The Battle of Britain (35 page)

Hitler issued an order, Directive No. 16, that a landing operation against England must be prepared. This was code-named Operation Sealion.

Wednesday, July 17:
Rainy and dull.

Day:
Bad flying conditions hindered even the daily weather and tactical reconnaissance sorties. In the afternoon bombers molested shipping off eastern England and Scotland.

Night:
Mines sown off the Welsh coast at Swansea and Cardiff and in the Thames. A few bombers over south-west England.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 1, Luftwaffe 2.

Thursday, July 18:
Cloud over eastern Channel, showers in southern England. The Goodwin lightship was sunk and bombs fell on the St Margaret's Bay (Kent) coastguard station. Uncoordinated incursions against shipping in the Channel and harbours on its coast led to one major engagement when 28 Bf 109s were intercepted by 15 Spitfires.

Friday, July 19:
Fair in the Channel. Bright intervals between showers elsewhere.

Day:
20 Bf 109s bounced 9 Defiants (two-seater with four-gun turret) of No. 141 Sqn and shot 5 down into the Channel, and one at Dover before 12 Hurricanes drove them off. In the afternoon some 70 enemy bombers with fighter escort attacked Dover and were intercepted by 35 Hurricanes and Spitfires.

Night:
Sporadic raids on Harwich, Thames Estuary and Plymouth – Isle of Wight area.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 11, Luftwaffe 2.

Hitler made a speech in the Reichstag appealing to Britain to surrender and threatening that continued resistance would mean her complete destruction. Goering held a conference with the Commanders of Luftflotten 2 and 3, and their Air Corps commanders. He told them, ‘Fighting alone all these weeks on the Channel Front, Jagdgeschwader 51 has already shot down 150 of the enemy's aircraft: quite enough to have weakened him seriously. Think now of all the bombers we can parade in the English sky. The few RAF fighters will not be able to cope.'

Saturday, July 20:
Cloudy at first over Straits of Dover, followed by bright intervals and sunny afternoon in the south. Some thunderstorms elsewhere.

Day:
In the afternoon, Sergeant J. H. ‘Ginger' Lacey, who had scored five victories in France and was destined to be the top-scoring RAF pilot in the Battle of Britain, made his first kill of the Battle and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. His squadron, No. 501, was scrambled from Middle Wallop, in Hampshire, to intercept Ju 87s, escorted by Bf 109s, attacking a convoy which the sector controller said was near Jersey. They found it half-way between there and Portland Bill. Lacey picked on a 109 that was heading towards him, turned inside it, gave it three bursts while following it through its desperate attempts at evasion and recalls: ‘I can clearly remember watching him slanting down the sky at a hell of a steep angle. A beautiful little blue and grey mottled aircraft with white and black crosses standing out startlingly clear, getting smaller and smaller; and thinking what a terribly small splash he made when he went straight into the Channel.' Lacey spotted another 109 and thought, ‘Well, he's making a fool of himself. He's going due north. He'll have to turn any moment now, and then I've got him.' ‘Then,' he says, ‘as his turn continued, I thought for one awful moment that he was going to crash into me. Then I suddenly saw the aeroplane almost stagger as my bullets hit it. Its propeller started to slow down. We flashed past each other a few feet apart. By the time I had whipped round, “Pan” Cox latched onto it. He didn't fire until he was in to about 20 yards (20m). It went in almost beside the oily patch where my first had gone in. I put no claim in for the half-share, because it was Pan Cox's first success.'

Night:
Mines laid along the east coast. In the west, from the Isle of Wight to Cornwall and the Bristol Channel.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 3, Luftwaffe 9.

Sunday, July 21:
Fine at first, becoming cloudy, then fine in the evening.

Day:
Raids on convoys in the Channel during one of which three squadrons drove off 20 Ju 87s and Bf 109s.

Night:
Merseyside bombed.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 6, Luftwaffe 7.

Hitler summoned his Commanders-in-Chief to consider plans for an invasion. The Army would not guarantee success unless the Navy transported 40 Divisions across the Channel. The Navy accepted responsibility for only 10.

Generalfeldmarschall Halder, Chief of the Army General Staff, condemned this as suicidal. Goering declared that, given five days of good weather, he could do such damage to the RAF that 10 Divisions would suffice. On this assumption, the meeting settled details about logistics; and the administration of a subjugated Britain, down to the value of currency (£1 to equal 9.60 Marke). And it was now
that the decision was taken to remove forcibly all British males between 17 and 45 to exile. But Hitler still seemed to have doubts. ‘The invasion of England is a specially audacious venture. Although the crossing will be short, we are not contending with a river, but the open sea controlled by a well-prepared enemy,' he warned.

Goering sent for newly-promoted Field Marshals Kesselring and Sperrle, commanding Air Fleets 2 and 3 and ordered them to make plans. They in turn similarly charged the commanders of their Air Corps. There was general agreement that first must come the demolition of the RAF.

Monday, July 22:
Fair in the Dover Straits, cloudy down-Channel. In eastern England, showery with bright intervals.

Day:
Light attacks against ships in the Channel.

Night:
Mines sown between Kent and north-east Scotland.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 1, Luftwaffe 1.

Tuesday, July 23:
Dover Straits hazy, cloud and intermittent rain elsewhere.

Day:
Little activity. Ships off east coast attacked.

Night:
A few bombers inland. Minelaying, eastern England and Scotland.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 0, Luftwaffe 3.

That night ‘Ginger' Lacey flew a night patrol. ‘After being vectored all over the sky by the controller, I unexpectedly saw a Heinkel 111 caught in the searchlights some two miles (3km) ahead and slightly above, so started to climb after it. Immediately some of the searchlights switched to my Hurricane.' (Pilots identified themselves by flashing the Letters of the Day, if they were fighters, and bombers fired Verey light Colours of the Day.) Lacey flashed the letters he had memorised on his downward light. The Heinkel fired a red light followed by a green. ‘To my surprise, the rest of the searchlights holding the hostile aircraft also switched over to me.' Ten seconds later the anti-aircraft guns opened up at him. Blinded by searchlights, in danger of being shot down, he lost the He 111. On landing, he says, ‘I found that the time was past midnight, when the Colours and Letters of the Day had changed. I had flashed the wrong identification and the Germans had fired the right one: whether because enemy intelligence was superbly accurate, or by sheer fluke, who knows?' Night patrols flown by single-seat fighters with no radar were extremely lucky to find enemy aircraft.

The expected attempt at invasion, and the increased danger to shipping in the Western Approaches since enemy occupation of France, meant the bulk of Britain's sea traffic would have to travel up and down the east coast. Convoy
movements in the Channel by daylight were restricted. The increased provision of convoy patrols imposed a demand on Fighter Command that could be met only by forming more squadrons. Until the necessary strength was attained, an adequate number of fighters must be kept for the defence of London, while others were moved about the coast as required.

Wednesday, July 24:
Fog spreading across the country from the west. Clouds over the Channel.

Day:
An unexpected interval of fair weather gave Adolf Galland – promoted to Major on July 18 – the opportunity to lead his Geschwader in action over England for the first time when they escorted bombers on a raid against a convoy in the Thames Estuary. Flight Lieutenant Alan Deere led a section when No. 54 Sqn was scrambled to intercept. At 20,000ft (6,700m) they saw that a second mass of enemy aircraft was attacking another convoy, near Dover. On instructions from the ground, the squadron split and sent one flight (two sections) to tackle each enemy formation, while reinforcing fighters were ordered off. Galland reports, ‘We made a surprise attack with height advantage. I glued myself to the tail of a Spitfire and during a right turn managed to get in a long burst. It went down almost vertically.' He saw the pilot bale out and crash to his death in the water when his parachute failed to open. His comment in retrospect was, ‘On landing, we were no longer in doubt that the RAF would prove a most formidable opponent.'

At Brooklands, where the first flight in Britain was made, in 1909, and which became the cradle of British aviation, there was a small aircraft factory. A solitary Ju 88 joined the circuit with several aeroplanes that were landing there, and bombed the buildings but did little harm.

Night:
No activity.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 3, Luftwaffe 8.

Thursday, July 25:
Mist in Straits of Dover, elsewhere fine.

Day:
The Germans now had some radar on the Channel coast. This morning it picked up 21 merchant ships with two armed trawlers as escort off Southend. The mist cleared as they entered the Straits. Sixty Ju 87s, escorted by Bf 109s led by Galland, attacked. They sank five and damaged five. Two destroyers that went out from Dover were also bombed and both hit. Two New Zealanders, Flight Lieutenant Alan Deere and Pilot Officer Colin Gray (who ended the war as New Zealand's most highly decorated pilot and top scorer with 27½ kills) were among five Spitfire pilots scrambled to intercept. A squadron of Hurricanes arrived later. Galland reported, ‘In
the space of about fifteen minutes I saw four fighters hit the sea and one pilot parachuting.' Other Channel shipping was attacked during the day.

Night:
Reconnaissance west of England and Channel, mines laid Thames and Firth of Forth.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 7, Luftwaffe 16.

Friday, July 26:
Rain and thick cloud.

Day:
Ships off Isle of Wight and in Channel bombed, some sunk.

Night:
Mines laid Severn, east coast and Thames.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 2, Luftwaffe 2.

Saturday, July 27:
Fair in Dover area, Channel cloudy, eastern England and Midlands rainy.

Day:
Dover harbour bombed twice. Bf 109s used for the first time as fighter-bombers, ships in Channel attacked. Air Ministry directed Fighter Command to send fighters in greater strength than the enemy's to intercept raids on Dover. This necessitated increasing the number of fighter squadrons to 28. Plymouth, Wick (Scotland) and Belfast bombed.

Night:
South-west England raided.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 1, Luftwaffe 4.

Sunday, July 28:
Fine at first, deteriorating.

Day:
Two abortive raids on Dover. One turned back in mid-Channel; the other, comprising 50 bombers and 50 fighters, was intercepted and driven off by two Hurricane and two Spitfire squadrons. Ports on south coast and Dover raided.

Night:
Bombers over western and northern England, Midlands, Scotland and Wales, mines laid along east coast.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 5, Luftwaffe 15.

Monday, July 29:
Misty in Straits of Dover, otherwise fair.

Day:
Raid on Dover and convoy by 30 Ju 87s and 50 Bf 109s intercepted and foiled. Attack on Harwich intercepted.

Night:
Light raids.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 3, Luftwaffe 6.

Tuesday, July 30:
Low cloud and light rain.

Day:
Weather precluded much enemy activity. Convoys off Essex and Suffolk coasts raided.

Night:
Bombers over Midlands and south Wales.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 0, Luftwaffe 5.

Hitler ordered Goering to be ready to start main assault at 12 hours' notice, but he asked for more time.

Britain initiated a respite in the scale of fighting over the Channel by sending no convoys through there for the next few days. The Luftwaffe's priority was to destroy the RAF's fighter force as a preliminary to wiping out aerodromes and the bomber force, which was essential before an invasion could be attempted. But with no convoys to protect, RAF fighters were not aloft to be drawn into combat by the Luftwaffe. Galland and his comrades constantly trailed their coats over England but Fighter Command would not respond. The Germans resorted to sending out a weak bomber force as a decoy for a strong fighter formation waiting at high altitude under Galland's command, but failed to lure Dowding. Galland expressed considerable frustration over this period.

Wednesday, July 31:
Generally fair, but mist in Channel.

Day:
Convoys off south-west, south and south-east England, and Dover balloon barrage, raided.

Night:
Mines laid. Bombs on Thames Estuary and south Wales.

Aircraft losses:
RAF 3, Luftwaffe 5.

Hitler informed Generalfeldmarschal von Brauchitsch, the Army C-in-C, and Generalfeldmarschal Halder, the Chief of the General Staff, Goering and General Jeschonnek, Chief of Air Staff, that he intended to attack Russia that year. ‘With Russia defeated,' he said, ‘Britain's last hope will be gone.'