by Nick Thomas
With shipping still active in the Channel, a flight of Hurricanes took off at 0530 hours with orders to patrol off Dungeness. Landing at 0705 hours the pilots remained in their cockpits while their aircraft were refuelled. Fifteen minutes later they were airborne and back on patrol. Later that morning No. 610 Squadron patrolled Dover, claiming three Bf 109 s destroyed.
Despite the RAF’s best efforts, that day’s raids accounted for 17,000 tons of shipping.
An uneventful flight strength patrol was made of Hawkinge between 0615 and 0645 hours the following morning. Brothers (flying N2921) took off at noon on a squadron patrol, with orders to escort Convoy CW8, its progress closely monitored by the enemy. Forty-five minutes into their patrol, and while flying over Dover in the company of Kenley’s No. 615 Squadron, eight Bf 109s were encountered providing cover for a formation of Ju 87s bombing the merchant vessels below.
During the ensuing combat Flight Lieutenant Crossley (flying P3146), who was leading, claimed one Bf 109 probably destroyed:
‘We observed eight 109s approaching from the south on a level with us, ie 22,000ft [two miles south of Dover], we wheeled round to the left to engage them, their leader turned and opened fire with cannon at me, out of machine gun range, head on. I waited until I could fire and did so at about 300 yds [firing 800 rounds] pulling sharply up as he went over my head. I observed white plumes of petrol or glycol pouring from the wings, near the fuselage. This was confirmed by Yellow 3, P/O Gillman, who saw the E/A yaw away to starboard and go down fairly steeply.’
(signed) Fl Lt M. Crossley.
Meanwhile, Pilot Officer Daw became separated from the rest of his flight in the general melee and ran into six Bf 109s which he attacked. Daw’s Hurricane (P3567) was hit before the Bf 109s disengaged. Short of fuel he made for base but crashed a few miles north-east of Dover. Having received a slight leg wound, he was admitted to the Royal Masonic Hospital, Hammersmith.
Despite their successes against the Bf 109s, Nos. 32 and 615 Squadrons were unable to penetrate the dive-bomber’s fighter cover and the Ju 87s were able to bomb their targets.
At 1458 hours, No. 610 Squadron’s Red, Blue and Green Sections were scrambled. Now sailing between Dover and Folkestone, the convoy was being targeted by twenty Stuka dive-bombers, with fifteen Bf 109s flying as top cover. These were attacked, with four 109s claimed as destroyed, only one confirmed. Pilot Officer F. T. Gardiner (flying R6595 ‘O’) was wounded in the arm.
Half an hour after the engagement with the Bf 109s, Squadron Leader Smith’s Spitfire (R6693 ‘A’) was seen limping back towards Hawkinge, smoking and obviously in difficulties. While making his approach his aircraft seemed to stall and crashed into a disused engine testing shed, and caught fire. Smith was killed as his aircraft burned out. Squadron Leader (90337) Andrew Thomas Smith, AAF, was the son of Andrew Thomas and Marie Emily Gabrielle Smith; husband of Dorothy Smith, of Manley. He was buried at Delamere (St Peter) Churchyard, South part. He was 34-years-old.
Following the loss, Flight Lieutenant Ellis was promoted to the rank of squadron leader and took command. A brave pilot and fine tactician, by the end of October he would have ten enemy aircraft to his tally.
That afternoon Flight Lieutenant Ellis led No. 610 Squadron on another patrol when they sighted about fifteen bombers attacking a destroyer in mid-Channel, two dozen Bf 109s providing escort. During the engagement five Bf 109s were confirmed as destroyed, while three more remained unconfirmed. Ellis, who had destroyed a Bf 109 that morning, destroyed two, closing to ten yards in each attack:
‘The E/A were flying in fours in line astern and the last a/c presented a very easy target. I must have taken the section by surprise as they did not break; this E/A rolled over and plunged towards the sea out of control.
‘I sighted another section of four Me 109s in line astern, carried out a climbing attack again on the last a/c, it fell out of the sky burning furiously and hit the sea.’
Brothers was scrambled at 1620 hours, with orders to intercept a raid near Folkestone, before being redirected onto a second raid. Both were either dispersed or forced to turn back, for a brief while those on-board the convoy were safe.
The Luftwaffe’s raids on the convoy continued, while Brothers’ last sortie of the day proved to be an uneventful squadron patrol of the convoy off Dover. His recollections of this phase of the battle were that, ‘you were doing convoy patrols in the Channel [then] they started attacking convoys. The excitement grew slowly and progressively.’
Despite the RAF’s and RN’s valiant defence of convoy WC8, only two of the original twenty-one vessels were left undamaged. Seven RAF fighters had been lost during its frantic defence. These combined losses brought an end to daylight Channel convoys and signalled the completion of the first stage of Adolf Hitler’s plan – he had won the battle for the English Channel.
There was low cloud, accompanied by heavy rain, for much of 26 July, with Brothers (flying 2921) making a single operational sortie in the afternoon lasting only twenty minutes: ‘We were stood down at 1100 hours one day because it was low cloud and pissing with rain. We filled the bar and got pissed and at 1400 hours the sun came out and we were called to Readiness and scrambled. I remember taking off and – switch on gun sights; gun sights!! We were all absolutely tanked up.’
The squadron flew a number of uneventful patrols during 27 July. Meanwhile, three pilots, Sergeants Whitehouse, Gent and Pickering, arrived straight from No. 5 FTS, Sealand. On inspecting their logbooks, Worrall sent them straight on to No. 6 OTU at Sutton Bridge, where they converted onto Hurricanes. All three returned on 25 August.
Brothers (flying N2921) flew three fighter sorties during 28 July. Sitting out the day and making aborted scrambles was both frustrating and draining. Most pilots agreed with that: the hours of stressful waiting could be as tiring as any physical work, while the lack of restful sleep meant that both the pilots and ground crews were suffering from the effects of fatigue: ‘Very often you just slept between scrambles.’
The following day Brothers’ ‘B’ Flight operated out of Hawkinge. The pilots were at Readiness when a Fox Film Unit arrived to make an instructional film for the Air Ministry. A stills photographer captured Brothers and the rest of the flight between sorties – the photographs have since become iconic images of the Battle of Britain.
Scrambled, Brothers (flying N2921) led a patrol off the Kent Coast at about 1800 hours, shooting down a Bf 109, which was seen to plunge into the sea. There was no parachute. Brothers’ combat report has since been lost, but his logbook records: ‘Patrol & to Hawkinge 1 hr 10 mins, shot down Me109 into sea confirmed’.
Brothers made a second sortie, this time in Hurricane P3147, patrolling for forty minutes before being ordered to pancake.
Meanwhile, No. 610 Squadron’s ‘A’ Flight damaged a Do 215 during the interception of Enemy Raid 49 off Dungeness at 1245 hours.
At Readiness since before dawn the following day, Brothers (flying P3112) made three patrols from Hawkinge, but without sighting the enemy. Brothers’ three patrols probably represented raids that never materialized, either because the enemy changed course and passed through another sector, or they were ordered down as the enemy turned back. The close proximity of their forward base to the coast meant that the enemy might easily make sneak raids and catch them with too little time to scramble and gain operational altitude. At times this necessitated the need for tiring standing patrols, of which Brothers and No. 32 Squadron flew on many.
Brothers was scrambled at 1730 hours on 31 July, his third patrol of the day. Once airborne, he was ordered to intercept six He 111s and their fighter escort sighted heading over the Channel. The enemy aircraft at once made off in the direction of Le Touquet. For Brothers it was a frustrating end to the month.
Nos. 79 and 610 Squadrons operated out of Biggin Hill alongside Pete’s No. 32 Squadron. While some of their sorties are referred to in the main body of the text, their contribution to the battle is expanded upon here:
No. 79 Squadron
No. 79 Squadron’s operations, victories and casualties for July/August may be summarized:
4 July
Pilot Officer D.W.A. Stones – Bf 109 damaged
Flight Sergeant F.S. Brown – Do 17 damaged
9 July
Pilot Officer W.H. Millington – Bf 109
Pilot Officer D.W.A. Stones – Bf 109 unconfirmed
Midshipman M.A. Birrell – Bf 109 damaged
9 August
Flight Lieutenant R.F.H. Clerke – He 111 (shared)
Pilot Officer G.H. Nelson-Edwards – He 111 (shared)
Sergeant J. Wright – He 111 (shared)
15 August
Flight Lieutenant R.F.H. Clerke – Bf 110, Do 17 unconfirmed (shared)
Flight Lieutenant G.D.L. Haysom – Bf 110
Flying Officer G.C.B. Peters – Bf 110
Pilot Officer D.G. Clift – Bf 110
Pilot Officer W.H. Millington – three He 111s
Pilot Officer G.H. Nelson-Edwards – Bf 110 probable
Pilot Officer T.C. Parker – Bf 110 and Do 17 (shared)
Pilot Officer O.V. Tracey – He 111
4 July
Sergeant H. Cartwright, DFM – killed-in-action.
7 July
Squadron Leader J.D.C. Joslin – killed-in-action (friendly-fire).
8 July
Flying Officer E.W. Mitchell (P3461) – killed-in-action.
Flying Officer (37820) Edward William Mitchell, RAF, was buried in
Hawkinge Cemetery, Plot O, Row 1, Grave 8.
Pilot Officer Wood – bailed out badly burnt (DoW).
Pilot Officer (33448) John Edward Randell Wood, RAF, was buried in
Hawkinge Cemetery, Plot O, Row 1, Grave 7.
No. 610 Squadron
No. 610 Squadron’s combat victories and casualties for the months June/July may be summarized:
7 June
Flight Lieutenant J. Ellis – Bf 109
12 June
Flight Lieutenant J. Ellis – He 111 (shared)
Sergeant N.S.J. Arnfield – He 111 (shared)
Sergeant P. Else – unknown type (shared)
3 July
Flight Lieutenant J. Ellis – Do 17 (shared)
Flight Lieutenant E.B.B. Smith – Do 17 (shared with below)
Flying Officer P.G. Lamb – Do 17 (shared)
Pilot Officer P. Litchfield – Do 17
Sergeant P. Else – Do 17 (shared)
Sergeant R.F. Hamlyn – Do 17 (shared)
Sergeant N.H.D. Ramsay – Do 17 (shared)
8 July
Pilot Officer C.O.J. Pegge – Bf 109
Sergeant P. Else – Do 215 damaged
9 July
Squadron Leader A.T. Smith – Do 215 (shared)
Flight Lieutenant E.B.B. Smith – He 111, Do 17 damaged
Sergeant C.A. Parsons – Do 215 (shared)
10 July
Flying Officer W.H.C. Warner – Bf 109 unconfirmed
14 July
Pilot Officer P. Litchfield – Bf 109, Bf 109 unconfirmed
20 July
‘Green 2’ – Bf 109 unconfirmed
24 July
Flight Lieutenant J. Ellis – two Bf 109s
Flight Lieutenant E.B.B. Smith – Bf 109, Bf 109 unconfirmed, Bf 109 damaged
Flight Lieutenant D.S. Wilson – Bf 109
Pilot Officer S.C. Norris – Bf 109
Sergeant H.H. Chandler – Bf 109
Sergeant P. Else – Bf 109
Sergeant C.A. Parsons – Do 17 (shared), Bf 109 unconfirmed
25 July
Squadron Leader E.B.B. Smith – Bf 109
Flight Lieutenant J. Ellis – three Bf 109s
Flight Lieutenant D.S. Wilson – Bf 109
Flying Officer F.T. Gardiner – Bf 109 damaged
Flying Officer D.S. Wilson – Bf 109
Pilot Officer S.C. Norris – two Bf 109s
Sergeant H.H. Chandler – Bf 109
Sergeant P. Else – Bf 109, one Bf 109 unconfirmed
Sergeant C.A. Parsons – Bf 109
27 July
Squadron Leader E.B.B. Smith – Bf 109 damaged
29 July
Squadron Leader E.B.B. Smith – Do 17 damaged (shared)
Pilot Officer S.C. Norris – Do 17 damaged (shared)
Sergeant R.F. Hamlyn – Do 17 damaged (shared)
29 June
Sergeant R.W. Haines was involved in an air accident when he attempted to take off in P9498 with his propeller in course pitch. He crashed into a pillbox and was killed. Sergeant (742106) Ronald William Haines, RAFVR, was the son of Ernest W. and Alice Haines of Gillingham. Haines was 20-years-old and was buried at Gillingham (Woodlands) Cemetery, Kent, Section B, Grave 431.
2 July
Sergeant (745103) Sydney Ireland, RAFVR, was buried at Knockbreda Cemetery, Section E, Grave 78.
8 July
Pilot Officer A.L.B. Raven – shot down and killed over the Channel.
Pilot Officer (91089) Arthur Lionel Boultbee Raven, RAFVR, was 51-years-old. He is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 9.
10 July
Squadron Leader A.T. Smith (L1000 ‘D’) – crash-landed Hawkinge
12 July
Sergeant S. Ireland is believed to have been killed during dogfight practice with Sgt H.H. Chandler. His Spitfire (P9502) failed to pull out of a dive and crashed at Titsey Park, four miles south of Biggin Hill. Sergeant (745103) Sydney Ireland, RAFVR, was buried at Knockbreda Cemetery, Section E, Grave 78.
18 July
Pilot Officer P. Litchfield (P9452 ‘T’) – killed-in-action.
Pilot Officer (76461) Peter Litchfield, RAF, is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 9.
20 July
Pilot Officer G. Keighley (R6621 ‘S’) – bailed out wounded in leg.
25 July
Squadron Leader A.T. Smith (R6693 ‘A’) – crashed at Hawkinge following combat.
Squadron Leader (90337) Andrew Thomas ‘Big Bill’ Smith, AAF, was the son of Andrew Thomas Smith and Marie Emily Gabrielle Smith, husband of Dorothy Smith, of Manley. Smith was 34-years-old and was buried in Delamere (St Peter) Churchyard.
Flying Officer F.T. Gardiner (R6595 ‘O’) – wounded.
26 July
Sergeant P. Else – shot down and wounded in left forearm, bailed out.
Chapter 7
The Battle Heightens
August 1940 saw the squadron in a regular routine of being at Readiness before dawn, the pilots flying daily scrambles, patrols and occasionally flying convoy escorts. The squadron’s pilots were under constant pressure with the ever-present possibility of engaging the enemy and all that combat might bring. Three or four times a day they raced to their fighters, took off and made a battle climb before patrolling behind their leader. Familiarity reducing what had begun as exciting, adrenaline-pumping action to almost something approaching routine, but nonetheless draining, ‘If you weren’t airborne, then you were in the bar or trying to catch some sleep. We were just ordinary chaps doing what we had to do.’
On 1 August Hitler issued his Directive No. 17 for the Conduct of Air and Sea Warfare Against England and with it heralded a new phase in the battle, with Fighter Command’s airfields becoming the primary targets:
‘In order to establish the necessary conditions for the final conquest of England I intend to intensify the air and sea warfare against the English homeland. I therefore order as follows:
‘The German Air Force is to overpower the English Air Force with all the forces at its command, in the shortest time possible. The attacks are to be directed primarily against flying units, their ground installations and their supply organizations, but also against the aircraft industry, including that manufacturing anti-aircraft equipment.
‘Attacks on the south coast ports will be made on the smallest possible scale, in view of our own forthcoming operations.
‘I reserve to myself the rig
ht to decide on terror attacks as measures of reprisal.
‘The intensification of the air war may begin on, or after, 5 August. The exact time is to be decided by the Air Force.’
(signed) Adolf Hitler.
Three Polish pilots, Pilot Officers Pfeiffer, Wlasnowalski and Pniak arrived from No. 6 OTU, Sutton Bridge, on 4 August. The men would quickly settle into the squadron, and as ‘adopted’ RAF pilots they had to have nicknames, and were affectionately known as ‘Fifi’, ‘Vodka’ and ‘Cognac’.