Battle of Britain diary

[stona]

Monday 15 July

Those who did manage to cut the lawn yesterday were the lucky ones as today the weather deteriorated with low cloud and outbreaks of heavy rain around the coasts.

The only missions flown by the Luftwaffe this morning were coastal reconnaissance.

Just after midday in Scotland P/Os J Morton and D Stewart-Clark of No. 603 Squadron shot down an He 111 off Peterhead. Only one of its crew was picked up, wounded.

At 14.15 9 Do 17s attacking convoy FN.233 and were in turn attacked by 3 Hurricanes of No. 56 Squadron. The Dorniers escaped (despite two claims by the British pilots) but not before damaging the steamer Heworth, killing four of her crew, and the Polish steamer Zbaraz, which sank after her crew were taken off.

Another naval pilot got into the action, but not as he would have liked. Sub Lt H G Bramah, flying with No. 213 Squadron, baled out safely from his Hurricane (N2541) off Dartmouth, having been shot down by return fire from a Do 17.

[colin m]

Great reading as always. One thing sticks in my mind, the weather wasn't always so great back in 1940. I've been a bit brain washed into thinking it was always perfect flying weather.

[stona]

Great reading as always. One thing sticks in my mind, the weather wasn't always so great back in 1940. I've been a bit brain washed into thinking it was always perfect flying weather.

It took a turn for the worse on the 16th. One RAF commander commented that 'even the birds were walking', which, a we shall see, wasn't completely true.

Tuesday 16 July

Fog over the entire SE of England and NW France. Visibility down to zero in places. Later there was cloud and heavy rain.

Unsurprisingly there was little action today. No. 603 Squadron shot down another He 111, this time into the sea off the coast between Aberdeen and Inverness.

No. 601 Squadrons Hurricanes did the same for a Ju 88 off the Isle of Wight.

The only thing of note is that 601’s F/O W H Rhodes-Moorhouse claimed two Ju 88s, when he in fact shot down only one. The first one that he believed he saw hitting the sea may have been debris or jettisoned bombs from the one he did shoot down. The Luftwaffe only lost one Ju 88. It is another illustration of how easy it was to make a totally honest but erroneous claim. The intelligence officers on all sides faced a tricky task separating the wheat from the chaff and establishing accurate numbers for enemy aircraft destroyed.

So little happened today that I will post Rhodes-Moorhouse’s Combat Report.

“I was leading B Flight. We took off at 16.40 and at 16.58 I sighted one Ju 88 at 9,000’ flying NE just above 9/10 cloud over the west end of the Solent. I made an attack and followed E/A into cloud when I lost it. I pulled up out of cloud to find Blue 1 and 3 making an attack, after E/A itself had pulled up. I then made another attack and E/A went into vertical right hand dive into cloud, I followed it and it continued vertically into the sea – hitting the water midway between ‘The Needles’ and the main-land slightly west of north of ‘The Needles’ [This was not the Ju88]. Being the only A/C below cloud I then reported the E/A hitting the sea and ordered Blue Section to reform below cloud.

I then saw another Ju 88 [this was the same aircraft] about 9,000’ above flying south just coming out of cloud – so I climbed and made a beam attack after which I was just above E/A, and I made a steep right-hand turn down on top of E/A making another attack at point blank range until my ammunition ran out. I then saw the starboard engine of E/A was stopped and prop was stationary with airscrew fully feathered. It then went into a shallow dive until 50-100’ above the sea. I followed E/A asking the ground station to send an aircraft with ammunition to finish it off. I eventually got into R/T communication with Green Section whom I saw about 2,000’ above me on my right. As green Section saw me, the Ju 88 crashed into the sea and a rubber yellow boat appeared with one man in it and another swimming towards it. Green 1 then circled the boat while I flew low over a boat just south of St Catherine’s point and eventually, after flying to and from the boat to the rubber boat, after about an hour, the Germans were picked up.”

The Ju 88 was from 6./KG 54. The wounded pilot and one of his crew were picked up. The other two perished.

[AlanG]

July 16 1940

Hitler signs Directive 16. The invasion plan for Britain.

"Since England in spite of her hopeless military position shows no signs of coming to an understanding, I have decided to prepare a landing operation and, if necessary, carry it out. The aim of this operation will be to eliminate the English homeland as a base for the prosecution of the war against Germany and, if necessary, occupy it completely."

[stona]

Wednesday 17 July

Unseasonal weather continues with most of Britain covered by low cloud. Low cloud and persistent rain over Channel.

Very little action, six Spitfires of No. 145 Squadron chased two Ju 88s away from the Isle of Wight, S/Ldr J R A Peel’s Hurricane was damaged by return fire off the coast of Cherbourg, but he made it home.

While on convoy patrol F/O Don ‘Butch’ Taylor’s Spitfire was damaged in an attack by a fighter he never saw. He managed to return to the mainland, wounded, and crash landed near Hailsham in Sussex. Of note because he was probably a victim of Helmut Wick, a man who would make a name for himself in the Battle and who made a claim in the correct location at the correct time.

Finally, relevant to my build of Stapleton’s 603 Squadron Spitfire is the loss of one of his comrades, F/O C D Peel (a different Peel) who went missing, lost without trace, with his Spitfire K9916. It is assumed he went into the sea somewhere off the Scottish coast.

[stona]

Thursday 18 July

The weather brightens up, slightly. It is still largely overcast with showers, but broken cloud over the Channel.

12 Spitfires of No. 610 Squadron were sent to patrol a Channel convoy. They stayed low because, in the conditions this was the only way they could maintain contact with the convoy. At about 10.00 they were bounced by an estimated 12 Bf 109s which they did not see coming. P/O P Lichfield was shot down and killed, his loss matching a claim for a Spitfire by Hptm. Horst Tietzen of 5./JG 51. Tietzen was a ‘Spaniard’, having served in the Spanish civil war where he claimed seven victories. He would be shot down an killed on 20 August at which time he had 27 victories.

5 hurricanes of No. 145 Squadron shot down an He 111 of Stab KG 27 off Selsey Bill. The victory was claimed by P/O P W Dunning-White, but shared with his four squadron mates.

An unusual event took place when a Blenheim bomber attempted to intervene in an attack on a convoy by the Bf 110s of Eprg 210 off Lowestoft. The Blenheim R3603 of 15 (Bomber) squadron attempted to protect the ships but was itself shot down (probably by Hptm. Rubensdorffer). F/O Mahler managed to land his burning aircraft on a beach on the Norfolk coast and the crew were uninjured. They were very lucky.

[AlanG]

July 19 1940

Nine convoys were at sea this day. The RAF expected heavy action because of this.11 Group ordered 141 Sqn to patrol 20 miles of Folkstone. Nine Defiants took off and started patrolling at the stupidly low height of 5000ft.
Theo Osterkamp was leading III./JG51 on a 'free hunt' when he spotted the Defiants far below him. Diving out of the sun they attacked the Defiants, shooting down four in their first pass. In the ensuing dogfight another Defiant was shot down.
111 Sqn raced to the help of 141 Sqn. Upon their arrival they shot down a Bf109.
The remaining Defiants escaped but one crash landed at Hawkinge. One more was a write-off.
In the 30 mins combat, 141 Sqn lost seven Defiants with the loss of twelve pilots and gunners.

[JR]

I've had throughly good read of these reports this morning, thanks guys for posting.
Looking fwd to more .

[stona]

Friday 19 July

The weather cheers up a little bit. It was still showery, but with bright intervals.

The first action of the day was the interception at 07.00 of another reconnaissance aircraft, a Do 17 from 4(F)/121. This aircraft was attacked by 3 Hurricanes from No. 145 Squadron and three from No. 257 Squadron, finally crashing into the sea off Brighton.

The next and most notable action has come to be known as the Defiant disaster.

At 12.31 9 Defiants of No. 141 Squadron left Hawkinge and were vectored to a point off Cap Gris Nez at 5,000 feet. Here they were bounced by about 20 Bf 109s of JG 51 led by Hptm. Johannes Trautloft. The sad story of the Defiants has been often told, 7 were shot down (of which 1 made it back to crash land at Hawkinge) and the other 2 may have been saved by the intervention of 3 Hurricanes from No. 111 Squadron.

The Defiants seem to have been rather naïve in the face of some very experienced Luftwaffe pilots. We have plenty of British accounts, but here is what Trautloft wrote of the events.

“I flew with my Stabsschwarm at 3000m. My three Staffeln were in loose formation some 1000m higher. Visibility was so good that one could see any aircraft taking off from airfields near the coast. Suddenly Lt. Wehnelt reported several aircraft crossing the English coastline. I counted the aircraft, nine in total, they seemed to have just taken off. They climbed rapidly and made a large turn towards the middle of the Channel, heading straight for us. They hadn’t spotted us yet as we approached them out of the sun. When I was only 800m or so above them, I noticed the turrets and realised that they were the heavily armed two seater Defiants. The enemy formation was still flying tightly together, as if on exercise, when it suddenly turned back toward England. I didn’t understand at all what this manoeuvre was for. After checking once more for signs of Hurricanes or Spitfires, I gave the order to attack.”

Defiant L7016 P/O Gardner baled out wounded, rescued from sea. P/O D M Slater missing.

Defiant L7009 F/Lt D G Donald killed. P/O A C Hamilton baled out but killed.

Defiant L6995 P/O R A Howley and Sgt A G Curley both missing.

Defiant L6974 P/O J R Kemp and Sgt R Crombie both missing.

Defiant L7001 Crash landed at Hawkinge, F/Lt M J Loudon injured. P/O E Farnes baled out uninjured and rescued from sea.

Defiant L7015 P/O R Kidson missing. Sgt F J P Atkins killed.

Defiant L6983 Managed to return to base, P/O I N MacDougal uninjured. Sgt. J F Wise baled out over sea and missing.

All the men listed as missing perished.

This was the end for the Defiant at the front line of the Battle of Britain. No.141 Squadron was packed off to Scotland, out of harm’s way. I will post two pages of the squadron’s Form 540 (ORB) which tells the story. I’m not sure what the rules are but since I paid for the ORB of 141 and various other squadrons, I don’t see why I can’t post a page or two for educational purposes.





The Luftwaffe had 3 Bf 109s damaged, they all made it back to France. Fw Karl Heilmann would die of his wounds, Uffz Karl Miesala was wounded and his aircraft a 100% write off, Oblt. Otto Kath made a forced landing, his Bf 109 was 40% damaged but he was unhurt.

Later this day 15 Spitfires from Nos. 64 and 74 Squadrons with 6 Hurricanes from No. 32 Squadron intercepted 7 Ju 87s escorted by 12 Bf 109s as they attempted to attack shipping around Dover harbour. The RAF lost 1 Hurricane.

Finally 12 Hurricanes of No. 43 Squadron tangled with a similar number of Bf 109s of 8./JG 27. Two Hurricanes were shot down, another damaged (Cat 1). Sgt J A Buck (24) baled out of P3531 into the sea but subsequently drowned, his body was recovered at Worthing the following day. 1 Bf 109 returned damaged (35%) and with the superbly named Lt. Erbo Graf von Kageneck wounded.

[stona]

Saturday 20 July

The weather finally improved with sun and broken cloud in all parts except Kent and the Channel. There was cloud and some rain in the Straits of Dover, which finally cleared in the afternoon.

Early in the morning 3 Hurricanes from No. 56 Squadron intercepted and shot down a reconnaissance Ju 88 from 4(F)122.

603 Squadron, up in Scotland, shot down a Do 17 from 1(F)120 shortly after midday.

A lunchtime attack on convoy ‘Bosom’ which was sailing from Lyme to Dover was intercepted by 6 Spitfires from No. 152 Squadron and 3 Hurricanes from No. 238 Squadron. The attack was driven off but 238 Squadron lost Hurricane P3766, Sgt. C Parkinson baled out badly wounded and was picked up, but died the next day. No. 152 Squadron lost Spitfire K9880 and P/O F H Poesener was posted missing.

The Luftwaffe lost two Bf 109s from the escort, both from 3./JG 27. Both Lt. Ulrich Scherer and Oberfw Heinz Beushausen were killed.

At 15.15 another clearly marked He 59 ASA aircraft was brought down by Hurricanes of No. 238 Squadron. Yet another was brought down by Hurricanes of No. 601 Squadron at 19.20.

12 Hurricanes from No. 501 Squadron intercepted 2 Do 17s and a Ju 88 (?) only to tangle with an escort of Bf 109s. 1 Hurricane and 1 Bf 109 were shot down

3 Hurricanes from No. 43 Squadron were sent to investigate an He 115 (possibly another He 59) marked with red crosses. This aircraft was either escorted by 2 Bf 109s or they happened to be in the area. F/O J F J Hayworth’s Hurricane P3964 was hit and he baled out off the Isle of Wight and was posted missing.

The main action of the day was an attack on convoy CW.7 which comprised 29 merchantmen and 3 escorts. This convoy was heading from Southend to Falmouth when attacked off Dover. The German raid included about 20 Ju 87s of II/StG1 escorted by about 20 Bf 109s of II./JG 51 and 10 Bf 110s. The RAF put up 11 Hurricanes from No. 615 Squadron, 9 Spitfires from No. 610 Squadron, 9 Hurricanes of No. 32 Squadron and 6 Spitfires of No. 65 Squadron. In the ensuing battle two Bf 109s were shot down, both into the sea with both pilots baling out, only one was rescued. 4 of the Ju 87s were damaged, but all made it back to France. The RAF lost one Hurricane into the sea, RN pilot Sub/Lt G G R Bulmer, a 20 year old Yorkshireman from Bradford, was seen to bale out off North Foreland but was posted missing. A Spitfire and a Hurricane were also lost, both made it to England, one pilot baled out not far from Hawkinge, the other landed, but his damaged aircraft burnt out.

[stona]

Sunday 21 July

Weather very much as today. Bright with broken cloud in the morning with some thundery showers developing around lunchtime. Cloudy afternoon but with sunny spells.

Better weather meant that the RAF flew 190 patrols with 596 aircraft.

Of note was a reconnaissance mission by a Bf 110 of 4(F)14. This Bf 110 encountered and shot down two RAF aircraft both from 1SFTS undertaking training missions. The first was a Hawker Hart, K6854, which was shot down near Winterbourne Dautsey, Wiltshire, killing Acting Leading Airman J A Seed*. The second was a Fairey Battle which force landed near Stockbridge with the crew safe. The Bf 110 was then itself shot down by Hurricanes of No. 238 Squadron, coming down after a long running combat at Goodwood Home Farm in West Sussex. Obltn Friederich-Karl Lunde and his radio operator/gunner Fw Willi Baden became PoWs.

The largest action of the day was an attack on a convoy off the Isle of Wight by a large force comprising about 40 Do 17s, escorted by 20 Bf 109s and 20 Bf 110s. 6 Hurricanes of No. 43 Squadron and 3 of No. 258 Squadron attempted to fend off the attack, but were hopelessly outnumbered. 43 Squadron’s P/O R A de Mancha (who had an Italian father) was killed when he collided with the Bf 109 0f Lt Kroker, who also perished. S/Ldr J V C Badger was lucky to get home with an aileron jammed by a hit from a cannon shell. The Bf 110 of Fw Horst Wurgatsch and Uffz Willi Harder crashed on landing at Theville, killing both men.

*The report on Seed’s death noted, controversially, that

“A/L/A Seed jumped from about 500 feet, and was later found about 25 yards from the hart aircraft, which then burst into flames. The ripcord had been pulled and the parachute was fully opened [meaning it had deployed, nobody say Seed under a developed canopy], but A/L/A Seed suffered multiple injuries, so that it seems the parachute did not operate fully to check the fall. Gun shot wounds in the body indicate that some of them must have been received after the pilot had left the aircraft, it being the Medical Officer’s opinion, he could not otherwise have abandoned his aircraft.”

[stona]

Monday 22 July

Scattered cloud over the Channel with some light showers over the south east, interspersed with sunny spells.

Despite the half decent weather, the Luftwaffe seems largely to have taken a day off. It may have been that the relative inactivity of the last few days was related not just to the weather, but Germany awaiting a response to Hitler’s July 19 speech, his ‘Last Appeal to Reason’.

There were the usual interceptions of Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft and at least one was shot down, by Hurricanes of No.145 Squadron.

A notable event was the supposed first successful night interception using Airborne Interception Radar. Many sources credit a Blenheim of the Fighter Interception Unit, equipped with the new Radar AI Mk IV and flown by F/O Glyn Ashfield with radar operator Sgt Leyland and observer P/O Morris, with shooting down a Do 17 on the night of the 22nd. Ashfield reported,

‘After about six minutes E/A sighted by observer P/O Morris to port and just below. A little height was lost placing E/A between the moon and ourselves. By fuselage silhouetted against moon A/C identified as Do17. No challenge given by us. I took station astern and although unable to see rudder’s characteristic, the light of exhaust flame distribution from E/A confirmed to my mind that A/C was not British.’

Ashfield opened fire and closed to 400 feet. The ‘enemy’ aircraft went into the sea about five miles off Bognor. Unfortunately the victim was almost certainly not a Do17 but Blenheim L9414, OM-Z, of No. 107 Squadron flown by P/O P G A Watson. The body of the observer, Sgt C J Holland was washed ashore near Littlehampton, those of Watson and his gunner, Sgt W P O’Heney were never found.

Strictly speaking this was a first interception using the new airborne radar, but to describe it as successful would be difficult, given that it resulted in the loss of an RAF Blenheim and its entire crew.

[colin m]

Again, excellent work chaps.

[AlanG]

July 22 1940

Night time mission by Staffel Kapitain Hauptmann Hajo Hermann of III./KG30 set off in his Ju88 to lay mines in Plymouth Sound. The aircraft had a 1000lb mines under each wing.
Upon beginning his decent on his bomb run in half moonlight, Hermann hit a barrage balloon. The balloon enveloped the Ju88 as they both tumbled earthward. The next thing Hermann saw was searchlights from 'above'. The balloon had fallen off the Ju88 but the aircraft was now upside down. For a few moments the aircraft fell out of the sky and Hermann ordered his crew to bale out. Just as the escape panel was released the aircraft, Hermann regained control of the aircraft and 'righted' the Ju88 a couple of hundred feet above the sound. He released his mines and headed for home. One very lucky escape.

[stona]

July 22 1940

Night time mission by Staffel Kapitain Hauptmann Hajo Hermann of III./KG30 set off in his Ju88 to lay mines in Plymouth Sound.... One very lucky escape.

And Hermann went on to far greater things, becoming Inspector General of night fighters. Not a nice man who remained committed to national socialism after the war.