Air attack on Nieuport, May 31st 1940

Reminded me of the day I was at a mini-market in Marion, Indiana, back in the '80s. I n"was having a smoke outside while Sis got some milk. I heard an engine sound and looked up to see a ZERO flying overheard. I looked back a ways and there was a MUSTANG.

"Sis, let's GO, the Confederate Air Force is coming down for fuel, we need to get to the airport!"

Of course, she had no idea what I was talking about. I nearly left her there.

 

Indeed, I found this lack of information puzzling as well. On the other hand, it therefor represents an excellent discussion topic on the forum

 

Hello Christian
We have a saying in Finland: "He who asks will not go astray."

That black and white underside was, I believe, only a fairly short-term practice with the Fighter Command from September 1938 onwards. At least the Blenheim bombers did not use it in May-June 1940. I believe that until early June their undersides were painted Duck Egg Green, from June onwards the underside colour was Sky, in practice a similar shade as the DEG but Sky gave exceptionally smooth finish.

 

I would dare to say that the morale-boosting effect on their own troops was far greater than the military impact on the German side

It is certainly not my intention to belittle the efforts of the British pilots.
Undoubtedly, losses were incurred and disruptions occurred, but probably not much more than that. The documented deployment of air force resources was simply too small and too fragmented for that.
One need only compare this with the sheer scale of the operations carried out in Normandy in 1944, which were undertaken solely to achieve local tactical gains

We do know, however, that on the date in question, for example, fierce fighting was still taking place in Nieuwpoort. The focus here was particularly on control of the locks.
It must certainly be noted here that the Blenheim’s bombing of the built-up area at least significantly hampered German attacks at this location.

However, I do not believe this had a major impact on the German offensive efforts: on the same day, the 256th Infantry Division crossed the canal west of the town (with the heavy fighting around the Dreieckswald)
In short: based on all the documentation available, the attacks, viewed in the broader context, can hardly have amounted to more than pinpricks. In that respect, it is hardly surprising that this operation has not (so far) received greater attention.