszewicz led the formation home. Over the channel, F/O Nowak R/T "May Day" and soon after that went straight to the sea. His body was never recovered.

Michal Cwynar's account:
    On early afternoon, 16 September 1941, Northolt Wing’s Commander Rolski sent three Spitfires to Redhill, SW of London, where they were to join Douglas Bader’s wing going for a sweep over northern France. That vic was led by S/Ldr Pisarek (308) with wingmen from 315 Squadron: Sgt Adamiak (Flight A) and F/Sgt Cwynar (Flight B).
    After landing in Redhill we joined the briefing conducted by Douglas Bader himself. Nobody welcomed us, and we were totally ignored. The three of us Poles stood in the back of the room and listen carefully what this legendary “legless” ace had to stay. He announced this operation to be an experimental flight, to test the new, so called “big wing formation”. Two squadrons in threes (not as we flew in fours), on various altitudes and almost in a line abreast, were to make an aggressive sortie on a triangle route over France. Our Polish vic was to be the last on right and in the sun!
    We were accustomed to the normal procedure executed in our Polish Wing in Northolt where we had already flew few sorties in Wing’s full force: three squadrons. In Northolt, the commander leading the Wing would take off and in a left turn over the airfield, rev down a little to “collect” the rest of the cumbersome pack. Once the Wing was formed in flight, he would take a desired course and everything is all right.
    With Bader, everything was completely different. One thing was sure: it was everything but the big wing formation! He took off on a full throttle and flew straight ahead. The three of us took last, one after another took and kept our Merlins on a full blast. As I was the last one to take off, throughout the whole flight, 1hr 50 min I kept full throttle, trying to close on Adamiak.   I could barely see Pisarek’s aircraft in front of me.
    Luckily for us, we did not meet enemy aircraft; they would have had a field day!
After landing at Redhill we gathered at the briefing room, where we took our assigned place: against the wall in the back of the room. Bader all pumped up, with a pipe in his mouth, was gesticulating vividly; - Johnny this, report that, where was the Bosch?! Pisarek listen to this and made only one comment: - I do not think he is talking about the same flight we just returned from! He only shook his head in a sombre mood. When we left for our aircraft, he told us: - Should he continue to fly like this, it will not be long before they will shot him down. Few days later Bader was shot down and bailed out losing his artificial legs and Germans took prisoner a “legless ace”! In two weeks, our squadron flew an escort to the Blenheim, which dropped new legs for Bader already in a Stalag.