BATTLE OF BRITAIN one of the |
253 Squadron was formed at Manston in Kent in November 1939 from part of the course of 2FTS Brize-norton, nearly all the pilots have been trained on Airspeed Oxfords, and had no fighter training at all as they were supposed to be equipped with Bristol Blenheims as bomber pilots. They eventually received Hurricane 1 aircraft in January 1940, and began to learn how to use them as fighters. They were very old planes as each existing Hurricane squadron gave them two of their aircraft, so of course they were the worst they had. 253 Squadron moved to Northolt, then Kenley and when the Germans invaded France, 253 were split into two flights, one went to Vitry and the other to Lille. John was in "B" flight and went to Lille, the CO and Adjutant remained in England. "B" flight was the only flight without armour plating and mirrors, also single blade wooden airscrew. They were in France for four days in which they lost half their pilots including the flight commander. Only 3 aircraft flew back to the UK, the rest were broken up with axes. In four days John shot down a Bf109 and a Dornier 215, and a week later another Bf109 on escort duties over Merville. With their CO posted as missing 253 Squadron was without any leaders since the other flight at Vitry had lost its Flight Commander and half the pilots. 253 Squadron reformed in the north of the UK moving several times and changing CO's, until eventually they entered the Battle of Britain, flying their first sortie from Kenley on 30 August 1940. 253 Squadron remained in Kenley throughout the battle, losing many pilots who are listed under ( 253 Squadron - Lest we Forget ). John was posted for a rest to a Flying Training School on Miles Masters at Ternhill which he hated and soon made himself so unpopular that he was posted to a new Hurricane OTU ( Operational Training Unit ). |
BATTLE OF BRITAIN The official dates of the Battle are 10th July-31st October 1940. Thes dates were decided retrospectively on the basis of the nature and the intensity of the fighting which took place. During the 4 months of the Battle, 537 Allied aircrew, more than 1 in 6 of the actual total, lost their lives and many more were seriously injured. The 3080 aircrew that fought with the RAF, came from many nations:
10 July - 12 August; The Opening Phase Luftwaffe 261 aircraft destroyed, RAF 127 13 August - 6 September; Attacks on RAF airfields: Luftwaffe 629 losses, RAF 385 7 - 30 September; London attacked: Luftwaffe 411 losses, RAF 152 1 - 31 October; Night Blitz: Luftwaffe 297 losses, RAF 152 Totals for the duration of the Battle: Luftwaffe lost 1598 aircraft, while the RAF suffered the loss of 902. |