Thursday, August 15th, 1940 was the day the Luftwaffe launched a concerted attack on Britain, in an attempt to swamp Fighter Command, with raids against the south west, south east and north of England, the latter graphically portrayed in the 1969 movie 'Battle of Britain'.
The Luftwaffe operations against the north east of England were in the form of a two-pronged attack, with the Ju-88s of KG30, operating from Aalborg, Denmark, tasked with attacking airfields in north Yorkshire, including Driffield, a Bomber Command station, which was heavily damaged and remained non-operational for the remainder of the year, and the He-111s of KG26, from Stavanger, Norway, escorted by Bf110Ds of ZG76, targeting airfields in County Durham and Northumberland, with secondary targets at Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesborough.
Representative aircraft from both of the latter units were the subject of my other build in this GB (He-111), and the previous GB36 (Bf110D), and as the details of the raids were covered there, I will not go into much detail here.
Having been involved covering the Dunkirk evacuation for a few days in June, 72 Squadron moved back north to Acklington, in Northumberland, approximately 30 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne, on June 6th, remaining there until returning south, to Biggin Hill, at the end of August.
The Squadron was equipped with the Spitfire Mk1a, with the Squadron codes at this period being 'RN'.
The northernmost raid, with the Heinkels of KG 26 and the Bf110Ds of ZG76, was detected by the RDF chain at some distance across the North Sea, giving plenty of time to assemble a defence and, as this formation suffered a navigational error, and were too far north, before turning south towards their intended targets, it was the Spitfires of 72 Sqn that made the first contact, east of the Farne Islands, off the Northumberland coast.
Bf110s were shot down into the sea by Flg Off. Oswald Pigg and P.O. Douglas Winter, whilst Flg. Off. Desmond Sheen attacked another, which exploded in mid air. A Heinkel was shot down by P.O. C.H. Robson, who saw it crash into the sea.
As the air battle drifted south, the Luftwaffe formation came under further attack from 79 Sqn from Acklington, 607 Sqn from Usworth, on the outskirts of Sunderland, 41 Sqn from Catterick, north Yorkshire, and 605 Sqn from Drem, Scotland.
Eight Heinkels were lost, along with six Bf110Ds, with another two Messerschmitts returning to Stavanger with wounded aboard.
The surviving aircraft did not hit their intended targets, bombing secondary targets where possible, and the raid was a failure.
Photographs and details of 72 Sqn for this period are fairly scarce, and information on the individual aircraft is somewhat contradictory, with lists and profiles depicting serial numbers of Spitfires which were either not on Squadron strength at the time, or had never been with the Squadron.
Having studied the available information, and cross-referenced serial numbers with Aircraft Record Cards, my chosen subject will be Spitfire Mk1a, serial number K9938, code RN-H, which was on strength with the Squadron at the time of this air battle. The aircraft was later lost, over Herne Bay, on 2nd September 1940, with the pilot, Sgt. Norfolk, safe.
I have been unable to establish who flew this aircraft at the time of the above combat, if indeed it actually took part, and therefore this will be a representative model.
As this was an early Spitfire, it's very possible, if not probable, that it had the early 'pole' type of antenna mast, and possibly the hand pump for the undercarriage, although the latter is of little consequence, as the model will be built with a closed canopy, for simplicity and 'speed' of build.
There is a vague connection, for me, with this subject, as RAF Acklington was only three miles from where I spent most of the summer during my childhood, youth, and until not that many years ago, and I had visited the airfield a number of times during the late 1950s and up to the mid 1960s, when Hunters, Javelins and Meteors could be seen just off the coast, live firing at towed drogues. Sadly, the airfield is now long gone, with what was once the main 'tech' site now a prison.
The other 'connection' is with 72 Squadron itself, as my brother-in-law, now retired from the RAF with very senior rank, started his operational career flying Wessex helicopters with 72 Squadron.
I'll make a start on this when the Heinkel is finished, probably within the next week, if not sooner.