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Weather: fine but cloudy in the Channel.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

• Blenheim – 55
• Spitfire – 225
• Hurricane – 413
• Defiant – 23
• Gladiator – 7
• Total – 723

German attacks that day came in three phases. The first in the morning consisted of around 100 aircraft, made up of slightly more fighters than bombers. Once across the Channel, one section headed for Eastchurch while another flew to Rochford. The RAF made desperate attempts to break through the fighter screen and get at the bombers but without success. Losses were heavy. 4 Defiants from 264 Squadron were shot down. In consequence, Eastchurch suffered yet another attack with some aircraft destroyed on the ground and a number of craters in the runway.

The second attack fell on Rochford near Southend. Again the RAF had tried to get at the bombers but the defensive screen had been too strong. However, little damage was done but during the fighting Al Deere was shot down.

In the afternoon the third attack consisted of a large scale visitation of Me109s over Kent looking for targets.

That afternoon the Prime Minister visited Manston and the south coast to see the damage for himself.

The score for the day had taken a toll of 11 Group fighters, namely 20 shot down. This compared with 31 enemy aircraft destroyed. The problem was that Park’s policy of avoiding fighter to fighter combat and preference given to only attacking the bombers had not been followed. This was partly because of the increased proportion of fighters now being flown by the Germans. This was the last time Defiants were used as day fighters.

That night Coventry and London were bombed and there was a major attack on Liverpool.

54 Squadron Operational Record Book – 28 August 12:13 hours
Patrol over Manston. Flt Lt Deere got a probable Me 109…later in combat Flt Lt Deere had to bale out; this is an art in which he is rapidly becoming expert!!

Reported Casualties (RAF Campaign Diary 28th August 1940):

*  Enemy: 28 confirmed, 14 probable, 10 damaged
*  Own: 20 aircraft. Seven pilots and three air gunners killed or missing.

Todays’s theme: Top Gun Gallery – Richard Hillary

Weather: dull and cloudy.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

• Blenheim – 55
• Spitfire – 228
• Hurricane – 420
• Defiant – 18
• Gladiator – 7
• Total – 728

This day the Luftwaffe flew scattered attacks and also flew a considerable number of photographic reconnaissance flights aimed at establishing what damage had been done during recent days.

It was on this day that Park let his dissatisfaction surface with regard to the lack of cooperation he was getting from the neighbouring group to the north, no 12. In a well distributed signal he contrasted the cooperation his group had been receiving from 10 Group to the west , with what he was getting from 12 Group. On two occasions, he had apparently asked for reinforcements from 12 Group to patrol airfields, including Debden, while its squadrons were fighting further south. The cooperation requested had not materialised and Debden was heavily bombed. Park was getting seriously frustrated. In his signal, he told his controllers that when they needed assistance from 12 Group they should put their request through Command at Bentley Priory. It was the start of a dispute which was to escalate into a full scale row. To start with the AOC of 12 Group, Leigh Mallory disliked Dowding and had told Park about it. He thought he should have got Park’s job when the latter had been selected as the new AOC of 11 Group. It was clearly a plum job and he thought he should have got the plum. Finally, he was jealous of the opportunity that Park had been given. 11 Group was clearly the frontline of the Battle. He resented the primacy given to Park as a result.

Furthermore, there was another problem hatching in those weeks. Douglas Bader, the famous legless pilot, was, in his way, similarly put out by the prominence being given to 11 Group pilots. Moreover, Bader had his own idea of how the battle should be fought. The airmen he modelled himself on were the aces of the First World War, men like Ball and McCudden who had taken the lead in the battles they had fought. But here he was being asked to play second fiddle to 11 Group squadrons and being ordered about the sky by disembodied voices. What he wanted to do was to meet the enemy with superior force. This meant forming a wing of several squadrons, three or even five, led, of course, by him. Park was to find this suggestion impractical. There was too little time to assemble such a force given the imminent attacks from which 11 Group squadrons were suffering. All this was to build up ahead of steam over the next few weeks.

That day, 27th August, was to be one of the last in which Luftflotte 3 was to participate. Their part in the day time battle was shortly to end. Their role then became the leader of the night time campaign by the Luftwaffe which followed the day time Battle of Britain.

54 Squadron Operational Record Book – 27 August
A day of rest. Our new squadron leader – of international fame – S/L Donald Finlay, arrived at Hornchurch.

74 Squadron Operational Record Book – 27 August, Kirton Lindsey
Mr Mansbridge RA who has been appointed by the Air Ministry to paint portraits of famous fighter pilots arrived and painted portrait of S/L Malan DFC (bar).

Reported Casualties (RAF Campaign Diary 27th August 1940):

*  Enemy: 4 confirmed, 1 probable, 1 damaged
*  Own: 1 aircraft

Weather: fine.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

• Blenheim – 63
• Spitfire – 238
• Hurricane – 408
• Defiant – 23
• Gladiator – 8
• Total – 740

This day was to see the end of the days of bad weather and the start of a fine spell lasting some two weeks. These next two weeks were to be the period of greatest strain on Fighter Command. The period ushered in the major effort by the Luftwaffe to finish off the fight against the RAF. The enemy was to concentrate on attacking the airfields surrounding London and at the same time for it to try and bring the remaining RAF fighters up into the air where they could shoot them down.

To strengthen the attack, the bulk of the Me109s, on the strength of Luflotte 3 on the Cherbourg peninsula, were flown across to the airfields of Luftflotte 2. A similar move of these Me109 fighters was made from Luftflotte 5 in Denmark and Norway. This would enable the protective fighters flown by the Luftwaffe, when accompanying their bombers on their operations, to be strengthened. The Germans also bowed to the inevitable in withdrawing much of the Ju87 strength from the battle. They were to be held in reserve against the time when German fighters had at last wrested control of the air over England from the RAF. It would be then that they would come into their own and punish British installations on the ground.

Meanwhile, Park and Dowding readied themselves for the renewed onslaught which this fresh period of fine weather would bring in its wake. The one problem which they could not overcome was the growing shortage of pilots. They were never short of new planes, but pilots were a different matter. It took months to train them. Looking forward to the next month or two, the prospect of a growing pilot shortage was a nightmare to the two Commanders.

Furthermore, the new phase of the Battle, which was to start on 24th August saw Fighter Command squadrons suffering from sheer exhaustion. The pilots were often desperately short of sleep. Moreover, their nerves were often shot to pieces. They needed rest and recuperation. Instead, they were being asked to fight on all day and every day. The ground crew who serviced the planes were exhausted too. They had been working round the clock as well. They had got to an amazing pitch of efficiency. They were able to refuel, rearm and check over a squadron of Spitfires in ten minutes of their landing. Yet the whole command was operating whilst being bombed and strafed throughout daylight hours. Telephone lines were continually being cut, reconnected and the next day cut again. Death and injury were never far away. Unexploded bombs littered the average airfield. Operating in this manner, the question was beginning to be asked, how long could they continue like this. As they looked at the weeks to come, doubts were beginning to enter the minds of some who had been so confident at the beginning of the Battle. It couldn’t go on forever.

Nevertheless, on 24th August the Battle got going again. The weather was fine, at last. It was perfect for a resumption of the campaign. The day started with a large raid which had built up behind Calais of over 100 aircraft. As it advanced on Dover, RAF squadrons were sent up to intercept. The mass raid was indeed broken up. Smaller sections made for individual targets. These began with Manston. The raid was intercepted but substantial damage was done nevertheless, with 3 Defiants of 264 Squadron being shot down. These same raiders also bombed Ramsgate, firing their machine guns on ARP personnel. More attacks were to develop on Manston. The largest one of over 100 aircraft came in from the Le Havre area. As a result of the further damage, the decision was taken at Fighter Command to evacuate Manston altogether. It was to be closed to all but emergency use. The attacks went on that day on airfields further north such as North Weald which was also heavily damaged by a force of another 50 Do17s and He111s. Air raid warnings were now being sounded in London as the raids approached the metropolis.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth and Southampton had become targets for a massive raid from a fresh group of aircraft from airfields near to the Somme. The raid was intercepted with the result that many of the bombers jettisoned their bombs at random over Portsmouth causing more than 100 fatalities. That day Fighter Command flew no less than 936 sorties losing 22 fighters but shooting down 38 German fighters and bombers.

The day finished with a misdirected attack on the City of London. The bombs had been meant to fall on oil storage facilities in the docks but ended up falling on built up areas of London. Over 100 people in Bethnal Green were made homeless.

54 Squadron Operational Record Book – 24 August
Hornchurch bombed and squadron in action twice. In the afternoon came the raid on the Aerodrome…in spite of over 100 bomb craters in the vicinity very little damage was done except to the SW corner of the drome where dispersal pens and the concreted road were hit.

249 Squadron Operational Record Book – 24 August
2 aircraft of Blue Section ordered to intercept e/a over Bristol at 30,000 feet. No further information was given them by R/T, and no interception was made. It is worthy of note here that the controllers at Middle Wallop appear to be working under very difficult circumstances with untrained personnel and lack of equipment. On many of the patrols so far carried out, no information other than the original telephoned order and the order to land has been received.

56 Squadron Operational Record Book – 24 August- North Weald
The Squadron went up twice in the morning on X raids, without result. The Squadron flew to Rochford, there carrying out various patrols. On one of these they engaged a number of Heinkel 111s with fighter escort. P/O Wicks destroyed a Me109, the pilot balling out and being captured. S/Ldr Manton destroyed a Me109 and F/Lt Weaver sent a Heinkel 111 into the sea, seeing 2 of the crew bale out. The Squadron returned to North Weald late in the evening, while they were away the aerodrome had been bombed, considerable material damage (none of it vital) being caused, there being 10 soldiers killed from a direct hit on a shelter trench.

Reported Casualties (RAF Campaign Diary 24th August 1940):

*  Enemy: 41 confirmed, 13 probable, 19 damaged
*  Own: 20 aircraft with 6 pilots and 4 air gunners lost or missing.

Weather: dull day with some rain.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

• Blenheim – 58
• Spitire – 219
• Hurricane – 412
• Defiant – 26
• Gladiator – 6
• Total – 721

In the morning, a major convoy heading westwards was attacked as it passed through the Straits of Dover. At first the attack was by shells fired from France. When this proved unsuccessful, the Luftwaffe sent up aircraft to bomb the convoy. 54 and 610 Squadrons intercepted this attack which led to some fierce fighting. There were further attacks on the Scilly Isles and Manston was targeted in the early evening. Unusually, 5 RAF fighters were lost as against 2 German fighters shot down.

54 Squadron Operational Record Book – 22 August
Signs that the enemy was collecting his forces near Calais and so the squadron patrolled Manston. No results.

Reported Casualties (RAF Campaign Diary 22nd August 1940):

*  Enemy: 6 confirmed, 4 probable.
*  Own: 5 aircraft (2 pilots lost).

Todays’s theme: The Planes They Flew – Dornier 17

The Hardest Day

Weather: fine to begin with but cloudy later

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

• Blenheim – 50
• Spitfire – 228
• Hurricane – 396
• Defiant – 27
• Gladiator – 5
• Total – 706

Early that afternoon saw a return to heavier attacks. These were aimed at airfields south of London, Biggin Hill, Kenley and West Malling. The raid on Kenley was especially damaging. It was delivered simultaneously by enemy aircraft flying at several thousand feet with others attacking at a height of less than 100ft. A number of aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Several hangars and other buildings were also hit and there were casualties. 12 people were killed in a direct hit on a shelter. The operations room had to be relocated in a butcher’s shop nearby. The damage, though severe, was made good in a couple of days. Squadrons had to be temporarily diverted. Croydon was also bombed and further damage done. Biggin Hill was another target for the dual level attack, one from enemy aircraft flying at 5000ft and the other from Do17s flying at a 100ft. The latter ran into heavy trouble, losing over half their number. The damage was, however, considerable.

Later that afternoon there were a series of raids from aircraft of Luftflotte 3 which hit Thorney Island on the coast doing considerable damage and destroying a number of aircraft on the ground and on the airfield of Ford, also on the coast, which was heavily damaged.

The final raids of the day were on Croydon and also on Manston where 12 Me109s once more beat up the airfield destroying aircraft on the ground and causing more casualties. Fighter Command flew 760 sorties and destroyed 71 German aircraft against a loss for the RAF of 39 aircraft with 10 pilots killed.

The week had seen the virtual end of operations by Ju87 dive bombers. They were proving just too vulnerable. As for the RAF, it was becoming evident that the sighting of vital functions such as control rooms should not have been on airfields themselves. They should instead have been widely dispersed. The most dangerous attacks during the week had been those at low level. These had been almost impossible to guard against. But from the German point of view they had been hugely costly. They were to be replaced by raids at medium height of several thousand feet.

54 Squadron Operational Record Book – 18 August
A great day! In 4 sorties the squadron bore the brunt of the station’s thrust against the enemy. A 20 minute “warming up” over Manston was followed by the leisurely shooting down of a Me 110 which descended from 31,000 feet to sea level rather more rapidly than it could have originally intended.

12:40 hours – first big attack of the day. 10 destroyed, probable and damaged – no loss to squadron (plane or pilot).

16:45 hours – 2nd wave of bombers and their escorts – this time about 300 strong – came North and South of the Thames. It looked as if a pincer movement was being evolved with Hornchurch the objective! Once again the squadron dealt faithfully with the enemy – being able to include some damage of the main formation, which might have made things very unpleasant for the station:

14 destroyed, damaged and probables. No loss to squadron.
Total for day: 8 destroyed, 6 probable, 11 damaged.

Reported Casualties (RAF Campaign Diary 18th August 1940):

*  Enemy: 139 confirmed, 26 probable, 45 damaged
*  Own: 22 aircraft with 12 pilots safe.

Todays’s theme: Captains and Commanders – Richard Saul