Genuine and rare Battle of Britain Hawker Hurricane combat loss - September 11, 1940. Ron Cole has depicted this Hurricane Mk.I fighting for altitude in combat with Luftwaffe Ju 88 bombers, one of which this pilot intends to finish off. Combined with this striking image Ron has attached 1x1.5-inch sections of camouflaged aluminum skin from this specific aircraft - R2682 of RAF 238 Squadron, flown by Polish Sgt. Stanisław Duszyński. Recovered from soft earth in 1973 these relics remain remarkably well preserved and retain 95% of their original brown and green camouflage paint.
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HISTORY OF COMBAT LOSS:
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On the afternoon of September 11, 1940, Sergeant Stanisław Duszyński — a 24-year-old Polish airman serving with No. 238 Squadron RAF, based at Middle Wallop — was shot down at approximately 16:15 hours while engaging Junkers Ju 88 bombers over Romney Marsh in Kent. His Hurricane I, serial R2682, crashed at Little Scotney Farm near Lydd, Kent, burying itself deeply in the exceptionally soft ground. Duszyński was reported missing and never returned; neither his aircraft nor his remains were recovered at the time, and subsequent excavations in 1973 and 1996 confirmed the identity of the wreck through personal effects but yielded no human remains, with later ploughing turning up only bone fragments suggesting he went down with the aircraft.
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Duszyński had only joined 238 Squadron on September 2nd — a mere nine days before his death — having converted to Hurricanes at 6 OTU Sutton Bridge just weeks earlier. A veteran of the Polish Air Force who had escaped through Romania and France following the fall of Poland, he is commemorated on the Polish Air Force Memorial at Northolt, Middlesex.
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On the afternoon of September 11, 1940, Sergeant Stanisław Duszyński — a 24-year-old Polish airman serving with No. 238 Squadron RAF, based at Middle Wallop — was shot down at approximately 16:15 hours while engaging Junkers Ju 88 bombers over Romney Marsh in Kent. His Hurricane I, serial R2682, crashed at Little Scotney Farm near Lydd, Kent, burying itself deeply in the exceptionally soft ground.
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Duszyński had only joined 238 Squadron on September 2nd — a mere nine days before his death — having converted to Hurricanes at 6 OTU Sutton Bridge just weeks earlier. A veteran of the Polish Air Force who had escaped through Romania and France following the fall of Poland, he is commemorated on the Polish Air Force Memorial at Northolt, Middlesex - and on the reverse of these displays.
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