more. In October he handed over command and returned to Britain. On 16 February 1944 Horbaczewski took command of the Polish No. 315 Squadron, flying the new P-51 Mustang Mk. III. On 12 June 1944 he shot down a Fw 190, and on 30 July one Bf 109 individually and one with his wing man (counted as 0.5 'share'). During this period, he also shot down four V-1 flying bombs. Death On 18 August 1944 Horbaczewski led his squadron of 12 aircraft over France on a 'Rodeo' mission, despite being ill with flu. The squadron, using the element of surprise, attacked a group of 60 Fw 190s of Jagdgeschwaders 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 Velennes (Oise). Exact circumstances are unclear; he was probably shot down in combat by an aircraft of II./JG 26. The squadron was credited with shooting down 16 aircraft in this encounter, with their only loss being the squadron leader (according to German documents, eight Fw 190 of JG 26 and four of JG 2 were destroyed). See also List of solved missing person cases Awards Virtuti Militari IV class (posthumously) Virtuti Militari V class Cross of Valour (Poland) 4 times Distinguished Service Order (posthumously) Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) and bar References External links WW II Ace Stories - Eugeniusz "Dziubek" Horbaczewski and his Last Battle Bibliography Tadeusz Jerzy Krzystek, Anna Krzystek: Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii w latach 1940-1947 łącznie z Pomocniczą Lotniczą Służbą Kobiet (PLSK-WAAF). Sandomierz: Stratus, 2012, p. 225. Jerzy Pawlak: Absolwenci Szkoły Orląt: 1925-1939. Warszawa: Retro-Art, 2009, p. 234. Piotr Sikora: Asy polskiego lotnictwa. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza Alma-Press. 2014, pp. 167–173. Grzegorz Śliżewski, Grzegorz Sojda: Cyrk Skalskiego. Przyczynek do monografii. Warszawa: ZP Grupa Sp. z o.o., 2009 Józef Zieliński: Asy polskiego lotnictwa. Warszawa: Agencja lotnicza ALTAIR, 1994, pp. 12–13. ISBN 83862172. 1917 births 1944 deaths 20th-century Polish people Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action Formerly missing people Polish World War II flying aces Polish World War II pilots Polish military personnel killed in World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Gold Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Aviators killed by being shot