So it Began.....Their Finest Hour

Day 3 – July 12th 1940
July 12, 2010 in 74 Squadron, July 1940


Weather: mainly cloudy
The day began with two attacks by the Luftwaffe against convoys heading south past the coast of East Anglia. The heaviest attack was against one of the convoys heading towards the North Foreland area of the Kent coast. Four squadrons from 12 Group were scrambled to intercept the more northerly of the attacks. At the same time German aircraft were intercepted off the Scottish coast near to Aberdeen. However, the city suffered 26 casualties as a result of the bombing. Then, later that morning an interception of an He111 was made off the coast of the Isle of Wight with the German aircraft being shot down.
It was a day when interception was made difficult by the persistence of fog over much of the North Sea and Channel. However, the day yielded 8 victories for the RAF whilst 6 RAF fighters were lost. The RAF flew 670 sorties.
74 Squadron Operational Record Book, 12 July, Hornchurch
At 16:30 hours Red Section left to investigate a raid 15 miles NE of Margate. AA fire was sighted from a ship which was being bombed by a He 111/ Flt Lt Malan DFC leading Red Section gave order to attack line eastern and opened attack closing to 300yds range. Heavy fire from the enemy aircraft’s rear gunner and silenced by Red Leader. Sgt Mould and PO Stevenson also attacked in turn and enemy aircraft seen to crash into the sea.
Today’s theme: The Squadrons – 54 Squadron[SIZE=12.16px]https://battleofbritainblog.com/2010/07/12/july-12th-1940/[/SIZE]

 

Monday 15 July 1940

• Weather: Low cloud.
• Day: Shipping attacked off Norfolk coast and the Channel. Yeovil bombed.
• Night: Minelaying.

Enemy action by day

There was very little enemy activity, probably owing to bad weather. A few raids occurred in the Cardiff, Swansea, Portsmouth and Southampton areas, off the Thames Estuary and Norfolk Coast. One raid also visited Drem. A certain amount of activity was also experienced over convoys on the south and east coasts.

South and South West

In the early morning a raid crossed the coast near Shoreham and bombs were dropped on Brighton and Hove. Shortly after 0900 hours enemy aircraft passed over Portland, flew direct to Cardiff and bombed Barry. Later a reconnaissance was made over a convoy in the Thames Estuary by a Do215. No. 151 Squadron intercepted, but the enemy escaped. Bombs were dropped at Pembroke Dock and Poling. Shipping in the vicinity of Portland Bill was also visited. Between 1600 and 1800 hours a raid crossed the Cornish coast. Two aircraft were sent to intercept but no details have been received of any contact being made. A raid started near Liverpool and flew over Wales and Gloucester. This raid dropped four unexploded bombs on St Athan. Between 1800 and 2100 hours a raid of two Dorniers flew over Portsmouth and Southampton. One of these aircraft was probably shot down by Blue Section of No. 145 Squadron. Later one raider dropped bombs in the sea of Southend.

East Coast

One raid was made off the Norfolk coast from 0600 to 0800 hours. Fighters were despatched but no contact is reported. Between 0900 and 1600 hours several enemy reconnaissances were made over the Norflk coast and upon shipping off this coast. A convoy was attacked at 1413 hours by ten enemy aircraft, probably Dornier 215s. A fighter escort to the convoy (Blue Section of No. 56 Squadron) shot down one Do215 and probably shot down another.

Scotland

Between 1600-1800 hours one raid was made over Drem. Later in the evening another raid crossed the coast flying east just north of Aberdeen. No further news was reported of this raid.


By night

Very slight activity was encountered during the night, the weather still being very bad. One enemy aircraft, thought to be a Dornier, appeared off Kinnaird's Head. At about 2300 hours, 6 to 8 raids crossed the coast between Newcastle and Flamborough Head, and proceeded to Liverpool Bay. These aircraft are suspected of minelaying. One raider dropped a bomb near Berwick. Later, about 12 raids appeared between the Norfolk coast and the Tyne, 6 of which crossed the coastline and the remainder cruised around as though minelaying. These aircraft later returned to Borkum.


Statistics

Casualties:

• Enemy:
• Fighters - nil
• Bombers - 1 confirmed, 3 unconfirmed
• AA claims destruction of one bomber in above totals.
• Own:
• No. 213 Squadron - 1 Hurricane (in combat off Plymouth).
• No. 145 Squadron - 1 Hurricane (crashed on landing, Swales Farm, Wickham).
• No. 249 Squadron - 1 Hurricane (crashed and burned out near York at 0053 hours).
• No. 249 Squadron - 1 Hurricane (crashed on landing).

Patrols:

• 154 patrols despatched involving 470 aircraft.

Balloons:

• Flying 1122. Casualties 21.

Aerodromes:

• Acklington unserviceable.

Organisation:

• No changes

Air Intelligence Reports

• A confirmed report has been received that among the German troops there is a healthy respect for, coupled with a fear of, the RAF due to the ferocity of their fighters and the accuracy of their bombers.

Home Security Reports

• Period: 14/15th July 1940.
• General Summary
• During the 15th July there was a certain amount of enemy activity over Coastal areas of the South and South-West of England and South Wales. There was considerable damage to property in the Brighton and Hove area.
• Detailed Summary
• Further reports received after the publication of yesterday's summary state that the Avonmouth area was subjected to attacks on three occasions during the night of 14/15th July. The first attack has previously been detailed, in the second attack, three HE and two IB were dropped on open ground near the National Smelting Works without damage or casualties being caused. The third attack occurred at 0117 hours on the 15th and no incidents have so far been reported.
• Further information as to incendiary bomb on Dover (see yesterday) is that thirty to fifty bombs were dropped on the Duke of York's School at Guston near Dover, now in military occupation. Damage was slight, no casualties.
• During the evening of 15th July, bombs were dropped near Carew Cheriton Aerodrome and on St Athan Aerodrome. Also on the RAF Station Llandow where damage was caused to underground internal cables.
• At 1341 hours on the 15th July, bombs were dropped at Mount Batten, Plymouth.
• The Naval Air Station at Yeovilton near Ilchester was bombed at 1355 hours on the 15th July, slight damage being caused to hangars and one aircraft.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/campaign_diaries.cfm

 

Phase 1. (July10th - August 7th 1940) Attacks on the ChannelConvoys.
The bulk of attacks were in the southwhere the Luftwaffe went on probing attacks on British shipping in theEnglish Channel and in the outer Thames Estuary. Smaller raids, and a numberof German reconnaissance aircraft were spotted along the east coast whileother nuisance raids took place in the north. During this phase, Londonremained unscathed, in fact many Londoner's went about their business asusual as if there was no war on at all, the only reminder that their countrywas at war was the AA gun emplacements, the barrage balloons, an occasionalsearchlight and of course purchasing restrictions and the supply of AndersonShelters to the majority of backyards and gardens.

Most of these attacks in the Channel wereon the merchant convoys conveying much needed coal, raw materials, machineryand foodstuffs to Britain. By sinking these merchant ships Germany woulddeny the British people of the various commodities required just for theirsheer existence. But at the same time, by attacking these channel convoys,it was hoped that it would draw out the British fighters from their bases.This way the Luftwaffe could analyze the strength of the RAF, determinethe speed and efficiency that the RAF could deploy its squadrons, in otherwords, Germany was testing the efficiency and strength of the Royal AirForce and it was hoped that the Luftwaffe would destroy the RAF in theair.

Spasmodic bombing raids continued throughoutthis first phase on such places as Portsmouth, Falmouth, Swansea, Newcastleand Merseyside, but these raids were not consistent like the channel convoyraids.
Phase 2. (August8th - September 6th 1940) Attacks of RAF Airfields
The attacks on shipping continued, butafter the failure to draw and destroy Fighter Command in the air, Germany'stactics were to now bomb and destroy RAF airfields in southern and south-eastEngland and to obliterate the radar stations along the south coast. Itwas during this phase, that German intelligence reported back to Berlinthat the RAF total strength had now been seriously depleted and that withcontinued attacks the Luftwaffe would have command of the skies over theChannel and in Southern England.

Hitler then issued his directive No.16which would put "Operation Sealion", the invasion of Britain into operation.This second phase was all important to Germany, as it had to destroy theRAF both in the air and on the ground if any attempt at an invasion crossingof the Channel was to be a success. It was during this phase that FighterCommand was stretched to the limit.
Phase 3. (September7th - September 30th 1940) Bombing of London,Major Cities & Airfields
The first bombing attacks on the Cityof London started the third phase of the battle. Attacks by massed formationsof bombers never before seen in the skies escorted by twice as many fightersbrought the war now closer than ever to the residents of the great capital.Heavy bomb concentrations of the industrial factories and the dock areasof London's "East End" turned the eastern entry to the city a huge fireballon both sides of the River Thames.

The Luftwaffe theory was that with massbombing raids, they could inflict severe damage to the city and lower themoral and strength of the people while at the same time eliminate the lastof the remaining fighters of Fighter Command. Further attacks on RAF airfieldswould continue although on a lesser scale than in phase two, but the daylightbombing of London would continue until the end of the month, where it wouldgive way to heavy night bombing that was planned to continue for as longas it takes, or until the city and its people were bombed into submission.
Phase 4. (October1st - October 31st 1940) Concentrated NightBombing Tactics
The night raids continued with Hitler'splanned invasion in tatters. Throughout September he kept the thrust ofhis heavy bombers mainly on London, but many other industrial centres sufferedas well, but at a high attrition rate to the Luftwaffe. They continuedto suffer heavier losses than the RAF and this they could not afford todo.

The earlier plan to destroy Fighter Commandhad failed miserably, still the British fighters defended their capitaleven though considerable damage was being done, so in late September "OperationSealion" was canceled.

The night bombing raids continued thoughtOctober, mainly in desperation, and in the hope that the RAF would falter,but all the Luftwaffe was doing was losing more aircraft and losing moreand more aircrews.

By October 31st,the skies were all quiet as Germany directed its efforts towardsRussia. But night bombing attacks on London and other cities and industrialcentres was to continue.http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0021.html

 

Coastal Command
http://aircrewremembered.com/thomas-charles.html

 

Day 10 – July 19th 1940
266 Squadron, July 1940


The weather: improved with bright intervals.

FIGHTER COMMAND SERVICEABLE AIRCRAFT AS AT 0900 HOURS:

• Blenheim – 62
• Spitfire – 227
• Hurricane – 331
• Defiant – 22
• Total – 642

This was the day that the RAF fielded a force of Defiants. The Defiant was a single engined aircraft but with a very distinctive feature, namely a Boulton Paul power operated four gun turret complete with air gunner to operate it, situated behind the pilot and firing backwards. The aircraft had no forward firing guns. This odd design proved a disaster in combat. 12 of these aircraft, from 141 Squadron, had taken off from Hawkinge, near Folkestone, to patrol the Channel at 5000ft. They were almost immediately attacked by a force of 20 Me109s. In minutes, 5 Defiants had been shot down into the Channel and a sixth aircraft crash landed in fields around Dover. The remaining three were saved by the appearance of the Hurricanes of 111 Squadron. The Luftwaffe had lost one Me109 in this disastrous engagement. They subsequently claimed they had shot down 12 Defiants which was not far from the truth. Following this baptism of fire, 141 Squadron of Defiants was moved to Prestwick in Scotland. The other Defiant squadron number 264 was sent to an airfield near Manchester. However, the squadron was, in due course, sent south again where a couple of days later it was in the thick of the fighting.
In the afternoon, radar reported a large body of aircraft forming up behind Calais. Three squadrons from 11 Group were vectored to intercept. Outnumbered nearly two to one they did not in the event achieve a score. The German aircraft, however, managed to destroy a boy’s school near Fowey in Cornwall. RAF losses for the day were put at 11 aircraft downed. This compared with only 4 German aircraft shot down. This four to one ratio coincided with Hitler’s speech to the Reichstag which included the famous “Last Appeal to Reason” overture to Britain. It was the German leader’s most overt reference to a possible cessation of hostilities.
266 Squadron Operational Record Book, 19 July
Cool and squally. Slight rain showers during evening. Visibility moderate. Flying 14 hours 30 minutes. B Flight at readiness, Ac Flight available. Local flying, target practice – night flying circuits and landings.
Today’s theme: The Squadrons – 74 Squadron

[SIZE=12.16px]https://battleofbritainblog.com/2010/07/19/july-19th-1940/[/SIZE]

 

On July 24th 1940Six Spitfires of 54 Squadron Rochford (Spitfires) attacked a number ofDorniers who were attacking a convoy in the Straits of Dover during themorning but the squadron had to break up to send a couple of flights tothe Thames Estuary where another convoy was under attack, but they couldclaim no victories except to spoil the aim of the bombardiers on the Dorniers.This day was the last day for 54 Squadron at Rochford, they had been therefor a month and had now been posted back to Hornchurch. The OperationalRecord Book of 54 Squadron states that July 24th was the biggest and mostsuccessful day of operations since Dunkirk. "B" Flight intercepted a formationof Do215s off Dover and Green Section under P/O Dorian Gribble managedto break up the formation forcing them to jettison their bombs and turnback across the Channel. An early morning raid on shipping in the BristolChannel by Ju88s with a few ships damaged, but one Ju88 was shot down by92 Squadron Pembrey (Spitfires). By 1100hrs, more Do17s returnedto the Estuary to continue the attack on the shipping.
On a number of previousoccasions, pilots had reported that many German bombers, when under attackhad started to throw things out of their aircraft, although nothing wasactually comfirmed. But in the days Operational Record Book of 54Squadron,it was noted by "B" Flight that coils of wire, possibly about 50 feet inlength were thrown out of enemy bombers that were coming under attack.This seems feasable, when we come to think of the British method of fighterattack. After lining up an enemy aircaft in his sights, then firing a burstof gunfire the pilot of a Hurricane of Spitfire would push his controlstick forwards and bank to either port or starboard to go under the targetaircaft. This would force the British fighter to either; a) attack at agreater range thus reducing his effectiveness and then diving to clearthe cables. b)forcing the British aircraft to climb after an attack thusplacing him at the mercy of the main gun armament of the enemy bomber.Because this action by German bomber crews had been officially recorded,Fighter Command HQ were notified and a memorandum was given out to allfighter squadrons and pilots.
(Details of54 Squadron ORB July 24th 1940 [Document 24 ])
18 more Dorniersescorted by 40+ Bf109s were intercepted over the Thames Estuary by theSpitfires of 54 Squadron (Rochford) and 65 Squadron (Hornchurch). As theDorniers turned and headed back towards home (No shipping was hit), 610Squadron (Gravesend) was 'scrambled' to cut off their retreat. A hecticbattle followed, the Bf109s trying desperately to cover the Dorniers, butover the Thames Estuary, the Bf109s had to keep an eye on their fuel. ThreeDorniers were shot down over the Estuary, while the RAF lost just one Spitfireand fighter ace Flying Officer Johnny Allen of 54 Squadron. As the meleemoved towards Dover, four Bf109s were shot down including Adolph Gallandto conclude a disastrous period for the Luftwaffe. Four days earlier, MajorRiegel Gruppe Kommandeur of I/JG 27 was killed, as was StaffelkapitaenOblt Keidel of 8/JG 52, then Major Werner Molders was shot down, and severelywounded and was hospitalized for over a month.http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0021.html

 

HAMAR, JACK ROYSTON

Rank:
Pilot Officer
Trade:
Pilot
Service No:
70898
Date of Death:
24/07/1940
Age:
25
Regiment/Service:
Royal Air Force

151 Sqdn.
Awards:
D F C
Grave Reference
Row K. Grave 9.
Cemetery
KNIGHTON CEMETERY
Additional Information:
Son of Arthur T. Hamer and Sarah A. Hamar, of Knighton.
CWGC - Cemetery Details








http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/40794-remembering-today-24740-pilot-officer-jrhamar-70898-royal-air-force-151-sqdn/

 

SUNDAY JULY28th 1940

OnJuly 28th 1940 the weather was a carbon copy of the previous day,and Fighter Command expected stronger attacks by the Luftwaffe. But themorning proved to quiet and allowed the pilots of 11 Group to take a breather.The people in the towns and villages took advantage of the fine Sundaymorning and while many took to whatever beaches were accessible, otherwent to their morning church services. For a few hours at least, the warwas a million miles away.

1200hrs:Dover, Rye and Pevensey radar picked up a plot over Calais. A large formationwas detected to the west of the town, and moments later another formationwas picked up on the other side. But for some unknown reason the amalgamatingformations seemed to hold their pattern, then when part way across theChannel turned back.

1330hrs:The radar stations again detected a large build up in the vicinity of Calaisand headed towards Dover. Fighter Command HQ and 11 Group HQ were put onalert. Slowly the German formation made its way towards the English coastline.As soon as the formation was detected, Park put many of his squadrons "atreadiness" and watched the armada of hostile aircraft on the table belowhim. As the German bombers with their escort approached the Kent coast,the Observer Corps reported 60+ Heinkel's and 40+ Messerschmitts. FighterCommand release 41 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires), 74 Squadron Hornchurch(Spitfires), 111 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes) and 257 Squadron Northolt(Hurricanes) to intercept.

1400hrs:The formation is just about over the coast when 74 Squadron which was atManston was first on the scene, the other squadrons arriving moments later.As was usual practice, the Hurricanes attacked the bombers while the Spitfiresengaged combat with the Bf109 escort. 'Sailor' Malan the South Africanace who was leading 74 Squadron took on first one, then another of theMesserschmitts, one of these was the German ace Major Werner Molders:

"Sailor”Malan was leading twelve Spitfires of 74 Squadron from Manston. As theyclosed, Malan chose a victim in the leading flight, fired, and watchedhim go down. Molders was leading that formation; he turned and shot downa Spitfire. For Molders this was his 129th combat mission of the war andhis twenty-sixth victory (not including the fourteen aircraft shot downin Spain). He came round again, looking for his twenty-seventh.
BothMolders and Malan were fast, but Molders was split-seconds faster. Evenas Malan was scoring his victory, Molders was already on his tail. Malanturned in towards the attack—the classic reaction of the fighter pilot—andkept turning tightly enough to bring Molders into his sights. His machine-gunbullets raked the Messerschmitt. Had Spitfires been armed with cannon,Molders would not have been able to nurse his badly damaged machine backto his base at Wissant. When he landed, his leg wounds were bad enoughto put him into hospital. It was to be another month before Molders couldclaim victim number twenty-seven.

Len Deighton Fighter 1977 JonathonCape pp141-142
Controversywill always abound when it comes to claims. I find no record of "Sailor"Malan making any claims in this combat. Mike Spick in "Battle of Britain"describing the height of the battle, claims that it was F/L John Websterof 41 Squadron Hornchurch who shot down Major Werner Molders, and thisis backed up by the German records in "Battle of Britain - Then & NowVol V" mentioning that Molders of Stab JG51 was hit and his Bf109 damagedby F/L J.T.Webster at 1500hrs, with Molders making a belly-landingnear the French coast.

Itturned out to be a disastrous day for the Luftwaffe. Their losses startedat 0500hrs Ju88 of 3/KG51 on a mission to bomb Crewe in Lancashirelost its bearings and became hopelessly lost, then ran out of fuel andmade a forced landing at Bexhill Sussex. Then at 0525hrs, 10 Groupreleased a flight from 234 Squadron St Eval (Spitfires) to intercept Ju88'sapproaching the Devon coast south of Plymouth. F/L P.C.Hughes, P/O K.S.Hortonand P/O P.W.Horton all contributed in shooting down one Ju88. In the combatoff Dover, a total of five Me109's were shot down and as well asthe Me109 of Major Werner Molders, F/L J.T.Webster was also successfulin claiming another Bf109 at 1450hrs. P/O G.H.Bennions also of 41Squadron damaged a Me109 at 1500hrs that successfully made it backto its base at Wissant.
Becausea number of German rescue and Red Cross planes [ Document-25] had been detected on observation, photographic and possibly other missionsas well as carrying out their primary roll as search and rescue aircraft,the Air Ministry on July 14th 1940 gave instructions for them to be shotdown if they were seen near to allied shipping or close to the Englishcoast. One of these Heinkel 59 rescue planes was spotted by 111 SquadronCroydon (Hurricanes) and shot down. Whether they were in their rights todo so is a debatable question as they were about 10 miles to the east ofBoulogne off the French coast. The time would have been at around 1500hrsas they had taken off at 1435hrs. As the crew of the He59 scrambled inthe water another He59 made a landing closeby to rescue them and a Hurricaneof 111 Squadron Croydon flown by F/O H.M.Ferris strafed the second He59causing damage, but it managed to take off and make for safety. AnotherHe59 was also shot down by 111 Squadron whilst on a search and rescue missionat approx 1530hrs.

Inall, a total of 18 German aircraft had been shot down, and the shootingdown of He59 search and rescue planes caused Hitler to proclaim that theRAF in attacking unarmed aircraft with defenceless and injured personnelon board nothing but cold blooded murderers.
http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0022.html

 

THURSDAYAUGUST 1st 1940

WEATHER: Although it was finein the west and in the north, there was 8/10ths low cloud over the Channeland in the Thames Estuary regions during the morning, but this was to clearby afternoon and becoming warm.
OPERATIONS IN DETAIL:

The morning period was exceptionallyquiet, but thick overnight mist in low lying regions aborted most of theminelaying that the Luftwaffe usually carried out during the hours of darkness.But a Spitfire from one of the Photographic Reconnaissance Units, on patrolover the north of France notices heavy aircraft concentration at Cherbourg.He circles round capturing the airfield on film and heads back to base.Fighter Command are notified at once of the build up, and they decide thatthe German held airfield should be bombed before they are committed inany offence against Britain.
1145hrs: The task is givento 59 Squadron (Coastal Command) based at Thorney Island using BlenheimIV bombers, and these would be escorted by 236 Squadron Thorney Island(Long range Blenheim fighters). Ground crews begin to load up the 13 Blenheimbombers with the required bomb loads while 10 Blenheim fighters are preparedand placed at readiness.
1250hrs: Radar picked up enemyaircraft in the north when a formation was detected approaching two shippingconvoys "Agent" and "Arena" just off of the Yorkshire coast. The sectorcontroller at Church Fenton is alerted and dispatches 607 Squadron Usworth(Hurricanes) and 616 Squadron Leconfield (Spitfires) to be scrambled tointercept.
1310hrs: Both squadrons takea little time in locating the enemy bombers but eventually visually sighta Junker's Ju88 and a Dornier Do17 out to sea just below cloud base. Itis not known whether the two aircraft are alone, or a part of a largerformation using the cloud as cover. The RAF fighters are observed and theenemy bombers gained height and disappeared into the protection of thecloud after a short exchange of gunfire from both sides.
Reports state that about this timea Junker's Ju88 of 9/KG4 crashed into the North Sea while on operationalduties, but there are no records of 607 or 616 Squadrons claiming a Ju88damaged in this combat. One Spitfire of 616 Squadron Leconfield is damagedby gunfire from the Ju88 but lands safely at base.
1430hrs: Radar at Pevenseydetects enemy aircraft over the Channel heading for the south coast. Inclearing conditions, 145 Squadron Westhampnett (Hurricanes) is scrambledto intercept. This is done about eight miles off the coast from Hastingswhere Hurricanes engage a Henschel Hs126 shooting it down into the sea.Other Hurricanes engage a Ju88, and one of the Hurricanes that attackedthe Hs126 was seen to crash into the Channel. The Junker's tried to makegood his escape, but became damaged in doing so. It managed to land atits base, but Feldwebel Kohl was seriously injured and was to die two weekslater of these injuries.
1500hrs: The Blenheim's of236 Squadron (Thorney Island) that were being prepared earlier, were nowtaking off. The Blenheim bombers of 59 Squadron had taken off a littleearlier and the Blenheim fighters were to rendezvous with them just priorto the French coast and strafe the Cherbourg aerodrome after the bombsare dropped by the bombers. The forecast given to the crews was that conditionswould be fine with good visibility. The Blenheim fighter escort was totake off in three waves, with five minutes separating each wave and thelast wave of four is to stay clear of the target area and stay off theFrench coast covering the withdrawal of the others. But all was not togo according to plan. The forecasters had got it all wrong as heavy lowcloud covers the entire French coast around Cherbourg. The leading threeBlenheim's led by F/Lt R.M.Power miss the Cherbourg Peninsular completelyand unaware overtake the Blenheim's of 59 squadron and fly deeper intoenemy territory before deciding to return to base.
1540hrs: A break in the cloudappears just as the Blenheim's of 59 Squadron near the coast. They areon course and the aerodrome on the peninsula can be seen and they commencetheir bombing run. Not far behind are the second wave of three Blenheimfighters led by S/L P.E.Drew. 59 Squadron manage to drop their bombs successfullycausing considerable damage amidst heavy AA and machine gun fire from aerodromegun emplacements. S/L Drew leads with Australian P/O B.M.McDonough andSgt R.C.Smith at about 50-70 feet strafing the airfield and gun batteries.Many of the batteries are hit, fires start to follow explosions as hangarsand buildings are hit, aircraft in the open are either destroyed or damaged,for the RAF the mission seemed to be a success. But it was short lived.
1715hrs: Some of the Blenheimbombers of 59 Squadron are hit as they pull out of their bombing run, SgtSmith's aircraft receives a number of hits as his low level strafing runendows further damage to the aerodrome, he pulls out on completion, turnsand heads back across the Channel losing contact with the others.
Returning to Thorney Island, the crewsare briefed about the mission, and it undergoes scrutiny. Itself, it wasa success, considerable and severe damage had been done, but at a price.One of the Blenheim's of 59 Squadron fails to return, it was piloted bythe squadron commanding officer Wing Commander Weld-Smith. Two Blenheim'sof 236 Squadron also fail to return. A number of Bf109's of III/JG27 gotinto the air and could have been responsible for shooting down the Blenheim'sof P/O McDonough and S/L Drew, or they may have been hit by gunfire fromground defences.
1530hrs: While a number ofcombat actions were taking place up and down the Essex coast, 30 He 111bombers approach the Norfolk coast and for some reason no RAF fighterswere sent to intercept them. They continued on towards the city of Norwichwhere the attacked Norwich Railway Station inflicting minor damage, butdoing far greater damage at the Boulton-Paul Aircraft Works on the outskirtsof the city. Also receiving direct bomb hits were a timber yard, and afactory. A total of 6 people were killed and nearly 60 injured in thisbombing raid.
Two Dornier's were intercepted ofthe east coast near Harwich during the day. One was shot down while theother headed home trailing thick smoke. Two Spitfires got entangled witha small skirmish over the Channel just off the Sussex coast near Worthing.By night, mine laying continued in north east Scotland and near Scapa Flowand also in the Thames Estuary. German bombers dropped "Last Appeal toReason" leaflets over many parts of southern England and South Wales. Someauthors have made mention of the fact that most of the leaflets fell inthe open pasturelands of Hampshire and Somerset, amongst grazing cattleand sheep. We know that English beef and lamb is amongst the finest, butit is going a bit far to expect them to be educated as well.
THE CASUALTIES:
1500hrs.Hastings. Hurricane P3155. 145 Squadron Westhampnett (Lost at sea)
Sub/Lt I.H.Kestin.Missing. (Shot down by gunfire from Hs126and crashed into Channel)
1715hrs.Querqueville (France). Blenheim IV. N3601. 236 Squadron Thorney Island(Aircraft destroyed)
S/L P.E.Drew.F/O B.Nokes-Cooper. Both killed. (Shot downon bomber escort by ground fire)
1715hrs.Querqueville (France). Blenheim IV. R2774. 236 Squadron Thorney Island(Aircraft destroyed)
P/O B.M.McDonough.Sgt F.A.P.Head. Both killed. (Shot down onbomber escort by ground fire)

http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0023.html

 

Day 30 – August 8th 1940
August 8, 2010 in 54 Squadron, 74 Squadron, August 1940

Weather: showers and bright intervals.

FIGHTER COMMAND SERVICEABLE AIRCRAFT AS AT 0900 HOURS:

• Blenheim – 66
• Spitfire – 257
• Hurricane – 370
• Defiant – 20
• Total – 713

On the previous evening a substantial convoy, code named Peewit, had set out from the Thames. As it passed through the Straits of Dover it was picked up by the newly installed Freya radar on the French coast. The Germans saw that the convoy consisted of more than 20 ships. It was soon attacked by several E-boats which sank 3 ships in the convoy and damaged several others.

A second raid was then launched on this convoy by a force of Ju87 dive bombers accompanied by fighters. They attacked the ships off the Isle of Wight. They had orders to sink the whole convoy. Despite resistance from a number of squadrons of RAF fighters, further casualties were inflicted on the ships.

Nevertheless, a third attack, this time also from Cherbourg was launched. These enemy aircraft were intercepted near Swanage by seven squadrons from 10 and 11 Groups. In an intensive and prolonged series of engagements, with some squadrons flying as many as three sorties, substantial numbers of aircraft, particularly the Ju87s, were shot down. The remains of the convoy finally made Portsmouth Harbour with only 4 out of the 21 ships undamaged. It proved to be the most intensive attack on a convoy during that summer. The RAF lost 19 aircraft as against 31 German aircraft destroyed. Churchill duly sent a congratulatory note on the day’s performance to the Secretary of State for Air.

54 Squadron Operational Record Book, 8 August, Hornchurch
No enemy aircraft seen – very quiet day.

74 Squadron Operational Record Book, 8 August
Flt Lt A G Malan DFC appointed to the rank of Acting Squadron Leader and assumes command of no. 74 Squadron. Malan awarded bar to DFC.

Reported Casualties (RAF Campaign Diary 8th August 1940):

* Enemy: 52 confirmed, 14 unconfirmed
* Own: 13 Hurricanes, 4 Spitfires, 1 Blenheim

Todays’s theme: The Planes they Flew – the JU87 ‘Stuka‘


RELATED
Day 5 – July 14th 1940In "615 Squadron"

Day 1 – July 10th 1940In "July 1940"

Day 44 – August 22nd 1940In "54 Squadron"
Day 30 – August 8th 1940

 

MONDAY AUGUST12th 1940

WEATHER:

Fine and clearduring the morning, after early morning mist. Light cloud in the northgiving way to lengthy sunny periods. Dry all day.
OPERATIONSIN DETAIL:

0840hrs:The day before the official Adlertag was due to commence, radar detectedenemy aircraft approaching from the direction of Calais, it was not unusualfor German bomber formations to fly directly overhead en route to theirtarget area. But this time it was different, this was a highly skilledBf110 operation that now attacked the high towers of the British radarstations. Each of the Bf110 carried a single 500kg bomb, and this elitesquadron commanded by Hauptmann Walter Rubensdoerffer who split his gruppeinto four groups of four Bf110s. At first, he led the section on a westerlycourse, flying low in an effort to avoid detection, then just south-eastof Beachy Head swung northwards and headed towards Eastbourne and the whitecliffs of Dover that were now becoming more visible as the warmth of themorning burnt off the haze that was enveloping the British coast. At apre-determined point, the raiders started to gain height so as to effectivelydive bomb their targets, the British radar suddenly picked up the Germanformation but became bewildered as to where they had suddenly appeared.An excellent descriptive is given by Richard Hough and Denis Richards andis worthwhile quoting here:
NowErpro210 broke up into its four sections, and Rubensdoerffer himself setcourse for a more inland CH station, Dunkirk, north-west of Dover. HauptmannMartin Lutz had been assigned the first and easiest target, Pevensey CH,right at the start of their run and dead ahead as they raced towards land.Oberleutnant Wilhelm-Richard Roessiger had been ordered to follow the coasteast to the towering masts just beyond Rye, while Oberleutnant Otto Hintzewith his four fighter bombers was deputed to knock down those provocativetowers above Dover.
Lutz's fighter-bombersdropped their eight 500Kg bombs dead on their Pevensey target at the endof a 300+ mph glide. They could scarcely miss. There was no oppositionon the ground or in the air. Concrete buildings collapsed and spread theirfragments widely, as if made of paperboard. Telephone lines were torn apart,airmen and WAAFs were killed and injured, smoke and dust rose from thecraters. The noise was stupefying, and the awful silence and darkness thatfollowed seconds later told of severed power lines - in fact, the mainsupply cable had gone.

At Rye alongthe coast, Roessiger's foursome destroyed every hut, but as at Pevenseythe reinforced transmitting and receiving blocks and the watch office survivedthough the personnel were severely shaken. The damage at Dunkirk, too,proved the success of Rubensdoerffer's training: every bomb bang on target.
RichardHough & Denis Richards Battle of Britain Hodder & Staughton1989 pp142-143

The Bf109 and 110formation was flying directly for Dover, then, as soon as they flew overthe coast they suddenly turned and immediately attacked the tall towersof the radar installations. In a swift and precise move Dover CH was damagedand put off the air. The formation continued on to Pevensey, then Rye andthen Dunkirk. Then Rye radar station also reported the sighting and reportedit to Fighter Command. Immediately it was given an "X" code, a code thatwas used if a sighting was of doubtful origin or could not be properlyascertained. Later, when Fighter Command wanted to know what was happeningdown there, the radio operator radioed Pevensey and asked the question,to which a gentlemanly voice said "...your bloody unknown origin is kickingthe shit out of us, that's what". The same question was put to Rye, wherethe WAAF telephone operator in a rather pleasant tone of voice simply said"....actually, your "X" code is bombing us "All these radar stations sufferedconsiderable damage and were put out of action. (Dunkirk suffered minordamage but the other three were back on the air after just a few hours).
There wasless doubt on the coast. Behind Daphne Griffith's, the station adjutant,Flying Officer Smith, one of several officers who had drifted in to watch,recalled that the Ops hut was protected only by a small rampart of sandbags.He told Corporal Sydney Hempson, the NCO in charge: 'I think it would bea good idea if we had our tin hats.' At that moment the voice of TroopSergeant Major Johnny Mason, whose Bofor guns defended the six acre site,seemed to explode in their headsets: 'Three dive-bombers coming out ofthe sun - duck!'
It was splitsecond timing. Along the coast, Test Group 210, split now into squadronsof four, came hurtling from the watery sunlight - Oberleutnant WilhelmRoessiger's pilots making for the aerials at Rye, Oberleutnant Martin Lutzand his men streaking for Pevensey, by Eastbourne, Oberleutnant Otto Hintzebarely a thousand meters above the Dover radar station, flying for thetall steel masts head-on in a vain effort to pinpoint them, Rubensdorfferhimself going full throttle for the masts at Dunkirk, near Canterbury.

Suddenlythe Ops hut at Rye shuddered, and glass and wooden shutters were toppling;clods of earth founted 400 feet high to splatter the steel aerials. Pronebeneath the table, the WAAF crews saw chairs and tables spiral in the airlike a jugglers fast flying balls - everywhere the sites were under fire.At Pevensey, tons of gravel swamped the office of the C.O, Flight LieutenantMarcus Scrogie, only minutes after he left it; at Dover, a bomb shearedpast recumbent operators to bury itself six feet beneath the sick quarters.At Dunkirk, one of Rubensdorfer's thousand pounder's literally shiftedthe concrete transmitting block by inches. All along the coast the talltowers trembled, and black smoke rose to blot out the sun.

But by midafternoon, General Wolfgang Martini, Luftwaffe signals chief, knew bitterdisappointment. Operating with stand-by diesels, every station except Ventnor- a write off for three long weeks - was reported back on the air. To Martini,it seemed now as if radar stations could not be silenced for more thana few hours at a time.
The Battle of Britain - 1940 / Aug 11th - Aug 12th 1940

 

FRIDAY AUGUST16TH 1940

WEATHER:
Slight haze early, but clear skies and sunny with temperatures above normal.Possibility of cloud coming in from the Channel during the evening.

OPERATIONSIN DETAIL:

The morningof the16th August was slightly overcast with a haze out over theChannel, the forecast was for the day to become fine. The question forthe RAF was, would the fine weather bring on a repeat of the previous day.German intelligence reported that the RAF had suffered considerable lossesthe previous day, and coupled with the fact that British losses for thefirst part of August was heavy, and it was estimated that the RAF had only450 operational aircraft with a further 300 that were classed as serviceable.The truth was that Britain was turning out fighter planes at a far greaterrate than ever before, and that now with some 450 Spitfires and Hurricanesbeing added each month, (against 175 Bf109s that the Germans were producingduring August) the actual strength of Fighter Command was 570 frontline fighters, with an additional 100 plus Defiants, Blenheims and Gladiatorsthat could be called upon. What advantage the Luftwaffe had was in thestrength of manpower. They could boast 1,560 pilots against the RAF's 1,380.
ReichmarschallHerman Göring had held a meeting on August 15th 1940 after his Luftwaffeand Fighter Command had built Adler Tag into a crescendo. His plan thatthe RAF would be destroyed in a matter of days was not going to come true,and a new set of plans was sent to all Luftflotte Commanders. [ Document-33]

Trying to lurethe British fighters into combat over the Channel by attacking Channelconvoys did not bear fruit. Keith Park would not be drawn into sendingall his fighters in one large force, in actual fact he sent only selectedsquadrons keeping many in reserve. The bombing of radar stations also wasnot working, as soon as it was thought that they were destroyed, FighterCommand had them back in operation within a matter of days. Attacking targetsin the north of England and Scotland from bases in Norway and Denmark wasproving suicidal, especially by day as it seemed that Fighter Command hadmany experienced squadrons based there and that their losses on these missionswere proving far too costly. The use of the Junkers Ju87 dive bomber wasnot proving a success as it was hoped, and the Bf110 twin engined fighterswere not faring much better either. In all, the Luftwaffe was not makingmuch impression on the RAF at all. After the meeting, he dispatched neworders to all commanders to be effective immediately.

It looked asthough it could be a carbon copy of the previous day, the weather was right,and Britain's pilots were tired after the events of the previous day. Butsurprisingly, no major attacks were planned by Germany which was a reallya mistake on their part because they did at this time have the opportunityin pushing Fighter Command to the brink, and seeing just how far they couldhold out.

I have decided,that in view of the fact that not one of those attacked has been put outof action. From now on we shall waste no more time on the British radarinstallations.
Herman Göring- August 15th 1940True, the radarstations were back on the air usually within hours, a few days if majordamage had been done, but was this a tactical move by the Chief of theLuftwaffe, or was it to be another blunder on the part of the enemy.


1200hrs:Radar picked up formations of enemy aircraft on three fronts coming acrossthe Channel. The first was just off Dover where 100 plus Do17 bombers andBf109 fighters appeared to be heading for the Thames Estuary. A largerforce was detected between Brighton and Folkestone while a third had departedfrom Cherbourg and was heading towards the Southampton/Portsmouth area.54 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires), 56 Squadron North Weald (Hurricanes)and 64 Squadron Kenley (Spitfires) engaged combat with the enemy over theThames Estuary with only one Hurricane destroyed and a Spitfire of 64 Squadrondamaged.
1215hrs:The formation that was approaching the Kent coast between Folkestone andBrighton was larger than the one over the Thames Estuary and Park scrambledthree squadrons. 32 Squadron Biggin Hill (Hurricanes), 111 Squadron Croydon(Hurricanes) and 266 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires). All three squadronsdecided to go in en masse at the middle of the bomber formationhoping to spread the bombers apart. The combat action from here was fierceand ruthless with fighters and bombers weaving this way and that and thesky was nothing but hundreds of black shapes maneuvering in spectacularfashion. But such action often culminates in danger and this was no exception.The Hurricane of F/L Henry Ferris collided with one of the Dorniers andboth aircraft exploded in mid-air. The Spitfire of 266 Squadron commanderS/L Rodney Wilkinson had two Bf109s attack him and he went down in flamesafter it is believed he collided with a Bf109 in which its pilot Uffz E.Buder baled out and was captured. Although the Luftwaffe had lost up toten aircraft, one Hurricane and five Spitfires were lost in this action.

1300hrs:A large formation of enemy aircraft were detected coming in over the Channeleast of the Isle of Wight. 43 Squadron Tangmere (Hurricanes) and 601 SquadronTangmere (Hurricanes) were scrambled as orders were given to all base personnelthat the formation was Ju87 dive bombers and that they were heading towardsTangmere Aerodrome. Residents of the surrounding villages and personnelon the airfield had a clear view of the gull winged attackers as they madetheir near vertical dives onto the airfield. Passengers on an electrictrain that plied the Portsmouth-South Coast railway line also hada clear view of the events, and saw hangars and buildings explode as bombsfound their mark. A number of Hurricanes and Blenheim aircraft were destroyedin many of the hangars that were hit. After just fifteen minutes, it wasall over with eight Ju87 aircraft destroyed and many others trailing smokeas they went back across the Channel.

Isaw one of 601s Hurricanes lying on it's belly belching smoke on the airfieldafter coming in for it's final approach, I taxied up to it and got out.There were two ambulance men there. They had got Billy Fiske out of thecockpit. They didn't know how to take off his parachute so I showed them.Billy was burnt about the hands and ankles. I told him, "Don't worry. You'llbe alright...."
Flight LieutenantSir Archibald Hope 601 Squadron Tangmere
(Pilot OfficerW.M."Billy" Fiske died the next day of his wounds and because of his Americannationality the American Ambassador John Winnat unveiled a memorial plaqueto Fiske in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral London on 4th July 1941)
43 Squadron lostfour Hurricanes on the ground, and another flown by P/O C. A. Woods-Scawencrashed on the Isle of Wight although the aircraft was destroyed, the pilotwas unhurt. Two other Hurricanes were damaged but managed to return tobase.
1310hrs:Tangmere also became victim to the Ju88s of Air Fleet 3 who targeted theairfield with extreme accuracy. Not one building or hangar escaped damage,aircraft were smashed both in the hangars and as they stood out in theopen, in fact a total of fourteen aircraft were destroyed.

When theraid was over, the place looked like a sorry mess. I remember looking atthe broken aircraft and saying to myself "There's a hell of a lot of workto be done." Later we heard a rumor that the group captain had floored a stroppy German prisoner with a good right hook. That us up no end. Thenthe Women's Voluntary Service turned up, armed with churns of tea. I hada mug of tea thrust into my hand and a lighted Woodbine (a brand ofcigarette) stuck into my mouth. That was my first cigarette, and I'vebeen an addict ever since.
Peter Jones- Airframe Fitter 43 Squadron Tangmere



CASUALTIES
1235hrs:Off Deal. Spitfire R6768. 266 Squadron Hornchurch
S/L R.L.WilkinsonKilled. (Believed collided with Bf109over Channel/Some authorities say shot down)
1240hrs:Calais (France) Spitfire N3240 266 Squadron Hornchurch
Sub Lt H.L.GreenshieldsKilled. (Chased Bf109 across Channel,crashed and burnt in Calais suburb)
1245hrs:Adisham. Spitfire N3095. 266 Squadron Hornchurch
P/O N.G.BowenKilled. (Shot down and aircraft burstinto flames during combat with Bf109)
1245hrs:Marden (Kent). Hurricane R4193. 111 Squadron Croydon
F/L H.M.FerrisKilled.(Collided with Do17 during a head-onattack on enemy formation)
1300hrs:Bognor Regis. Hurricane P3358. 601 Squadron Tangmere
P/O W.M.L.FiskeDied of Injuries next day. (Damaged bygunfire from Ju87 and crashed on landing)
1300hrs:Portland. Hurricane 213 Squadron Exeter
P/O J.E.P.Larichelieere.Listed as missing. (Failed to return aftercombat over Portland)
1355hrs:Southampton. Hurricane P3616. 249 Squadron Boscombe Down
P/O M.A.KingKilled. (Shot down by Bf110 and pilotbaled out but parachute collapsed on descent)
1715hrs:Dungeness. Spitfire R6802. 610 Squadron Biggin Hill
F/Lt W.H.C.WarnerListed as missing. (Last seen in combatwith Bf109 over Channel. Failed to return)
1730hrs:Off Deal. Spitfire K9915. 65 Squadron Hornchurch
P/O L. L.Pyman Killed. (Crashed into Channel duringcombat)
August 16th - August 17th 1940

 

1735hrs:Late afternoon action saw 234 Squadron Middle Wallop (Spitfires) in combatwith Bf109s over Portsmouth and the Solent. The a lone He111 was rammedby an unarmed Anson trainer by a sergeant pilot. It will never be knownas to whether the sergeant pilot rammed it intentionally or by accidentwill never be known as both aircraft plunged earthwards joined together.
16/8/40

August 16th - August 17th 1940

 

FISKE, WILLIAM MEAD LINDSLEY
Rank:
Pilot Officer
Trade:
Pilot
Service No:
78092
Date of Death:
17/08/1940
Regiment/Service:
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
601 Sqdn.
Grave Reference:
Sec. F. Grave 2.
Cemetery:
BOXGROVE (SS. MARY AND BLAISE) CHURCHYARD
Additional Information:
Born in the U.S.A. One of only two Americans who died in the Battle of Britain. On 4th July, 1941 the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Archibald Sinclair, unveiled a Memorial Plaque to Fiske, in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral. .

 

Sunday August 18th 1940
THE MIDDAY ATTACK ON KENLEY AND BIGGINHILL





WEATHER:
After earlymorning mist, especially in inland areas the morning was bright with clearskies. Most of Britain could expect warm temperatures although a weak changewould come in from the Channel at midday and bring cloud to most of southernEngland. The Midlands and North should remain fine with patchy cloud.
OPERATIONS:

For the lastfive days since August 13th the Luftwaffe had been targeting the airfieldsof Fighter Command and so far all they had done was to cause inconvenienceinstead of destruction. The German plan to destroy the Royal Air Forceon the ground, and in the air was far from bearing fruit. If we look backon some of the previous days attacks, it was true that many of them hadbeen of sizable proportion, but each time Fighter Command had managed tohold their own, if only just. Convoys in the Channel now seemed to be athing of the past, Göring had already given up on trying to destroythe radar stations and the plan was to destroy the RAF airfields.
But, theywere not causing any substantial setback to Fighter Command as yet. Manyof the airfields that the Luftwaffe had targeted were either those of CoastalCommand, the Fleet Air Arm or RAF training installations. Also, and aswas evident of the last few days, the Luftwaffe attacks were not concentratedin any one area. They were scattered, an early attack may be on the eastcoast, later an attack would occur off the Kent coast, then they switchedto the west. With attacks like this, because of the set up of Fighter Command,the RAF were able to hold their own, so to speak. The en masseattacks that were intended just had not occurred. Until now.

The Luftwaffeknew that some of the larger airfields around London, notably Hornchurch,Biggin Hill and Kenley were the key stations of Fighter Command. They wereactually unaware that they were sector stations, just important airfieldsin the organization of Fighter Command. The plan was, for August 18th 1940to completely destroy both Kenley and Biggin Hill with a well planned attack,that once accomplished, they could duplicate the procedure at Hornchurchand other airfields important to Fighter Command. This was the plan forthe day, and it was here that most of the daytime combat took place. Duringthe afternoon there was some activity in the south near the Isle of Wight.Late afternoon saw action mainly along the east coast which kept many squadronsbusy, and a few skirmishes took place in the west. But the main activitywas Kenley and Biggin Hill.

Bothof the target airfields were also the sites of the all-important Sectoroperations rooms, from which the British fighters were directed into action.These airfields had been selected for attack only because they were knownto be amongst the largest ones operating fighters, however; the GermanIntelligence service had no knowledge of the Sector operations rooms there.But if these poorly protected buildings could be hit, and those insidekilled or wounded, it would be a body-blow to the fighter control systemin these Sectors.
Alfred PriceTheHardest Day Cassell 1998 p55
If the Germanswere going to smash through Britain's fighter defences in an effort tomake an invasion of England, they would have to do it soon. Again and againGöring brought his Generals together for conference after conference.They discussed tactics, failures, missions, radar, right down to the weather.They too were now becoming frustrated, as it was way back in mid-July thatit was estimated that it would take about six days to knock the RAF outof the air. That six days has now turned into four weeks, and still theLuftwaffe where nowhere nearer victory than they were a few weeks ago,in fact they were actually losing ground to Fighter Command.
Although manylosses for both sides were generally grossly exaggerated, it was a factthat for every RAF aircraft shot down, the Luftwaffe were losing two. Couplethis with the fact that British fighter production far exceeded that ofGermany, the RAF by this day were well in front.
But Germanywas not a spent force yet, the Luftwaffe could call upon 1240 bombers and745 Bf109s, a total of just under 2,000 aircraft. To fend off anyattacks made by these aircraft, the RAF had only 825 fighters which consistedof 520 Hurricanes and 258 Spitfires. 47 other aircraft that were generallynot used in combat, but that could be called upon included Defiants, Blenheimsand Gladiators. Of these, 11 Group had at their disposal 80 Spitfires,245 Hurricanes and 15 Blenheims shared amongst 23 squadrons.
August 18th 1940

 

While the action was taking place during the afternoon, Churchill was in Parliament and it was on this day that he delivered his speech that ended with "....never, in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.

TUESDAY AUGUST20th 1940

THE WEATHER:

Overcast and dull during the morning.Cloud base was very low in the north with rain in many places. As the morningprogressed, the rain moved further south. London and the Thames Estuaryremained cloudy and overcast, but the Channel area was fine with sunnyperiods.
OPERATIONS IN DETAIL:

The orders given by Göring inhis Luftwaffe Command Orders Staff 1A (described in full in Document36) were in part put into action during the night of the 19th/20th.In this document we see that Göring mentioned that the weather conditionsexpected in the next few days was cloud over much of Britain, and thatwe (the Luftwaffe) must take full advantage of the situation.
"The cloudyconditions likely to prevail over England in the next few days must beexploited for [aircraft factories] attacks. We must succeed in seriouslydisrupting the material supplies of the enemy Air Force by the destructionof the relatively small number of aircraft engine and aluminum plants.These attacks on the enemy aircraft industry are of particular importance,and should also be carried out by night. . . . It would appear desirablefor the purpose of night operations to allocate to units particular areaswhich they will come to know better during each successive raid. Withinthis area a list of target priorities should be drawn up, so that eachsortie will produce some valuable result. . . . There can no longer beany restriction on the choice of targets. To myself I reserve only theright to order attacks on London and Liverpool."
ReichsmarschallHerman Göring 19th August at Karinhall
But these amounted to only small raids,between 12 and 15 He111 bombers attacked Liverpool and the Merseyside Docksand some dropped more bombs in the Midlands on the way back. Damage wasonly minimal and one He111 was shot down on the return journey over CountyDurham. These were some of the first bombs to be dropped on the City ofLiverpool.
A Large formationof 100 plus aircraft was detected coming in from the North Sea into theThames Estuary. They seemed content in maintaining their altitude and startedto take in a circular pattern and their flight path seemed to be over Rochford,Hornchurch, North Weald and turning back along the North Kent coastline.No attempt was made to bomb any of the areas and Hurricanes from 32 SquadronBiggin Hill and 56 Squadron North Weald chased them back out to sea. Itis believed that the German formation was on a reconnaissance flight.

While the action was taking place during the afternoon, Churchill was in Parliament and it was on this day that he delivered his speech that ended with "....never, in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.

August 19th - August 24th 1940

 

AUGUST23rd 1940

WEATHER:

Bright intervals were expected withthe possibility of showers over most of Britain. Cloud and overcast couldpersist over the Channel and the south coast.
OPERATIONS IN DETAIL:

The typical English summer was behavingin its usual unpredictable way which again meant that any major assaultwas out of the question. Overnight, the Luftwaffe targeted Filton againand up to sixteen tons of high explosive fell on the airfield causing somedamage, but although hangars and machine shops were hit it was not enoughto put them out of action. An occasional German patrol aircraft was detectedoff the coast, but Fighter Command was not going to waste time on these,and those enemy aircraft that did cross the coast and penetrate inlandmanaged to avoid interception in the low cloud cover.
The afternoon was still clear of anyenemy activity due to the inclement weather. A few single aircraft managedto cross the coast, but they stayed very close to the cloud base and theydone little or no damage. Again, with combat operations virtually non existent,Attention was given to the repair of airfields and tele communications.

CASUALTIES:
There were no casualties on August23rd 1940
August 19th - August 24th 1940

 

MONDAY AUGUST26th 1940

WEATHER:

Most of thecountry could expect a cloudy day, but little or no rain was expected.The north should be dull, but dry while in the south brighter conditionswith higher cloud , good visibility and dry. Mild condition should persistthroughout the day in all areas.
OPERATIONSIN DETAIL:

From firstlight, German aircraft on reconnaissance patrols had been picked up byradar throughout the Kent and Sussex areas. 11 Group kept a watchful eyebut they came to the conclusion that these aircraft were only on photographicmissions and posed no threat.
1120hrs:Fighter Command was a little hesitant at first when a build-up of enemyaircraft was detected coming from the direction of Lille. This was joinedby further aircraft from Luftflotte 2 and the force was estimated at 150plus. Fighter Command had no option but to take defensive action.

11 Group "scrambled"616 Squadron Kenley (Spitfires) who had not long come down from ChurchFenton, and the very depleted 264 Squadron Hornchurch (Defiants) operatingfrom Manston.

1200hrs:616 Squadron was one of the first squadrons of the day that was "scrambled"and according to reports, far too late, a flight of Bf109s were almoston top of them as they desperately tried to gain height. They tangled desperately,but the 109s had the upper hand. Seven of the squadrons Spitfires wereshot down, all of them destroyed, while two pilots were killed and theother five either baled out or crash landed their aircraft.

1230hrs:Although six squadrons were involved, it was only 264 Squadron Hornchurch(Defiants) that did suffer further casualties. The Defiants have neverbeen successful in combat operations, and why these aircraft should constantlybe used in combat is will always be questioned. On this occasion, theylost three aircraft destroyed with one managing to return to base thatwas to live to see another day. All the Defiant's were shot down whileover the Herne Bay-Margate area soon after 1230hrs. The Dorniers managedto bomb Dover and Folkestone as well as the seaside resorts of Margateand Broadstairs. Some of the Do17s went on to drop bombs on the airfieldsof Biggin Hill and Kenley again. But opposition from Fighter Command wasstrong, and all the bombers and the escorts were flying back over the Channelby 1250hrs.

The first coupleof hours after midday seemed like a break for lunch as no combat activitywas recorded. But two hours into the afternoon, it was back to.....businessas usual:

1400hrs:Radar again detected enemy activity off the Belgian coast. A large build-upwas forming over the Channel and heading towards the Thames Estuary. Thisformation consisted of about 50 Do17s from 1/KG2 and 11/KG3 escorted by120 Bf109s and Bf110s. A formation coming in from the direction of Lillewas the first to be detected, but within minutes, another formation wasdetected coming from St Omer. The Observer Corps made a visual sightingoff the coast at Deal, made a far more accurate assessment regarding strengthand height of the enemy. One formation took a wide berth around the ThamesEstuary, the bombers and their escorts turning east and approaching theEssex coast just south of Harwich. The other formation came in throughthe Estuary and took the usual course along the River Thames.

1515hrs:Fighter Command put 10 squadrons into action. Among them were 1RCAF SquadronNortholt (Hurricanes), 85 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes), 111 Squadron Debden(Hurricanes), 310 Squadron Duxford (Hurricanes) and 615 Squadron Kenley(Hurricanes). The flight path of the enemy bombers could give them a possibilityof three targets. The aerodromes of Hornchurch and North Weald, or anotherattack on London. Debden could also be a possibility but was located justa little to the north of the flight path.

Air Vice MarshalKeith Park had not failed to notice that in the attacks of the last fewdays, the Bf109 escorts were actually flying at the same height as thebombers that they were escorting, and not at the extreme heights as theyhad done so before. Bf109 pilots used to like flying at between 20,000and 25,000 feet, but were not in favour of flying at lower speed and onlyat ten to fifteen thousand feet with the bombers. It was becoming a knownfact, that although the Observer Corps were doing a grand job, their estimationsof enemy aircraft height and strength were far from accurate. Park thereforeinstructed squadron flight leaders to report the strength of the enemyand exact height and position as soon as contact was made. [1]

Keith Park'stactics now, was to release half of his required squadrons leaving theother half on standby at their respective bases. Looking at the overallsituation, he could possibly pinpoint the obvious targets of the Luftwaffe.Once the airborne squadron flight leaders reported the enemy strength,height and position, Park would vector the squadrons that had been on standbyto allocated positions to cut the enemy off.

1515hrs:First interception was made by the Czech's of 310 Squadron Duxford (Hurricanes).Being the first squadron on the scene, they found it difficult to get atthe bombers because of the Bf109 escorts, so they matched their Hurricanesagainst the Messerschmitt fighters. Weaving in and out of enemy aircraft,and in many cases....themselves, 310 squadron went in full of exuberanceand enthusiasm. It was not until the arrival of 56 Squadron North Weald(Hurricanes) and 111 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes) that the first enemyaircraft were shot down. 56 Squadron claimed the first Bf109 over the beachesof Clacton, then 111 Squadron and 310 Squadron claimed Bf110's in the samearea. But 310 Squadron was to lose two Hurricanes although both pilotsbaled out and sustained only minor injuries, and two others were damagedand managed to return to base.
111 SquadronDebden (Hurricanes) also had two of their aircraft damaged with no lossof life.

1530hrs:The German bomber formation and their escorts were over the area betweenClacton and Colchester when they were intercepted by 1RCAF Northolt (Hurricanes).At this stage, some of the Bf109s had turned back, but Fighter Commandstill had to contend with the Bf110s as well as the Do17s. Soon, the Germanformation turned nor' west and it became apparent that the target was Debden.With 56 and 111 Squadrons still involved, the three squadrons managed tosteer many of the Dorniers off their intended bombing run. One of the Do17sfell to the guns of a Hurricane of 1RCAF Squadron, then another Bf110 wentdown in flames crashing at Great Bentley, and believed shot down by P/OP.J.Simpson of 111 Squadron.

F/O R.L.Edwardsof 1RCAF Squadron was killed in this combat, while the 1RCAF commanderS/L E.McNab was hit by return gunfire from a Do17 and returned to base.Although all three Fighter Command squadrons managed to disperse the bombers,six Do17s managed to get through to Debden and release about 100 bombsdoing considerable damage to the landing area, one hangar, the sergeantsmess, the transport and equipment depots and the NAAFI. Water mains andthe electricity were hit and were out of action for a short period andit is reported that six people at the airfield were killed. Although Hornchurchand North Weald may have been targets, they were spared on this day.

The Czechsreally did a fine job despite their aggressive attitude. I think theironly problem was that as soon as they saw an enemy that would make fora possible target, nothing else mattered. On that day, I picked out a Dornierthat was not in formation and made him my target. I fired a short burst,then another, and the bomber started to wobble a bit. Just then, I smeltburning, and it wasn't long before the starboard fuel tank burst into flame.I undid my harness and the oxygen tube, opened the hood and turned theaircraft upside down and fell out.
One of theCzechs, Emil Fechtner, managed to get in one of our first success of theday. By all accounts he started his firing way too early, but kept hisfinger on the button, and at about 100 yards a 110 belched smoke from oneof its engines. But then he was jumped on by half a dozen 109s, so discretionbeing better than valour, he went up into the cloud cover and disappearedfrom sight.

S/L G.D.M.Blackwood310 Squadron RAF Fighter Command
1530hrs:At the same time as combat operations were taking place inland from Harwich,85 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes) and 615 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes) interceptedthe formation that was approaching up the Thames. Interception was madejust off the coast near Margate. A number of Bf109s were shot down overNorth Kent, and the Do17s fared no better. One of them being shot downby newly promoted P/O G.Allard of 85 Squadron. The Dornier, with both enginesstopped, decided he could make a wheels up landing at nearby Rochford aerodrome,a satellite of Hornchurch. P/O Allard followed him all the way down. TheDornier slid on its belly almost the whole length of the grass coveredairfield before coming to rest. "Now that's one way to give yourself up"was one remark from the ground staff at Rochford, "door to door service,things must be bad over the other side." as they waved at P/O Allard'sHurricane who flew overhead, then went back to join in the rest of theaction.
1600hrs:Attention was now turned to the Portsmouth area where 50 plus He111 bombersand 100 plus Bf109 fighters came in from over the Solent. 11 Group released43 Squadron Tangmere (Hurricanes) and 602 Squadron Westhampnett (Spitfires),while 10 Group released 234 Squadron Middle Wallop (Spitfires), 152 SquadronWarmwell (Spitfires) and 213 Squadron Exeter (Hurricanes). The weatherwas by now closing in with low cloud covering much of southern England,and a number of squadrons failed to make contact with the enemy. Thosethat did, managed to cause havoc amongst the Heinkel's dispersing themin different directions. Coupled with the fact that the weather situationwas getting worse, the bombers turned back towards home with most of themjettisoning their bomb loads over the Channel. Three He111s were shot down,and two, crippled by accurate gunfire from British fighters limped homein damaged condition.

.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****


It had beena bad day for both sides on a day when fierce combat was the order of theday, although Fighter Command fared better than the Luftwaffe. Althoughthe RAF lost 27 fighters destroyed in combat, only six pilots lost theirlives. German fighter pilots blamed the new order of flying close to thebombers as the main reason that some forty-one German aircraft had beenshot down. They claimed that they lost the element of surprise, and thatwe were spotted by British fighters as soon as the bomber formation wasseen. The German High Command had for some time had reservations of thesedaylight bombing raids on British airfields and naval bases even thoughthe new strategy was working, and this latest mission failure from HugoSperles Luftflotte 3 was now to prove a point and subsequently major daylightraids were suspended indefinitely. (This suspension was to last aboutfour weeks.)
CASUALTIES:
1215hrs: Dover. Spitfire R6633.616 Squadron Kenley
Sgt. M.Ridleykilled. (Hit by gunfire from Bf109 over Kent coast. Crashednear town)
1215hrs: Dover. Spitfire N3275.616 Squadron Kenley
F/O G.E.Moberleykilled. (Shot down over Channel by Bf109. Pilot did not baleout of aircraft)
1226hrs: Off Herne Bay. DefiantL6985. 264 Squadron Hornchurch
Sgt. B.Bakerlisted as missing. (Crashed into Thames Estuary after hit bygunfire from Bf109. Pilot safe)
1226hrs: Off Herne Bay. DefiantL7025. 264 Squadron Hornchurch
Sgt. W.Maxwelllisted as missing. (Crashed into Thames Estuary after hit bygunfire from Bf109. Pilot safe)
1240hrs: Folkestone. SpitfireR6595. 610 Squadron Biggin Hill
P/O F.K.Websterkilled. (Badly damaged by Bf109. Crashed in flames attemptingto land at Hawkinge)
1530hrs: Essex. HurricaneP3874. 1RCAF Squadron Northolt
F/O R.L.Edwardskilled. (Shot down by gunfire from Do17 during attack on DebdenAirfield)August 25th - August 29th 1940

 

MONDAY SEPTEMBER2nd 1940

WEATHER:

Areas of earlymorning mist with scattered areas of fog inland was expected to clear givingway to clear skies which was to continue for the rest of the day. Temperaturesexpected to be higher than average. Cloud was expected to drift in fromthe North Sea later in the afternoon in Northern England and Scotland.
OPERATIONSIN DETAIL:

0715hrs: Up until now, theCRT screens at radar stations had remained clear of any activity. Normally,the Luftwaffe tactics was sending single early morning reconnaissance aircraftpatrolling the southern and eastern coastlines. Instead, now what lookedlike a large build up of aircraft was taking place in the Calais and CapeGriz Nez areas. The reason that the reconnaisance aircraft did not showwas probably due to the fact that the Luftwaffe was going to take advantageof the perfect conditions.
0730hrs: Radar stations fromForeness to Rye reported to Fighter Command HQ that two separate formationswere heading towards Dungeness and the Thames Estuary and soon after theObserver Corps confirmed that 40 plus and 30 plus Do17s had crossed thecoast both with 50 plus Bf110 aircraft in close escort and Bf109s at higheraltitude.

72 Squadron (Spitfires) Croydon whichearlier had been stationed up north at Acklington were at Croydon for thetime being were imeadiately into action over the northen coast of Kentand followed the Dornier bombers towards Biggin Hill. 92 Squadron BigginHill (Spitfires) were also sent to assist 72 squadron but fail in protectingBiggin from yet another attack but this time the British fighters doneenough to put the Do17s off their bombing run and little further damagewas done.

222 and 603 Squadrons Hornchurch (Spitfires)and 249 Squadron North Weald (Hurricanes) engage the Dornier formationthat head north-west inland from the Thames Estuary. Two of the Hurricanesare damaged by gunfire from Me110s and one is shot down in flames fromgunfire from a Bf110 but one of the Do17s is shot down and another peelsaway belching smoke, but again, North Weald sustains only slight damage.One of the Spitfires of 603 Squadron engaged a Bf110 over Hawkinge andhad difficulty in lining up the 110 enough to get a clear aim, but theaircraft was hit by gunfire from the German fighter that smashed the perspexhood and the upper fuslage, but the pilot managed to return to base.

Of the two raids, only two targetssustained damage. Enough bombers managed to escape the marauding Britishfighters to make a strike on the Short Brothers aircraft factory at Rochesterwhere a number of buildings were destroyed and a number of civillians werekilled. Another formation managed to attack the old motor racing circuitof Brooklands near Weybridge where Vickers Wellington bombers were beingproduced.

Sources mention that Fighter Commandput up eleven squadrons this morning, but records indicate that only thesquadrons listed above made contact with the enemy. 603 Squadron Hornchurch(Spitfires) took the honours in this first combat action of the day whenthey took on the Bf109s and after a spiraling, twisting dogfight over theNorth Kent coast they chased the 109s out to sea where they managed toshoot down four of them.

1300hrs: With many aircraftat Fighter Commands airfields still rearming and refuelling after the morningraid, another large formation was detected on the radar. The first detectionwas while the enemy was still over the French coast, but as they approachedthe Channel more smaller formations joined in and soon a contingent ofover 225 bombers were approaching the Kent coast. Park gave the order forhis squadrons to "get up" as he was not going to be caught napping as hewas earlier in the day. "Get to them before they split....." he ordered,in the hope that his fighters could spreadeagle the bombers before theyhad a chance to form individual groups and head off in different directions.

Again, 72 Squadron Croydon (Spitfires)are back in action and sight the enemy to the north of Rochester. 603 SquadronHornchurch (Spitfires) also find no rest as they too are "scrambled" andthey make contact with the enemy just east of Sheerness and they are surprisedwhen they get caught up in a dogfight with over 70 Messerschmitt Bf109s.Other squadrons are released. 43 Squadron Tangmere (Hurricanes) are broughtin from their Sussex base, 111 squadron Debden (Hurricanes) recently movedfrom Croydon and 253 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes), but all a little lateto stop the German bomber formations from splitting up over the coast nearDover.

One of the Bf109s piloted by OberlieutnantEkkehard Schelcher in combat with 603 Squadron over the Isle of Sheppy,was shot down possibly by P/O J.S.Morton and crashed near Chilham. Hisbody lay in the wreckage of his aircraft for 37 years which was classifiedby the German authorities as a recoginised war grave before the body wasinterred at the German war cemetary at Cannock Chase.

1330hrs: The Observer Corpsestimate some 250 plus aircraft in total and keep track of them as theybreak into separate groups. 43 squadron Tangmere and 253 Squadron Kenleyare vectored to cover the Dungeness area while 613 Squadron was vectoreda little more to the east. 72 Squadtron Croydon, and 111 Squadron Debdenare vectored to cover the Thames Estuary.

72 Squadron is one of the first tomake contact. Intercepting a formation of Do17s and Bf110s over the IsleOf Thanet a fierce combat takes place over the towns of Margate and HerneBay. For nearly twenty minutes, the twisting and spiraling shapes of aircraftweaving this way and that fill the skies. It is now nothing new to theresidents below. They were now used to the dogfights that were occuringalmost daily above their towns.

F/L E. Graham of 72 Squadron swingsaround to line up a Dornier in his gunsight, suddenly a Bf110 comes infrom the side firing at the Spitfire. The Flight Lieutenant breaks offthe engagement with the bomber and takes evasive action, pulling hard upas the 110 flies past below him and he pulls the stick hard to starboardand now finds himself hard on the heels of the twin engined fighter bomber.The Bf110 weaves left and then right but the Spitfire, more manoeverablesticks to him like glue and closing in starts a series of three to foursecond bursts. Pieces start to fly off the doomed 110 then another shortburst and the bomber sheds smoke and descends sharply. The gunner is seento bale out, but the pilot manages to make a crash landing at Hougham justnorth of Dover and sets fire to the aircraft before he is captured by theauthorities.

In the meantime, one of the Spitfiresis damaged by gunfire from one of the Dorniers. The action now is overHerne Bay. Another of 72 Squadron's Spitfires is attacked by a Bf110 andshot down, but this time is crashes into the ground and burst into flames.The dogfighting grows in intesity as more than 80 Bf109s swoop down andinto the comat over Herne Bay and Margate. 603 Squadron arrives to assist.By now, most of the action is between the fighters, the bombers managedto carry on leaving the fighters to break up into their own small groupsand a series of individual dogfights emerged.

1345hrs: The German fightersmanaged to hold the fighters of the RAF even though the casualty rate onthe German side was the greater. Some started to retreat, and one of themwas tailed by F/L R.H.Hillary back across the Channel and it is not untilreaching the French coast that Hillary manages to damage the 109. Thenon the way back he runs into a dozen patrolling Bf109s. He come down atfull throttle and opens up hitting one 109 sending it blazing down intothe Channel before he makes a quick exit back to base.

When fivemiles off Sheppy I saw a formation of 109s. I chased one over to Franceand and fired at it. I saw the EA's perspex hood break up but asit was a head on attack I was unable to see anything more of it. I thensaw a squadron of 109s at the same height as myself, 23,000 feet.....Iattacked the outside Bf109 with three short bursts and saw it spin downemitting black and white smoke. After a few seconds it caught fire.
P/O R.H.Hillary 603 Squadron FighterCommand RAF
But there was still no let up. Another200+ bombers were detected, and again Fighter Command and its tired pilotswent into battle. Eastchurch, Detling, Kenley and Hornchurch were targetedand sustained minor damage. But it was the airfield at Brooklands thatcaused the gravest concern to Keith Park. Although not a Fighter Commandairfield, the aircraft factories of Vickers and Hawker were based there,and any damage caused here would delay fighter and bomber production ata time when they could not afford it.
According to Park, the attack on Brooklandsshould never have happened. Dowding and Park had for some time thoughtthat the Luftwaffe may turn from bombing the RAF airfields and turn theirattention on aircraft factories. For this reason orders had been givenfor squadrons from Tangmere to patrol a line from Guildford to the south-westof London as far as the south coast. On this day, it was 234 Squadron StEval (Spitfires) who were patrolling the line, but they were instructedto move forwards to engage the enemy over Dover and Margate leaving theway clear for Do17s to fly direct towards Brooklands. Fortunately for FighterCommand, although the bombers were supposed to destroy the Hawker factorywhich was producing Hurricanes, they hit the Vickers factory instead anddelayed temporarily the production of Wellington bombers.





The intense fighting was having aserious effect on both German fighter and bomber crews. Like the pilotsof Fighter Command, no sooner had they landed, refuelled and rearmed, theywere up again having to prolong the long journey across the Channel beforethe RAF could be engaged. The Bf109s, although operating from just acrossthe narrowest part of the Channel, pilots were still staying too long incombat with the British that many ran out of fuel before reaching the coastof France, and the result was a crash landing in the choppy waters of theChannel.
For the first time, British losseswere heavier than the Germans, but Germany could afford this as they hadmore planes and for a while, it seemed that victory was not in sight forthe British and that Germany was at last getting the upper hand of thebattle.
Biggin, Hornchurch, Croydon, NorthWeald, Debden, Detling, Eastchurch and Hawkinge were all damaged, and althoughstill operational they were not at full capacity or working with the efficiencythat was hoped, only Tangmere and Kenley had escaped much of the constantbombing.

Goering, Sperle and Kesselring couldnow see that, at long last the tide was turning in their favour. Germaninteligence reports had stated that a number of the British airfields werenow, because of the constant bombing, non-operational.

The tacticsthat we have now implimented in the last month, that is moving our fightersquadrons to the Pas de Calais so that they will have more time over enemyterritory with our bombers. The culmination of larger formations of heavybombers, that we have drawn from different advanced airfields and Gruppes.The added support of out Bf110 squadrons that are doing damage in theirbombing role as well as that of the fighter. All this, must be a formidablesight to the British as they, with a deteriating Air Force try to penetrateour attacks.
My fellowcommanders, we are now on the brink of victory. An assault and an invasionof England is now more promising than ever before. Our intelligence hasnow informed us that the RAF is now down to less than a hundred fighteraircraft, the airfields protecting London are out of action because ofthe superb and accurate bombing of our bomber forces, their communicationsare in disarray, and now we are told, their air commanders are arguingwith each other.

Gentlemen,another phase is now almost complete. The RAF is now no longer the greatthreat that it used to be, and we can now draw every available fighterplane that the RAF has into the air, because the next target must be Londonitself.......

GeneralfeldmarschalHerman Goering at The Hague, September 3rd 1940
Time, at this stage,was running out for the planned 'Operation Sea Lion'. Early estimates werethat the Royal Air Force would be knocked out of the air and on the groundwithin two or three weeks. But that was over two months ago, and stillFighter Command, Dowding and Park were managing to hold on and fight back.
Kesselringagreed with Goering and accepted the reports of the German Intelligence.He had been all in favour of an all out attack on London for some time,but Hitlers instruction that London was not to be attacked curtailed anyplan of bombing missions on the English capital. But since the bombersof RAF Bomber Command had bombed Berlin, the ban on London had now beenlifted.
If theysend over a hundred bombers to bomb our cities.....then we shall send athousand planes to bomb theirs. And if they think that they can destroyour cities.......then we shall wipe theirs from the face of the earth.
Adolph Hitleraddressing a rally after the bombing of Berlin
Goering also statedto his commanders, that the time was right for a preparation to the forthcominginvasion. We must now continually bomb London and the surrounding aircraftfactories, and the London Docks.
Kesselringgave his enthusiastic support to Goering's plan; he had been pressing forsome time for an all out attack on London. But General Sperle, commandingLuftflotte 3, disagreed as usual with Kesselring. 'Continue to attack theirfighter bases by day', he argued, 'and by night, the London Docks'. Hisstrategy, had it been followed, might well have given the Luftwaffe victoryover the RAF fighters. But Goering, who had already made one fatal errorin sparing the RAF's radar stations, and Kesselring, an ex-soldier illversed in air strategy, prevailed. London was to be the Luftwaffe's newtarget; plans for the Zielwechsel (target change) now went urgently ahead.
The attackon London was code-named Loge, after the god who forged Siegfried's sword.It only remained for the Fuhrer to put the new offensive across to theGerman public.

Peter Townsend- Duel in the Dark (Harrap London 1986)

....Two furtherpilots have come to us straight from a Lysander squadron with no experiencewhatsoever on fighter aircraft. Apparently demand has now outstripped supplyand there are no trained pilots available in the Training Units, whichmeans that we will just have to train them ourselves. However, it remainsto be seen whether we can spare the hours, as we are already short of aircraftfor our own operational needs. It seems a funny way to run a war.......
SquadronLeader A.V.R.(Sandy) Johnstone 602 Squadron Fighter Command RAF *


1700hrs: Radar at Dover, Pevenseyand Foreness picked up a number of formations building up across the Channelnear Calais. As is often the case, the accumulate into one large formationthen break away into smaller formations again with each going to its owndesignated target. 46 Squadron Stapleford (Hurricanes) are vectored tothe Thames Estuary as is 72 Squadron Croydon (Spitfires), 111 SquadronDebden (Hurricanes), 222 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires), 603 SquadronHornchurch (Spitfires) and 616 Squadron Kenley (Spitfires).
1715hrs: A large dogfight startedto develop over the Thames Estuary, but not before some of the bombersmanaged to get through the defences and make their attack on the aerodromesof Detling and Eastchurch. Damage at Detling was considerable with an estimated100 bombs being dropped on the airfield causing many craters and wreckingone of the main hangars. Detling was non-operational for the next threehours. Eastchurch, which earlier had administration buildings damaged,the NAAFI destroyed and water and sewage pipes ruptured, now came underanother attack and this time another hangar was destroyed as well as morebuildings. Suffering severe damage, Eastchurch was later declared unoperationaland while most of the station was moved to Wymswold Warden, the base hospitaland sick bay was transferred into the village.

1725hrs: Some 50 bombers andan escort of about 40 Bf109s managed to get through to Hornchurch.603 Squadron are pulled back to protect the airfield. Under the harrassment,many of the bombs drop wide of their target and damage to the aerodromeis only minimal. P/O R.H.Hillary with alread two destroyed, and one damagedlines up yet another and fire a series of short bursts, but is forced toreturn to base and can only claim it as a probable. 72 Squadron, alreadyhaving become involved in the combat lands, refuels and rearms and is backagain in the action calling it "a hell of a day" but squadron records showthat it claims 18 victories.

303 Squadron Northolt (Hurricanes)have been pulled into the combat to assist tired and weary squadrons alreadyin the air and are vectored to the Dover/Deal area. Many of the enemy aircarfthave decided to turn back and 303 Squadron meet them on their return. Themanage to damage a couple of Bf109s and a Do17 but one their own receivesdamage and has to make a forced landing in open ground outside Dover.





It had not been a kind day to FighterCommand. Just about every squadron in 11 Group had been airborne, somehad been up three ot four times, and in all over 750 sorties had been flown.But the price was heavy. even though 35 German aircraft had been shot down,33 RAF fighters had been shot down with 13 of these destroyed. But theday brought two remarkable achievements. That of P/O Richard Hillary thathas been described above, and that of F/O Harborne Stephen flying with74 Squadron who managed to claim five enemy shot down in one morning. Atdaybreak, he managed to shoot down to Bf109s, then landed and went andhad breakfast. An hour later he was involved with an attack on a formationof Bf110s over the Channel where he claimed one more to his days tally.By mid morning he downed another Bf110 which was making an attack on aSpitfire. Then just prior to midday, he made an attack on Bf109s escortingJu87s on a Channel raid and sent one crashing onto a south coast beach.
But all was not yet finished. Theevening brought a little relief, but just after midnight the bombers cameover in small formations, first over the Essex coast, then later on thesouth coast. Swanage was attacked, bombs fell at Leighton Buzzard, andin the north Merseyside was attacked and in the Midlands the areas of Birminghamand Wolverhampton failed to escape bomb damage.


CASUALTIES:
1250hrs: Thames Estuary. HurricaneP3875. 111 Squadron Debden
Sgt. W.L.DymondListed as missing. (Shot down while in combat. Body never found)
1330hrs: Ivychurch (Kent)Hurricane V7420 43 Squadron Tangmere
P/O C.A.Woods-Scawenkilled. (Aircraft caught fire after combat with Bf109 and pilotbaled out too low)
1630hrs: Dungeness. HurricaneL1578. 501 Squadtron Gravesend
F/O A.T.Rose-PriceListed as missing. (Failed to return to base after combat action)
1730hrs: Thames Estuary. HurricaneP3067. 46 Squadron Stapleford
P/O J.C.L.D.Baileykilled. (Shot down while engaged in combat with enemy. Was notseen to bale out)

September 2nd - September 3rd 1940

 

TUESDAYSEPTEMBER 10th 1940

WEATHER:

Clear duringthe early hours but cloud was expected to move in from the North Sea duringthe early morning and this would give rain over most areas during the day.
OPERATIONSIN DETAIL:

Low cloud andperiods of heavy rain over Northern Europe stopped any form of Luftwaffeair activity and any operations planned against England had to be canceled.For Fighter Command the day was nothing but a rest day and pilots and commandleaders were trying to work out as to why Germany had decided to turn itsattacks against London. If an invasion was Germany's highest priority,why the decision to bomb London. For an invasion to be successful, Germany would have toknock out as many military establishments as possible. As ACM Keith Park stated after the war, "The decision to bomb London was germany's greatest mistake, in those first few days of September our airfields were a shambles, pilot and aircraft strength was still at an all time low. By switching tactics and concentrating on London he will give us the time we need to strengthen our forces." There were many reasons as to why Park could do with some respite from his airfields becoming targets,the aerodromes were now functioning better than they had been for a numberof weeks, aircraft factories were still operating as normal and militaryhardware was still pouring out of the factories. The radar was functioningat full capacity and Fighter Command HQ as well as Bentley Priory wereoperating normally. These should be the targets if Germany was to continuewith its plan to make an invasion of Britain. Even the German Naval Staffcould not understand the situation, as described in their diary:
Thereis no sign of the defeat of the enemy's Air Force over southern Englandand in the Channel area, and this is vital to a further judgment of thesituation. The preliminary attacks by the Luftwaffe have indeed achieveda noticeable weakening of the enemy's fighter defences, so that considerableGerman fighter superiority can be assumed over the English area.
However.....wehave not yet attained the operational conditions which the Naval Staffstipulated to the Supreme Command as being essential for the enterprise,namely, undisputed air superiority in the Channel area and the eliminationof the enemy's air activity in the assembly area of the German naval forcesand ancillary shipping.....It would be in conformity with the timetablepreparations for Sealion if the Luftwaffe now concentrated less on Londonand more on Portsmouth and Dover, as well as on the naval ports in andnear the operational area....
Excerptfrom the German Naval Staff Diary [1]
So why turn itsattack on London. True the oil storage tanks at Thameshaven had sufferedbadly as did the London Docks, but these would have no opposition to anyplanned invasion. Suffering most were civilian properties and inconveniencecaused to the inhabitants, especially those in the East End, all majorrailway stations had been damaged but had not been completely put out ofaction. Of the attacks of the previous nights, some newspapers made comparisonsto the blitzkrieg attacks on a number of towns and cities in northern Europe,and many of the Londoner's abbreviated the name and called the attackson their city as "The Blitz" and from then on, the name stuck.
A few Germanaircraft were detected in and around the southern and eastern coastlineof England, but most of these were on either weather or reconnaissancepatrols. Fighter Command decided to leave them alone. Bomber Command sent 248 Squadron (Blenheims) on a mission to Norway but this had to be abortedbecause of deteriorating weather conditions over the North Sea. A flightfrom 236 Squadron St Eval (Blenheims) is placed on escort duty for thesteamship Scillonian and the mission is successfully completed.

With cloud coverpersisting during the late afternoon, radar picks up various single aircraftcoming across the Channel from 1700hrs onwards. With Fighter Command againnot responding, a number of attacks were made by the Luftwaffe. A coupleof lone bombers ventured into 10 Group territory and made some nuisancedrops. Another lone raider attacked West Malling again but causing no seriousdamage. Tangmere reported that it had come under machine-gun strafing withnearby Portsmouth was attacked by single Do17s.


72 SquadronCroydon (Spitfires) was one of the few squadrons scrambled and attackedone of the Do215s and one was believed to have been brought down, althoughone of the Spitfires was hit by return gunfire from the bomber and hadto make a forced landing at Etchingham (Kent). Just after 1800hrs, a smallformation crossed the coast near Dungeness and targeted Biggin Hill aerodrome,but were intercepted by British fighters and one of the Dorniers of 9/KG76was shot down and the mission aborted.

By nightfall,the Luftwaffe was again targeting London and this time they were makingfull use of the cloud cover. Also taking advantage of the weather attackswere also made on industrial areas of South Wales and on the Lancashirearea of Merseyside. London was though, the main target where over 150 bomberspounded the city once again.

But RAF BomberCommand also took advantage of the weather conditions. 17 Whitleys attackthe Pottsdamer railway station at Berlin causing considerable damage, thenthey went on to attack the Bremen dock area while a Blenheim squadron attackedthe important bomber aerodrome at Eindhoven. Eight Heinkel He111 bomberswere destroyed, two were badly damaged and another was damaged when itcrashed into craters upon landing later.

CASUALTIES:
There wereno pilot casualties reported on this day.
One Spitfireof 72 Squadron Croydon was destroyed in combat.
Two fighterswere destroyed and three others damaged in training operations

September 10th - September 11th 1940