The last main attack imposed on Britain,
and especially the City of London itself was on September 7th, and since
then attacks had now turned out to be rather spasmodic although the night bombing raids now seemed a regular
occurrence. The air war of the last week or so had developed
into a rather dull sort of plan. It did not matter what the weather conditions
were, the days were relatively quiet and to many of the once exhausted fighter pilots,
they found time to relax and enjoy time amongst themselves as longer gaps between sorties developed. Each afternoon,
as if trying to keep to a weekly timetable, formations of German aircraft
would show up on the CRT screen at the coastal radar stations generally
around 1400 or 1500hrs and it was time to repeat the performance of the
previous day. These three days were to prove no different. The weather
was not the best for combat, conditions being as unpredictable as ever,
but at this time of the year it was only to be expected that unsettled
conditions would prevail as the summer had just about passed and the often
wet and dull days of autumn would be coming in.
The threat of invasion was still a high priority with the War Office but as on many other occasions, the Luftwaffe had failed to follow up after the main attack. Why, they thought, throw everything at us as they did on September 7th and fail to continue. The leaders in all the various departments knew that Britain was still managing to hold out, with the Luftwaffe turning its attention to London itself gave Fighter Command the breathing space it so badly needed. By September 12th most of the airfields were back to at least 85% fully operational with the exception of maybe Biggin Hill that had taken a severe hammering. Lord Beaverbrook who was the minister in charge of aircraft supply had managed to replace many of the aircraft that had been lost, and personnel, although still young and possibly undertrained had replaced many of the pilots that had been killed or injured. If the German air force had continued to apply the pressure on Fighter Command airfields, the Battle of Britain may have had a far different outcome. Because of this change in tactics, and we can only surmise that it was a decision by Hitler himself, that it was a case of "an eye for an eye" that Germany in the end would have to pay the supreme sacrifice.
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 12th 1940 WEATHER:
Cloud cover
could be expected in all areas and showers turning to rain for most of
the country. Low cloud would persist over the Channel areas and most of
the south coast could expect showers that could be heavy at times.
OPERATIONS:
The morning
period is virtually a non-event as far as combat action is concerned. Radar
reports that a number of lone aircraft are detected well offshore both
over the Channel and the North Sea. Fighter Command decide to leave these
aircraft well alone as they are probably reconnaissance patrols and not
doing any harm and that valuable fighters should not be placed at risk
even to lone aircraft.
CASUALTIES:
By midday, a few small formations are detected, some of these break up into individual raids sometimes consisting only of one or two aircraft. In 10 Group, Warmwell despatches just one section of 152 Squadron (Spitfires) to intercept a sighting out from Swanage, the bandit is recognised a lone Ju88 but it makes full use of the low cloud and disappears. Shortly after, another enemy sighting is made and 238 Squadron at St Eval (Hurricanes) are scrambled. The squadron records show that one Ju88 is destroyed and another had been damaged. 605 Squadron (Hurricanes) stationed in the north at Drem also claim one enemy aircraft destroyed, possibly a reconnaissance aircraft that had ventured too close to the coast. 213 Squadron Exeter (Hurricanes) and 602 Squadron Westhampnett (Spitfires) both claim to have damaged at least one enemy aircraft in spasmodic and isolated actions. Looking at these figures, it can be seen that the Luftwaffe at this time was keeping well clear of London and all these isolated incidents took place either in the west country or up north in Scotland. One unfortunate incident that happened was with Wing Commander J.S. Dewar who was commander of the airfield at Exeter. Taking advantage of the lull in combat activity, he was to fly over to Tangmere to visit friends there. He never arrived and it seems obvious that his Hurricane had been shot down after he had encountered some enemy aircraft and he decided to bale out. On the way down he was strafed by German plane or planes and shot to pieces as he dangled helplessly underneath his descending parachute. The bombers of III/KG51 and I/KG54 did not attack London until late in the evening, and even then was on a far reduced scale than on previous occasions. The night bombers on previous attacks often numbered between two and three hundred, but this time barely fifty made the dismal trek across the Channel in rather murky conditions. No serious damage was done, although bombs fell in the commercial area of Aldgate, Mansion House and Holborn, but the most serious threat was a H.E. delayed action bomb which fell just to the north of St Pauls Cathedral. It buried itself some thirty feet into the ground and the two officer who defused the bomb, Lieutenant R. Davies and Sapper J. Wylie of the Royal Engineers became the first military personnel to receive the George Cross for their actions. Other spasmodic and isolated raids occurred at Hull in Yorkshire, an area north of Wolverhampton, Liverpool and a number of small ports along the east coast of Suffolk and Essex. Time not known: Over Channel. Hurricane V7306. 213 Squadron Exeter W/C/J.S .Dewar killed. (Circumstances not known. Body washed ashore at Kingston Gorse Sussex 30.9.40)
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13th 1940 WEATHER:
No sign in
an improvement in the weather, and it was expected to remain unsettled
with rain periods in all areas. In areas in the south and east there was
a possibility that there could be breaks in the cloud to give sunny periods.
Over the Channel, the heavy cloud and rain should give way to lighter higher
cloud during the day.
OPERATIONS:
Many of the
German commanders are pushing for an exact date for 'Operation Sealion'
to commence. Already the weather seems to be closing in and with these
deteriorating conditions it appears that any chance of a successful invasion
may be out of the question if Hitler cannot make up his mind. Already,
the date previously set for September 11th had been postponed, and Hitler
had said that he favoured September 24th at the most likely date, but if
conditions continued as they are, it would be an impossibility for the
barges to cross the Channel should the expected winds that are prevalent
at this time of the year accompany the heavy cloud and rain squalls.
A meeting had
been called in Berlin to commence at lunchtime, and as was usual a banquet
was organised prior to the serious meeting between Hitler, Göring,
Milch, Kesselring and Jodl being the most notable commanders in attendance.
The Führer outlined the present situation. He made mention of the
fact that the Luftwaffe still had not yet attained air superiority over
the Royal Air Force, which was a rather hypocritical statement being as
he had ordered Göring to concentrate his attacks on London earlier
in September at the expense of continuing the raids on RAF airfields. He
also made mention that more and more barges were being unloaded along the
Dutch and Belgian coasts in readiness. Soon, he said, we will be moving
our armies to these northern ports, armies of specially trained men, all
will be ready. But, he stated, our bombers have justly tore the heart out
of the British populace. London is a city burning night after night and
the British air force is still terribly weak and we can continue to hit
the British where it so terribly hurts.......at their beloved capital.
In Britain, the radar operators lay in wait for the tell tale blips that would indicate enemy intrusion across the Channel. Pilots sat around waiting for the telephone to ring, but it was the same story of the last few days. A small piece of action occurred high over Hornchurch and Biggin Hill, but these were recognised as weather reconnaissance aircraft when the British "Y" Service picked up their conversations. No action was taken against these aircraft and Fighter Command allowed them to return back across the Channel without any interception. A Focke-Wolfe
200 is detected over Northern Ireland, the first time that the enemy has
penetrated this area and proof that Ireland is not free of the war situation.
The aircraft managed to drop bombs on the steamship 'Longfort' just off
the coast at Belfast and also submitted an unidentified vessel to gunfire
but there were no reports of damage. [1]
On the other hand, Kesselring's views on this move by Fighter Command was that he agreed that Park's order was actually working. Not only that, Fighter Command was a much stronger organisation than the tattered remnants of a defeated defence as German sources had earlier imagined. Because of this, formation leaders had now been given the instruction, that should they meet up with what they would consider stiff opposition, they may decide and order the formation to disengage. This order was given by the German High Command. Again, as on the day previous, air activities were hampered by bad weather, and the Luftwaffe took advantage of this by sending single aircraft deeper into Britain than they had done during other daylight attacks on the enemy. The Air Ministry buildings at Harrowgate were attacked, so was an aluminium factory at Banbury in Oxfordshire. The large railway junction just outside Reading had been bombed the previous day causing disruptions on the Great Western line, and as previously mentioned, the first raids on Northern Ireland had occurred. [2] Small raids did occur during the morning period when two German bombers flying single missions towards London and coming from different directions penetrated the defences and dropped a small number of bombs which fell on Whitehall and a part of Downing Street while the other aircraft dropped bombs on the Chelsea Hospital and another fell in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, the third time the Royal Palace had been attacked and this time damaged had been sustained to the Royal Chapel. 1200hrs: Keith Park at 11 Group Headquarters had been alerted from a message that originated from the Radio Interception Unit that German weather reconnaissance aircraft had radioed back to their bases that there was seven tenths cloud at 1,500 metres and stated that attacks could be made possible between 1,500 and 2,500 metres. The assessment that Park made, was that under the circumstances, he believed that the Luftwaffe would make spasmodic raids and have the advantage of using the cloud as a cover. He alerted the commanders of selected airfields to place at least one squadron at readiness. 1330hrs: A number of squadron had been scrambled after reports came through that radar had picked up enemy aircraft, and that the general direction was London. Using the cloud to their advantage, it was difficult for the Observer Corps to keep track, but it did appear that the target were either Biggin Hill, Kenley or Croydon. One of the squadrons scrambled was 501 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes) who intercepted a small force of He111 bombers and attacked. Most decided to abort but not before one of the Heinkels was shot down. At the same time, another small raid was centred on Tangmere. One enemy bomber was shot down by 609 Squadron Warmwell (Spitfires). Again, the raid was aborted and no damage was sustained on Tangmere aerodrome. It had not been a good day for the Luftwaffe. Although only a small number of aircraft were destroyed, there was no real reason that, under the circumstances they need not have made any missions at all. The first aircraft lost was at 0330hrs while on a raid on South Wales that a He111 hit the cables of a barrage balloon and crashed in the town of Newport. A He111 of 2/KG1 was badly damaged during an operational mission over England that it crashed on landing back at its home airfield. Another He111 crashed on German soil after a bombing mission, due to serious damage cause by AA gunfire and from an attack made by a British fighter. One of the Ju88s that attempted to attack Tangmere was badly damaged and crashed into the ground on landing at its home base. As well as these aircraft destroyed and two others that crashed on English soil, twenty German aircrew were killed. The only British casualty during the German attacks was one of the Hurricanes of 501 Squadron, and then, the pilot Sgt J.H. Lacey baled out and was unhurt. CASUALTIES:
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14th 1940 WEATHER:
Again no sign
in an improvement in the weather, and it was expected to remain unsettled
with rain periods and a chance of thunderstorms in all areas. Over
the Channel, the heavy cloud and rain should give way to lighter higher
cloud during the day, but the chance of showers should persist.
OPERATIONS:
Keith Park
and Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding confer (by telephone as there is no
record of any meeting between them on this day) and they discuss the constant
postponements of the intended invasion by Germany. Park again points out
that he could not understand why the switch to bombing London was made
when the situation at the time was a critical one for Fighter Command,
and there was every chance that the Luftwaffe could have finished off with
the continued bombing of the airfields. The only thing standing in the
way between Germany and the invasion was Fighter Command, now, Fighter
Command was almost back to full operational strength and Göring would
have to start all over again if he wants to destroy the Command. Dowding
mentions, that the bombing of London was his biggest mistake, and one that
could cost him the war.
In Berlin, Hitler
called a rush conference ordering all his naval, air force and army commanders-in-chiefs
to attend. This time, he made little mention on the bombing of London of
the last seven days. Instead, he presented to them his plans for the all-out
invasion of Britain. At last, Operation Sealion looked as though it was
all systems go. The Führer was excited and full of eagerness, but
nothing was said that was not already known.....except the exact date of
any planned invasion.
Hitler pointed out that the naval preparations for "Operation Sealion" was now almost complete. "All our barges are now in place, and we have more held in reserve along river banks," he said which was borne out by one of the British Observer Groups which had the day previous seen up to ten large enemy transport ships town a number of barges from Calais to Cap Griz Nez. Spitfires of the PRU had also flown over the Belgian and Dutch coasts and had also reported and photographed the collection of barges. But there again, based on the PRU intelligence, Bomber Command had bombed many of the barge installations at an average of every second night, so what was Hitler trying to pull when he said that "All our barges are in place." Maybe he forgot to add that at least one third of them were submerged at their moorings. "If we plan now," he went on, ".....the invasion date can be set for one week from now, given that we need five days of good weather to achieve the desired results." But then, haven't we heard that before, from Hermann Göring just prior to Adler Tag in early August. "All I need," he said, "....was five days preparation and we will be ready for the day of the Eagle." Hitler then went on to state that in the preparation we must make sure that the Luftwaffe has complete air superiority over the Channel and over southern England. But again, a remark that had been heard before, when issuing the order to Göring prior to Adler Tag, "Before any invasion can be mounted against England, we must first destroy the RAF both in the air and on the ground." This was the whole concept of the task given to Göring, to eliminate the British Royal Air Force. Finally, the on again, off again "Operation Sealion" was at last given as September 17th, which again, if we want to be critical, should have been September 19th if Hitler estimated that it would take five days of preparation. Orders were given for a full scale attack to be made prior to the lead up of the invasion, and again this was placed in the hands of Hermann Göring. An alternative date, as was mentioned earlier by the Führer could be given as September 27th. But is does seem that there was a chain of misleading events as shown above from the work by John Terraine. 1200hrs: The Germans do what they could in an attempt to jam the British radar with electronic interference. A few aircraft managed to cross the Channel on weather reconnaissance missions. One or two raiders bombed some of the coastal resorts in the vicinity of Eastbourne and Brighton where some sixty civilians were either killed our seriously hurt. A small formation was detected over Selsey Bill and one German aircraft is reported to have been shot down. Others probed the areas of South London and bombs fell on residential areas of Croydon and Mitcham killing over fifty people. 1515hrs: German raiders were detected crossing the coast at both the Thames Estuary and in the Deal and Folkestone areas. Bf109s escorting Do17s, He111 and Ju88 bombers. The enemy strength did not exceed 100 in both areas and a mini aerial combat session developed within 30 minutes. 1545hrs: Again, as was becoming a common occurrence, people along the coastal stretches from Folkestone, round 'Hell Corner' to Margate saw the twisting and snaking black dots against the grey overcast with many cheered if they recognised a German plane spiral down into the sea. Park had reshuffled a number of his squadrons during the lull of the last few days so that Hurricanes and Spitfires could work in pairs. With most of the German raids following a similar pattern whenever crossing the Channel on a bombing mission, Park was now better prepared than ever for any raid coming in from the Thames Estuary or over the Channel between Dungeness and Ramsgate. This, coupled with the fact that most aerodromes had now been repaired and were 95% operational, radar stations were all back to normal, and all telephone lines connecting the radar stations, Observer Corps, Fighter Command HQ and 11 Group HQ were all repaired and functioning properly. Vectored to the Thames Estuary were 41 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires), 66 Squadron Gravesend (Spitfires), 73 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes), 222 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires), 504 Squadron Hendon (Hurricanes) and 1RCAF Northolt (Hurricanes). Vectored to the Kent coast near Deal were 72 Squadron Biggin Hill (Spitfires), 92 Squadron Biggin Hill (Spitfires), 229 Squadron Northolt (Hurricanes) and 253 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes). 1600hrs: Most of the action took place over the Estuary or over north Kent near Maidstone by the time that the British fighters made contact with the enemy. Even though the raids were small by previous standards, it was noticed that there were more Bf109s than usual indicating that the Luftwaffe were trying to draw as many fighters in the air as possible. A number of Do17s were shot down but also quite a few Bf109s also suffered. I/KGr.606 was to suffer most when two Dorniers were classed as write offs, while two others were damaged. For Fighter Command, 73 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes) was to suffer most after losing three aircraft and four others were damaged but were repairable, but only one pilot was killed. There were casualties amongst other squadrons. 1800hrs: There had been a sighting over Bournemouth just prior to the evening attack, but they turned back before any British fighters could intercept. Now a number of separate raid seemed to be approaching the coast in formations of 10+, 12+, 15+, 20+ and 30+. All aircraft were detected at between 17,000 and 20,000 feet. Many of Fighter Commands squadrons had only been back a short while after the afternoon raids when they were scrambled again. The formations were intercepted just as they crossed the southern coastline and a running battle took place as far as London, but many of the raiders had turned back before their destination had been reached. CASUALTIES:
2 x Hurricanes
of 253 and 610 Squadrons shot down but no details are known except the
pilot of the Hurricane of 610 Squadron is listed as missing. The Hurricane
of 253 Squadron was shot down near Faversham Kent.
[1]
Wood & Dempster The Narrow Margin McGraw-Hill 1961pp347-8
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