by Nick Thomas
(signed) Sgt D.F. Corfe.
No. 610 Squadron overall claims were:
Three Bf 109s confirmed destroyed – Sergeants Corfe, Chandler and Gardner
Two Ju 87s confirmed destroyed – Pilot Officer Norris
One Bf 110 confirmed destroyed – Sergeant Ramsey
Four Bf 109s probably destroyed – Sergeants Corfe, Else, Hamlyn, ‘a/n other’
Three Ju 87s probably destroyed – Pilot Officers Norris and Rees, and Sergeant Parsons
While the air battle had raged on, a further raid hit Manston, destroying three of No. 600 Squadron’s Blenheims in their hangars.
Both Nos. 32 and 610 Squadrons were at fifteen minutes Available from before dawn on 15 August, the pilots having slept under their aircraft’s wings from 0300 hours. In the early afternoon No. 32 Squadron was ordered to their forward base at Hawkinge, which along with Lympne and Manston, had been bombed at noon.
Meanwhile, at 1243 hours, No. 610 Squadron was scrambled, Acting Flight Lieutenant W.H.C. Warner leading eight Spitfires in intercepting twenty-five Do 17s and their Bf 109 escort ten miles south-east of Biggin Hill.
The squadron claimed:
One Bf 109 probably destroyed – Pilot Officer Cox, Flight Lieutenant Warner Two Bf 109s damaged – Sergeants Arnfield and Corfe
At 1500 hours Stuka dive-bombers attacked Martlesham Heath. The Hurricanes of No. 17 Squadron had been scrambled, but were unable to locate the enemy. By this time two separate raids had developed, the first, estimated at 100-plus was monitored by radar as it headed for the Kent coast, a second attack of 150-plus following thirty minutes later. Nos. 1, 32, 64, 111, 151 and 501 Squadrons were scrambled to make interceptions.
At 1525 hours Pilot Officer ‘Grubby’ Grice (flying N2459 ‘C’) was shot down in flames by Bf 109s, about fifteen miles off Harwich. One of the rounds had pierced the fuel tank behind the instrument panel and, ‘the cockpit filled with vapours and acrid smoke.’ Pulling the pin to release his aircraft’s canopy, Grice turned the Hurricane onto its back and was free, ‘I remembered my parachute drill and waited a second or two before pulling the rip cord. I was relieved to see land, but an offshore breeze carried me out over the sea.’ It wasn’t until he had hit the water, some two miles out, that Grice realized that he had been badly burnt on the face and wrist. He was picked up after ten minutes by a rescue launch and taken to the Royal Naval Hospital at Shotley. His Hurricane was seen to crash into the sea at Pye Sands, Pennyhole Bay, south of Harwich. The remainder of the squadron returned to Biggin Hill.
Grice had been with the squadron since 1938 and had destroyed eight enemy aircraft, earning the DFC. Having recovered from his injuries, he became Controller at Biggin Hill and was Senior Controller at Northolt from June 1941 until February 1942, and at North Weald until December 1943, He was then Senior Controller at Tangmere until August 1945. Grice was awarded the MBE (London Gazette, 1 January 1946), and retired from the Service as a Wing Commander in April 1947.
His fiancée, Cypher Officer Pam Beecroft, worked in the Operations Room at Biggin Hill; she was ferrying the pilots to dispersals when the news came through.
Meanwhile, at about 1600 hours, Pilot Officer Wlasnowalski (flying N2671) set a Bf 109 on fire:
‘I was flying No. 3 of Red Section, when I saw nine Me 109s above me in vic formation [flying off Harwich at 11,000ft]. I climbed up and attacked one of the Me 109s from astern; we circled round each other, then the Me 109 dived away. I got in a good [five second] burst [firing 800 rounds at 200 yards] and the Me 109 burst into flames and dived down towards the sea.’
(signed) Plt Off Wlasnowalski.
Another raid was launched in the early evening, this time targeting Kenley and Biggin Hill. No. 501 Squadron was the first to engage, splitting the formation and forcing many of the bombers to make for their secondary target at West Malling.
Scrambled at 1720 hours, No. 32 Squadron made contact with several formations of Ju 88s and Do 215s, and their escort of Bf 109 and 110s, off Selsey Bill.
‘A’ Flight’s Flight Lieutenant Crossley (flying P3481) destroyed two Ju 88s:
‘We sighted about thirty Ju 88s, accompanied by several Me 110s, crossing the coast near Portsmouth [flying at 13,000ft]. One section of three 88s was a little way behind and I led Red Section at it, and fastened onto the port a/c and fired approximately half my rounds at him [at 200 yards] when he broke out of formation and headed off SE in a slight dive with his port engine smoking. On being engaged from above I left him.
‘I then climbed up and attacked a straggler in a beam attack [firing the remainder of his ammunition at 200 yards]. His port engine caught fire and he also headed off in a SE direction, the port motor ticking over.’
(signed) Fl Lt Crossley.
‘B’ Flight’s Flying Officer J.B.W. Humpherson (flying P3112) claimed one Ju 88 destroyed (shared):
‘One 88 appeared to detach itself from the main formation. I went in to attack. I put in a short burst [firing 800 rounds in five seconds at 200 yards], but after I had fired the enemy machine caught fire in the starboard wing. It eventually crashed about five miles W of Chichester.’
(signed) Flg Off J.B.W. Humpherson.
The Hurricanes were quickly turned around and the pilots awaited their next sortie, which wasn’t long in coming. At 1850 hours the controller scrambled No. 32 Squadron to intercept the last enemy raid of the day. Orbiting Biggin Hill, the pilots could clearly see the smoke rising from Croydon as it came under attack, the enemy having mistaken it for their intended target, Kenley. The raid composed of fifteen to twenty Ju 88s and Do 17s, escorted by Bf 110s and Bf 109s.
The Squadron Diary recorded:
‘We turned and beat it for Croydon as fast as we could. Sure enough when we approached, we saw a large party in progress. Masses of Me 110s were dive-bombing the place. As they did not appear to notice our approach, we steered straight past them with the object of getting between them and the sun.
‘No. 111 had also been scrambled to engage the same formation and Squadron Leader J.M. Thompson placed his [nine] Hurricanes ahead of the bombers, which were hit from the flank by No. 32 Squadron’s Red, Green and Blue Sections. Moments later, No. 111 Squadron made a head-on attack, claiming five Bf 110s.’
Meanwhile, the Dorniers hit the still non-operational West Malling, their attack causing minimal damage. Reading through the squadron’s combat reports a fuller picture of the air battle, which raged down to treetop level, emerges. At 1900 hours Red 1, Flight Lieutenant Crossley (flying N2461), destroyed a Do 17:
‘I attacked a Do 17 from astern and opened fire at 200 yards, setting the port engine on fire.
‘I broke away and Red 2 closed in and knocked some pieces off it. He then gave way to Red 3, who also hit it. We followed, and the fire appeared to go out, giving place to two streams of white smoke. Red 2 and 3 then went in and knocked it about so badly that it crashed east of Sevenoaks, the pilot escaping by parachute.’
(signed) M. Crossley.
This was shared with Red 2, Squadron Leader Worrall (flying P3205), who fired two bursts of three to four seconds at 100 yards, closing to 25 yards:
‘We intercepted a number [fifteen to twenty] of Do 17 and 110s [and Bf 109s] over Canterbury.
‘Red 1 led attack onto a Do 17. Just as he broke away the port engine started to burn. I closed and fired a short burst only, as a mass of flames appeared from the same engine. Red 3 then closed. I fired another short burst which restarted the fire, and bits flew off the tail. Red 3 closed again and delivered the coup de grace. One of the crew bailed out. Enemy aircraft crashed somewhere near Plaxtol (south of Borough Green) in a wood.’
Red 3, Sergeant Henson (flying P3522), claimed a Do 215 as probably destroyed over Selsey Bill, firing 2,000 rounds in five bursts from 300 yards, closing to 100 yards. His combat report read:
‘I closed in on the nearest section of nine Do 215s. I attacked the starboard machine which turned sharply to starboard leaving the rest
of the formation, firing a five second burst in his broadside. (The rear gunner started firing at me at about 500 yds before the Do 215 broke formation), but after my second burst the rear gunner stopped. I fired another burst, and then saw bits falling off; bombs were released over the sea. Also, white smoke poured from the starboard engine, he then went into a steep dive. I followed him down firing until I ran out of ammunition. I was then attacked by an Me 109. I landed at Tangmere for more ammunition but it was found that a bullet had pierced my crankcase.’
(signed) Sgt B. Henson.
Green and Blue Sections followed Red Section and in ten minutes of furious combat claimed three Do 17s, two Ju 88s and four Bf 109s destroyed, each of the pilots getting one.
Flying Officer Humpherson (flying P3112) claimed a Bf 109 probably destroyed:
‘I saw about six Me 109’s flying in line astern. I went into the attack on the rearmost enemy machine, as I did so another 109 appeared on the scene and tried a beam attack on me. He broke away in front of me and sat right in my sights about 100 yards away. I immediately opened fire [twelve second burst at 250 yards] and shot away a large piece of the radiator of the E/A, glycol streamed out and the E/A lost speed rapidly.’
(signed) F/O J.B.W. Humpherson.
Pilot Officer Pain (flying R4106) engaged the same formation, claiming one Bf 109 probably destroyed:
‘Six Me 109s dived from about 1,500ft about me and opened fire, and then [pulled] up in a climbing turn. I turned and opened fire on the last machine [three, two second bursts at 200 yards]. Saw smoke coming from the enemy. Gave him another short burst [two, three second bursts at 150 yards] and the smoke increased.’
(signed) P/O J. Pain.
‘B’ Flight’s Sergeant Pearce (flying N2755) claimed one Do 17 destroyed:
‘I selected a Do 17 flying south from Croydon district and, when about 600 yards from it, saw another Hurricane level with me. I dived and came up below it, firing into front fuselage mainly [firing 600 rounds in a five second burst from 300 closing to 75 yards], while the other Hurricane attacked from astern. Port engine caught on fire and aircraft dived on fire probably at Redhill.’
(signed) Sgt L. Pearce.
Green 1, Pilot Officer Gardner (flying P3679), destroyed a Ju 88:
‘I saw some Me 110s coming in to attack us, so I broke up my section and headed them off, and then dived away from them. Climbing back I attacked a Ju 88 [with a five second burst of 400 rounds at 200 yards] and started him downwards minus several bits and one engine. He must have come down somewhere SE of Croydon, but I was attacked by a 109.’
(signed) P.M. Gardner.
Pilot Officer Pniak (flying N2524) claimed one Do 17 and one Bf 109 probably destroyed, firing all of his ammunition in one to two second bursts from 200 to 100 yards:
‘I attacked a Do 17 at 11,000ft which turned over Croydon. I opened fire from 200 yards, I fired several short bursts from astern and the Do 17 began to smoke. I saw him glide down with much thick black smoke coming from him. When I climbed up, I saw an Me 109, which was attacking another Hurricane; I attacked him from astern opening fire at 250 yards. I fired several short bursts, he planed down zigzagging with thick black smoke coming from him. I was attacked by another Me 109 from head-on, I pressed my trigger but found I had run out of ammunition.’
(signed) Pniak.
During the same engagement Pilot Officer Russell destroyed a Bf 110, but his combat report is now lost.
In the pre-war years most operational squadrons had a Training Flight, some retaining the facility during the early phase of the war before the role was taken over by the Operational Training Units (OTUs). On No. 32 Squadron the flight was maintained well into August/September. Crossley recorded that, ‘“Polly” Flinders had taken the Training Flight up and that he and “Humph” slapped down one each. Day’s bag twelve.’
Pilot Officer J. Flinders (flying N2062) and Flight Lieutenant Russell, who had been posted as ‘A’ Flight Commander on 14 August, had taken off and headed towards Croydon, engaging the enemy over Caterham, Flinders claiming one Bf 109 probably destroyed:
‘Saw two Ju 88s on my right and 3,000ft above me flying in a SE direction about four miles away. I gave chase and was catching them up when an Me 109 came towards me from the starboard side. I throttled back completely and he passed in front of me and into my sight. I fired for about two seconds [at 100 yards] and a stream of white smoke came from his engine. The aircraft dived towards the ground. A minute later I saw a parachute open at about 6,000ft south of Sevenoaks.’
(signed) PO Flinders.
Also defending Biggin Hill were the pilots of No. 610 Squadron. Sergeant D.F. Corfe attacked a Do 215 before damaging a Bf 109 over Maidstone: ‘Several Me 109s came down on us. I engaged one Me 109 and fired four, three second bursts at him [at 250 yards]. My tracer appeared to hit him about the rear of the fuselage and wings.’
During the same engagement, Pilot Officer K.H. Cox claimed one Bf 109 probably destroyed, firing a three second burst at 250 yards: ‘We were about to attack from the sun when I saw an Me 109 on my port side, apparently about to make a beam attack.
‘I turned and engaged, got on his tail and after three short bursts he went into a vertical dive with engine on fire.’
Much of the combat had been played out within full view of those below, although none witnessed more than a single scene of the overall battle. A report in the Daily Express recorded some of the events of the day’s fourth air raid: ‘To see these fighters diving through great masses of enemy planes, to see them tear, one after the other, out of the sky and rise again to dive back, is the most heroic and inspiring thing I have ever seen in my life. There are no words to express their fury and their bravery.’
Churchill had observed the events as they unfolded at Bentley Priory, on his return he was heard to say of the air-battle: ‘It is one of the greatest days in history.’
Later Brothers too was able to reflect: ‘The hardest day was 15 August. That was a very big raid. There was a change of tactics and it took us by surprise. Quite a few aircraft were caught on the ground. They were bombing Biggin Hill from high-level, a raid against which I was involved, but they also ran a low-level raid at Kenley, which was next door to Biggin Hill.
‘We’d see the damaged buildings and craters when we got back to the aerodrome after it had been bombed while we were elsewhere, intercepting other raids, the little flags stuck in the ground to mark off unexploded bombs. We’d either land on the perimeter path or make a path of our own through them all.’
Thursday, 15 August 1940, would be christened ‘Black Thursday’ by the Luftwaffe, the Biggin Hill squadrons once again flying a total of 100 sorties, contributing in no small measure to the enemy’s losses (reckoned at seventy-five enemy aircraft destroyed for the loss of thirty RAF aircraft, with seventeen pilots killed).
On 16 August, Squadron Leader Worrall was posted to resume his role as Senior Sector Controller at Biggin Hill, with Brothers’ friend, now acting Squadron Leader Michael Crossley, assuming command.
A little before noon radar located several formations totaling 150 enemy aircraft which crossed the coast near Dover before dispersing to hit various targets. No. 32 Squadron was scrambled at 1215 hours and vectored onto fifteen-plus Bf 109s approaching Dover, engaging the enemy fighters around forty-five minutes later.
Red 1, acting Squadron Leader M. Crossley (flying N2461), destroyed a Bf 109:
‘I was over Dover at 10,000ft with Red 2 and 3, when I saw a battle between about five machines in progress about six miles NW of us. As we approached, two 109s broke away to starboard and headed for home. I selected the port machine and did a quarter attack [firing 260 rounds each gun at 200 yards], and suddenly a thick puff of black smoke came from him and he wobbled and went on his back and dived for about 1,000ft vertically and then recovered; he turned slowly on his back and went vertically into the sea about two miles off Folkestone.’
(signed) Sqn Ldr M. Crossley.
Red 2, Pilot Officer Comte Rudolphe Ghislain Charles de Hemricourt de Gunne (flying P3481), claimed one Bf 109 destroyed:
‘When we saw two Me 109s slightly below. I saw F/Lt Crossley attack the last one, so I attacked the other. I saw the E/A attacked by F/Lt Crossley dive into the sea. The Me 109 turned sharply but I was able to get in two bursts of approximately two seconds [firing 320 rounds] from astern, at 40 yds range. I passed the E/A and saw the pilot slumped forward in the seat. I turned and fired another burst into him from astern. A lot of smoke came from his engine. F/Lt Crossley saw the E/A dive into the sea.’
(signed) P/O De Grunne.
The Belgian, Pilot Officer De Grunne, had arrived from No. 7 OTU on 9 August. Flying Messerschmitts for Franco during the Spanish Civil War, he claimed to have been credited with fourteen ‘kills’.
Green 1, Pilot Officer Gardner (flying P3679), claimed one Bf 109 destroyed, firing 450 rounds in a five second burst at 100 yards: ‘I saw twelve Me 109s coming down to attack us [at 12,000ft some three miles north of Folkestone]. I shouted over the R/T and turned to attack them. Three set on us but I managed to get away from them with a damaged tail wheel.’
Gardner heard over the radio that the enemy was approaching Ramsgate and flew to make an interception: ‘I went there but saw nothing except one Me 109, 6,000ft above me running for home. I went underneath him until he reached my level of about 200ft and then tipped him into the sea, just east of the Goodwins.’
Brothers took part in a squadron strength scramble, made at 1640 hours, with orders to intercept a raid in the Biggin Hill area. A formation of fifty-plus Ju 88s and Bf 110s, and their escort of Bf 109s, were encountered. The main body was attacked head-on at 1730 hours.
The fighter’s targets were of course the enemy bombers; the destruction of their escort was a means to an end. Park advocated head-on attacks on the bombers to break up their tight formations, ‘Attack the ones in front. If you shoot them down, the formation will break up in confusion. Then you can take your pick.’