Mascot of the Month: Mysza & Puppies – 315 Squadron

315 Squadron fighter pilot Henryk Stefankiewicz was nicknamed “Mysza” (Mouse) during his Air Force Academy days, and he gave the same name to his P-51 Mustang fighter plane and to the dog he adopted in the U.K.

When Mysza the dog had four puppies around D-Day, Stefankiewicz named them Ike, Monty, Teddy and Ram — after Allied Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower, British General Bernard Montgomery, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Arthur Tedder, and Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief Bertram Ramsay.

315 Squadron was a day fighter squadron. Formed in January 1941, it was nicknamed “Dęblin” — after the town where the Polish Air Force Academy has been based since it was founded in 1927. Except for 315 Squadron, Polish fighter squadrons were named for major Polish cities where Polish Air Force fighter bases were located before the war. Bomber and other non-fighter squadrons were given names related to historical provinces of Poland.

Twenty-five year old Stefankiewicz was killed in action on June 22, 1944, during the Normandy campaign that followed D-Day. He was strafing ground targets in the Cherbourg area in his personal Mustang ‘Mysza,’ when he was shot down by enemy flak. His aircraft was found by American forces on June 30. Stefankiewicz was originally buried at the crash site, before being transferred to the US Interim Cemetery at Ste-Mère-Eglise.

His dogs were adopted by other Squadron personnel.

Another 315 Squadron mascot was a mischievous monkey that had been adopted by pilot Włodzimierz Miksa, who was our Mascot of the Month in July 2024.

The Squadron’s emblem was the fighting cockerel, derived from one of the prewar fighter units based in Warsaw.

 

Check out the products in our Store featuring the 315 Squadron insignia!