This Day in the Battle of Britain

[Njaco]

25 August 1940 Sunday
UNITED KINGDOM: After early morning mists, especially in the north, the morning was expected to be fine and clear with cloud developing during the afternoon. The north expected scattered cloud during the afternoon and evening. Surprisingly, although the weather could only be termed as cloudy but fair, it was in fact warm to hot with ideal flying conditions. But for a day of any serious activity, it was not to be, not for the morning period anyway. Dowding and Park were discussing the possibility that the Luftwaffe were turning their attention to the bombing of London and the cities after the previous night encounter, unaware at this stage that the bombing may have been accidental.

During the mid-afternoon, Ventnor CH had detected a formation coming in across the Channel again heading towards the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton. Up until now, it had almost looked like being a perfect day off for the pilots of 10 and 11 Groups. Many just lazed around most of the day in the warm sunshine hoping that the Luftwaffe pilots were too, lapping it up and could not be bothered with fighting a wretched war.

But now the non-events of the day changed. No large raids appearred until 16:00, when some 100 plus aircraft had been detected coming in over the Channel from Cherbourg heading for Weymouth. Further to that, another three waves of enemy aircraft were coming in from the Channel Islands that totaled some 100 plus aircraft. Headquarters FC immediately notified 10 Group in which they dispatched RAF No.609 Squadron Warmwell (Spitfires) and RAF No.152 Squadron Warmwell (Spitfires) under the command of Squadron Leader Horace Darley and RAF No. 616 Squadron Kenley. 11 Group dispatched RAF No.17 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes) while RAF No.87 Squadron Exeter (Hurricanes) and RAF No.213 Squadron Exeter (Hurricanes) were under the command of Wing Commander John Dewar and made up the three squadrons vectored to attack the incoming German formations. All squadrons met at the vectored position just to the south of Weymouth and Portland where the British fighters found a heavy contingent of Bf 110s from 1./ZG 2 and ZG 76 and Bf 109s from JG 26, JG 53, JG 2 and JG 54. RAF Nos.87 and 609 Squadrons defended Portland and RAF No. 17 Sqn. protected Warmwell. The Ju 88s of II./KG 51 and II./KG 54 protected by Bf 110s split into three groups to attack Weymouth, Portland and Warmwell. 87 Sqn. took on the Portland Ju 88s leaving the 110s to 609 Sqn. But the 110s were in turn escorted by Bf 109s of JG 53 and JG 26. 17 Sqn. found the bombers impossible to reach through the dense fighter screen. As with nearly all occasions of combat, they were outnumbered and once again indulged in some serious dog fighting and a number of bombers managed to get through and attack the airfield at Warmwell causing damage only to a couple of hangars and cutting the communications. Flying very high, with massed fighter protection, the raid (200-plus aircraft) bombed several western areas from Weymouth to Scilly Isles and across to Bristol and Pembroke.

Squadron Leader Cedric Williams of 17 Squadron was shot down and killed when gunfire from one of the Bf 110s hit his Hurricane, while another pilot was seen to bale out of his crippled Hurricane to safety. But if there has to be a hero of the day, it has to be Czech pilot Count Manfred Czernin of 17 Squadron who by accurate head on and rear attacks shot down three Bf 110s in just one minute. As the number of Bf 110s lost became greater, more Bf 109s came in from above who shot down more British fighters. But the damage had been done, the force of Bf 110s had diminished considerably, and the Bf 109s had to return to their bases because they were low on fuel. Oblt. Kurt Ruppert of 3./JG 26 chased a Spitfire across the Channel to Calais where he shot it down. The Spitfire pilot, Sgt. P.T.Wareing of RAF No. 616 Squadron Kenley, was taken prisoner where he escaped in 1942 and returned to duty. In this combat, Fighter Command lost sixteen fighters from the three squadrons while the Luftwaffe lost a total of twenty aircraft.

At the same time, there was a small skirmish over Dover where a Staffel of Bf 110s again bombed the harbour and docks, but fighters from Gravesend and Biggin Hill chased them back out over the Channel. During the battle over the Isle of Wight, III./JG 2 lost three Bf 109s destroyed by British fighters. All three pilots survived though they were severely wounded. But JG 2 succeeded in claiming its 250th victory of the war while Oblt. Helmut Wick got his nineteenth and twentieth victories.

The only other sizeable raid of the day developed over Kent around 18:00. Six 11 Group squadrons were in action, RAF No.32 Sqn operating from Hawkinge, and engaging a dozen Do 17s until Bf 109s drove them off and destroyed a Hurricane - P/O K.R.Gillman being listed as missing. But the new Luftwaffe tactics were working, and to a point were working well. They were pleased at the decision that the Bf 109 bases had been moved to the area of Calais which had now allowed them to spend more time over enemy territory. Also, the new tighter Luftwaffe formations were allowing the bombers now to at least get through to their target areas. A point recognized by Fighter Command who stated that all they have to do now is to learn that even from the air, dockland areas do not look like oil refineries and storage areas and that with the new formations they have taught the navigators how to read a map.

P/O M.M.Shand, a New Zealander joined RAF No 54 Squadron on the 24th of August 1940 with some 20 hours flying on Spitfires and no training at all in combat. He flew as No 2 to Al Deere on his first outing. He was injured on the 25th of August 1940 at 19:20hrs when his Spitfire I (R6969) was attacked by a Bf 109 over Dover.

Losses: Luftwaffe 20; RAF 16.

The bombers of KG 55 attack Bristol during the night, losing a He 111 from 9./KG 55 shot down into the sea off Sussex by fighters from RAF No. 615 Squadron. At 2300 hours He 111s of III./KG 27 bomb the city of Birmingham with one Heinkel dropping bombs on the harbour at Avonmouth.

GERMANY: The first RAF Bomber Command raid on Berlin occurred during the night of 25/26 August. Winston Churchill dispatched an order to Bomber Command that an attack of retaliation be made on Berlin. The participants were: 9 Vickers Wellington Mk Is of No. 99 Squadron based at Newmarket, Suffolk, and 8 Vickers Wellington Mk Is of No. 149 Squadron based at Mildenhall, Suffolk, and 12Handley Page Hampdens Mk Is of No. 61 and No. 144 Squadrons, both based at Hemswell, Lincolnshire, and 9 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk Vs of No. 51 Squadron (4 Group) and 5 Whitley Mk Vs of No 78 Squadron (4 Group), both based at Dishforth, Yorkshire. Whitley and Wellington crews were told that their main target "is the Siemens and Halske factory at Siemenstadt, producing 85% of the electrical power used by the German forces." Hampden crews were told to demolish Berlin's Klingenberg power station. Other objectives were the Henschel Aircraft Factory, the Bucker training aircraft factory at Rangsdorf, Tempelhof aerodrome and Tegel's gasworks. The head of the Air Staff of the RAF, Sir Charles Portal, justified these raids by saying that to...

"get four million people out of bed and into the shelters"

...was worth the losses involved.

 

[Njaco]

26 August 1940 Monday
UNITED KINGDOM: From first light, German aircraft on reconnaissance patrols had been picked up by radar throughout the Kent and Sussex areas. 11 Group kept a watchful eye but they came to the conclusion that these aircraft were only on photographic missions and posed no threat. The day was marked by three major Luftwaffe operations. The first comprising of five distinct raids over Kent, started at 1137 hours with intrusions by around 50 bombers and 80 fighters, some of which strafed east Kent targets. Fighter Command was a little hesitant at first when a build-up of enemy aircraft was detected coming from the direction of Lille. This was joined by further aircraft from Luftflotte 2 and the force was estimated at 150 plus. Fighter Command had no option but to take defensive action. Some 40 Hurricanes and 30 Spitfires of 11 Group rose to defend their bases. RAF No.616 Squadron was one of the first squadrons of the day that was "scrambled" and according to reports, far too late - a flight of Bf 109s were almost on top of them as they desperately tried to gain height. They tangled desperately, but the 109s had the upper hand. There was little the Yorkshire squadron could do. Seven of the squadron's Spitfires were shot down, all of them destroyed, while two pilots were killed and the other five either baled out or crash landed their aircraft. Kommodore Mölders of the Stab./JG 51 downed a Spitfire, his twenty-seventh victory. At 1215 hours Major Mölders comrade at JG 51, Hptm. Josef Fözö of 4./JG 51 destroyed two Spitfires from RAF No. 616 Squadron over Dover.

Although six squadrons were involved, it was only RAF No.264 Squadron Hornchurch (Defiants) that suffered further casualties. Warned of an intended attack on its base, Hornchurch, RAF No. 264 Squadron hastened away to engage KG 3's Do 17s over Herne Bay. Although the Defiants assembled in their specified battle formation for a bomber interception they were no match for the escorting Bf 109s which claimed three of the Defiants. In return the Defiants shot down six Do 17s and a fighter. The struggle did reduce the Bf 109s fuel forcing them to leave. The Do 17s decided it was unwise to continue unprotected and jettisoned their loads. All the Defiant's were shot down while over the Herne Bay-Margate area soon after 1230hrs. The Dorniers managed to bomb Dover and Folkestone as well as the seaside resorts of Margate and Broadstairs. Some of the Do 17s went on to drop bombs on the airfields of Biggin Hill and Kenley again. But opposition from Fighter Command was strong, and all the bombers and the escorts were flying back over the Channel by 1250hrs.

The second major operation started shortly after 13:00 when eight raids developed. Radar again detected enemy activity off the Belgian coast. 78 Do 17s of II./KG 2 and III./KG 3 escorted by 120 Bf 110s of ZG 26 and ZG 76 and Bf 109s of JG 3 assembled over Lille. The Observer Corps made a visual sighting off the coast at Deal, made a far more accurate assessment regarding strength and height of the enemy. One formation took a wide berth around the Thames Estuary, the bombers and their escorts turning east and approaching the Essex coast just south of Harwich. The other formation came in through the Estuary and took the usual course along the River Thames. Fighter Command put 10 squadrons into action. Among them were RCAF No. 1 Sqdrn Northolt (Hurricanes), RAF No. 85 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes), RAF No. 111 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes), RAF No. 310 Squadron Duxford (Hurricanes) and RAF No. 615 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes). The flight path of the enemy bombers could give them a possibility of three targets. The aerodromes of Hornchurch and North Weald, or another attack on London. Debden could also be a possibility but was located just a little to the north of the flight path. AVM Keith Park's tactics now, was to release half of his required squadrons leaving the other half on standby at their respective bases. Looking at the overall situation, 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 standby to allocated positions to cut the enemy off.

First interception was made by the Czech's of RAF No. 310 Squadron Duxford (Hurricanes). Being the first squadron on the scene, they found it difficult to get at the bombers because of the Bf109 escorts, so they matched their Hurricanes against the Messerschmitt fighters. Weaving in and out of enemy aircraft, and in many cases....themselves, No. 310 squadron went in full of exuberance and enthusiasm. It was not until the arrival of 56 Squadron North Weald (Hurricanes) and 111 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes) that the first enemy aircraft were shot down. RAF No. 56 Squadron claimed the first Bf 109 over the beaches of Clacton, then No. 111 Squadron and No. 310 Squadron claimed Bf 110's in the same area. But No. 310 Squadron was to lose two Hurricanes although both pilots baled out and sustained only minor injuries, and two others were damaged and managed to return to base. No. 111 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes) also had two of their aircraft damaged with no loss of life. The German bomber formation and their escorts were over the area between Clacton and Colchester when they were intercepted by RCAF No. 1 Sqdrn Northolt (Hurricanes). At this stage, some of the Bf 109s had turned back, but Fighter Command still had to contend with the Bf 110s as well as the Do 17s. Soon, the German formation turned nor' west and it became apparent that the target was Debden. With Nos. 56 and 111 Squadrons still involved, the three squadrons managed to steer many of the Dorniers off their intended bombing run. One of the Do 17s fell to the guns of a Hurricane of RCAF No. 1 Squadron, then another Bf 110 went down in flames crashing at Great Bentley, believed shot down by P/O P.J.Simpson of No. 111 Squadron. RCAF No. 1 Sqdrn was making its first combat fighting with 11 Group. Unfortunately the first Canadian fighter pilot serving with a Canadian fighter squadron during WW2 was killed in action over SE England. Flying Officer R.L.Edwards of No.1 Sqn. (later No.401 Sqn RCAF) of Coburg, Ontario was shot down at approximately 1530hrs by a Dornier Do 17 of KG 2 following the attack on Debden, his Hurricane crashing near Thaxted, Essex. F/O Edwards was buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery. The RCAF No. 1 Sqdrn commander S/L E.McNab was hit by return gunfire from a Do 17 and returned to base, severly wounded. Although all three Fighter Command squadrons managed to disperse the bombers, six Do 17s managed to get through to Debden and released about 100 bombs doing considerable damage to the landing area, one hangar, the sergeants mess, the transport and equipment depots and the NAAFI. Water mains and the electricity were hit and were out of action for a short period and it is reported that six people at the airfield were killed. Although Hornchurch and North Weald may have been targets, they were spared on this day.

At the same time as combat operations were taking place inland from Harwich, RAF No. 85 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes) and RAF No. 615 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes) intercepted the formation that was approaching up the Thames. Interception was made just off the coast near Margate. A number of Bf 109s were shot down over North Kent, and the Do 17s fared no better. One of them being shot down by newly promoted P/O G.Allard of No. 85 Squadron. The Dornier, with both engines stopped, 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. The Dornier slid on its belly almost the whole length of the grass covered airfield 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's Hurricane who flew overhead, then went back to join in the rest of the action.

 

[Njaco]

(26 August 1940 continued....)

The third operation, directed against Portsmouth and Southampton started in the late afternoon and was the last large-scale day raid mounted by Luftlotte 3. About 50 He-111s of I. and II./KG 55 were escorted by 100 plus Bf 109s and Bf 110s from V(Z)./LG 1, JG 27, JG 2 and JG 53. The main force skirts the Isle of Wight and makes for Portsmouth at about 15,000, evading British fighters which have been wrongly positioned by their controllers. 11 Group released RAF No. 43 Squadron Tangmere (Hurricanes) and RAF No. 602 Squadron Westhampnett (Spitfires), while 10 Group released RAF No. 234 Squadron Middle Wallop (Spitfires), RAF No.152 Squadron Warmwell (Spitfires) and RAF No.213 Squadron Exeter (Hurricanes). The weather was by now closing in with low cloud covering much of southern England, and a number of squadrons failed to make contact with the enemy. Those that did, managed to cause havoc amongst the Heinkel's dispersing them in different directions. Coupled with the fact that the weather situation was getting worse, the bombers turned back towards home with most of them jettisoning their bomb loads over the Channel. Three He 111s were shot down, and two, crippled by accurate gunfire from British fighters limped home in damaged condition. Four Bf109s were claimed for the loss of four fighters and three pilots wounded. Some bombs dropped on Portsmouth damaging Langstone Harbour, destroying Fort Cumberland and causing a fire at Hilsea gas works.

Then the bombers target the dockyard, which suffered badly. The destroyer 'Acheron' has her stern blown off. Two ratings were killed and three crew were wounded. The destroyer 'Bulldog', moored alongside, was damaged by splinters. Her commanding officer, Cdr J P Wisden, was mortally wounded and dies on the 29th. The French torpedo boat 'Flore's' bridge was damaged by falling masonry. HMS Vernon, the Navy's mine and torpedo centre, was also badly damaged

Near Portsmouth Oblt. Werner Machold of 1./JG 2 gained his thirteenth victory when he destroyed a RAF Spitfire in the afternoon. But the 'Richthofen' Geschwader lost the Bf 109 of Lt. Walter Hoffmann of 7./JG 2 who failed to return from a sortie and was listed as missing in action. II./JG 53 fared no better. II./JG 53 was unable to score a single kill while the Gruppe lost 2 pilots over the Channel and a third was fished out of the sea north of Cherbourg. I./JG 53 was credited with 4 kills including 2 Spitfires for Hptm. Hans-Karl Mayer at the expense of one pilot killed when his Bf 109E crashed near Portsmouth.

Later, an escorted rescue He 59 was shot down south of the Isle of Wight.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 41; RAF, 31. It had been a bad day for both sides - a day when fierce combat was the order of the day, although Fighter Command fared better than the Luftwaffe. German fighter pilots blamed the new order of flying close to the bombers as the main reason that some forty-one German aircraft had been shot down. They claimed that they lost the element of surprise, and were spotted by British fighters as soon as the bomber formation was seen. The German High Command had for some time had reservations of these daylight bombing raids on British airfields and naval bases even though the new strategy was working, and this latest mission failure from Hugo Sperles Luftflotte 3 was now to prove a point and subsequently major daylight raids were suspended indefinitely. This suspension was to last about four weeks.

Ireland's neutrality, assiduously preserved by the premier, Eamon de Valera, had not won immunity from German air raids. Luftwaffe bombs hit four places in County Wexford today, 130 miles from the border. Two of the three young women killed while working at a creamery were sisters. The third, a blast victim, was found sitting at a dining table, knife and fork in hand. The motive for the attack was not clear, for Ireland, like neutral Spain and Turkey, was an intelligence goldmine for the Germans. Dublin's representative in Berlin protested.

 

[Njaco]

27 August 1940 Tuesday
UNITED KINGDOM: Most of Britain awoke to a very damp and gloomy morning. There was rain in central and eastern England with some cloud in the Channel and haze over Dover Straits. Weather conditions restricted air activity for most of the day. Several reconnaissance raids were made during the morning along the south coast areas and Fighter Command intercepted a few without loss. Many of the pilots, as they did so often on seeing wet and waterlogged airfields, breathed a sigh of relief as they knew that once again they could possibly take things easy, even if was for four or five hours.

Air Vice Marshal Keith Park took advantage of the wet and miserable morning to make contact with his controllers, a meeting that also had Air Vice Marshal Sholto Douglas present. The main subject was his disagreement with Air Vice Marshal Leigh-Mallory regarding the sending up of a possible three squadrons of fighters flying as a wing, to intercept large numbers of enemy formations. Leigh-Mallory's persistence in the 'Big Wings' was that at least Fighter Command could meet the enemy with an equal or near equal number of fighters instead of the tactics used by Keith Park and supported by Dowding in sending up a minimum number of fighters where at all times there were outnumbered by anything up to three to one. Park told the meeting that not only was it not feasible to put up large formations of fighters, but greater time would have to be taken in the initial stages of forming them up. He gave the instance of the previous day, when he asked Leigh-Mallory for assistance in intercepting a Dornier formation coming in from the east, and to intercept before they got to the 11 Group airfields east of London. Park continued, that by the time that Leigh-Mallory had got the 12 Group squadrons airborne, the raiders had got through to Debden, caused damage by bombing and were on the way home by the time that the Duxford squadrons had arrived. 12 Groups reaction to Parks comments was that they were informed far too late, and by the time that the Duxford squadrons had arrived at the vectored position, they could not find the enemy. Keith Park questioned this, stating that four squadrons were already managing to hold the enemy between Clacton and Harwich, but as a precautionary measure, called for 12 Group assistance in giving protection to the airfields east of London should the event happen that some of the bombers may get through. Park went on to say that the enemy had twice the distance to travel than the 12 Group fighters, were slower than the 12 Group fighters, yet could not give Debden the protection needed. He compared this with 310 Squadron, a single squadron dispatched from Duxford that managed to intercept the enemy before it had reached the Essex coast.

The weather started to clear by midday, and the Luftwaffe moved more Bf 109 units to the coast at Calais with the intention here of providing the bombers of Luftflotte 2 with even greater numbers as escorts than ever before. But still only restricted daylight activity.

A lone Do 17 was detected over the Channel south of Plymouth and RAF No. 238 Squadron Middle Wallop (Hurricanes) sent a flight to intercept. The Dornier was spotted and one of the Hurricanes managed to shoot it down and it crashed at Tavistock in Devon. The aircraft was on a photo-reconnaissence flight. Spitfires of RAF No.222 Squadron made contact with another Do 17 on reconnaissance.

Around 1200hrs, Radar picked up a German formation coming across the Channel from the direction of Cherbourg. 10 Group released two squadrons to intercept just as they reached the coast. Spitfires of RAF No. 152 Squadron were scrambled from Warmwell and engaged a Ju 88 off Portland. Maj. Wolfgang Schellmann from Stab./JG 2 subsequently shot one of the Spitfires down to reach double digits with 10 kills while two other Ju 88s were damaged, one of them crashing on landing back at its base.

By nightfall, Do 17s made a bombing run on the west and the south-west of England, again, 10 Group sent up three squadrons who managed to destroy three of the bombers, the others scattered and returned home. The only casualties in this combat were the three Dorniers. Shortly after 2300 hours the Luftwaffe raided the Bristol area with two formations of bombers. Near midnight eleven Do 17s of KGr 606 bombed military targets while Heinkels of III./KG 27 dropped bomb loads on Bristol. Three small HEs were dropped in Hull, the Lodge and Maternity Home in Hedon Road were destroyed and Seward Street goods station damaged. Ofw. Merbach of Stab I./NJG 2 claimed a Hurricane over Grimsby at 21:30.

At Port Clarence in County Durham, there were several HE dropped in this area. A year later a girl drowned in one of the craters. Several reports of parachute troops descending in West Hartlepool and Stockton districts were received but no trace was found. Church bells were rung at Norton on the instruction of the Home Guard. An air raid stopped play at Lord's cricket ground.

A Blenheim from RAF No.219 Squadron based at Catterick, Yorkshire undershot the runway in a sudden rainstorm at 01.45. Sergeants H.F. Grubb and S. Austin were both unhurt and the aircraft was found to be repairable. A Spitfire from No 72 Squadron based at Acklington airfield in Northumberland, was severely damaged in a landing accident, the pilot was unhurt but the aircraft was a write-off.

Fighter Command continued to move squadrons around. RAF No. 603 Squadron moved from Turnhouse to Hornchurch and were replaced at Turnhouse by RAF No. 65 Squadron who moved from Southend. RAF No. 32 Squadron moved from Biggin Hill to Acklington as RAF No. 79 Squadron moved from Acklington to Biggin Hill.

GERMANY: NBBS extols the British public to horsewhip Churchill and his underlings and to burn their property. They then deny that the station (NBBS) is German. 'The fact that we are British must be clear from every word we broadcast.'

WESTERN FRONT: Hptm. Hans "Gockel" von Hahn of JG 53 is appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 3.

Oblt. Helmut Wick of JG 2 was awarded the Ritterkreuz after having achieved twenty victories against the Allies.

 

[Njaco]

28 August 1940 Wednesday
UNITED KINGDOM: The Luftwaffe concentrates on destroying RAF No. 11 Group airfields in southeast England. Two heavily escorted bomber formations crossed the Kent coast just after 09:00 hours after the Eastchurch, Rochford and Kent area. He-111s of II and III./KG 53 and Do 17s of I./KG 3 escorted by Bf109s of I and III./JG 51 proceeded north near Sandwich. Fighter Command again "scrambled" 79 Squadron Biggin Hill (Hurricanes), 85 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes), 615 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes) and poor 264 Squadron Hornchurch (Defiants) who were using the satellite station of Manston and were preparing to disband and withdraw the squadron up north to Kirton on Lyndsay. They were unable to prevent the Dorniers from reaching Eastchurch and Heinkels from raiding Rochford. Eastchurch was seriously damaged with two Battles destroyed and two damaged. Eight RAF fighters and six pilots were lost for five enemy aircraft brought down. Made a prisoner of war was Arthur Dau of JG 51, who, with seven victories, ended his career on English soil. JG 51's Kommodore, Major Mölders downs two more Allied warplanes, a Spitfire and a Curtiss, bringing his score to twenty-nine. RAF No. 264's Defiants which were involved in combat over the area proved no match for the Luftwaffe fighters and three of the twelve that were originally scrambled were shot down.

A second raid some two hours later by Do17s from 1./KG 2 attacked the southern Essex airfield at Rochford for the second time that day but did little damage and the airfield remained operational. Rochford had some buildings damaged but the bombers failed to catch 264 Squadron on the ground. Spitfires of 54 Squadron positioned at 30,000 feet dived upon the escort, Flt. Lt. Deere claiming a Bf109, Flt. Lt. George Gribble another at the end of an 11-aircraft line, and Sqn. Ldr Leathart a Dornier. In a quite astonishing chase of a Bf109 Gribble and Norwell ended the fight so low that Gribble's shooting killed a cow. After landing he discovered pieces of a tree lodged in his Spitfire, Deere was less fortunate and had to bail out. As the raiders were approaching Rochford, Hurricanes on No.1 Squadron downed a Do17 of 6./KG 3 on Rochford aerodrome, its crew becoming PoWs.

The third raid was a fighter sweep over South East corner of Kent and into the Thames Estuary at 25,000 ft and above. Seven Gruppen of Bf 109s from JG 2, JG 3, JG 26, JG 27, JG 51, JG 54 and Epr.Gr 210 were used in the attacks. The battle resulted in a wasteful fighter-versus-fighter encounter with 16 aircraft lost on both sides. Park told his Squadron Controllers in no uncertain terms that unless these enemy formations were proving a threat, they must not allow valuable fighter squadrons to be drawn into fighter to fighter combat.

Some of the losses for the Luftwaffe included Oblt. Hans-Theodore Griesebach of 2./JG 2, who failed to return from the mission and was listed as missing. A Ju 88A-1 from I./KG 54 crashed near Dieppe, France on the return flight from England. Eight victory Experte Georg Beyer of JG 26 was shot down and captured, ending his career as a prisoner of the Allies. From JG 3, Hans-Herbert Landry was shot down and severely injured. The five victory Experte was made a prisoner of war.

Liverpool was now selected for the first really heavy raid of the war. 160 Luftwaffe bombers including Heinkels of KG 27, Ju 88s of LG 1 and Ju 88s of KGr 806 were sent to raid the harbour at Liverpool along with twenty-three Do 17s from KGr 606 that attack the Bristol area during the night. The attack was not successful as few bombs fell on the cities. At Avonmouth (Bristol) the Shell Mex installations and the National Smelting Co. works were hit, Coventry shops and houses were damaged and in Altrincham (Cheshire) a 50,000 gallon oil tank at the Anglo-American oil depot caught fire. Other raiders from Luftflotten 2 and 3 attacked other major Midland cities.

Losses: Luftwaffe 31: Fighter Command 17.

During the afternoon, Winston Churchill was visiting Dover and was staying at Dover Castle. It was while he was there, the air raid siren sounded and Churchill and his entourage watched as fighters clashed with German bombers over the town. A spokesman for the War Office stated later:

"It was while we were at Dover, that we saw the approaching German bombers and just a short distance away they were met by British fighters. Mr Churchill seemed mesmerized as the air battle took place almost overhead. We saw maybe two German bombers crash into the sea and some fighters with smoke trailing from them as they spiraled away from the main dogfight. Later that afternoon, we had to drive to Ramsgate and on the way we saw a smoldering aircraft in a field, and Churchill asked the driver to pull off the road and get as close to the wreckage as he could. There was firemen, soldiers and ARP men standing around and I walked with the Prime Minister towards the aircraft. Even though I warned Mr Churchill about the dangers of being out in the open during an air raid, he said that he must have a look, and when he saw the tangled mess he said 'Dear God, I hope it isn't a British plane.' He was reassured that it was not."

Another gift from the Luftwaffe falls into British hands. A Gotha Go 145 communications aircraft lifted off from its base in Cherbourg for a flight to Strasbourg. Navigation problems caused the pilot to fly over the Channel and eventually land the plane on a racecourse in southern England. Captured by the British the plane was soon part of the inventory of RAF No. 1426 Captured Enemy Aircraft Flight, also known as the 'Rafwaffe', and used for evaluation.

GERMANY: The second night attack of the war by the British against Berlin succeeds in causing the first causalities in the German capital. Ten civilians were killed and twenty-nine injured in the city that Reichsmarschall Göring assured would never be bombed by enemy aircraft.

 

[Njaco]

29 August 1940 Thursday
UNITED KINGDOM: The day was quiet in the morning, with airfield attacks in the south and south-east later in the day. Some 700 Luftwaffe fighters made provocative sweeps to which RAF did not respond. Luftflotte 2 mounted a massive fighter sweep over Kent with 560-plus Bf 109's and 150-plus Bf 110`s from Jagdfliegerftuhrer 1 and 2, but defending fighters failed to make contact. The Chief of Kesselring's fighter organisation then claimed unlimited fighter superiority had been achieved.

During the morning, hostile aircraft reconnoitred the Guildford area and Weymouth Bay and a small raid attacked Warmwell Aerodrome.

At 15:10 hours, nine Luftwaffe aircraft flew over Dover towards Tangmere; this raid was immediately followed by about 170 aircraft which appeared to head for Biggin Hill. These raids were intercepted and driven off, four aircraft being destroyed by our fighters and one anti-aircraft. Strong hostile patrols were maintained off Calais until 1725 hours.

At 16:00 hours, a small raid attacked a RAF establishment in the Scilly Isles causing little damage. Sgt J.H.Mortimer 'Cocke-Sparrow' Ellis from RAF No 85 Squadron was on patrol at 16:00hrs when he was shot down by a Bf 109. He baled out of his Hurricane (L1915) unhurt. His aircraft crashed at Ashburnham, Kent. Sgt F.R.Walker-Smith of RAF No 85 Squadron was wounded in the foot at 16:30hrs. His Hurricane I (V7350) was shot at by a Bf 109 over the Sussex coast and he baled out.

At 1725 hours, a raid of twenty plus aircraft passed over North Foreland and flew towards Rochester. It was intercepted and four Luftwaffe aircraft were destroyed.

F/Lt Harry Raymond Hamilton, a Canadian of RAF No 85 Squadron was shot down and killed at 18:15 hours. His Hurricane I (V6623) shot down by a Bf 109 near Rye.

P/O Richard H.Hillary from RAF No 603 Squadron was shot down by a Bf 109 at 19:00hrs. He crash landed his Spitfire I (L1021) at Lympne but he was unhurt. Hillary recovered from his wounds and returned to combat but sadly died later flying at night. He wrote a book, 'The Last Enemy' which was one of the best to come from the Second World War.

At 1945 hours Heinz Bär of 1./JG 51 downed a Hurricane to bring his score to seven kills. P/O A.G.Wainwright flying with RAF No 151 Squadron baled out of his Hurricane I (P3882) during a routine patrol at 19:40 hours near Basildon, Essex. He broke several ribs on landing.

Dusk raids penetrated East Anglia, main objectives apparently being Debden and Duxford, but from 2300 hours onwards, there was singularly little activity east of a line Brighton to Flamborough Head until 0230 hours when fresh raids appeared along the East Coast, apparently minelaying, but a few crossing inland.

He 111 bombers of I./KG 55, Ju 88s of III./LG 1 and Heinkels of I./KG 27 attacked Liverpool, when some houses were demolished and damage caused to electricity and water mains. Fires were started but soon brought under control. The Heinkels of KG 55 lose two bombers but not from battle. One crashes on take-off from Villacoublay airfield and another at Sens, France when it runs out of fuel returning from the mission. The only other aircraft lost is a He 111 from I./KG 27 when it crashes at Fordingbridge.

RAF No. 305 (Polish) Squadron was formed at Bramcote, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, under establishments BC119 for Polish personnel, with an ancillary establishment of British personnel under Air Ministry establishment BC119.

H.Q. No.12 Group advised that RAF No. 307 Squadron was to be equipped with Defiant Aircraft and not Hurricane Aircraft as previously advised. The establishment of aircraft was 16 I E. Battle aircraft. The majority of Polish personnel of this Squadron were "French" Poles. i. e. those who have served with the French Forces prior to the capitulation of that country. In order to assist with training by English methods, a number of "British" Poles. i. e. those trained at Hucknall, were included in the strength.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 17; RAF, 9.

WESTERN FRONT: The Bf 110s of Hptm. Horst Liensberger's V(Z)./LG 1 leave their airbases around Caen and transfer to several airfields at Liegescourt and Crecy-en-Ponthieu.

 

[Njaco]

30 August 1940 Friday
"THE BAD WEEKEND"
UNITED KINGDOM: This day, Germany launched a total of 1,310 sorties against Britain. It appeared that Kesselring was intent on attacking with everything that he had. Many times over the last few days, fighter sweeps by Bf109s failed to attract Fighter Command into the air as Park was not going to be drawn into unnecessary fighter combat. So Kesselring sent over numbers of bombers, working in conjunction with the Bf109s. He was adamant that somehow he would get the RAF fighters into the air.

Despite the fine weather of the morning period, the only raids were on shipping in the Thames Estuary. These shipping strikes had been left alone for the last couple of weeks and Fighter Command regarded them as once again being lures to attract RAF fighters into the air. 100+ German aircraft arrived in the Deal-Dungeness area at 07:36 hours, Do 17s escorted by Bf110s of ZG 76 and heading for a convoy sailing from the Thames at Methil. Hurricanes of RAF No. 111 Squadron and Spitfires of RAF No. 54 Squadron engaged the Do 17s and bf 110s over the Thames Estuary.

The Bf 109s of JG 26 made a freie jagd over the English countryside in the morning that failed to provoke a response. The first sign of major activity occurred at 10:30 hours when a formation was picked up off the coast near Cape Griz Nez. Three separate groups were detected which turned out to be separate formations of He 111s which in all totaled about 120 aircraft. The Luftwaffe were now, for the first time using a smaller number of Bf109s as close escort, and with a larger number flying at about 25,000 feet.

In an effort to slow the loss rate, the RAF had restricted its fighters from engaging the escorting Messerschmitts of bomber formations, waiting until the escorts were low on fuel and turned to leave the area before attacking. AVM Park also instituted the famed cry "Tally Ho" to help the British fighters know where attacking bombers and fighters were and at what strength instead of spreading his forces too thin. It took awhile before this actually worked with some fighter pilots shouting out the cry but without giving strength, altitude and course. Because of this, no less than nineteen Gruppen of bombers were able to attack RAF airfields around Kent and the Thames Estuary for two hours unmolested, causing serious destruction. One direct hit on the power supply line took out the radar stations at Dover, Rye, Pevensey, Foreness, Beachy Head and Whitstable and they they were off the air for a critical three hours. Biggin Hill was attacked twice by 109s and Ju88s within a few hours and major damage was done with the result that some 40 people were killed. Kenley, Shoreham, Tangmere and Rochford were also targeted where the story was much the same. Hangars, buildings and the airfields themselves receiving devastating damage.

Fighter Command was finally forced to get some of its fighters into the air. RAF No.43 Squadron Tangmere (Hurricanes), 79 Squadron Biggin Hill (Hurricanes), 85 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes), 111 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes), 222 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires) 253 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes), 603 Squadron Hornchurch Spitfires), 610 Squadron Biggin Hill (Spitfires) and 616 Squadron Kenley (Spitfires) were released by Fighter Command cope with the incoming formations. Park dispatched his squadrons in two waves, as the German bombers were coming across the Channel in three separate formations. RAF Nos. 43, 79, 253, and 603 Squadrons went in first to intercept the first wave of bombers just prior to them reaching the English coast between Deal and Folkestone. 85 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes) met up with the leading Heinkels and decided on a head on attack.

The skies over the south coast became a pattern of vapour trails as some of the RAF fighters got tangled up with 109s. Most of the fighters tried in vain to straffe the bombers, but it all became a melee of all sorts. The casualties started to fall from the sky, Spitfires, Bf 109s, Hurricanes, Heinkels and Dorniers. Many were badly shot up, others just collided into each other.

"I saw his contortions, then I saw him straighten and fly straight into the German aircraft; both crashed and Percy was killed. I was close enough to see his letters, as other pilots must have been and who also confirmed this incident, which in itself caused me to realize my young life and its future, if any, had jumped into another dimension."

Sgt. G.Pallister RAF Nos. 249 43 Squadrons on P/O P.Burton ramming a German aircraft.

South African pilot, P/O E.J.Morris went into a head on attack with a Heinkel for the first time in his career. RAF No. 79 Squadron Biggin Hill (Hurricanes) engaged a formation of Heinkel 111s and while some peeled off to exhert their attack from above, many decided to make a head on attack. Morris was one of them. He pressed the firing button, banked sharply only for the Heinkel to ram the underbelly of his Hurricane. His aircraft was cut to pieces, but Morris, still strapped in his seat managed to pull the ripcord and parachuted to safety. His injuries were just a broken leg...and a bit of confidence. He said afterwards;

"I thought they were supposed to break formation if we pressed home a frontal attack".

He was told that;

'...not if the pilot is dead, you are supposed to make allowances for that'.

Morris replied;

"Then how the hell are you supposed to know if he is dead or not?"

The way you did, he was politely told.

 

[Njaco]

(30 August 1940 continued....)

At 11:15 hours the Observer Corps further reported that 40 plus Heinkel He111s and 30 Do17s escorted by 100 plus Bf109s and Bf110s were approaching the coast. By now, the first wave of bombers had pushed on over Ashford still in combat with the British fighters. With the first wave of He111s and Do17s crossing the Kent coast, what radar was working was picking up sightings that stretched right back to the French coast. AVM Park at Fighter Command Group HQ decided to place nearly sixteen squadrons at readiness with two squadrons from 12 Group sent in to give cover to Biggin Hill and Kenley. But by the time that they managed to take off and gain height, the German bomber formation was well over Kent and heading towards London. The He111s and the Do17s broke into two formations, and once again Park was quick to realize that his Sector Stations were under attack once more. One eyewitness said of this day, that no matter where you looked over Kent, Surrey or South London, you could see nothing but bombers and fighter planes fighting it out.

During this period of combat, one pilot stood out for his courageous actions. Squadron Leader Tom Gleave, flying a Hurricane of RAF No. 253 Squadron, scrambled from Kenley with two other pilots, F/L George Brown and P/O Douglas Francis. As they gained height above Maidstone, Gleave caught sight of a massive formation of Bf109s. The Hurricanes dived and attacked directly at the Bf109s without loss to themselves. It was during the resulting dogfights, that Sqn. Ldr. Gleave successfully shot down 5 Bf109s.

With squadrons engaging the first wave of bombers, and also the second wave, reports were still coming in to Fighter Command that more formations were over the Channel and heading for the Kent coast. Park had no option but to put all his squadrons into the air. Two squadrons that had been covering Biggin Hill were moved forward into the attack, and Park called on 12 Group to send squadrons down covering Biggin Hill and Kenley. Once again, Biggin Hill was hit, the two squadrons from 12 Group failing to sight the Ju88s coming in from the south. Many of the bombs fell wide and the town of Biggin Hill suffered as did the village of Keston. Kenley suffered much the same fate with many buildings hit and many stationery wounded aircraft on the ground receiving further damage. RAF No.79 Squadron Biggin Hill (Hurricanes) along with 74 Squadron Hornchurch (Spifires) were pulled back to guard the aerodromes of Biggin and Kenley because once again, the 12 Group squadrons had failed to show. Two sections of Hurricanes tried to keep the Bf109s occupied, while two sections engaged the bombers. As well as Biggin Hill and Kenley suffering badly in the raid, the airfields of Croydon and Detling were also hit.

Again Keith Park was on the phone to 12 Group asking;

'...where in the hell were your fighters that were supposed to have protected my airfields?"

The answer was that the 12 Group fighters could not find the enemy, to which Park 'politely' told them that they were not supposed to be going looking for the enemy, they were supposed to be at the South London airfields waiting for the enemy to come to them.

By 13:15 hours many of the original He111s, Do17s and Bf109s were heading for home, that is, if they hadn't been shot down. The pressure was building and before the squadrons completed their turn-rounds Kesselring dispatched small groups of bombers protected by many fighters and crossing the Kent coast from 13:00 at around 15,000 feet at 20-minute intervals, and largely unplotted because power supplies to radar stations had been cut during the morning raids. This time, their strength was much smaller. Coming in in three waves, they all veered into different direction once over the Kent coastline headed for their own particular target. These attacked the forward airfields of Hawkinge and Manston.

For over two hours the Luftwaffe roamed over south-east England. Five fighter squadrons responded, among them RAF No. 222 Squadron, which was to operate three times during the day and have eight of its Spitfires put out of use, lose five, have a pilot killed and two injured. Twelve of 222 Squadron's Spitfires on patrol at 16,000 feet over Lympne sighted 15 escorted He-111s near Canterbury and as they attacked were set upon by the Messerschmitts. They claimed a Bf 110 damaged but P/O Asheton was forced to land on the obstructed Bekesbourne airfield, Sergeant Baxter had to put down at Eastchurch and P/O Carpenter baled out of P9378 near Rochford. RAF No. 43 Squadron Tangmere (Hurricanes) engaged the bombers. Although the airfield received minor damage, all the bombers made just the single run before turning back over the Channel.

 

[Njaco]

(30 August 1940 continued....)

At around 1600 hours, more waves of heavy German bombers came across the Kent countryside and from the direction of the Thames Estuary. 13 squadrons were scrambled to deal with them. RAF Nos.56 Squadron North Weald (Hurricanes), 79 Squadron Biggin Hill (Hurricanes), 222 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires) 253 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes), 501 Squadron Gravesend (Hurricanes) and 603 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires) were among the squadrons dispatched to intercept. Many of these squadrons had been in combat practically non stop since 10:30 hours. 19 Gruppen in total headed for Hawker's at Slough, the Hurricane and Spitfire repair centres at Oxford, for Luton and three vital airfields - North Weald, Kenley and Biggin Hill. One small formation, intercepted by only one squadron, managed to put Detling out of use for 15 hours. Now for the first time, AVM Park - for the second time this day having every one of his squadrons airborne - called in 12 Group and this time requested them to engage in combat and not just protect 11 Group airfields. One of the squadrons to be sent down in the combat area was RAF No. 242 Squadron Duxford (Hurricanes) led by S/L Douglas Bader who had just brought his squadron down from Coltishall that morning. Bader, had been longing for action for months, but up until now had not seen any, with the exception of intercepting a lone aircraft while on patrol. But according to Bader;

"....that is not action, my twelve Hurricanes against fifteen or so of theirs, that's what I call action!"

So if Bader was calling fifteen enemy aircraft 'action', then he was now going to be thrown right into it, because, being vectored close to North Weald there were seventy enemy aircraft to be met. Led by Bader (P3061) they tackled raid X33, a diamond formation of KG 1s He 111s which had already braved 54 rounds of heavy AA fire, which shot down two.

Around 16:10 hours, 20 He-111s of II./KG 1 escorted by Bf110s flew across Southend and then North Weald bound for Luton's industrial area. Although some of the German raiders dropped their loads outside the city of Luton, despite the efforts from the Hurricanes of RAF Nos. 1, 56, 242 and 501 Squadrons - Nos. 1 and 56 each destroying a Heinkel - , many more continued on and dropped bombs on Vauxhall, believing it to be a plane parts factory. The major factories in Luton made women's hats and truck parts. The Vauxhall Motor Works at Luton was hit resulting in over fifty-three people killed and one hundred and forty injured. No public warning had sounded and horrific scenes followed the destruction of the factory's main internal stairway.

For the second time that day, Biggin Hill was bombed and almost put out of action. Detling airfield was the first to get hit by at least fifty HE bombs. Oil tanks were hit and set ablaze, the main electricity cable was hit and cut the power to all buildings and with hangars and roadways cratered it was anticipated that the airfield would be out of action for at least two days. Nine Ju88 bombers managed to get though the British defences and took everybody by surprise and struck Biggin Hill with a low level bombing attack dropping 1000 lb bombs causing mayhem. The transport yard was destroyed, storerooms, the armoury and both officers and sergeants messes were severely damaged, two hangars were wrecked earlier in the day and now another hanger was almost flattened, and the telephone and communication lines were severed, gas and water mains were ruptured. Casualties amounted to thirty-nine personnel killed and thirty five injured.

It had been a busy day for Fighter Command, over 22 squadrons had been in action for most of the day, many of them doing up to four sorties. But as night fell, there was to be no let up.

Liverpool was again raided by 130 plus bombers of the Luftwaffe. He 111s of II. and III./KG 27, Ju 88s of I. and III./LG 1 and Ju 88s of II./KG 51 attacked the city with ten of the bombers dropping their loads on Bristol at night. Do17s and He111s made raids on London and Portsmouth, Manchester was bombed as was Worcester. The bombers of 8 Staffel of KG 55 lost a He 111 to anti-aircraft fire on another night mission to Liverpool. It crashed returning to base at Sens, France. But the Kampfgeschwader lost several aircrews to mishaps rather than battle. Two He 111s from 5 and 6 Staffeln collided during a formation flight near Paris and crashed killing all the crews. Another pair of He 111s, this time from 8 Staffel and the Erganzungsstaffel of KG 55 collided near Versailles killing most of their crews.

At 0200 hours 100 incendiary bombs were dropped on Hawarden Aerodrome, slightly damaging one aircraft.

It had been one of the worst days for the RAF, 39 aircraft were destroyed, eight of these were Spitfires from 222 Squadron Hornchurch. Over 50 RAF personnel had been killed (39 of these at Biggin Hill) with nearly 30 seriously injured. Some 200 civilians had been killed in the air raids and along with the radar stations of Pevensey, Beachy head and Foreness sustaining damage, Biggin Hill was made virtually unoperational, and the control of its sector was transferred over to Hornchurch. On the German side, a total of 41 fighters and bombers had been destroyed. But they too, during the hours of darkness felt the brunt of an Bomber Command offensive as well. More that 80 Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys attack cities in Holland and Belgium. Berlin is attacked by 149 Squadron Bomber Command. 50 Squadron attacked oil refineries near Rotterdam. Of these, only four RAF bombers are lost.

RAF No. 303 (Polish) Sqdrn entered the battle for the first time. In the course of a training interception with six Blenheims in the afternoon, 'B' Flight contacted with some 60 German bombers, 60 fighters and British fighters having a running battle near Hatfield. F/O Paszkiewicz brought down one Do. 17. (Destroyed) while the rest of the fighters escorted the Blenheims safely back to Northolt.

In the morning battles Oblt. Werner Machold of 1./JG 2 brought his score to fourteen with the destruction of an RAF Hurricane near London. Later at 1800 hours he destroyed a Hurricane and a Spitfire over Gouldhurst to bring his score to sixteen victories. But his Geschwader lost several Messerschmitts during the day including those of Ofw. Harbauer of II./JG 2 and Uffz. Rieh of III./JG 2. Another pilot from II./JG 2 was shot down and captured, becoming a prisoner of war.

In a H.Q. Fighter Command letter dated 29th August, 1940 addressed to H.Q. No.12 Group advised that RAF No. 307 (Polish) Squadron was to be equipped with Defiant Aircraft and not Hurricane Aircraft as previously advised.

WESTERN FRONT: The personnel of Hptm. Ensslen's II./JG 52 moved their Bf 109s from Jever to Husum.

 

[Njaco]

31 August 1940 Saturday
"THE BAD WEEKEND"
UNITED KINGDOM: The 'Bad Weekend' continued. It was now felt that the Luftwaffe really meant business. The forward airfields of Hawkinge, Lympne and Manston had received considerable damage the day before, but they were regarded as still being operational. The main airfields of Gravesend, Croydon, Kenley, Biggin Hill, Hornchurch and Duxford also had received serious damage. Biggin Hill had the day before, made a statement that they were temporarily out of action. But with an all out effort by the ground crews (and some pilots) overnight and in the early hours of the morning, they declared themselves operational.

At 07:55 hours radar picked up one raid over the Thames Estuary, another plot was picked up over the Channel and heading towards the Dover and Dungeness area and within a few minutes it was confirmed that three formations were approaching from the Thames Estuary while the fourth was approaching over Dover. The objectives were the North Weald, Debden, Duxford and East Kent areas. AVM Park, realizing that he had dispatched his fighters far too late the previous day, was taking no chances this time. Two squadrons were "scrambled" and vectored to the Margate and Thames Estuary area. This first wave of enemy aircraft was identified as Bf109s and flying at some 25,000 feet where their performance was better than that of the Spitfire. Park sent out the order for them to return to their bases as he was not wanting to involve fighter to fighter combat. RAF No.253 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes) received the message and headed for home. But the other squadron, RCAF No.1 Squadron did not receive the message and got caught up with the Bf109s and three of their aircraft were destroyed. F/O G.C.Hyde baled out of his aircraft but sustained severe burns, F/Lt V.B.Corbett suffered the same fate. Realizing that Fighter Command was not to be tempted, the Bf109s decided to attack the barrage balloons around the Dover area. The Bf109s shot down all (23) of the Dover Balloon Barrage.

Three more waves of enemy aircraft had been detected by radar approaching the Thames Estuary again shortly after 08:00 hours. The Observer Corps reported them to be a formation of 200+ enemy bombers, which consisted of a mixture of He111s and Do17s escorted by 60 Bf110s. Keith Park made the decision to "scramble" 13 squadrons from 11 Group in the London area, leaving only two or three squadrons to guard the city. But reaching the mouth of the Thames, the German aircraft broke and split into several formations, each heading for a separate target. North Weald was hit and sustained considerable damage, Hornchurch also received a few hits, although the RAF fighters here were doing a swell job at keeping most of the bombers away from the airfield.

A formation of 40 Do17s headed towards Duxford with the escorting Bf110s as protection. 12 Group was taken by surprise and the Group Controller there sent out an urgent appeal to 11 Group for assistance. AVM Park responded immediately and diverted RAF No.111 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes) to make an interception. RAF No. 111 Squadron flew due north-east in an effort to cut off the formation, then turning south met the Dornier Do17s head on. They managed to scatter the formation but could only destroy only one bomber.

With most of the RAF fighters holding the bombers at bay around the London area, and RAF No.111 Squadron already dispersing the other formation from attacking Duxford, it left a third formation completely unopposed at attacking Debden airfield which suffered badly where over 100 bombs fell causing serious damage to three barracks, storerooms and pot-holing the airfield badly. 18 personnel were injured in this attack as well as a number of aircraft parked on the base. The returning Dorniers and Heinkels ran into RAF No.19 Squadron Fowlmere (Spitfires) where two enemy bombers were shot down at the expense of two of the Spitfires. One pilot, F/O J.B.Coward had his aircraft shot up by a Bf109 and had his leg torn off just below the knee, but he managed to bale out and was safely taken to a base hospital.

At 09:00 hours the Luftwaffe launched another attack, this time two waves approached from the Thames Estuary again. One Dornier formation diverted to Eastchurch where the airfield received minor damage, as did Detling airfield which was attacked by Bf110s. By this time, Fighter Command was feeling the strain of many days of hard combat. Fighters were being lost in greater numbers than they were being replaced, but what was more important was the fact that the pilots were becoming tired. Many were going up on four sorties a day and at the moment with 11 Group under constant attack they were not in a position to be given the rest that was so badly needed.

 

[Njaco]

(31 August 1940 continued......)

At mid-day 100 bombers with a heavy escort was detected coming across the coast at Dungeness. Breaking into two separate formations, both seemed to be taking different routes towards London. Confirmation came that one of the formations consisted of Dornier Do17s while the other was made up of He111s which also split into two more formations. In this attack, Biggin Hill was again attacked just after RAF No.79 Squadron (Hurricanes) was "scrambled". Hornchurch "scrambled" RAF No.603 Squadron (Spitfires) which had just recently come down from Scotland.

The attack on Biggin Hill began with Oblt.Hans von Hahn's JG 3 destroying barrage balloons over the airfield. RAF No.79 Squadron Biggin Hill (Spitfires) had been ordered to patrol over Biggin Hill and to expect a raid by Heinkels on the airfield again. This time they couldn't get to the bombers because of the strong cover by the fighter escort. Three Bf109s were shot down, during the fierce combat but the bombers made it through and again Biggin Hill suffered considerably. Further extensive damage was done to hangars and buildings, the married quarters and the officers' mess were bombed and the operations block received a direct hit, extinguishing the lights and filling the rooms with acrid fumes, dust and smoke from the fires which broke out. The airfield was cratered so badly that squadrons that had previously taken off, had to be diverted to Kenley and Croydon. Now, all the telephone lines at Biggin Hill had been put out of action.

As Biggin Hill was being attacked, another formation of sixty Dorniers from Oberst Fink's KG 2 attacked the sector station at Hornchurch. RAF No. 603 Squadron was scrambled to protect the airfield. The squadron was still using sections of three planes with Red Section leading and Blue and Green Sections to right and left. The last three machines formed a rearguard section above and behind. The squadron managed to take off before the approaching Dorniers dropped their first bombs. Then the Spitfires of RAF No.54 Squadron were scrambled and they just managed to get airborne and start to gain height before the first of the bombers became visible. It was still quiet when three more Spitfires began to gain speed across the airfield and one by one they cleared the ground almost at the same time as the Dorniers, who were now above, had let their bombs go. As the third flight of three Spitfires left the ground, a bomb exploded just in front of the leading Spitfire being piloted by F/L Alan Deere - who was at a height of about twenty feet and retracting his wheels - throwing the three Spitfires to the ground, destroyed. They all got caught up in the blast of this bomb, all of them being blown in different directions. All three pilots survived but the planes were a total loss. Four Do17s were shot down.

During the afternoon, waves of Bf110s from Epr.Gr 210 came over the coast from Cape Griz Nez and attacked the radar stations once again. Foreness CHL also came under attack, but although damage was caused, it was not enough to put any of them out of action and by nightfall, all radar stations were working as normal. The Observer Corps reported that some 150 plus enemy aircraft crossed the coast between Dover and the Thames Estuary. Fighter Command were to release RAF Nos.85 Squadron Croydon (Hurricanes), 253 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes), 310 Squadron Duxford (Hurricanes), 501 Squadron Gravesend (Hurricanes) and 601 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes). LG 1 lost five Bf 110s and two Ju 88s in the day's combat.

S/L Tom Gleave of 253 Squadron Kenley, who had the previous day shot down four enemy aircraft in as many minutes was now a casualty himself. When the squadron was scrambled, Tom Gleave led what was left of his squadron, just seven serviceable Hurricanes and attacked a formation of Ju88 bombers. He was just about to return to Kenley, when a Bf109 dived down behind him, then pulled up firing at the Hurricane. Gleaves machine was hit underneath the fuselage and in the tail section. At the same time, the reserve fuel tank burst into flames and some twenty-eight gallons of high octane fuel splashed all over his body. With his clothing alight, and flames licking every part of the cockpit of the Hurricane, he rolled the aircraft over on its back and managed to unbuckle his harness and fall out of the open canopy which luckily was in the locked open position as he had been in the process of preparing to land. With his clothes on fire, he chose not to open his parachute in case the chute caught fire, and fell for at least 2,000 feet before deciding to pull the ripcord. His body had been badly burned, so too his face. His eyelids had practically been melted together and he was falling blind as he heard the closing sound of a Messerschmitt, then the sound of the Merlin engine of a Spitfire followed by the rat-a tat of Browning machine guns, and he knew he was safe as the Bf109 pulled away. He landed in a wood, and with his eyelids now peeled open and his trousers burnt away he saw that his legs had terrible burns with the skin coming away like sheets of wafer thin pieces of paper. His gloves too had been burnt off revealing a pair of skinless hands and bloodstained flesh.

All available aircraft at Biggin Hill and Hornchurch were scrambled at 15:15 hours as another large formation made its way in from the Thames Estuary. Interceptions were made by Hurricanes of RCAF No. 1 and by RAF Nos. 17, 85, 87 and 151 Squadrons and Spitfires of RAF Nos. 54, 72, 222 and 602 Squadrons over a period of nearly two hours. Hornchurch received only slight damage and one of the personnel was reported killed. But as it had been in the past, heavier attacks seemed more prevalent at Biggin Hill where again the damage was more serious. Eight low flying Dorniers, carrying 1,000 bombs, managed to fly past the Observer Corps undetected, up the Thames towards London, then turned sharply towards Biggin Hill. The operations room was hit and once again the telephone system was out of action. The concrete roof of the ops room caved in and the plotting table was smashed to pieces. Two hangars, the officers mess and a number of workshops were destroyed, as well as concrete runways and roads that had received direct hits. As Dornier bombers swept over Croydon, demolishing hangars and technical buildings, S/L Peter Townsend of RAF No.85 Squadron (Hurricanes) led his squadron off through the smoke and dust against the attackers. Twenty minutes later, after a sharp cut and thrust combat with a swarm of escorting Messerschmitts, his Hurricane was hit. He baled out with injuries.

 

[Njaco]

(31 August 1940 continued......)

Among the successful German pilots was Kommodore Mölders of JG 51 who downed three British Hurricanes to bring his score to thirty-two. Lt. Erich Meyer of 2./JG 51 was given credit for destroying a British warplane, his first. Lt. Mietusch of 7./JG 26 destroyed a Spitfire over Chelmsford and Oblt. Werner Machold of 1./JG 2 claimed a Hurricane. His score was now at seventeen kills. A Bf 109 from II./JG 2 was shot down into the sea. The pilot, unhurt from the combat, was finally rescued by the Seenottdienst.

At night He 111s of I./KG 27 and Ju 88s of KGr 806 returned for a third night mission over Liverpool. Some of the bombers raided the alternative target at Bristol. A shelter was destroyed causing the death of 20 people and there were many other casualties. Bombs fell in the Nelson and also the Clarence Dock, a trawler being hit while in the latter. A raid on Bradford commenced at 2235 hours on 31st August, and concluded at 0300 hours on 1st September. Extensive damage to property and water and gas mains occurred in the centre of the city. Considerable damage was caused to shop property and also a cinema and two large mills, along with the corporation gas works at Birkshaw Lane; other property damaged included dwelling houses and the railway siding signal box. There were many casualties.

The landing ground at Tholthorpe was twice attacked, firstly at 2245 hours on 31st August, and the second at 0230 hours on 1st September. The station was still operational although there was a crater 25 feet deep on the airfield.

The casualties this day were the highest of the Battle of Britain for RAF Fighter Command with thirty-nine aircraft destroyed in combat and fourteen pilots killed. For the Luftwaffe, a total of forty-one aircraft were lost during the day and night.

In all, it had been a terrible day for the RAF. Since first light, the airfields of 11 Group had been under relentless attack. But the already tired pilots were hanging out, and as one pilot had said;

".....this is about as bad as it can get, because after today, it just cannot get any worse."

By evening, the sun went down closing another month and Fighter Command was taking a rather grim view of the situation. The last couple of days had taken a toll on pilots, including many experienced commanders and now many squadrons were being led by junior officers and even in some cases by non-commisioned officer pilots. Sgt J.H (Ginger) Lacey of RAF No.501 Squadron was one of them. S/L P.W.Townsend of 85 Squadron was another experienced pilot that was a casualty, his place being taken by P/O G.Allard. Sgt A.(Archie) McDowell had his moment of glory when he took command of 602 Squadron. RAF No.151 Squadron had lost six pilots in three days and was now down to twelve pilots to fly ten serviceable aircraft and was eventually withdrawn from 11 Group duties. RAF No.43 Squadron lost two of its commanders and by early September a third, S/L C.B.Hull, a South African was killed. From now on, it seemed that the Royal Air Force was to rely heavily on the young and inexperienced pilots of Fighter Command.

The German pilots like the British were becoming tired, and by now disillusionment was setting in. They had been promised by German High Command that the attacks on the British Fighter Command would be a swift action, and that to knock them out in the air as well as on the ground would be nothing but a formality. But the Luftwaffe had found that this was not to be so, they felt that on many occasions they were being misinformed by their own intelligence service because they were constantly underestimating the strength both in pilots and aircraft of Fighter Command. They also felt that the RAFs strength as the war progressed was in the skill of the fighter pilot, the young British pilots were learning tactics fast. But, the number of losses in the Luftwaffe was now causing great concern, not only to the German High Command, but to the pilots themselves. Many German fighter pilots had by now grown to "hate' the Channel, and started to call it the 'sewer' because any more than ten minutes spent in combat, then a forced landing in the Channel was inevitable.

September would decide if an invasion of England would at all be possible.

Movements within Fighter Command were 610 Squadron (Spitfires) who had been operation out of Biggin Hill were transferred north to Acklington where it was hoped they would indulge in a well earned rest. 72 Squadron (Spitfires) under the command of S/Ldr A.R.Collins moved down from Acklington to Biggin Hill.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Well done Chris!

 

[Njaco]

1 September 1940 Sunday
"THE BAD WEEKEND"
UNITED KINGDOM: The "Bad Weekend" continued as the Luftwaffe resumed its assault on RAF airfields with the bases at Biggin Hill, Detling, Tilbury and Eastchurch heavily attacked. The day held the same usual pattern as did many of the preceding days, quiet early, but at mid morning a build up of German aircraft was detected by the radar stations at Dover, Foreness and Pevensey. The Luftwaffe kept to their standard pattern of sending in a small formation of Bf 109s first as a diversionary, but as usual they were ignored by Fighter Command. These were followed by sixty bombers that consisted of formations of Dornier Do17s and Bf 110s with a fighter escort of Bf 109s at higher altitude.

At 1050 hours the German aircraft crossed the coast near Dover and other raids followed. Just prior to reaching the Kent coast, they broke up into a number of smaller formations, each designated to a different target. Again it was the airfields of Fighter Command that bore the brunt of the Luftwaffe attacks, Eastchurch, Rochford, Detling and once again Biggin Hill. A total of ten British fighter squadrons were given the order to readiness, and once again, it seemed as though 11 Group would be stretched to the limit as the German bombers were heading for four different areas at the same time. By 1100 hours about one hundred and twenty warplanes from Luftflotte 2 were over Kent and the Thames Estuary. Some penetrated to Biggin Hill, Kenley, Gravesend, Hornchurch and North Weald.

Fourteen British fighter squadrons were scrambled and vectored to intercept the German formations as they crossed the coast from Dungeness to Margate, and as others entered the Thames Estuary and headed due west along the River Thames towards London. Fierce dogfights occurred over the eastern half of Kent. Most of these were in separate pockets scattered in different areas. RAF No. 54 Sqd (Spitfires) and RAF No. 72 Sqd (Spitfires) were vectored towards the Maidstone area. Here, they engaged a formation of Dorniers after they had crossed the coast near Beachy Head. As RAF No. 54 Sqd. intercepted the Dornier formation, they were joined by RAF No.1 Sqd (Hurricanes) while RAF No. 72 Sqd. made their approach on the bombers from the west. As they lined up their attack, they were jumped on by Bf 109s who tore into the squadron with deadly accuracy. A Spitfire from RAF No. 72 Sqd. and a Hurricane from RAF No.1 Sqd. were shot down by fighters from JG 52. Both British pilots were killed.

The sector station at Biggin Hill was again so badly damaged that equipment was moved out into the open so that operations could continue. Returning British fighter squadrons were ordered away from the cratered airfield to Croydon and others. Biggin Hill was again temporarily out of business. Just as the Spitfires and Hurricanes landed and refueled at Croydon, a formation of one hundred and fifty German aircraft headed inland to attack Hawkinge, Lympne, Detling and Biggin Hill again. Hit for the second time in a day, Biggin Hill was completely demolished. Hornchurch was bombed with incendiary bombs at 1140 hours but no damage or casualties occurred.

The dock areas of London now came under attack by the German bombers that had managed to get through the British fighters. The attack on Tilbury demonstrated the ludicrousness of Göring's order of 24 August when three Geschwader of fighters from JG 52, JG 53 and JG 54 were forced to escort only eighteen He 111 bombers of II./KG 1 against the docks and airfield. Considerable damage was done. The railway station was hit and both up and down lines blocked; gas and water mains were broken; the premises of Harland Wolff received a direct hit; dockside buildings and workshops were also affected; a number of private houses were demolished and ten shops damaged. Casualties reported were five dead and 28 injured. During the air battle, Alfred Grislawski of JG 52 and Fw. Werner Stumpf of 7./JG 53 each gained their first kills of the war. One of the German pilots lost was Oblt. Anton Stangl of 5./JG 54 who crashed over England and was taken prisoner. He had five victories with JG 54. Killed was Oblt. Oskar Bauer from III./JG 53.

Another raid at 1105 hours over Gravesend resulted in three houses demolished and fifty damaged. Gas and water mains were fractured and there was slight damage to the gas and electricity works but the production was not affected. Ofw. Erich Rudorffer of 2./JG 2 claimed his thirteenth British aircraft over Dover during this raid.

At 1340 hours some seventy German aircraft crossed the Coast between Dover and Dungeness in the second major raid of the day. A second wave of about eighty aircraft followed. The British fighters of the morning raids had hardly returned to their bases, rearmed and refueled when they were once again placed at readiness as the large formations had been detected coming in over Dover. It was all a carbon copy of the earlier raid and the German bombers again broke into smaller groups with some approaching London over Dover and Ashford while another headed north and came in following the Thames. The first interceptions were made between Folkestone and Hastings but they could do nothing to slow down the advance of the Luftwaffe bombers which were 150 plus strong and consisted of Do17s, Bf 110s and Bf 109s.

Biggin Hill and Kenley were the objectives again. This was now the sixth raid on Biggin Hill in three days. During the day, they had been trying to hold a funeral service at a cemetery just outside the airfield for the fifty or so personnel that were killed in the earlier raids on the station. All the coffins were lined up next to the graves, some were draped with flags, but many were not as there were not enough of them to go round. The service was in progress as the air raid siren sounded. Inside the airfield, everything seemed to be in disaster mode. Hangars were hit, as were mess halls, workshops and the telecommunications system. Bf 110s came in low and bombed with accuracy, Do17s at a higher altitude dropped high explosive bombs. Damage was extensive.

 

[Njaco]

(1 September 1940 continued......)

The attack continued on to Kenley where Do17s of KG 76 came in low. One of them was shot down by the Hurricanes of RAF No. 84 Sqd. It tried to return towards the coast hoping that it could get back to base, but with both engines in flames the bomber crashed near Dungeness. Three of the crew managed to bale out and were captured, but a fourth was killed when the aircraft crashed. A Bf 110, after completing its bombing run on Biggin Hill, was shot down by P/O P.F. Mayhew of RAF No. 79 Sqd and it exploded as it hit the ground at Brasted, killing both crew on board. Another Bf 110 was attacked by the Hurricanes of RAF No. 85 Sqd. over Biggin Hill. Damaged by machine gun fire, it managed to keep flying. It was finally shot down by P/O C.E. English of RAF No. 85 Sqd. hitting the 110 in its only remaining engine. It made a forced landing at Ham Street where both of the crew were captured.

But the glory experienced by RAF No. 85 Sqd. was to be short lived. Over the Kenley area, as the British tore into the Zerstörers, they were jumped on by a number of Bf 109s from JG 26, cutting the squadron to pieces. Four Hurricanes of RAF No. 85 Sqd. were shot down with all four pilots killed including one who was so severely injured that he died in hospital in February of 1941. Two other RAF squadrons involved, RAF No. 79 and RAF No. 72, lost seven fighters destroyed or badly damaged. Major Adolf Galland of Stab./JG 26 got his twenty-seventh kill. Oblt. Eberhard Henrici of 1./JG 26 claimed two Hurricanes destroyed during the dogfight.

During the air-battles over Kenley, the pilots of JG 26 lost an experienced comrade. Oblt. Josef 'Jupp' Bürschgens explained how he ended his flying war career;

"I led the 7th Staffel, as I had done frequently over the past several weeks. At 1300 hours we took off from Caffiers. Our mission was to escort a bomber formation in an attack on Kenley, an airfield near London. Flying at about 19,500 feet altitude, we reached the target without being attacked, and were only then engaged by British fighters, which were primarily interested in the bombers and Bf 110s. I was still right beside the bombers when a Spitfire immediately beneath me attacked a circling Bf 110 from behind. It was simple for me to get behind the attacker by a short maneuver. We then had a Bf 110, a Spitfire and a Bf 109 (myself), flying in a row. While the rear gunner fired at the Spitfire and the Spitfire in turn attempted to silence the rear gunner, I found it easy to put a long burst into the Spitfire, which immediately smoked and broke away in a split-S. I had approached very near the 110, whose gunner was firing continuously, and turned away to keep from ramming it. At this moment I felt a blow beside my left foot in the cockpit, and my engine quickly came to a stop. Good Lord! – the Bf 110 gunner, seeing me pointed at him (like the Spitfire), had taken me to be another enemy, and had hit my aircraft!"

Oblt. Bürschgens crashed near Rye and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner in Canada with ten victories to his war-time credit.

At 1530 hours five raids totaling seventy Luftwaffe aircraft again crossed the Coast between Dover and Dungeness. Their course was the same as the two earlier raids. One of these formations, containing about twenty aircraft, circled on the Coast line but others penetrated towards Maidstone and the Thames Estuary. This time they started to bomb targets along the way. At 1540 hours one formation of Bf 109s dropped bombs on Hawkinge and Lympne airfields while another formation made their attack on Detling and Chatham. No buildings at Hawkinge were damaged and the aerodrome was still serviceable. Bf 110s also decided to strafe the Dover balloon barrage along the way. Two balloons of the Barrage were shot down.

A formation of Do17 bombers headed towards South London and it was at 1730 hours that Biggin Hill realized that they were again to be the target. A direct hit on the operations rooms put them completely out of action. All telephone lines were cut and the Teleprinter Network was destroyed by a single 500lb bomb. One of the workshops was on fire and four Spitfires were destroyed on the ground and the station armory was ablaze. Biggin again was declared unoperational temporarily. Six squadrons of RAF fighters could not stop this final attack, although RAF No. 603 Sqd managed to claim one Bf 109 that crashed at Chilham.

The heavy airbattles in the afternoon saw many scores of the Jagdflieger rise. Oblt. Wilhelm Herget and Oblt. Hans-Joachim Jabs made claims of three British fighters each, flying Bf 110s for 6./ZG 76. Getting a double kill was Oblt. Gustav Rödel of 4./JG 27 to bring his score to eight victories. Other prominent Experten were Hptm. Gerhard Schöpfel of Stab III./JG 26 (14 kills total), Oblt. Hans Philipp of 4./JG 54 (10 kills), Hptm. Günther von Maltzahn of Stab II./JG 53 (5 kills) and Hptm. Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke of Stab III./JG 53 (4 kills).

German activity at night was much reduced compared with that of the previous nights and the areas attacked were quite different. Only a small number of isolated raids went to the Industrial Midlands. Main raids were confined to three areas only: Kent, Bristol Channel and South Wales and Tyne/Tees. Many early raids were plotted over Kent and into the Thames Estuary. Attacks were on Detling Aerodrome, Dunkirk and Rye. Two attacks were made on Detling Aerodrome at 1630 hours and 2300 hours, with the result that the wireless mast was damaged, Officers' Mess demolished, and the aerodrome became unserviceable.

Four Ju 88s of I./KG 51, six Ju 88s of II./KG 51 and two Ju 88s of III./KG 51 along with nine He 111s of I./KG 55 and ten He 111s of III./KG 55 raided Liverpool and Bristol between the hours of 2100 and 0300 causing little damage as the bombs were scattered from Avonmouth, across Stoke Bishop and the City Centre to Redfield killing nine and injuring fourteen civilians. One of the Heinkels carrying a former Lufthansa employee from Croydon, England was hit as it withdrew across the English coast and crashed in France.

The Naval oil depot at Llandarcy was hit and was reported to be burning so furiously that no action to stop the fire could be taken until daylight. High explosive bombs were dropped at Newton Downs, Porthcawl Aerodrome at 2240 hours. There was damage.

During these and in other operations twenty-five German aircraft were destroyed (plus 24 damaged). British casualties were fifteen aircraft totally destroyed and six pilots killed or missing. The RAF was beginning to feel the loss of its fighters and was on the verge of collapse. The British were suffering badly; they were losing more aircraft than were being produced, which meant that if things continued like this, the resources of Fighter Command would soon be depleted. Pilots, too, were becoming an even more serious issue. Since the Battle of Britain had begun, Dowding had lost some 75% of his squadron commanders and nearly 400 pilots had either been killed or seriously wounded. RAF No 111 Squadron at Croydon and RAF No 151 Squadron at Stapleford were down to just seven pilots each, available for operations while the two Hurricane squadrons at North Weald could count on only two Hurricanes as serviceable. By the evening of 1 September, RAF No 54 Squadron was removed from operations.

WESTERN FRONT: The Luftwaffe Staff Operations IA issued an order that listed thirty British factories that were to be destroyed. Each one of these made many vital parts for the manufacture of aircraft. RAF airfields, it stated, were to be continually attacked. But the German plans were still going astray. The Luftwaffe had failed to destroy the Royal Air Force in the two weeks as originally planed. They had also failed to wipe the Royal Air Force from the skies in preparation for the invasion of Britain. The Battle of Britain was now in its 55th day, and it now appeared more than ever that plans were now to be made for an attack on London itself. But some were not convinced that Britain was winning. Luftwaffe pilots were reporting that the British fighter defense was not as intense as it had been previously. Pilots attached to 11./KG 1 on reporting after a mission over the dockland areas of East London officially placed in their report that;

'Only slight enemy fighter resistance easily countered by own escort'.

One of the new pilots to enter combat this day was Georg-Peter Eder who reported to duty with his first combat assignment, flying with the 1st Staffel of JG 51. Heinz-Günther Amelung was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5./StG 77.

 

[T Bolt]

Excellent job Chris!

 

[Njaco]

2 September 1940 Monday
"A HELL OF A DAY"
UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Group 11 airfields were again the targets of German bombs. The Luftwaffe's effort consisted mainly of five attacks in the East Kent - Thames Estuary area. Debden, Eastchurch, Rochford, North Weald and Biggin Hill were heavily bombed throughout the day.

At 0750 and 0752 hours the Coast was crossed at Dover and Lympne by forty and thirty Do 17s of KG 3 respectively at 20,000 feet while a small formation of aircraft came in at Deal at 8,000 feet. Fighter cover was provided by fifty Bf 110s from ZG 76 in close escort and Bf 109s from JG 51 and JG 53 at a higher altitude. The raids split inland and proceeded to Eastchurch (KG 3 with escort from ZG 76), North Weald, Rochford and Biggin Hill. Seven British squadrons were detailed for this attack and some inflicted casualties on the German raiders. Although Park scrambled the squadrons few contacted the enemy, for close protection of Sector Stations was now prescribed.

RAF No. 72 Sqd (Spitfires) was immediately put into action over the northern coast of Kent and followed the Dornier bombers towards Biggin Hill. RAF No. 92 Sqd (Spitfires) were also sent to assist RAF No. 72 Sqd. but failed in protecting Biggin Hill from yet another attack. As No. 72 Squadron was busy dealing with the Do17s and Bf110s at around 13,000 feet, another nine Do17s, contour hugging, again struck Biggin Hill. But this time the British fighters had done enough to put the Do17s off their bombing run and little further damage was done to the airfield.

A further raid of thirty aircraft flying at 10,000 feet was intercepted by British fighters near Hawkinge and turned back. RAF Nos. 222 and 603 Squadrons (Spitfires) and RAF No. 249 Sqd (Hurricanes) engaged the Dornier formation that headed north-west inland from the Thames Estuary. No. 603 Squadron (City of Edinburgh ), patrolling over Hornchurch was vectored to the withdrawing Bf109s and bagged one which fell to P/O Richard Hillary (X4277) later to become famous as the author of the book 'The Last Enemy'. Two of the Hurricanes were damaged by gunfire from the Bf 110s and one was shot down in flames from gunfire from another Bf 110 but one of the Do17s was shot down and another peeled away belching smoke, but again, North Weald sustained only slight damage. One of the Spitfires of RAF No. 603 Sqd. engaged a Bf 110 over Hawkinge and had difficulty in lining up the 110 enough to get a clear aim. The British aircraft was hit by defensive gunfire from the German fighter that smashed the Perspex hood and the upper fuselage, but the RAF pilot managed to return to base.

Of the two raids, only two targets sustained damage. Enough bombers managed to escape the marauding British fighters to make a strike on the Short Brothers aircraft factory at Rochester where a number of buildings were destroyed and a number of civilians were killed. Another formation managed to attack the old motor racing circuit of Brooklands near Weybridge where Vickers Wellington bombers were being produced. Gravesend Aerodrome was attacked at 0805 hours, when eleven high explosive bombs were dropped causing damage to gas, electricity and telephone services.

Mid day came. With many aircraft at Fighter Command's airfields still rearming and refueling after the morning raid, another large formation was detected on the radar. The first detection was made while the Luftwaffe was still over the French coast, but as they approached the Channel more smaller formations joined in and soon a contingent of over 225 bombers were approaching the Kent coast. At 1220 hours two waves of about twelve and thirty aircraft each crossed the Coast at Folkestone and North Foreland and flew into the Estuary. Several RAF squadrons were sent to intercept the Luftwaffe bombers. RAF No. 72 Sqd was back in the air and one of the first to make contact. Intercepting a formation of Do17s and Bf 110s over the Isle of Thanet, a fierce combat took place over the towns of Margate and Herne Bay. For nearly twenty minutes, the twisting and spiraling shapes of aircraft weaving this way and that filled the skies. It was nothing new to the residents below. They were now used to the dogfights that were occurring almost daily above their towns. One of the Spitfires was damaged by gunfire from one of the Dorniers. The action now moved over Herne Bay. Another of RAF No. 72 Squadron's Spitfires was attacked by a Bf 110 and shot down, but this time it crashed into the ground and burst into flames. The dogfighting grew in intensity as more than eighty Bf 109s swooped down and into the combat over Herne Bay and Margate.

RAF No.603 Sqd also found no rest as they too were scrambled and they made contact with the German formations just east of Sheerness. They were surprised when they got caught up in a dogfight with over seventy Messerschmitt Bf 109s.

By now, most of the action was between the fighters, the bombers managing to carry on, leaving the fighters to break up into their own small groups and a series of individual dogfights emerged. About two hundred aircraft were involved and the German fighters managed to hold the fighters of the RAF back even though the casualty rate on the German side was the greater. Several Luftwaffe aircraft were shot down. One of the Bf 109s, piloted by Oblt. Ekkehard Schelcher in combat with RAF No. 603 Sqd. over the Isle of Sheppy, was shot down possibly by P/O J.S. Morton and crashed near Chilham. His body lay in the wreckage of his aircraft for 37 years which was classified by the German authorities as a recognized war grave before the body was interred at the German war cemetery at Cannock Chase. Several claims were made by pilots of JG 54 and JG 2 including Oblt. Werner Machold of 1./JG 2 who downed two RAF Spitfires over New Romney.

 

[Njaco]

(2 September 1940 continued.....)

Biggin Hill, Hornchurch, Croydon, North Weald, Debden, Detling, Eastchurch and Hawkinge were all damaged, and although still operational they were not at full capacity or working with the efficiency that was hoped, only Tangmere and Kenley had escaped much of the constant bombing. Debden airfield was the only aerodrome hit with severe damage. The British had to set up an emergency operations room outside the airfield at Debden - this time in a chalk pit outside Saffron Walden. Other raids penetrated to Maidstone, causing considerable damage to house property and twenty-five families had to be evacuated. Strong German formations continued to cruise in the Straits for about an hour.

At 1612 hours two hundred and fifty German aircraft crossed the Coast at points North of Dungeness and Deal and then spread fanwise across Kent. One raid flew towards Biggin Hill and the remainder to the Thames Estuary and Essex flying over Hornchurch, North Weald and Colchester to Harwich. A formation of Do17s bombed Hornchurch Aerodrome at 1640 hours. British fighters were so successful in breaking up the raid that only six bombs fell on the landing ground causing no damage to buildings or personnel. But there was some damage suffered by the AA Brigade Headquarters nearby. At Detling a hanger was hit and damage was caused at Eastchurch. Some thirty German aircraft concentrated 10 miles south-east of Central London where they were turned back by RAF fighters. Four British Fighter squadrons were in the air and successful interceptions were made. Strong interceptions by fighters from JG 2 and ZG 76 increased several scores including another Spitfire for Oblt. Werner Machold of 1./JG 2. He ended the day with a score of twenty British aircraft shot down up to this date. Oblt. Herbert Ihlefeld of 2.(J)/LG 2 and Oblt. Otto Bertram of 1./JG 2 each claimed a Spitfire during the 1230 hours raids and the 1600 hours raids.

Immediately after the above attackers had returned to France, at 1720 hours, a number of German formations started building up across the Channel near Calais. As was usual with Luftwaffe raids, the bombers accumulated into one large formation that crossed over Sheppey, Thames Estuary and East Kent then broke away into smaller formations again with each going to its own designated target. A large dogfight started to develop over the Thames Estuary, but not before some of the bombers managed to get through the defenses and made their attack on the aerodromes of Detling and Eastchurch. Damage at Detling was considerable with an estimated 100 bombs being dropped on the airfield causing many craters and wrecking one of the main hangars. Thirty German bombers wrecked 'C' Flight hanger. Detling was non-operational for the next three hours. Eastchurch then received two attacks, the first by eighteen aircraft which exploded a dump of three hundred and fifty 250lb bombs, had administration buildings damaged, the NAAFI destroyed, five aircraft destroyed and water and sewage pipes ruptured. In the second raid another hanger was hit. Suffering severe damage, Eastchurch was later declared unoperational and while most of the station was moved to Wymswold Warden, the base hospital and sick bay was transferred into the village. Major Walther Grabmann, Kommodore of ZG 76 reported to General Osterkamp after the Eastchurch raid;

"There's not much doing over there anymore!"

At 1725 hours some fifty bombers with an escort of about forty Bf 109s managed to get through to Hornchurch. RAF No. 603 Sqd. were pulled back to protect the airfield. Under the harassment by RAF No. 603 Sqd., many of the bombs dropped wide of their target and damage to the aerodrome was only minimal. RAF No. 72 Sqd, already having been involved in the combat landed, refueled and rearmed and was back again in the action calling it;

". . . a hell of a day".

Many of the German aircraft decided to turn back and RAF No. 303 (Polish) Sqd. met them on their return. 12 Hurricanes of the squadron had left Northolt and were sent to intercept the Raid and then to patrol Ashford. Bf109s dived out of sun and on to the Squadron near Dover at 19,000 ft. They managed to damage a couple of Bf 109s and a Do17 but one their own received damage and had to make a forced landing in open ground outside Dover. Red Section were compelled to evade the Messerschmitts and lost them but Sgt. Rogowski pursued one Bf109 which crashed in the sea 10 miles from the French coast. Sgt. Frantiszek also pursued one Bf109 over the French coast. F/O. Henneberg pursued another Bf109 also over the French coast firing six bursts into its engine from 150 to 25 yards. The aircraft lost height and speed, trailing thick black smoke and with the engine on fire. F/O Henneberg and Sgt. Frantiszek were compelled due to A.A. fire to break off at 3000 ft.

At 1800 hours other raids totaling eighty German aircraft approached the Coast between North Foreland and Dungeness. They did not penetrate inland and after patrolling the Coast returned to France at 1830 hours. Strong patrols were maintained on the French side of the Channel.

Other notable Experten increasing scores this day were Fw. Rudolf Täschner of 1./JG 2 (six kills total), Ofw. Erich Rudorffer of 2./JG 2 (14 kills), Fw. Heinz Bär of 1./JG 51 (8 kills), Hptm. Wolfgang Lippert of 3./JG 53 (11 kills), Fw. Erwin Leykauf of 7./JG 54 (5 kills) and Oblt. Wilhelm Herget of 7./ZG 76. Fw. Werner Stumpf of 7./JG 53 got his second kill in as many days. Ofw. Erich Kuhlmann of 3./JG 53 destroyed a Hurricane for his fourth victory but was shot down himself shortly after.

 

[Njaco]

(2 September 1940 continued.....)

German night activity was extensive and was not so confined to specific areas as on recent nights. The early evening brought a little relief, but just after midnight the bombers came over in small formations. A new feature was the early termination (0130 hours) of all the main attacks. By dusk the Luftwaffe was operating along the East Coast, Wash to Tyne (mostly mine-laying), over Derby, in the Liverpool and the Barrow-in-Furness areas. From 2200 to 0030 hours a steady stream of raids crossed the Coast between Beachy Head and Swanage and flew to the industrial Midlands as far as Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. Many German aircraft passed to and from these areas over London Central. Others flew in over the Wash. The number of raids towards South Wales was rather less than recently. Off North East Scotland there was increased activity and a number of raids were between Rattray Head and as far north as Scapa. Between the hours of 2030 and 2100, several He 111s of II./KG 27 and II./KG 55 returned to the cities of Liverpool and Bristol causing minor damage. Swanage was attacked, bombs fell at Leighton Buzzard, and in the north Merseyside was attacked and in the Midlands the areas of Birmingham and Wolverhampton failed to escape bomb damage.

A convoy off Kinnairds Head called for help at 2240 hours. The German raid left two steamers off Aberdeenshire damaged, one of which was burned out.

The total of thirty-one fighters lost by Fighter Command this day along with eight pilots killed, was double from the day before. The Germans lost thirty-five bombers and fighters. Once again, Epr.Gr 210 had suffered, with eight Bf 110s destroyed. On one bomber shot down was found a supply of hand grenades to be thrown at pursuing fighters.

WESTERN FRONT: Reichsmarschall Göring visited with Major Adolf Galland of JG 26, Major Werner Mölders of JG 51 and other fighter commanders at their airfield. After bellowing at his commanders about how the fighters were not saving the bombers, he calmed down and asked Mölders what he needed. Werner Mölders replied;

"I would like the Bf 109 to be fitted with more powerful engines."

Turning to Galland, Göring asked;

"And you?"

to which Galland responded;

"Ich bitte um die Ausrüstung meines Geschwaders mit Spitfire." ("I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my squadron.")

Göring stormed away. Some time later Spitfires from RAF No. 603 (City of Edinburgh ) were heavily engaged over the channel by Bf109's from JG 26. During the combat, Sgt. Pilot Alfie Summers, flying a new Mk.IIa Supermarine Spitfire P7351 XT-A, became disorientated and landed right next to a German Army unit in France. The Spitfire was recovered by the Luftwaffe and shipped to an evaluation unit to assess its performance. The Reichsmarschall, on hearing of the capture of an air worthy Spitfire thought he would exact revenge on Galland. He ordered the spitfire sent to Galland's JG 26, with the order that it would be Galland's personal machine;

"He wanted Spitfires – HAH! Here is his first, let us see what Galland will do with it!"

When Göring's aides mentioned that it would surely be too dangerous to fly a captured aircraft against the RAF as it would be at risk of being attacked by both sides, Göring replied;

"If Galland is as good as he says, and the Spitfire as superior as he thinks, then he should not be in any danger from the combined forces of the Luftwaffe and RAF!"

The Spitfire was duly sent to JG 26. When it arrived and on hearing Göring's comments, Galland laughed and ordered the spitfire painted in his colours. He sent a message to the Reichsmarschall, thanking him for his first Spitfire and said he was looking forward to receiving others!

Hptm. Joachim Seegert was made acting Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 2 while the Kommodore of JG 2, Oberst Harry von Bulow-Bothkamp decided to retire from active duty.

 

[syscom3]

"On one bomber shot down was found a supply of hand grenades to be thrown at pursuing fighters."

Were the German bomber crews that desperate?