This Day in the Battle of Britain (12 Viewers)

[T Bolt]

I'd say the second photo is the real one. You can see the shadows of the hurricanes on the ground wile in the first pic there are no shadows and something doesn't look quite right where the Hurricane on the left is in front of the buildings..

 

[vikingBerserker]

I think the top pic is the real one, you can see more detail on the planes. The light in the 2nd looks a bit off, eso around the tire on the plan on the left.

Or they both could be fake.

 

[Njaco]

30 September 1940 Monday
UNITED KINGDOM: The Luftwaffe reintroduced old tactics with close escorts to their bombers and paid a heavy price in bombers and fighters for negligible damage. Four attacks of considerable weight were made over East Kent, one of which spread westwards, and two others took place in the Portland area. The second of these synchronized with the fourth attack which spread westwards in Kent. Other activity consisted of reconnaissance flights along the Coasts, and attacks on shipping. The result of all this activity was the loss of several fighter Experten for minimal gain.

A Ju 88 which made a reconnaissance of Chesterfield at 0630 hours re-crossed the Coast at the Humber and was shot down. From 0635 hours single German aircraft were active from the Estuary to Beachy Head and inland in two cases to Farnborough and Worthing.

At 0900 hours formations of thirty German aircraft including twelve bombers and fifty fighters, crossed the Coast East and West of Dungeness respectively. They were preceded by a single aircraft which flew in over Rye. The attack penetrated to Biggin Hill and Kenley. Meanwhile another raid of twelve aircraft patrolled Dungeness eastwards of the attack, just inland, and fifty additional aircraft remained off-shore at Dover.

At 1010 hours seventy-five Luftwaffe aircraft composed of bombers with fighter escort from II./JG 26 crossed at Dungeness and again flew to the Biggin Hill - Kenley area where the formations were broken up by fierce British resistance. Twenty-five German aircraft patrolled the Straits. By 1030 hours the raids had turned South and headed for France. Five Hurricanes are claimed by the II./JG 26 during this mission including the first for Uffz. Karl Schieffer of 5./JG 26.

At 1055 hours 100 German aircraft made up of bomb carrying Bf 110s with an escort of Bf 109s from JG 2, JG 27 and JG 51 crossed the Coast at St Albans Head of which fifty came from Cherbourg and fifty from the Seine. A split of twenty-five planes flew across Dorset and Devon to the Somerset border, but the remainder penetrated inland only some 15 miles before intercepted by Hurricanes and Spitfires. No 10 Group detailed one squadron to patrol Bristol, while the other British squadrons were detailed to counter the attack. Heavily involved in the battle, Hptm. Helmut Wick of Stab I./JG 2 downed a Hurricane and a Spitfire to bring his score to thirty-four. Also claiming kills were Oblt. Rudolf Pflanz of Stab I./JG 2 and Uffz. Kurt Bühligen of 6./JG 2. The raid was over by 1200 hours without the bombers reaching their target.

At 1310 hours some 100 Luftwaffe aircraft with eighteen others in advance, flew inland at Lympne. A second wave brought up the total to about 180 aircraft in all, with forty more patrolling at Dover. The formation of eighteen, followed by the main body, spread inland on a general course for London. It was principally held up 20 miles from Central London, but nine aircraft consisting of Ju 88s and Bf 109s of JG 27 penetrated while others approached the South-Western suburbs. The aircraft were re-crossing the Coast at 1345 hours. Duxford scrambled the 'Big Wing' to intercept the raiders. 12 Hurricanes if RAF No. 303 (Polish) Sqdrn left Northolt and was third in the Wing behind RAF No. 1 (Canadian) Squadron and No. 229 Squadron and were vectored towards Dungerness. At 14,000 ft they came upon about 30 Do215s in close formations of nines escorted by Bf109s. Unable attack, the Squadron broke away upwards and pursued the bombers over the Channel. Several pilots made inconclusive attacks on the Bf109s and 303 'Red Section' was checked by rearguard escorts, but one, F/O Urbanowicz destroyed two Bf109s near the French coast, and one Do215 over France. Sgt. Karubin destroyed one Bf109 off Beachy Head and P/O. Radomski destroyed one Do215, but crashed landed at Lydd unhurt. "B" Flight were too late for any effective contact. The fighters of JG 27 lost their Gruppe-Adjutant when Hans Bertram of 1./JG 27 was shot down over Sussex and killed during the mission.

At 1608 hours four raids totaling about 200 German aircraft flew from Dungeness to Biggin Hill and scattered over East Kent from Kenley to Hornchurch. Some flew West and approached Weybridge from the South. These again turned West down the Thames Valley as far as Reading. More aircraft were over Middle Wallop, North of Tangmere and near Winchester. At 1635 hours, while the East Kent raid was in progress, fifty Heinkels flew over Portland with a further fifty following the Coast to Lyme Bay. These joined the first formation and flew inland some 20 miles. Weymouth was bombed and damage also reported in the Yeovil area. By 1700 hours the aircraft were returning to France.

 

[Njaco]

(30 September 1940 continued....)

It was during both of these raids that the German formations were badly mauled by the British. RAF 303 (Polish) Sqdrn was back in the air and ordered to patrol its base and then join with RAF No. 1 (Canadian) Sqdrn and 229 Sqdrn who had taken off fifteen minutes earlier, to again form the 'Big Wing'. Climbing at full boost, the squadrons became separated and neither could join the wing. "A" Flight was broken up by Bf109s of which F/O. Urbanowicz destroyed one. They were soon involved with 150 to 200 Bf109s and Bf110s and the odds were too great. Cloud cover alone saved the squadron from heavy casualties. RAF No.303 "B" Flight made its way towards the bombers going southeast near Croydon. Sgt. Belc broke away to protect a Hurricane being attacked, and never rejoined the Flight. The remaining 4 British fighters were dived upon by Bf109s when they were closing in on the bombers. Sgt. Franciszek broke off upwards in order to cover the flight from the surprise attack. He caught one Bf 109 in a turn and destroyed it and in a subsequent fight with six more Bf 109s probably destroyed another. He finally escaped into cloud.

With four British squadrons attacking the Luftwaffe bombers and fighters on the way in and another four fighter squadrons intercepting them on the way out, losses by the German aircrews were high. Bombers from I./KG 55 lost four Heinkels shot down into the Channel by fighters from RAF Nos. 238, 504 and 609 Squadrons on the mission to Yeovil. One crew was rescued by the Seeotdienst including Major Ernst Kuhl, who was injured. JG 52 lost three pilots who became prisoners of war as did two pilots from JG 53. Two pilots from JG 2 were killed, Fw. Wilhelm Hermes of 2./JG 2 and Uffz. Peter Neumann-Merkel of 9 / JG 2. Oblt. Werner Machold of 9./JG 2 brought his score to twenty-four with the destruction of an RAF aircraft near Portland. He later destroyed two more RAF aircraft and ended the day with his victory total at twenty-six kills.

P/O Alfred Keith Ogilvie of RAF No. 609 Sqdrn described in his diary:

"We tangled with a 109 circus and I found myself a playmate. He had too much staff for Junior, and though he got in a deflection shot which floated across in front of me, I never got a shot at him. . I was pleased that the Spitfire was able to turn inside of the 109, but he suddenly flipped over and disappeared before I had fired a shot - a moral victory only!"

At 1730 hours a reconnaissance of Southampton was made by a single aircraft.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 48; RAF, 20.

Wing-Cdr Laurence Frank Sinclair (b. 1908 ) dragged an airman from a crashed, burning plane. Unfortunately, the airman later died. (George Cross)

Civilian casualties of the Blitz this month are 6,954 killed and 10,615 hurt.

Two German agents, Karl Drucke - who had a loaded 6.35 Mauser automatic and a flickknife that was found in his suitcase and was taken from Drucke by Inspector John Simpson after a struggle - and Vera Eriksen, were arrested at Buckie, on the Moray Firth, having first been spotted in Port Gordon. A third member of the same group, Werner Walti (real name Robert Petter), was arrested in Edinburgh, where he had deposited a wireless set in a suitcase at the Waverley Street luggage office. After extensive MI5 interrogation in London the two men were sentenced to death at the Old Bailey and hanged in Wandsworth Prison on 6 August 1941. The woman, who had been a prewar part-time informant for MI5, escaped the same penalty.

A Spitfire from RAF No.610 Squadron based at Acklington airfield in Northumberland crashed on the beach at Alnmouth due to a flying accident. The aircraft was a write-off, the 21-year-old pilot, Flying Officer C.H. Bacon was killed and was buried in St Mary's Cemetery in Windermere, Westmoreland.

A Spitfire from RAF No.64 Squadron based at Leconfield airfield near Beverley in Yorkshire, crashed 4 miles N of base during a routine sortie at 10.30 hours, no cause stated. The pilot, P/O Adrian Francis Laws, was killed and is buried in Wells-Next-The-Sea Cemetery, Norfolk.

A Hurricane of RAF No.302 Squadron based at Leconfield near Beverley in Yorkshire, piloted by Sergeant J.S. Zaluski, taxied into a stationary Hurricane at base. There were no casualties, both aircraft were damaged but repairable.

A Blenheim from RAF No.219 Squadron based at Catterick airfield in Yorkshire, disintegrated and crashed a mile SW of Accrington shortly after take-off, to begin a routine night patrol, at 21.40, the exact cause of the crash unknown. Sergeants C. Goodwin and G.E. Shepperd, together with AC2 J.P. McCaul were killed and the aircraft a write-off. The pilot, Sgt Goodwin aged 21 was buried at his home town of Kingston upon Hull, Sgt Shepperd, the air gunner, aged 23 is buried in Catterick Cemetery and AC2 McCaul, who was 28 years old, is buried in Leigh Cemetery in Lancashire.

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff yet again Chris.
The pics of the 501 Squadron Hurricanes - this is one of the most famous pics taken during the battle, and has always been attributed as being taken at Gravesend, which is correct. (I'd need to check the dates, but I believe it was August14th).
The hangars in the background show damage from a previous raid (first pic), and the second pic has definitely been either masked, 'dodged' or airbrushed if on an original print, or 'photoshopped' or similar if an electronic image.
The Squadron were not stationed at Hawkinge until 1942, and, although they might have positioned at Hawkinge as a FOB, the background is not that of the station.
The Bf109 'White 4', although it appears to be the 'E3' model, is in fact an E4, verified by the data plate, the engine and the plate on the port(?) undercarriage leg, and now resides in the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, displayed more or less as it was when force-landed, with the starboard wing unrestored. This airframe toured the USA and Canada, before returning to Bournemouth, UK, bearing hundreds of signatures, where it was in store for many years before being restored for display.
Here's a couple of pics I took last year.

 

[Njaco]

Thats what I thought. That second pic looks doctored to me. As for the Bf 109 I will have to check my source which I believe was Eric Mombeek's Jagdwaffe series. But its cool that the plane still survives!

 

[Njaco]

UNITED KINGDOM: The sad saga continued for the Luftwaffe. German losses were mounting, but still Göring did not understand that he could ill afford to lose aircraft at the rate that he was. Although his aircraft establishments were producing more aircraft, Britain too was producing just as many. In fact newer models of the Hurricane and Spitfire were being produced that were to prove far more deadly than the earlier versions. And so the Germans switched tactics.

Göring had now realized that sending in an advance squadron of fighters and fighter bombers was not luring the RAF fighters into the air, and that the strongest reaction by the British was concentrated bombing attacks. For this reason, Bf 109s were laden with a small bomb load, and that after the release of the bombs they could then revert to being fighters. Although this move only proved marginally effective, the Bf 109s, because of the extra weight, used up more fuel and their stay over enemy territory was made even shorter.

With the introduction of the Bf 109E-7 Jabos, it was to set new tactics for the Luftwaffe and a new headache for Fighter Command. The German High Command issued orders that at least one Gruppe in every Jagdgeschwader was to be equipped for Jabo operations. The problem that Keith Park was now faced with was that these Jabos would fly at extremely high altitudes and come in at great speeds. The Hurricane was a great aircraft at lower altitudes and did not perform well at 25,000 feet. So the job of taking on the Jabos was left to the Spitfire squadrons which was a good performer at high altitudes.

The Luftwaffe would now use their main bomber force almost entirely under cover of darkness. In daylight they sent over only small numbers of fast Ju88s together with Messerschmitt fighters at high altitude carrying bombs, protected by further fighters above. This activity occurred every day during October and proved extremely difficult to deal with, but strategically was of little benefit to the Germans.

During October London continued to be the principle target for the long range bombers, being raided every night. However with the planned invasion of Britain now shelved the Luftwaffe High Command ordered more bombing effort to be put into night harassing attacks on the harbour installations at Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow, with the industrial centres of Birmingham and Coventry as alternative targets, while still maintaining the pressure on the Capital. As a result I Fliegerkorps was transferred to Luftflotte 3 adding to its inventory the He 111's of KG 1 and KG 26 as well as the Ju 88's of KG 76 and KG 77, although, a number of these units were to remain non-operational for some time.

The Luftwaffe opened the new month of October with an attack made by two aircraft at 0655 hours on Carew-Cheriton and one hangar was wrecked, two slightly damaged, one hut completely demolished, one defence post demolished and two Anson aircraft burnt out but the aerodrome was serviceable. The casualties amounted to 1 airman killed and ten injured.

Eighty Bf 109s of JG 2 and JG 53 and the remaining thirty-two BF 110s of ZG 26 made a sweep over Portsmouth and Southampton at about 1030 hours in two waves. Three Squadrons from No 10 Group engaged the formations over Swanage and the Isle of Wight and forced the Messerschmitts to turn back. Hurricanes of RAF No. 238 Squadron, scrambled from Middle Wallop and RAF No. 607 Squadron, scrambled from Tangmere, intercepted the raid over Poole with each squadron losing 2 aircraft. The German raiders lost four aircraft during this engagement although Obstlt. Johann Schalk from Stab III./ZG 26 made a claim for a Hurricane destroyed at 11:45 hours. Bob Doe led down the six Hurricanes of RAF No. 238 Sqdrn in a bounce from 5000 feet above the German aircraft, and got the Messerschmitts from below as he pulled up from the dive. One of the problems with the bomb-carrying Bf 109s was that with a 250kg bomb hanging under its belly, the single-engined warplane was not as versatile in the role of a fighter, so the bombs had to be jettisoned early allowing the Messerschmitt to revert back to its role of a fighter.

At the same time the second wave of 50 German aircraft approached the Needles and were met over the sea by 5 Squadrons from No 11 Group. The enemy aircraft did not cross the coast and withdrew. In a reversal of the day before, the action resulted in victory for the German force and several Luftwaffe pilots made claims. Hptm. Helmut Wick of Stab I./JG 2 claimed two Spitfires to bring his tally to 36 while Ofw. Rudolf Taschner of 1./JG 2, Lt. Franz Fiby of Stab I./JG 2, Uffz. Josef Keil from 8./JG 3 and Hptm. Karl-Heinz Greisert of Stab II./JG 2 all made claims for RAF fighters destroyed.

 

[Njaco]

(1 October 1940 continued.....)

Shortly after 1300 hours, the Luftwaffe sent three waves of bombers on an attack on London. The first two waves contained about 50 Bf 109s and Bf 110s while the third consisted of He 111s. Spitfires of RAF Nos. 41, 72, 92 and 603 Squadrons along with Hurricanes of RAF Nos. 253, 303, 501 and 605 Squadrons were scrambled to meet the raiders with successful interceptions made by Spitfires of RAF No. 41 Squadron, from Hornchurch and Hurricanes of RAF No.303 (Polish) Squadron, from Northolt. The RAF lost four aircraft. Major Galland led JG 26 as they escorted the Jabos to London. Over Brighton, II./JG 26 was attacked from above by a lone Hurricane from RAF No.303 (Polish) Sqdrn. Uffz. Hans Bluder of 4./JG 26 was hit and failed to exit his aircraft as it plunged straight into the ground.

By 1403 hours a second attack developed with 50 German aircraft flying North West towards Biggin Hill. A second formation of the same strength followed but withdrew soon after. The first formation returned to France shortly after but single aircraft maintained patrols in North Kent and North Surrey until 1520 hours. 13 Squadrons were detailed to the attack and again the raiders turned away from the British fighters with a few dropping bombs in the New Romney area.

At 1610 hours 70 Luftwaffe aircraft - mostly Bf 109s and Bf 110s - in three successive waves flew towards Kenley at 20,000 feet. 40 of these approached the South East edge of the Inner Artillery Zone but immediately turned South East. The remainder comprising 38 Bf 109s from II(Schlacht)./LG 2 escorted by JG 26 and JG 51 made for central London. Although intercepted by RAF fighters and dispersed, several managed to drop bombs on the city's southern outskirts before heading back for France. Only one escort was lost, Uffz. Garnith from 1./JG 51 was shot down and made a POW. The remaining daylight hours saw only occasional reconnaissance raids along the coast and over southern England.

During the night raids were made against London, Bristol, the Midlands, East Anglia, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston areas. The first night bombers came out of Le Havre and Cherbourg area and crossed the Isle of Wight at 1940 hours. Raids from Dieppe and the Somme crossed the coast between Beachy Head and Dungeness with London as their objective. A number of raids originating from Cherbourg crossed at Portland and flew to Bristol Channel whence they spread to South Wales, West Midlands and up to Chester, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston areas. A few raids were plotted over East Anglia and inland as far as Leicester. Mines were dropped off the east coast and in the Thames Estuary. At 2145 hours there was a marked lull in the number of fresh raids entering the country. Central London was clear for a time, but at 2340 hours fresh raids approached from the East and a number were plotted in and out of the Thames Estuary. Several formations of Luftwaffe Heinkels and Dorniers raided London again. A formation of He 111s of KGr 100 raided the city of Manchester with a single bomber dropping ordinance on the city of Bristol.

Losses: Luftwaffe 6 : Fighter Command 4

The names of the first recipients of the newly-instituted George Cross and George Medals were announced today. The following details are taken from the official accounts in the London Gazette of the deeds for which the awards were made:

1) Thomas Hopper Alderson, part time rescue party worker, detachment leader, Bridlington. George Cross. A pair of semi-detached houses at Bridlington was totally demolished in a recent air raid (presumably one of the raids that took place in the middle of August). One woman was trapped alive. Mr Alderson tunnelled under the wreckage and rescued her. Some days later two five-storey buildings were demolished and the debris collapsed on to the cellars in which eleven people were trapped, six people in one cellar were buried under the debris. Mr Alderson tunneled about 14 ft. under the main heap of wreckage, working unceasingly for 3½ hours, succeeded in releasing all of the people trapped. On the third occasion, some four-story buildings were totally demolished, five people were trapped in a cellar and Mr Alderson led the rescue party in excavating a tunnel to the cellar. He also personally tunnelled many feet under the wreckage to rescue alive two people (one of whom later died) trapped under a massive refrigerator. Mr Alderson worked almost continuously under the wreckage for 5 hours, during further air raid warnings and with enemy aircraft overhead.
2)Patrick King, Air Raid Warden, of Seaton Delaval: During an air raid Mr King was in his shelter when he heard a bomb explode. He ran towards the place where it had fallen and found two semi-detached houses had almost collapsed. One was empty, but in the other was a blind lady, a Miss Hannah Wilson, who sheltered under the stairs. He ascertained by shouting that she was alive but buried under the stairs. Mr King using axe and saw made a tunnel using sawn off roof timbers as supports for it, after a considerable time and much difficulty he managed to reach her, clear the debris off her body and bring her to safety. All the while the house was in imminent danger of collapse.

No 80 Signals Wing of the RAF was finally able to counteract 'Knickebein', the radio beam navigation used by the Luftwaffe on its night raids on London. This forced the bombers to use bright moonlight for bombing. At about the same time the FuMG 65, also known as the Würzburg-Gerät radar system, entered service. It was a very powerful system with a range of 35 Kms.

The British kept inventing new ways in which to deal with the Luftwaffe bombers and the latest was an airbourne parachute bomb. Known as "Mutton', the parachute with a bomb dangling from 2,000 feet of piano wire was an adaptation of the rocket fired parachute mines that were used on 18 August. The idea was to launch these in the path of an approaching bomber formation and denotate when an aircraft was nearby. RAF No. 420 Flight was formed to use the equipment and on 1 October, F/L Burke collected the first Harrow bomber equipped to use it from the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough.

WESTERN FRONT: The Kommodore of KG 2, Oberst Johannes Fink, was promoted to Generalmajor. Oberleutnant Gustav "Micky" Sprick, Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 26, was awarded the Ritterkreuz after gaining his 20th victory on 28 September.

The RAF sent bombers and fighters in 105 separate raids on Germany through Holland during the night. Bombs fell on many German military installations but only slight damage was done. Three waves of British bombers flew over Berlin but caused very slight damage but did manage to drop leaflets over Aschersleben with the headline "Terror war Hitlers Waffe". Luftwaffe night-fighters shot down four of the British bombers over Bersenbruck. Flak destroyed two Blenheims and a Hampden over the harbors at Boulogne and Le Touquet.

 

[Njaco]

2 October 1940 Wednesday
UNITED KINGDOM: Massed fighter-bomber formations began very early and, climbing above 30,000 ft, they attacked south-east London and Biggin Hill for most of the morning. Some smaller waves in the afternoon again penetrated as far as central London. Bf109s operated at a high altitude over south-east England with a mixture of fighter and fighter-bomber variants bombing London before the RAF could react. The raiders also relied upon cloud and rain cover to mask their approach to London.

A Ju88 landed intact at 0630 hours at Brightlingsea (Essex Coast). It had left Amsterdam at 0300 hours on a Meteorological and reconnaissance flight and got lost.

An attack was made at 0715 hours on RAF Station Penhros and considerable damage was done to the carpenters shop, armoury workshops, drug store, fabric workshop, Clerk of Works office and stores and transport sheds. An attack was made by a single plane at 0843 hours on Portland, and 1 HE bomb which failed to explode fell between four Admiralty tanks but no damage was caused.

At 0830 hours, the Luftwaffe commenced with the first of five daylight raids against London with high flying Bf 109s, Bf 110s, bomb-carrying Bf 109E-7s and medium bombers. Just after 0900 hours and during the following hour, two raids from Luftflotte 2 crossed over Kent towards the southern areas of London. Ju88s, Do17s and Bf109s made up the raids and were intercepted by Hurricanes of RAF Nos. 17, 253, 501 and 605 Squadrons and Spitfires of RAF Nos. 41, 66, 602 and 603 Squadrons. At 0955 hours about 50 Luftwaffe aircraft crossed the Coast at Dungeness, the leading formation of twenty aircraft coming into the Inner Artillery Zone. The remainder approached no further than Kenley. Meanwhile ten German aircraft flew inland at Brighton northwards to Biggin Hill, joining the other formations flying South at 1015 hours. LG 2 and the entire Geschwader strength of JG 51 flew in at a great height over the southern counties. Although the high altitude of the German formations prevented many RAF fighters from engaging the bombers, the RAF claimed nine aircraft shot down for the loss of one Spitfire from RAF No. 603 Squadron. P/O P.G.Dexter of RAF No. 603 Sqdrn was wounded whilst flying a Spitfire I (P9553) by a Bf 109 of JG 53 over Croydon at 10:30 hours. Two pilots of JG 53 - Lt. Eric Schmidt and Uffz. Robert Wolfgarten, both from 9./JG 53 - claimed 4 Spitfires during this period. Oblt. Walter Fiel of 8./JG 53 was shot down and made a POW. One Do17 was shot down by the Hurricanes of RAF No.17 Squadron near RAF Pulham. 30 aircraft crossed the coast at Dungeness and flew towards Central London, twelve of them penetrating to the Inner Artillery Zone but all quickly made for home. During the raid thirty aircraft were patrolling round Dover and joined up with the inland formation when they recrossed the Coast at 0920 hours. During the raid strong patrols were maintained in the Straits. Bombs were dropped at Woolwich and Hastings.

At about 1130 hours 12+ German aircraft approached the Maidstone area and Margate, where bombs were dropped. Margate and Lympne were reported to have been bombed. These were followed by fifty aircraft flying towards Biggin Hill. Some of the latter approached the Inner Artillery Zone in the Crystal Palace area. At 1126 hours, several HE and Oil Incendiary bombs were dropped on the aerodrome at Lympne. One shelter was hit and an Army lorry was set on fire. Eight fighter squadrons were sent up to intercept. Due to the high altitude of the bombers, the Fighter Command squadrons scrambled to intercept could not reach the raiders before they had turned back to France. By 1220 hours all the aircraft were flying South of Maidstone returning to France.

During the early part of the afternoon several small raids crossed over Dungeness but turned away before reaching their targets. At 1320 hours, two raids totalling thirty Luftwaffe aircraft flew towards Kenley - Biggin Hill from Dover and Dungeness, while a further fifteen aircraft approached Sheppey. Twenty aircraft reached the East of London. By 1335 hours all the aircraft were returning to France, although until 1400 hours considerable activity continued in the Straits with small raids penetrating into East Kent. Bombs were dropped at various suburban places including Camberwell, and at Rochester.

At 1455 hours thirty German aircraft flew inland from Dungeness to Biggin Hill - Kenley but only one aircraft penetrated further towards Central London. By 1518 hours the aircraft had turned away. During the attack five aircraft flew round North Foreland to Sheppey returning by the same route at 1520 hours. Camberwell was reported to have been bombed again.

Just before 1630 hours another raid of He111s and Bf109s - about seventy-five aircraft - was plotted over Kent following the same route as previous raids to Biggin Hill where they split, one formation of eight aircraft flying over South East London. The bulk remained in the Biggin Hill area but by 1650 hours had turned South. The Spitfires of RAF No. 41 Squadron, scrambled from Hornchurch intercepted some of the raiders. Meanwhile, off the Lincolnshire coast at Skegness, He111s were engaged by the Hurricanes of RAF No. 151 Squadron scrambled from Digby.

Shortly before 1930 hours, a convoy was attacked off Peterhead and the He115 responsible was intercepted and shot down by Hurricanes of RAF No. 145 Squadron. A further He115 was badly damaged.

During the night the regular bombing of London continued with further raids on the areas of Newcastle, the Midlands and Manchester by 180 aircraft throughout the night. The bombing saturated a central strip of London from Hornchurch/Romford to Northolt/Uxbridge; other raiders struck Manchester and North-West Scotland. At about 1915 hours the first night raids left bases between Cherbourg and Dieppe to cross the coast between Selsey Bill and Dungeness to approach the London area. Between 2100 and 2200 hours London and the South East counties were clear of raids, but a steady stream originating from Cherbourg crossed the coast between the Isle of Wight and Bournemouth flying North to the Midlands and up to the Manchester area and in one case as far North as Newcastle. These raids continued until about 0100 hours and returned in most cases over Wales and the Bristol Channel. Four HEs and one oil IB fell near Medomsley, one of the HEs falling on the railway embankment between Shotley Bridge and Blackhill Station causing very slight damage to property. An elderly lady was reported to have died from shock at Blackhill. There was no interference with railway workings although six telephone lines were broken. Thirty-three RAF night-fighters were scrambled but failed to intercept the raiders. Mines were also dropped in the Humber and Thames Estuary.

Losses: Luftwaffe 17 : Fighter Command 1.

 

[Njaco]

3 October 1940 Thursday
UNITED KINGDOM: Although poor weather brought a halt to most large scale German air operations over England, the Luftwaffe did send single aircraft especially after mid-day, in a fairly continuous succession of raids that crossed the coast and in some cases dropped bombs in various parts of the country. Small attacks were carried out by low flying Ju88s on designated targets with several of the raiders falling to anti-aircraft batteries or crashing in bad weather. Many of the places had no military importance. London and the Midlands appearred to have been the main objectives during the day but a number of aerodromes were also attacked. The lull in the battle today gave exhausted ground crew of both sides a chance to catch up on much needed work on their aircraft.

From 0630 to 1230 hours some nine reconnaissances by single aircraft were made between the Yorkshire Coast and Harwich. In two cases aircraft penetrated far inland, one flying to Worcester, where bombs were dropped, to Birmingham and Wellingborough which was also bombed. The second crossed the coast at Bawdsey, flying to North Weald and Debden. The town of North Weald experienced a raid on the airfield in the morning but this attack caused little damage. At about 0700 hours Luftwaffe aircraft attacked St Eval from a low height with two Spitfires and one Anson completely destroyed and two hangars also hit but mostly there was minor damage.

At 0940 hours ten HE bombs fell near the premises of Shell Mex BP Ltd in the Isle of Gray. The premises were intact but slight damage was done to the railway. Eighteen bombs were dropped at Rushden at 1018 hours. A school, boot factory and Electricity Sub-Station were damaged. The railway also suffered and traffic was temporarily suspended.

A single Ju 88 from KG 77 hit the de Havilland factory at Hatfield at 1126 hours from a height of 50 feet, bouncing 4 bombs that demolished the Technical School and assembly shop where much of the work for the early Mosquitoes was promptly destroyed. 21 people were killed and 70 injured as the Ju 88 machine-gunned the workers running for the protection of trenches. A Sheet Metal shop was destroyed before the bomber was brought down by 40mm Bofurs shells, .303 machine gun bullets from an RAF detachment and even rounds from a Hotchkiss manned by the Home Guard. The burning aircraft crashed at Hertingfordbury.

The Mining and Engineering Co of Worcester was attacked at 1232 hours. The damage was not extensive and full production resumed in about seven days. Upwood Aerodrome was attacked at 1333 hours but the bombers failed to hit their objective. The Gas Light and Coke Company was bombed at Banbury at 1440 hours and production was suspended for four days.

From 1500 hours raids crossed the Coast between Beachy Head and Selsey Bill flying inland and in one case to the Bedford area. This aircraft on its return flight located a convoy near Selsey which it bombed. A further track was plotted near Fishguard flying North East to Speke thence via Wales and the Bristol Channel to Dorset. The objectives for these afternoon raids appeared to be the airfields of the RAF and, again, London. Six bombs were dropped at 1505 hours on Woodley, three of which were of delayed action. No damage was reported. Cosford was attacked at 1517 hours and Wyton attacked at 1520 hours but no damage was reported at either location. At 1530 hours a bomb was dropped at Tatsfield and slight damage was done to the BBC Station. The training station at Skegness was attacked at 1613 hours and six HE bombs were dropped on the landing ground at Stanton Harcourt but caused no damage. White Waltham was bombed at 1654 hours and St Merryn was attacked at 1750 hours and three aircraft were slightly damaged.

During the night the size of raids was reduced due to the continuing poor weather. London was visited and also the South East of England, but there was no report of the Midlands or the North having been bombed. Up to 2100 hours only eleven raids of single aircraft had entered the country, nine from Dieppe to the London area, and two from Calais to North of London and on to Bedford. An IB was dropped near to the Aerodrome at Gravesend during the night but no damage was reported. The aerodrome at Ford was attacked at 1940 hours and one Government building was damaged.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 9; RAF, 1. The only casualty for Fighter Command during 173 sorties was a Blenheim of RAF No. 600 Squadron, from Hornchurch, which crashed after a patrol sortie.

WESTERN FRONT: Seven RAF bombers made daylight raids on Rotterdam, Dunkirk and Cherbourg. Last night 81 bombed targets in Germany, Eindhoven airfield and the Channel ports.

 

[Njaco]

4 October 1940 Friday
UNITED KINGDOM: Luftwaffe operations over the Channel were again hampered by the increasingly bad weather and the first major raid was not flown until after 13:00 hours by bomb-carrying Bf 109E-7s and Bf 110s. Although the weather conditions were poor, the Luftwaffe did launch several small raids during the day. At first there were shipping attacks, they were then followed by succession of single raids against London and the South East of Kent. The Penrhos Aerodrome was attacked at 0645 hours. The office was demolished and nearby farm buildings were damaged. At about 08:30 hours an Air Ministry Establishment at Fairlight was attacked. The first of the small raids was by Ju88s just after 10:00 hours during which one of the raiders was shot down by Hurricanes of RAF No.257 Squadron off the Suffolk coast.

Another Ju88 bomber was intercepted, at 11:00 hours, by Hurricanes of RAF No. 229 Squadron over the Channel. At about midday a raid of He111s was intercepted off the Sussex coast by Hurricanes of RAF No. 501 Squadron, scrambled from Kenley and RAF No. 607 Squadron, scrambled from Tangmere. As this raid subsided, more Ju88s crossed the coast near Beachy Head at about 1300 hours and were engaged by Hurricanes of RAF No. 605 Squadron, scrambled from Croydon.

F/Lt K.McL Gillies from RAF No. 66 squadron was KIA at 16:00 hours while on patrol in his Spitfire I (X4320). He failed to return from an interception of a He 111 off the East Coast. His aircraft crashed off Covenhithe, Suffolk. This may have been the Spitfire claimed by Lt. Ludwig Theopold of Stab I.(J)/LG 2 over Ramsgate, the only Spitfire claimed by the Luftwaffe all day. A Hurricane was claimed by Oblt. Richard Leppla of 3./JG 51 over Dover for his 12th victory.

It was not until about 1700 hours that another raid of Do17s and Ju88s crossed the Kent coast before turning back as the Hurricanes of RAF No. 605 Squadron gave chase.

The weather improved sufficiently by nightfall for Luftflotte 2 to resume heavy bombing. Large raids were made on London and a few on the Liverpool and Bristol areas. At about 1905 hours a stream of raids commenced from the Abbeville region on the most intense scale yet observed after dark. The German aircraft were shown as crossing the Channel in lines ahead spaced at 3 to 5 mile internals. A few raids also came from Baie de Seine over Shoreham. The stream from Abbeville was maintained and it is estimated that over 100 raids passed over the route in the two hours to 2100 hours, while at the same time the stream from Baie de Seine narrowed and became more active, with 20 or more raids passing during the hour 2000 to 2100. The target of all the above raids was London. 34 raids were plotted in between Beachy Head and Dungeness to London, but only eight pierced the central zone, the remainder spreading to South West and North West London and up to North Weald and Debden. The New Cross Telephone Exchange was hit and there was a certain amount of damage done to the railways. An HE bomb caused a fire at Hawkers Aircraft Factory at Kingston. The shelter and stores were hit but only minor damage was reported. Major damage occurred at Enfield at 2015 hours on the LNER track near Crews Hill Station. Both lines were damaged and traffic was stopped. Mines were dropped off the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts.

AVM Park issued new observations and instructions to sector controllers and to squadron commanders, whose pilots were becoming fretful at the frequency with which they were still at an unfavourable height when they met the enemy. Park assured them:

"I wish the squadron commanders and sector controllers to know everything humanly possible is being done by group to increase the warning received of incoming raids. ... With the prevailing cloudy skies and inaccurate heights given by the RDF the group controllers' most difficult problem is to know the height of the incoming raids."

Park then detailed what steps were to be taken to correct this situation, including the formation of a special reconnaissance flight at Gravesend.

"Whatever time permits I wish you to get the readiness squadrons in company over sector aerodromes. Spitfires 25,000 feet, Hurricanes 20,000 feet, and wait until they report they are in good position before sending them to patrol lines or to intercept raids having a good track in fairly clear weather."

Hptm. Walter Adolph, with a total of nine victories in the war so far, was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 26.

Sir Charles F.A. Portal, KCB, DSO, MC was chosen to be Chief of the Air Staff, with effect from 24 October, to replace Sir Cyril Newall, who was appointed Governor of New Zealand. Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse was named Portal's successor as C-in-C Bomber Command.

S/Ldr. M. Lister Robinson, DSO, DFC was made commanding officer of RAF No. 609 Squadron.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 12; RAF, 3.

WESTERN FRONT: "The War is won," Hitler told Mussolini today when the two met for three-hours in an armoured train - a gift from the Fuhrer to the Duce. The British people were under an "inhuman strain" and, Hitler claimed, it was only a matter of time before they cracked. In Berlin, foreign office spokesmen told neutral journalists that the principal subject discussed by the two leaders and their foreign ministers was an appeal to the British to call off the war. However, the Italians were quick to note that Hitler no longer talks about invading Britain. Count Ciano, notes in his diary, that this obvious setback for their Axis partner put Mussolini in an exceptionally good mood. "Rarely have I seen the Duce in such good humour." In Rome, Il Popolo di Roma (newspaper) commenting on the talks, speaks of a long war in prospect, with Germany unable to invade Britain this year.

 

[Njaco]

5 October 1940 Saturday
UNITED KINGDOM: Six attacks were made by the Luftwaffe in formations of varying size, of which four were in the South East of England, (three of them developing towards London), and two in the Portsmouth-Southampton area. Most of their activity was again concentrated on Kent and Sussex and some of the coastal towns that suffered on the 4th October were again bombed on the 5th. Owing to indiscriminate bombing, most of the damage was mainly confined to house property, although the railways at Gillingham and Lewes received slight damage.

Just before 0900 hours, a reconnaissance Ju88 was attacked by Hurricanes of RAF No. 253 Squadron, off Beachy Head. At 0930 hours a large raid by thirty Bf109s attacked Dover at low level and most had returned before the scrambled Spitfires of RAF No. 72 Squadron from Biggin Hill arrived.

At 1045 hours 150 German aircraft including JG 51, JG 53, EprGr 210 and LG 2 crossed the coast at or near Lympne and spread fanwise through Kent to attack Detling and Folkestone. A formation of 100 German fighters flew towards London, but only fifty aircraft penetrated the Inner Artillery Zone, with twenty getting no further than South London. A second formation of fifty bombers remained near the Coast. The raids were intercepted by Spitfires of RAF Nos. 41, 66, 72, 92 and 603 Squadrons. With most of the German formations consisting of fighter-bombers, the RAF was free to tangle with these aircraft who dropped their ungainly loads the minute they were engaged. The escorts took on the British aggressively. Bitter dogfights took place over the people of London with great swirls and streaks of vapor trailing across the pale blue autumn sky. Numerous scores were claimed by pilots of JG 53 including a Hurricane over Maidstone by Hptm. Heinz Bretnütz of 6./JG 53 for his 17th victory. Hptm. Walter Oesau of Stab III./JG 51 reached 35 kills by claiming a Spitfire over London. But lost were Uffz. Wilhelm "Willi" Ghesla and Lt. Alfred Zeis both from 1./JG 53 who were made POWs. Also captured was Fw. Erhardt Pankratz from 6.(Sch)/LG 2.

As the fighter sweeps were withdrawing, Bf110s crossed over Kent towards Maidstone and were met head-on by the Polish Hurricane Squadron, RAF No. 303, scrambled from Northolt. These were the Bf 110s of EprGr 210 who had re-entered the battle by raiding the new RAF airfield at West Malling. RAF No. 303 Squadron was scrambled at around 11:00 hours, and intercepted the formation of about a dozen Bf 110s and 50 Bf 109s over Kent. After a determined attack on the Bf 110s, the Bf 109s intervened and a fierce dogfight developed. The Polish pilots claimed nine victories (5 Bf 110 and 4 Bf 109), of which six (4 Bf 110, 2 Bf 109) have been verified after the war. Oblt. Werner Weymann, Gruppenkommandeur of Stab./ErprGr 210 was also killed. He was the fourth Gruppenkommandeur lost in action by the unit since 15 August and Wolfgang Schenck took over leadership of the unit in the air. 303 squadron sustained one casualty - Lt. Januszewicz was killed in the dogfight. F/O Januszewicz probably fought with the Bf109s of JG 53 and he crashed in flames at Stowting, near Lyminge in his Hurricane I (P3892).

Shortly before 1400 hours a large raid of thirty Ju88s of KG 77 and fifty Bf109s approached the Dorset coast and proceeded to attack Southampton. The aircraft approached the Needles and flew to Southampton and inland for about 25 miles. At the same time fifty German aircraft crossed the coast at Swanage and flew mostly over Poole and Weymouth but some elements penetrated some 30 miles before they retired. Hurricanes of RAF Nos. 238 and 607 Squadrons scrambled to intercept but made little impact on the bombers due to the Bf109 escorts. Numerous pilots from JG 2 made several claims including 3 Hurricanes for Hptm. Helmut Wick of Stab I./JG 2 who reached 39 kills. Ofw. Rudolf Täschner of 1./JG 2 claimed three Hurricanes over S. Bournemouth. RAF No. 607 Squadron from Tangmere was bounced by 109s over Swanage and four Spitfires were shot down, all pilots surviving unhurt.

As this raid was in progress, another Bf109 sweep across Kent by a mixed force of fifty bombers and fighters from Luftflotte 3 was made with interceptions by Spitfires of RAF No. 41 Squadron, scrambled from Hornchurch. The Spitfires split them up and drove them off.

At 1715 hours two formations of thirty aircraft each, mainly Bf 110s crossed the Isle of Wight and flew inland covering Portsmouth - Southampton - Tangmere. They were soon turned away. It was during this time period that Hptm. Helmut Wick of Stab I./JG 2 claimed his two Spitfires for a five-in-one day. When Hptm. Wick returned to France, he was awarded the Eichenlaub for achieving forty-one victories.

During the night London was repeatedly bombed with further raids on Liverpool, Leicester, Northampton, the Midlands and East Anglia. Mines were dropped in the Thames Estuary. A formation of over 200 Luftwaffe bombers attacked Kenley, Biggin Hill, Debden and Martlesham airfields. Forty German aircraft crossed the coasts during this period, twenty-six from Abbeville, twelve from Le Havre and two from Cherbourg areas. Practically all concentrated on London. Little damage was caused by the raiders. A large fire was started at the West India Dock. Numerous bombs were dropped on the Borax Works at Erith which caused a fire. A thirty pump fire occurred at C E Morton's Factory at Millwall and a fire broke out at the premises of Amos Smith King George Dock, Hull. Major damage was done to the LMS yard at Cricklewood. The carriage sheds and goods siding suffered most. Portland Naval Dockyard was bombed at 2035 hours,and the telephone communications between Portland and Weymouth were cut.

Fighter Command flew 1,175 sorties - a record.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 13; RAF, 8.

Oblt. Rudolf Resch replaced Oblt. Werner Lederer as Staffelkapitän of 6./JG 52.

The tired pilots of V(Z)./LG 1, now designated I./NJG 3 a new night-fighter Geschwader, began staging back to Germany with their twin-engined fighters.

 

[Njaco]

6 October 1940 Sunday
UNITED KINGDOM: The German High Command began to realize that the Battle of Britain was lost and started to decrease the amount of daylight raids and instead focused on night-time attacks on London. The original purpose for the Battle of Britain had vanished. The air superiority needed for the Invasion of England could not be gained and Hitler began to instead focus elsewhere, namely Russia.

Heavy rain prevented many air operations over the Channel, including a large Luftwaffe formation that tried to gather off Calais but had to soon abandon the mission and returned to base. Despite this, small formations of single German aircraft raided England continuously all day, causing little damage. Raids by single aircraft were carried out over South and South-East England, London and the Thames Estuary. During the morning these raids were particularly directed against the Dover/Deal area, whereas, in the afternoon, they were concentrated more particularly on the Inner Artillery Zone. Some penetrated as far as Reading, Bedford, Bicester, Duxford, Bury St Edmunds, Attleborough and Brighton. Quite a new feature of the day was the number of attacks which were made on small towns with machine-gun fire - Wickham Market, Felixstowe and Shirley (a suburb of Southampton) suffered chiefly, but very little damage was done. A reconnaissance of Kenley and Biggin Hill was carried out during the morning and a convoy off Southwold was shadowed.

Middle Wallop was attacked at 1130 hours and several bombs were dropped at Biggin Hill at 1245 hours. There was nothing to report beyond the possibility of damage to one Spitfire. 3 HE bombs were dropped near the Gas works, Northbourne Road, Eastbourne with damage to gas and water services.

At 1330 hours two raids were over a convoy. Two sections of RAF fighters were dispatched to intercept and at 1430 hours a raid of 12+ Luftwafffe aircraft flew over the same convoy and crossed in and out over the coast near Aldeburgh. No interceptions were reported. A Spitfire from RAF No. 64 Squadron based at Leconfield near Beverley in Yorkshire, crashed into the sea during a routine section patrol at 1420 hours. The 24-year-old pilot, Sergeant Frederick Fenton Vinyard was listed as missing, and his name is commemorated at Runnymede. The aircraft was lost.

At 1619 hours a single He 111 of II./KG 55 took of from Chartres, France to bomb Parnall Yate but soon aborted the mission and returned to base. At 1635 hours a Ju88 machine-gunned the Southern perimeter of the Camp at Farnborough and the Aerodrome and adjacent houses at White Waltham were machine-gunned at 1700 hours, but no damage occurred. The Hawker Aircraft Factory at Slough was attacked at 1650 hours. There was slight damage to one of the shops. A strafing attack at Northolt succeeded in destroying a Hurricane I (P3120) from RAF No.303 Squadron on the ground and killing the pilot, Sgt. Antoni Siudak. The attacking Ju88 was later shot down by a Hurricane of RAF No.229 Squadron and crashed in Leatherhead, Surrey. Tragically a lookout on one of the hangars was also killed during the attack, A/C 2. Henry Stennett from R.A.F.V.R. Slight damage was caused at the RAF airfield at Croydon as well as Biggin Hill airfield during these annoying pin-prick attacks. At some point during these attacks a Ju88 collided with a barrage balloon but the bomber was able to escape when it broke the cable of the balloon and flew off.

Geschwaderkommodore Werner Mölders of JG 51 flew the new Bf 109 F-1 WNr. 5628 'SG+GW' against the RAF for the first time. JG 51 was the only unit on the English Channel to received 3 of the first Bf 109F-1s in October 1940. Mölders' flight resulted in no combat claims.

There were almost no night attacks. At 2000 hours only one enemy aircraft was over England. It flew from Dieppe, over Shoreham, towards Kenley and Northolt, and then out East. At 2100 hours another flew in to near Reading, on to the Birmingham area, Bury St Edmunds, Duxford and North Weald, across the Inner Artillery Zone, and out over Romney at 2320 hours. One further raid flew in at Beachy Head at 2120 hours over London to Waltham Abbey and Hatfield and then South and out at Romney at 2230 hours.

Losses: Luftwaffe 9: Fighter Command 2.

An RAF No. 106 Squadron Hampden 'L4100' was on a cross country flight when it was attacked by two Hurricanes from RAF No. 17 Squadron flown by P/O Jack Ross (P3894) and Sgt George Steward (P3027) just after midday. Sgt K.S Powers, who was the navigator of the Hampden, was killed but none of the other crew members were injured nor was the Hampden badly damaged and it was able to land normally on Stradishall. The Commanding Officer of RAF No. 106 Squadron was very upset about what happened, and went to the fighter squadron with several large pictures of Hampdens, and gave them a "roasting".

WESTERN FRONT: Oblt. Werner Streib, Gruppenkommanduer of I./NJG 1 was awarded the Ritterkruez.

 

[Njaco]

7 October 1940 Monday
"....a tenacity unknown so far!"
UNITED KINGDOM: Slightly better weather allowed the Luftwaffe to conduct daylight raids over England throughout most of the day. Five main attacks developed during the day, four towards the London area and one over Dorset. The first began at about 1030 hours when Bf 109s and Bf 110s, totalling about 127 aircraft, flew in over South East England, some of them penetrating as far as Gravesend and East London. Successful interceptions were made by Hurricanes of RAF Nos. 303 (Polish), 501 and 605 Squadrons. The Spitfires of RAF Nos. 41 and 66 Squadrons, although scrambled to intercept, were unable to make any decisive attacks and lost aircraft during the combat. Fw. Willy Roth of 4./JG 26 claimed a Spitfire from RAF No. 603 Sqdrn and Oblt. Josef Priller from 6./JG 51 also claimed a Spitfire north of Canterbury. Interception by five squadrons of RAF fighters disrupted the bomber formations and they returned to base. One raid by Do17s, at about 1100 hours, was intercepted by Spitfires of RAF No. 41 Sqdrn off the coast at Folkestone before breaking away back across the Channel.

The most serious of the day's losses affected the Luftwaffe's most successful fighter pilot. Shot down over England and taken prisoner was Viktor Mölders, brother of Werner Mölders and Staffelkapitaen of 2./JG 51, the Jabo Staffel of JG 51. The unit was making a fighter-bomber attack with 250 kg bombs against the docks in London when it was attacked by RAF Hurricanes. Oblt. Mölders' Bf109 E-4/B Werk Nr 4103 "Black 1" was hit from below by two long bursts fired by Sgt. Eric Wright of RAF No.605 Sqn. With smoke and glycol pouring from his aircraft, Mölders flew at rooftop height back towards the Channel but his engine overheated and he made a forced landing at Lidham Marshes, Doleham Farm, Guestling, East Sussex at around 1115 hrs. The aircraft was as described, fairly intact and was subsequently salvaged. The younger Mölders had nine aerial victories. Also lost was Lt. Erich Meyer from 2./JG 51 who was attacked on the return journey by Hurricanes from RAF No. 501 Sqdrn. Lt. Meyer ditched into the Channel, made it to a dingy and was picked up by a British motorboat. Almost 35 years later in the summer of 1974, a fishing trawler had its net tangled in an object and when divers investigated found the submerged Bf 109. In July 1976, the remains of Meyer's fighter were recovered and brought ashore for restoration and display. ('The Reluctant Messerschmitt' by Don Everson, Portcullis Press Ltd.)

A larger force of over 100 Bf 110 and Ju 88 bombers attacked targets near Dover at 1225 hours. They penetrated to Biggin Hill and South and South East London and 11 Group ordered 13 Squadrons to oppose with fighters from 12 Group on Stand By. The German formations were intercepted by eight separate RAF fighter squadrons who managed to disrupt the bombers and most failed to reach their target, dropping their bombs early and without causing serious damage. Nine Bf 109s from I(Jagd)./LG 2 were sent out to attack Dulwich railway station escorted by JG 3. Near Dover, the formation was attacked by Spitfires and three of the jabos were forced to jettison their bombs, but the remainder pressed on and attacked their target. Fifteen minutes after LG 2's attack, a small force of eight aircraft from I./JG 51 - which had set out to attack West London - was also attacked by Spitfires and three aircraft were lost. Ofw. Werner Hübner from 4./JG 51 claimed a Spitfire over Dover and Lt. Erich Schmidt of 9./JG 53 also claimed a Spitfire. So far as London was concerned Dockland received the most attention, and a fire was started at Rotherhithe, and there was also a certain amount of bombing done at Tidal Basin.

At 1400 hours, another large German force of Bf 110s, Ju 88s and Bf 109s, escorted by about fifty Bf 109s from JG 27, JG 26 and JG 53 crossed the Channel near Folkestone and headed towards several London airfields. Again, the RAF took off in strength and managed to interrupt the bombing runs. At one point RAF P/O K. W. MacKenzie of RAF No. 501 Sqdrn lined up behind a Bf 109 and fired. After a few short bursts, the Bf 109 began to smolder and he eventually ran out of ammunition. With the Messerschmitt blowing smoke and damaged, MacKenzie closed in on the German fighter and using his propeller, sliced into the tailplane of the 'Emil' and caused the Bf 109 to crash into the Channel. Twenty Bf 109s from II(Schlacht)./LG 2 with an escort from 5./JG 27 being led by their Staffellkapitaen, Oblt. Ernst Düllberg, attacked West London but were unable to reach their target due to the strong fighter defense. Before reaching the objective, flying at 2,200 feet, JG 27 were surprised by RAF No. 605 Squadron Hurricanes attacking from above and behind. Uffz Paul Lederer from 5./JG 27 dived and banked sharply to the left chased by three Hurricanes, one above, one on his tail, and one below. Eventually he was shot down at Bedgebury Wood, SW of Cranbrook, Kent and was captured. But his Staffelkapitaen, Oblt. Ernst Düllberg of 5./JG 27 shot down a Hurricane over London at 1445 hours. Uffz. Georg Mörschel and Uffz. Hans Bley, both from 4.(Sch)/LG 2 were shot down and made prisoners. Uffz. Mörschel's aircraft was hit in the cooling system and his engine caught fire, making a forced landing at Tunbridge Wells, Uffz. Mörschel just managed to crawl clear of his burning fighter when he was captured. Uffz. Bley had his fuel tank holed and he jettisoned his bomb and made for home but his fuel ran out and he came down in the sea. He made it to his dingy and was picked up to spend the rest of the war as a POW.

RAF No. 303 Sqdrn was ordered to patrol Kenley – Brooklands at 20,000 ft with RAF No. 1 (Canadian) Sqdrn. This would be RAF No. 1 Sqdrn's last flight in the Battle of Britain as the unit was headed north to Prestwick Scotland for a rest and re-grouping. Over London the squadrons found about 50 Bf109s flying at 25,000 to 30,000 ft. The Messerschmitts dived down in groups of five, and two groups attacked RAF No. 1 Sqdrn and others followed them, then dived away Southwards. RAF No. 303 Sqdrn tried to overtake them unsucessfully. The Squadron then shadowed another formation of Bf109s flying Westwards, and these came down to attack and were chased South over the Channel. The Hurricanes had difficulty catching the Bf109s in level flight but F/O. Pisarek destroyed one Bf109 over the Channel and Sgt. Belc destroyed one Bf109 N.W. of Redhill. Sgt. Szaposznikow destroyed one Bf109 in the Sea off Brighton and probably another. P/O. Mierzwa landed at a decoy aerodrome and crashed taking off. He proceeded to Detling and was unhurt.

 

[Njaco]

( 7 October 1940 continued......)

Just after 1600 hours two raids were made against southern England. The first was a large attack against the Westland factory at Yeovil by 25 Ju 88s from Luftflotte 3 escorted by 52 Bf 109s from JG 2, seven from JG 53 and thirty-nine Bf 110s from ZG 26. Hurricanes of RAF Nos.56, 238, 601 and 607 Squadrons and Spitfires of RAF Nos. 152, 602 and 609 Squadrons were scrambled to intercept the raiders over Portland. Nine aircraft were shot down, 2 Ju88s and seven Bf 110s, which were proving no match for the RAF's single engined Hurricanes and Spitfires. Lt. Botho Sommer of 9./ZG 26 was made a prisoner when he was shot down and captured. The Bf 110 pilot had five victories with the Zerstörer Gruppe. Ofw. Fritz Stahl, a six kill Experte with 4./ZG 26, went missing during the day's action and was presumed dead.

From the No. 609 Sqdrn Combat Report by S/Ldr Michael Robinson on 7 October 1940:

"At 15.24 hours No. 609 Squadron was ordered to patrol base at 20,000 feet. The Squadron was airborne at 16.30 hours with myself leading. Five minutes later we were told to proceed to Portland to intercept E/A flying from South. We headed for Portland, climbing on 238 Squadrons right flank. At about 19,000 feet, bandits were sighted about 15 miles south of us. 238 Squadron suddenly appeared to break up and turn towards the East, and at the same time I saw Me 109's above us and in the sun. It was extremely bright, and as we were heading into the sun it was very difficult to pick out enemy aircraft which for now were ahead of us, also we were rather embarrassed by the Me 109's still above us. I ordered the Squadron into sections line astern and turned underneath the 109's in the direction of the enemy aircraft and then saw a circle of Me 110's directly ahead of us and proceeded to attack. I broke away downwards without seeing the result of the attack and climbed up and engaged a seperated Me 110 astern. A Hurricane carried out a deflection attack between myself and the Me 110 but I went on firing when the former had broken away, and the Me 110 dived vertically down with his port motor smoking. I then climbed up and asked Bandy control for the position of any E/A. He told me E/A plotted at 15,000 feet over Lyme Regis. I proceeded to the latter place and found a cirle of Me 110's about 10 miles NW of Portland. I attacked from dead astern and it dived vertically onto the ground about 5 miles N of the Coast (Little Breedy)."

JG 2 was heavily involved in the air battles over Portland and claims were made by numerous Luftwaffe pilots. Hptm. Karl-Heinz Greisert, Lt. Egon Mayer and Uffz. Kurt Bühligen from JG 2 all made claims for Hurricanes over the Dorset coastal town. Many of the Ju 88s got through to the target at Yeovil and dropped their loads. The factory was damaged and an air raid shelter was hit, killing 100 people. There were two large fires at Portsmouth - one at a furniture depository, and the other at Government House.

As the furious air battles were developing over Dorset and the surrounding areas, a second raid was made over Kent and Sussex by Bf109s from JG 51, JG 27 and JG 26 and fighter-bombers from II./JG 3 and I(Jagd)./LG 2 with successful interceptions made by the Spitfires of RAF Nos. 222 and 603 Squadrons along with Hurricanes of RAF No. 605 Sqdrn. The attack was directed against the docks on the bow of the Thames River and fires were started in the city. It was during this time that Oblt. Josef Priller of 6./JG 51 got his second Spitfire of the day. Josef Gärtner of 8./JG 26 claimed a Hurricane. The Acting RAF No. 605 Sqdrn Ldr 'Archie' McKellar claimed five Bf109Es during this day. Bombs dropped on Hatfield damaged three Lysanders belonging to RAF No. 239 Sqdrn.

During the night London was bombed continuously with smaller raids on South Wales, the Midlands, Liverpool, East Anglia, Montrose, Sunderland and Newcastle. While considerable forces concentrated on London, raiders were much more widely dispersed than for some time past, and large sections of the country were attacked. No less than 80 enemy aircraft were plotted in during the early period, coming from various French districts, the Dutch Coast and Denmark. The raids from Denmark flew to Scotland, four being plotted in the Firth of Forth district and three around Arbroath. From 2100 Hours to 2300 Hours a further 40 raiders were employed, 15 of which operated over South East England and London. The remainder was widely scattered over South Wales and the Bristol Channel areas, the Midlands and Lancashire, East Anglia, Sunderland and Firth of Forth districts.

RAF Station Hendon was bombed at 2120 hours, and No 24 Squadron Hangar received a direct hit, and some ammunition exploded. Speke Aerodrome was attacked at 2350 hours, and an Audax aircraft was completely wrecked and a Douglas DF7 was damaged. Some windows in the hangars were broken, but the aerodrome was serviceable. Major damage was done to the LNER line at Mill Hill East, which caused the line to be blocked. Ten HEs and twenty-four IBs fell in the vicinity of Sedgefield Railway Station. One incendiary bomb fell through the roof of a house in a timber yard at the station causing slight damage. The remainder of the IBs fell in open space and caused no damage. Nine of the HEs fell in open fields.

At 19.00 hours a Polish pilot in a British plane R1922 made a forced landing at Old Trimdon having lost his way. He was uninjured and there was no damage to the plane.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 21; RAF, 17. Luftflotte 3 reported that,

"...enemy fighter defences showed a tenacity unknown so far."

WESTERN FRONT: Major Gotthard Handrick of JG 26 was made Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 52 in place of Hptm. Wolf-Heinrich von Houwald.

 

[Njaco]

8 October 1940 Tuesday
"Day of the Dingy"
UNITED KINGDOM: The first combat of the day saw Blenheim IVs of RAF No. 235 Squadron, scrambled from Manston, intercept and shoot down two He59s over the Channel during a patrol mission. Pilot Officer Henri Gonay, a Belgian flying with the unit, was awarded one of the kills.

Throughout the morning many small raids were made over southern England, mainly by Bf109s and small numbers of He111s, which penetrated as far as Biggin Hill, Hornchurch and Kenley areas. Luftwaffe attacks started early with London again being the main target for four jabo attacks which began crossing the coast regularly between 0830 and 1300 hours. At 0833 hours 50+ aircraft crossed the coast near Dungeness and, flying in close formation, attacked London at 0850 hours. They then split into small sections and flew out, being met by a raid of 100+ which reached the South London - Biggin Hill - Kenley area by 0915 hours. One such raid was met with force, at about 1030 hours, by the Spitfire squadrons of Biggin Hill (RAF Nos. 72 and 92 Squadrons) and Hornchurch (RAF Nos. 41 and 222 Squadrons) along with Spitfires of RAF No. 66 Squadron from Gravesend.

Two attacks were flown at a high altitude and with the RAF unable to intercept, flew unmolested to drop bombs on BBC House, the RAF's Adastral House, the War Office and Charing Cross Station, along with residential areas in Bermondsey, Lewisham and West Ham. Tower Bridge was attacked at approximately 0900 hours and the hydraulic mains were damaged, and the bridge was out of action.

Just after 1100 hours another small raid of Do17s and Bf109s crossed the Kent coast at Lympne. Spitfires of RAF No. 41 Squadron intercepted the raid over Folkstone as the Do17s turned back to France.

At about 1300 hours, Ju88s and Bf109s made a raid along the Sussex coast at Hastings, Eastbourne and Bexhill. Hurricanes of RAF No. 145 Squadron were scrambled from Tangmere to intercept.

RAF West Hampnet was attacked by low flying aircraft which machine-gunned the aerodrome but did not drop any bombs. Ford Aerodrome was attacked with bombs and also machine-gunned. One Boston aircraft of RAF No.23 Squadron was written off. In addition one Blenheim was damaged, and the Aerodrome was rendered unserviceable. Shoreham was attacked by three German aircraft with bombs and machine-gun fire and rendered unserviceable. West Malling was also attacked with 2 HE and hundreds of incendiary bombs. He 111s of II./KG 55 conducted a raid on the Thorney Island airfield, Sussex and lost two bombers, one from ground fire and another on returning to Villacoublay airbase.

Sadly on this day Sergeant Josef Frantisek, flying a Hurricane I (R4175) of RAF No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, crashed and was killed whilst on a lone patrol over Surrey. One day after his 27th birthday, Frantisek touched down too fast and crashed at the end of the airfield in Cuddington Way at Ewell. The Czech pilot had successfully shot down 17 Luftwaffe aircraft during September and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for his bravery. He remained Fighter Commands highest scoring pilot during the Battle of Britain. It has been said that Frantisek had absolutely no concept of discipline or teamwork. He would fly in formation with the squadron until the enemy was sighted, then would go his own way. His exasperated British Squadron Leader finally decided enough was enough; for all his results, such behaviour couldn't be tolerated. He offered to arrange for Frantisek to transfer to a Czech squadron, but Frantisek preferred to stay and fight alongside his Polish friends. He was too good to be grounded, and all pilots were valuable, so a compromise was made. Frantisek was replaced in the Squadron formation, but allotted a "spare" aircraft so he could fly as a "guest" of the Squadron as and when - and how - he saw fit. Thus freed to fight his own private war, he would still accompany the squadron on intercepts sometimes, but at other times he would take off after them to fly a lone patrol over Kent, in the area through which he knew the German aircraft being intercepted would fly on their way back to base.

 

[Njaco]

( 8 October 1940 continued.....)

As small reconnaissance and bombing raids continued during the afternoon in the southeast and along the coastline to Dorset, a raid by a Ju88 on the Merseyside area was intercepted by the Hurricanes of RAF No 312 (Czech) Squadron, scrambled from Speke, at about 1630 hours. Junkers Ju88 WkN. 4068 coded M7+DK, of KG 2/806 took of from its base at Caen-Carpignet in France to bomb the Rootes aircraft factory at Speke and photograph the results. The aircraft was loaded with four 250 kg bombs. The route that was taken took them from Caen to Southampton to Droitwich to Ellesmere Port and finally to Speke arriving in the target area around 16:00 hours. One member of the crew was a "Bildberichter" (Photographic War Correspondent). Before reaching the objective, whilst flying at 13,000 feet the aircraft was attacked by three Hurricanes of "Yellow" section RAF No 312 (Czech) squadron based at Speke. The starboard engine was hit and damaged and the pilot made a forced landing with the undercarriage retracted at Bromborough Dock at 16:15 hours, with two bombs still in their racks. Sergeant Josef Stehlik in L1807 got in the first burst and P/O Alois Vasatko in L1926 continued firing from below and above in quarter tactics. Meanwhile F/L Denys Gillam in P2575 kept up stern attacks and soon the Ju88 was seen to be gliding downwards with both of its engines on fire, landing in a field on the opposite side of the Mersey. This was 312 (Czech) Squadron's first combat since formation on 29/8/1940. The aircraft was removed by the RAF within a few days and it was announced on the 9th October 1940 by the Commander of the Merseyside Garrison that the aircraft was to be put on public view in connection with "War weapons Week" in Liverpool the following week. In the meantime the JU88 was moved to the Oval Recreation Ground were it was placed on display to the public. More than £70 was collected for the Mayor of Bebington's "Spitfire Fund". On the 18th October 1940 the Ju88 was paraded through the streets of Liverpool in procession with University students, the aircraft was later displayed at St George's Plateau alongside a Messerschmitt Bf 109. The Ju88 was later taken to RAF Sealand and disposed of.

During the night bombing raids continued on London with further raids made on Portsmouth, Southampton, Liverpool, the Midlands and East Anglia. Mines were dropped off the Northeast coast, the Humber and Thames Estuary. The raids were continuous and a number of fires were started, the worst of which were at Bermondsey and the LEP premises at Chiswick. At 21.40 hours a High Explosive Bomb fell near the RAF Experimental Station at Cresswell near Newbiggin in Northumberland, blocking a road and causing one slight military casualty. Two HEs fell in a potato field east of the Water Works at Cleadon Hill and another a little further east in a stubble field. Three fires occurred at Trafford Park, the most serious being at the Rubber Regenerating Works, but this was soon under control. An HE bomb exploded on the private railway line of the Royal Ordnance Factory at Euston. Some buildings were damaged and the rail track also suffered, but there was no interference with production.

Two convoys were reconnoitred in the Thames Estuary at about 1640 hours and one off Dover at 0650 hours. The latter was fired at from Cap Gris Nez between 0800 and 0900 hours and there was also considerable air activity in the Straits at this time.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 14; RAF, 4.

During this period of the battle, Luftwaffe fighter pilots were issued with a new type of dingy. The previous type, a two-man dingy, was found to be too bulky and altogether unsatisfactory, particularily for use in the already small cockpit of the Bf 109. The new dingy was more compact and was worn on the pilot's back over the inflatable life jacket. On 8 October Lt. Heinz Escherhaus of 1./JG 77, took off in his "Yellow 10" on a freie Jagd patrol and was flying at 25,000 feet when he was suddenly attacked in the rear by his own rubber dingy. Contrary to instructions, Lt. Escherhaus' batman had connected the gas flask to the dingy and it had accidently inflated. The pilot was pushed forward onto the control column and, in an effort to get things right within the rapidly diminishing confines of his cockpit, he lost control and went into a very steep spiral dive. Now, owing to his uncomfortable position, Escherhaus was unable to alter the propellor setting and the aircraft over-revved. The boost blow-out valve went off and then, when the pilot was eventually able to regain control, he found that the engine would not respond to the throttle. Finally on pulling out, the engine stalled and he had to make a forced landing, coming down at Eastry in Kent. RAF intelligence was greatly amused by Lt. Escherhaus' aerial combat with his dingy and his misfortune was recorded in three seperate interrogation reports.

At the height of the Battle of Britain, 24 Indian pilots were sent to the UK to under go conversion training and participate in Ops. Even though they could take part only after the Battle of Britain, many of them distinguished themselves flying operations with the various commands. The 24 Officers arrived by ship in England on 8th October 1940. On arrival, they were given a welcome message addressed individually to them by the Air Minister, Sir Archibald Sinclair. The 24 were initially sent for basic flying training and later on to SFTS followed by OTUs. They subsequently spread out among the Squadrons in Fighter, Coastal and bomber Command. Eight of them were killed in training and operations.

RAF No. 71 (Eagle) Squadron was declared operational and assigned the squadron code XR. The RAF picked an Englishman, W. M. Churchill, to be Squadron Leader.

The Air Ministry soon approved formation of another Polish Air Force unit: RAF No. 309 (Polish) Squadron. Its organization started on 8 October 1940 at RAF Renfrew near Glasgow. The command of the squadron was given to S/Ldr Pistl, an experienced officer, who was advised by W/Cdr Mason. The squadron received used Westland Lysanders Mk III, a two-seater designed specifically for army cooperation and tactical reconnaissance. The aircraft was armed with four machine guns and light bomb racks.

Wing Commander John Harvey Hutchinson died when his Miles Magister, Serial P6347, hit the cable of a tethered barrage balloon at Langley, near Slough. He was buried at Pembrey.

 

[vikingBerserker]

WOW, that is a cool pic!

 

[Airframes]

Nice stuff again Chris, and interesting about Meyer's Bf109 being recovered in 1974. Didn't know about this (I don't think so, anyway). Any idea where it is now?

 

[Njaco]

9 October 1940 Wednesday
UNITED KINGDOM: 11 Group Airfields in the south-east formed today's main targets along with the usual attacks on London by fighter-bombers. Poor weather prevented any major air operations from being conducted until late morning. During the morning reconnaissance raids were made by single Ju88s, one of which was intercepted and shot down by Hurricanes of RAF No. 1 Sqn, scrambled from Wittering, over the Wash just before 1130 hours. A bomb fell on St. Paul's Cathedral in the early morning, exploding inside the roof and severely damaging the High Altar. At 1010 hours bombs fell near Vickers Armstrong Works at Weybridge, but only one house was slightly damaged.

From 1100 hours raids of 20 to 30 aircraft crossed the Kent coast at high altitude and reached southern areas of London. These raids were made throughout the day by bomb carrying Bf109s and proved difficult to intercept by fighter Command. Spitfires of RAF No. 92 Sqn had been scrambled from Biggin Hill to patrol at high altitudes in order to meet such raids and succeeded at about 1230 hours when they engaged Bf109s of JG 51 over Kent. Sgt E.T.G.Frith from RAF No. 92 Sqn was badly burned when he baled out of his Spitfire I (X4597) following combat with Bf 109s near Ashford, Kent at 1250 hours. He died from his injuries on the 17 October 1940. The East Ham Memorial Hospital was hit, involving some casualties, and some damage was done to communications and dock-side property.

At 1133 hours 30+ aircraft came in at Rye and flew to Gravesend, Hornchurch and Canewdon, and left by the Thames Estuary. At the same time, a raid of 12+ entering at Folkestone passed over Maidstone and went South. Two other raids, one of 12+ and one of 20+ flew inland from Lympne and another raid of 12+ passed over Dungeness on a North Easterly course to Dover. A raid of 30+ enemy aircraft entered the country at Eastbourne and turned south at Cranbrook. Maidstone was attacked by fighter-bombers with 87 buildings being damaged, and using cloud cover a single raider managed to damage English Electric's Stafford factory. Only slight damage was done, and there were twenty minor casualties.

During early afternoon, at about 1300 hours, Hurricanes of RAF No. 601 Sqn, scrambled from Exeter, intercepted a small raid of He111s near Dartmouth and successfully claimed two of the raiders before they could reach a convoy off Lands End.

At 1430 hours a larger raid of over 160 to 180 aircraft crossed the Channel in two waves of high flying Bf 109s and low level Ju 88s and succeeded in bombing targets in east London. No 11 Group despatched 9 Squadrons and No 12 Group 3 Squadrons to meet this attack. Hurricanes of RAF Nos. 73, 249, 253, 303 (Polish) and 605 Squadrons along with the Spitfires of RAF Nos. 41, 66, 72, 74, 92, 222 and 602 Squadrons were scrambled to intercept. Over the following hour fierce dogfights ensued over Kent, the Thames Estuary and Channel areas. Most of the German formations became scattered and as such, were not able to attack in a concentrated pattern, causing little damage. Hastings was attacked again after being attacked at 1045 hours and 1205 hours. In the second attack five houses were wrecked and many damaged. Oblt. Hans-Ekkehard Bob from 7./JG 54 claimed a Spitfire and then two hours later claimed another Spitfire near Chatham.

At 1853 hours a low-level bombing and machine-gunning attack was made at Lee on Solent Naval Air Station, six bombs being dropped. No damage to buildings or casualties were caused. At 1930 hours about 12 bombs were dropped on Yeovilton Naval Air Station, including two on the main runway. None of these exploded when dropped. About 20 bombs were dropped around the Penrhos Station at 1810 hours, but only very slight damage was done to the roofs of buildings. Two low level attacks at 1900 hours and 2015 hours were made on St Merryn Naval Air Station with HE and incendiary bombs. One hangar and the Sick Bay were damaged, and one Proctor aircraft destroyed. One Swordfish was also damaged, and the aerodrome was unserviceable owing to unexploded bombs.

The Luftflotten were ordered it increase the night bombing effort on England and the Kampfgeschwaders responded this night with another mission to London. Night activity commenced at about 1850 hours, raids crossing the coast towards two main objectives. The first was the Liverpool/Manchester area, the enemy crossing near Swanage from the Cherbourg area. About 6 aircraft were involved in this attack and they returned on reciprocal tracks. About 90 aircraft crossed the coast from Baie De La Seine, Dieppe and Holland, between Selsey and Cromer toward the main objective of London. London was heavily bombed along with Manchester, Liverpool and Derby. Some 386 tons of High Explosive and 70,000 one kg bombs were dropped on London during the course of 487 bomber sorties. Mines were dropped off the coast from the Thames Estuary up to Scotland.

A RAF No.235 Sqn Blenheim IVf 'N3530' with J.C.Kirkpatrick, R.C.Thomas and G.E.Keel was shot down over the Channel and killed at 1730 hours. They were flying aerodrome protection duty South of Thorney Island. Hptm. Otto Bertram from Stab III./JG 2 claimed two Blenheims about the same time.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 9; RAF, 3.

RAF No 145 Squadron (Hurricanes) moved to RAF Tangmere and No 1 Squadron moved to RAF Dyce.

WESTERN FRONT: Hptm. Heinz Bretnutz was made Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 53 in place of Major Freiherr von Maltzahn. Oblt. Gordon Gollob was appointed Staffelkapitän of 4./JG 3.

At the Beaumont-le-Roger airfield of I./JG 2, a Bf 109E ran out of fuel and crash landed at the airfield, seriously damaging the airplane.