At 11.00 am on the 3rd November 1939 the whole of our nation sat anxiously beside their radios awaiting the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to speak, when he spoke he said "I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street. This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that, unless we hear from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany".
I had no comprehension of the implications of this statement or what it meant to our nation. My father who was decorated with the Military Medal in 1917 had tried to play down his war experiences and never talked about the horrors of war, he did plead with me not to join the services, but the thought not supporting my friends some of whom were wounded at Dunkirk made up my mind so I volunteered to join the RAF as a pilot.
Not many in our population realised the precarious position our nation was in. Compared with the Hitler's war machine which had been built up and trained for over six years, Britain was comparatively unprepared for war. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) formed in 1938 and commanded by General Lord Gort was sent to France in September 1939 and consisted of 158,000 men. They were deployed along the Franco-Belgian border.
The RAF allocated only 2 Hurricane Squadrons with the BEF then sent a further reinforcement of 2 additional squadrons due to the overwhelming superiority of the Luftwaffe. The Air Ministries decision was that of home defence must have priority and was more important than the BEF due to the serviceable fighter strength in the UK to being only 500.
The BEF was no match for the well trained enemy with more advanced weaponry and Air dominance. It had to retreat back to Dunkirk where just over 198,000 service men and 140,000 French and Belgium troops were evacuated to Britain in an amazing display of courage displayed by an armada of privately owned small boats.
Twelve fighter squadrons of Royal Air Force were based in France, the only truly modern fighter forces available to the Allies. These Hurricane Squadrons were to support the army, and the Fairy Battle and Bristol Blenheim bomber units which were based in France and operating from Britain. The bomber Squadrons, particularly the Battles, were slaughtered by the German anti-aircraft and fighter units in their attempts to slow the German advance by attacking transport, road junctions and bridges. The Hurricanes did their best to protect the bombers and fly their quota of patrols and reconnaissance's. However, it was not enough, and when it became clear that the Allies could not stop the Germans, all but three of the Squadrons were called back across the Channel. The Air ministry considered that home defence was more important than loosing more aircraft and crews to help the BEF
The error made by Hitler of allowing so many of the British forces to escape at Dunkirk combined with the delay in invading Britain when their war strategy was dependent on swiftness became very costly. The delay in the beginning of the air war allowed the manufacture and deployment of advanced fighters to the RAF Squadrons. When the Battle of Britain commenced although outnumbered but with the advantage of flying over home territory and the help of a unique communication system, balanced out the enemies superior aircraft numbers in the Battle of Britain. Faults in the German strategy lost them the Battle.
France fell to the Germans in June 1944 at that time the French aircraft development was very advanced with the Dewoitine and Arsenal VG- 33. Internationally it was thought that both these aircraft would compete favourably with other top rank fighters in the world. After their defeat the factories were taken over by German management. They were never produced in any numbers due to sabotage by the resistance and workers.
It is a fact that the outcome of the Second World War and Europe's freedom was dependent on who won the Battle of Britain and from the 8th July 1940 to the 10th of September our nation battled alone for survival. It was only two months over which the future of our nation was in the hands of the few Pilots fighting for their and our lives.
This key aerial battle fought over Kent and other southern counties by an RAF fighter force of six hundred airplanes against the Luftwaffe with a three time larger force. The only chance the RAF had of defeating such overwhelming odds was by better organisation. The RAF had developed a coordinated defence with operation rooms connected to airfields, directing the fighter squadrons directly onto the attacking enemy formations. This was achieved by with the help of the Radar stations positioned along the coast and around the country. Also the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was reporting instant enemy sightings locations and height. All with direct communication to the operation room using telephones. The ROC were an organisation of volunteers who manned watching posts about 10 to 15 miles apart all over Britain.
This communication system gave the RAF enormous advantage over the enemy. Thier operations room were aware of an enemy attack 60 miles before it reached our coastline. fighter pilots were guided to positions to be at a height to be able to attack the enemy from above. The attacking force could be positioned to dive on the enemy with the sun behind them, sometime before they reached our coast. The enemy was never able to discover this communication system and wondered how we always had fighters intercepting their formations. It gave to them the impression that the RAF had a larger force than they anticipated. The Germans discovered these electronic secrets of the British in 1938 but were unable to comprehend the total communication system and its significance to the RAF. One of the Luftwaffe mistakes was not to eliminate the Radar units even though they were aware of the locations. They made several attacks on them but never a concentrated attack.
In this battle in 1940 the Nazis intended to destroy all the air opposition as a prelude to invasion of Britain. Following the conquer of France, Germany were extremely confident it had a far superior force with over 4 times the number of fighter aircraft assembled in northern France. The only way for the RAF to win a battle against such a superior war machine was to use its latest efficient electronic Radar, communication and operations command posts to control its fighters in the battle.
The Luftwaffe did not comprehend the advantage that Radar gave to the RAF. They were aware of some of locations of transmitters and planned day one of their campaign to destroy them but for unknown reasons they failed and from that day left them untouched. Also on day one the Luftwaffe planned the 'Eagle Attack' a plan where on day one and two would destroy the RAF and day three the Airfields, Hangers and the Fighter aircraft. They concluded that in three days opposition to the Luftwaffe would be defeated.
The air war over Britain started in May 1940 this became what is now known as the Battle of Britain. At the commencement of the Battle of Britain the RAF's had 520 modern fighters against an enemy with the most powerful well trained air force in the world with 2800 aircraft available.
The RAF had realised back in 1932 that the fighter aircraft they were using were obsolete and worked with the companies Hawker, Supermarine and Bolton Paul to and Supermarine to develop an advanced fighter aircraft. But were these not ready in sufficient numbers. The first advanced new fighter aircraft joined the ranks of the RAF in December 1937, it was the Hawker Hurricanes Mk 1 which were delivered to No. 111 Squadron at RAF Northolt. One of these new Hurricane fighters piloted by Squadron Leader J. W. Gillian, Commanding Officer of No. 111 Squadron, was flown from Turnhouse, Scotland, to Northolt, a distance of 327 miles, in 48 minutes at an average speed of almost 409 mph. This made the newspaper headlines. The Hurricane brought the RAF to a formidable force to deal with. In 1940. It was considered to be the best superior fighter of the RAF and played a major role towards the end of the battle.
The next new fighter also delivered in to the RAF in 1938 was the Bolton Paul Defiant. This variant had a gunners turret situated directly behind the cockpit of the aircraft. Thirdly Supermarine Spitfire was in production but severe delays were experienced. The first delivery to a squadron was not until July 1940, just in time to make a major impact.
Bolton Paul Defiant
The Defiant undertook it first operational sortie on 12 May 1940, when 264 Sqn flew a patrol over the beaches of Dunkirk. A Junkers Ju 88 was claimed by the squadron. However, the unit suffered its first losses the following day, when five out of six aircraft were shot down by Me 109s in large dogfight. The Defiant was never designed to dogfight with single-seat fighters and losses soon mounted. By the end of May 1940, it had become very clear that the Defiant was no match for the Bf 109 and the two squadrons were moved to airfields away from the south coast of England.
Bolton aul Defiant [Photo 241 Squadron Association]
The Germans belief that the Messerschmitt 109 was invincible led them to underestimate the opposition they were to have by the RAF Hurricane Defiant and Spitfire. The delay by Hitler at Dunkirk not only allowed the ground forces of Britain to escape but also at least 300,000 troops and air force personnel from France including Pole's and Czechoslovakians. These were integrated into the armed forces of Britain. About nine months from the commencement of the war before the attack on Britain started allowed the United Kingdoms Government valuable time to get its factories into full production. It produced 5,500 fighters at over 1,200 per month between June and October 1940. Even crashed aircraft of the RAF and enemy were returned to a specially built maintenance unit where they were repaired or rebuilt to be returned to fight again. Fighters were sent to squadrons using parts taken from enemy crashed aircraft.
The Messerschmitt 109 was of all metal construction with an enclosed cockpit and a powerful engine, the pride of the Luftwaffe who considered it unbeatable and the best fighter in the world, they thought the RAF planes inferior. It had some successes during the battle when in a straight fight with the Hurricane which was slower. When the Spitfire came into service it met its match. The Supermarine Spitfire took over the RAF's main fighter role in the battle. The Hurricane was found use for many roles in the war, it was very versatile and used for night bombing and ground support with the army.
The British fighter airplane that became the most famous during the war was the Spitfire, based on the designs of Reginald J. Mitchell in the late 1920s. It was designed initially as a seaplane to race in the Schneider Trophy for the fastest seaplane in the world. It successfully won the trophy between the years 1929 and 1933 the last time it was competed for. The Spitfire benefited not only from Mitchell's aerodynamics and design genius, but also from the close association with Henry Royce, he developed a new engine the Merlin engine for the Spitfire.
I
The slow development of the Spitfire meant that only a few Spitfires were involved in the Battle of Britain, and that most of the of the battle was fought by the Hurricanes, which meant that we survived the battle because of the Spitfire introduction late in the conflict. It was another strategic error the Luftwaffe made in conducting the air war: they waited too long, giving Lord Beaverbrook time to supply the required aircraft.
During World War 2 the Spitfire was the superior fighter in the Battle. With the powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engines the plane became continuously better as these engines continued to develop and increase the Spitfires performance. During the battle Spitfires Mk 1 were used but the Mk2 with its heavier armour and increased performance was introduced with great success in August 1940. Although the Spitfire was a joy to fly it took the pilots some time to master handling it on the ground due to the its long nose. Pilots when in the taking off and landing attitude had their forward view was obstructed by its long nose, they had to adapt to sideway view. I used look sideways and hope I were clear at the front until I got into the air.
The Hurricane took the brunt of the battle. The air ministry stated of the German losses, 55 per cent made by Hurricanes, 42 per cent by Spitfires.
In order to invade Britain, the Germans had to have control in the air over the English Channel, otherwise the RAF and the Royal Navy would have been able to destroy their invasion force before it reached the shore. It has been postulated by many naval experts that due to the type of flat-bottomed barge built by the Germans, simply running a Destroyer Squadron at full speed through their ranks would have caused many to capsize in the wake from the ships. The troops and their equipment would have suffered heavy casualties, and the invasion effectively stopped with little or no gunfire. The Luftwaffe's command of the air was therefore vital to any plan for an invasion fleet to successfully cross the Channel, to prevent British sea or air forces from interfering with the operation.
Interestingly, the German Navy, Army and Air Force each had their own plans and ideas as to how and where the invasion should be launched. There seems to have been little co-operation between the German armed forces, and despite the impressive build up of barges and other equipment in the Channel ports, the actual detailed planning for the operation, code-named "Sea Lion", was never really thrashed out. All depended on the success of the Luftwaffe it would appear, before the invasion was to be taken seriously.
In the Germans plan for the invasion of Britain (Operation Sea Lion) they expected to destroy all air resistance within three days this was based on the experience gained when conquering Poland and France. They planned to knock out our ports and airfields capture our beaches with paratroops which they would reinforce with storm troopers, then ship by barges divisions of troops and commence to move inland and conquer Britain. They were so confident of their plan that they moved 300 divisions of troops to locations around the coasts of the English Channel and North sea.
The RAF's radar stations located along the south coast were very vulnerable to attack from the enemy. Their destruction was planned by the Germans day one of the invasion. They did try to knock them out but were unsuccessful due to the RAF fighters being pre-warned and were able to defend the installations. The attacks were not pressed home and for no apparent reason only minimal attacks were later made and the Radar operations continued to provided a continuous service throughout the air battle. On August 13th, 1940 the Luftwaffe started their onslaught
The first attack on the airfields and radar stations along the English Channel coast were unsuccessful for the simple reason that the British radar system gave the defenders ample warning and permitted them to marshal their forces. It became immediately apparent that the only way the Germans would have a chance of gaining mastery of the air was to conduct a total onslaught of the British skies, so that Britain could not use its sophisticated detection and communications systems to move its forces into the most advantageous position. If the RAF were engaged everywhere, they would be outmatched everywhere.
At the beginning of August, with German invasion forces and troop barges being assembled on the French coast, the raids against the South coast of England were increased in size and number. Believing that the British early warning system had been destroyed and the coastal towns sufficiently 'softened up' for an invasion, the Luftwaffe began the next stage of their plan
The renewed onslaught began on August 13, 1940, and in the three weeks that followed the skies above England became a battlefield in which the true capabilities of the aircraft fighting each other became apparent. This concentration of aircraft in an air battle was unique and would never again be witnessed.
13 August (called Adler tag or Eagle Day by the German High Command), massive raids began on the airfields of 11 Group. The aim was to destroy the RAF, either in the air or on the ground, in South East England. To put pressure on the British defenses, the Germans sent high and low level raids to different targets at the same time.
Sometimes low level raids sneaked past the battered but still working radar stations, and the first warning the British fighter pilots had was bombs landing on their airfield. Particularly good in the low-level role was the Dornier Do 17 and its derivatives, several of their raids succeeded in achieving complete surprise and escaping any form of interception.
This pattern continued into September and the situation in 11 Group became desperate. Small civilian airfields were used in the emergency, as many RAF stations became badly damaged. The Spitfire and Hurricane could easily take off from grass fields, but the maintenance and spares supply situation became dangerously stretched. Ground crews working in the open suffered heavy casualties from the raids, and many maintenance facilities were destroyed in the bombing. Despite this, the crews kept the fighters as combat ready as possible, winning the Battle on the ground as the pilots were in the air.
Just when the situation was really desperate the Germans changed their tactics to night bombing and it soon became clear that the Battle of Britain had been won.
Summarising the battle. It was clear that many advantages were gained by engaging in an air battle over one's own territory (lessons that would be useful when the air war was taken to Germany). The Messerschmitt Bf 109's were very poorly armoured, which meant that the slightest hit brought down a plane, usually killing the pilot. The British planes may have been slower, but they were much better protected. (Dowding had even fought to have bullet-proof glass used for the cockpits.) A Hurricane or a Spitfire could take many blows and keep fighting. The Bf 109s used 75 percent of their fuel just getting to the theatre of battle and returning. This meant that a British plane had two to three times the useful flight combat time that a German plane had. A damaged British plane could land in a field or at a nearby airbase, be repaired, and be in the air again within a few hours. If a German fliers plane was damaged in battle his only possibility was to make it back over the English Channel; most did not.
By early September, the RAF had fought the Luftwaffe to a stalemate, an incredible achievement given the numerical superiority of the Germans. When it appeared that a strategic victory over the RAF was not going to be possible (or come as quickly as promised), Hitler, claiming he was acting out of revenge for British bombing raids on Berlin, changed policy and attempted to intimidate the British into submission by directing his bombing attacks at London and other British cities instead of at the RAF airfields.
On September 8, 1940, London became the main target for the Luftwaffe, most of the city was driven underground as the battle waged overhead, this was the beginning of the London "Blitz". Now the major weapons the Germans threw at the British were their bombers: the Dornier Do 17 and the Heinkel He-111. These planes were designed primarily as medium-range with ranges of about one thousand miles (1 ,609 km). They were no match for the RAF fighters. Hitler had grossly underestimated the resolve of the British and their determination to win the war, no matter the cost.
On 15th September 1940 176 enemy aircraft were destroyed by fighter planes. At least another nine aircraft were hit by anti-aircraft guns.. The RAF it was Victory and the end of one phase for the battle Of Britain. By the end of October, the Battle was over. The British had lost more than nine hundred planes, but the German toll was twice that, and most of their losses were costly bombers with crews of three or four. It was during the Battle of Britain that the first aces of the war emerged (and the reader will note that names of individual fliers are absent in this air war).
It was the RAF's communication system with their Radar that had given their fighter squadrons a clear advantage over their advisories. Knowing the location and height of he attackers allowed a fighter to attack from above with the sun behind, diving on the target with extra speed gaining the element of surprise. The RAF could locate the attackers but the enemy had no advance warning. It was the main tool that enabled the defeat of the Luftwaffe at the Battle of Britain. Without Radar Britain would have lost not only the air battle but would have been defeated by Hitler's superior land forces.
