Weather: fair
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:
- Blenheim – 44
- Spitfire – 223
- Hurricane – 398
- Defiant – 20
- Gladiator – 9
- Total – 694
A new phase of the Battle was to begin this day. There was a growing frustration, particularly in Luftflotte 2, at the resilience of the RAF under attack. Something had to be done to bring the remaining fighter force up into the sky where it could be overwhelmed by the stronger force of Me109s. How to do this? This meant a fully frontal attack on London itself. The decision was made. It was in a sense a desperate one. Just when the German attacks on RAF airfields close to London were beginning to show considerable results and when Fighter Command was being ground down and was being made less and less efficient by the repeated attacks on its airfields and was suffering serious trouble from the exhaustion of its personnel, especially its pilots, the entire weight of the Luftwaffe was switched to one target, London. Fighter Command was virtually saved at the expense of London itself.
The main reason behind this switch was tactical, but there was another. It was revenge. Hitler and top brass in Berlin had been needled by the nightly visits of British bombers to Berlin and other German cities. They hadn’t been doing much damage but they irritated the hell out of Hitler. Bombing London by day was in his mind a fitting response. Still, the decision to go for London was not entirely Hitler’s. At a meeting of Commanders held in The Hague on September 3rdan argument had broken out between Kesselring and Sperrle about the remaining strength of the RAF fighter force. Kesselring had taken the optimistic view that the RAF was near the end of its tether. One more big air battle would finish it off. Attacking London would precipitate the Battle. Sperrle however was doubtful. He credited the RAF with a much greater strength. But Kesselring won. Preparations for the attack began. For it to actually happen required Hitler’s approval. Hitler readily gave it. If Britain wanted to trade blows, he was happy to oblige.
So the switch of policy by the Luftwaffe could not have come too soon for Fighter Command. The RAF had been losing fighters faster than they could be replaced. 300 had been lost in August against a total replacement figure of 260. Worse still, between August 24thand September 6th, 103 pilots had been killed. The outlook had seemed grim. So as the events of 7th September unfolded and the great armada of German aircraft rolled over southern England towards London, the realisation that miraculous deliverance had in truth arrived must have brought phenomenal relief. It must have been almost unbelievable.
What happened that day can only be explained by the completely different attitude to air warfare by the two countries which were at war. The idea that by an all out effort to bomb London, the British would be brought to their knees shows just how wrong the Germans were. First they underestimated the hold that Churchill had on the country. Secondly they underestimated the morale of Londoners. And thirdly they were putting their money on Kesselring’s optimistic view of the RAF’s strength, rather than on Sperrle’s more conservative view. We shall never know whether if the Luftwaffe had gone on wearing down Fighter Command’s ability to fight on, they might have actually won the battle. What we do know is that the policy of switching their offensive to a strategic attack on London meant that they threw away the chance they might have had of winning the contest.
Goering was never the man to miss the opportunity of exploiting what he saw as the drama of a great victory in battle. He had arrived in northern France to take personal command of what he clearly saw as a truly Wagnerian episode, travelling in his magnificent personal train with its many luxurious appointments. Furthermore he had dressed in a magnificent new uniform. The day had begun with an inspection of fighter pilots at a major Luftwaffe base at St Omer. There he did what he really liked, joking and chatting with the young pilots, having been one of them himself. Then it was off to Cap Gris Nez where a large concentration of top brass had assembled. Refreshments with champagne, of course, were served as they watched no less than 300 bombers, accompanied by 600 Me109s, thundering overhead on their way to the systematic demolition of London.
The Luftwaffe that day certainly had the advantage of surprise. They unloaded a huge tonnage of bombs mixed with incendiaries on London’s docklands. Warehouses full of food went up in flames. Incandescent sugar flowed down the streets. Rows of cheaply constructed Victorian houses collapsed in ruins.There were hundreds of casualties. Keith Park flew in his personal Hurricane over the scene. It was a terrible sight. But what really mattered was that Biggin Hill, Kenley and Manston and his Command were to be saved at the expense of London.
Meanwhile, the result of the Luftwaffe having chosen London as its target meant that Fighter Command was not that day in place to fend off the attack. Nevertheless, some interceptions were made. The most outstanding of these was when 303 Polish Squadron came onto a big group of Dornier 17 bombers flying some 4000 ft beneath them. The squadron dived, line abreast, each pilot selecting his target. They destroyed and damaged 10 enemy aircraft. That day saw the first outing of Leigh-Mallory’s big wing under Bader’s leadership. The wing scored a number of victories. The RAF lost 28 aircraft with 19 pilots killed but shot down 41 enemy aircraft.
Back in Germany, the Luftwaffe’s achievements were already being hailed as a great success. Goering exulted that they had driven a sword into the heart of the enemy. Many German air crew had that day avoided the RAF. The conclusion was that the RAF was on its last legs.
In the early evening, there was a major attack on the London docks, and Battersea Power Station which sustained considerable damage. That night the Germans continued their attack with well over 200 bombers dropping their bombs on the burning targets. Not until five the next morning was the attack over. They left 400 civilians dead and several hundreds more injured. Next morning many Londoners had difficulty getting to work. Several mainline railway stations were closed.
73 Squadron Unofficial War Diary – 7 September
South of the Thames a terrific AA barrage was seen and a general rush in that direction resulted. The sky was absolutely stiff with aircraft. Bombers in stepped down formation of fives, with Me110s above, and He113s above them. The 113s were the “crack” outfit with the yellow snouts. Red Section went head on for the bombers, and Yellow went for the 110s and Blue went for anything that was going. Dog fights broke out everywhere and Huns were falling all over the place.
The scores were as follows, P/O Langham-Hobart, one Me110 definite, one very probable, F/Lt Beytagh, one Me110 definite, Sergt Garton, one He111k probable, Sergt Marshall, one 111 probable, S/Ldr Robinson, 1 definite. F/Lt Lovett and Sergt McNay are missing, and Sergt Marshall landed at Burnham on Crouch, no details are as yet available. A second raid was seen coming in over Deal and Sergts Plenderleith and Brimble had a slap at them, but no definite results were observed. P/O Marchand’s 109 of yesterday has been confirmed. P/O Hoole, the “brains” of the Squadron, is in his element dashing from one to the other counting “the bag”. Everyone is elated at our success but hope for good news of F/Lt Lovett and Sergt McNay. A present of apples and plums in large quantity have been received from Miss Emsden. A letter of appreciation signed by each pilot has been sent to this lady. The evening has been spent filling in Form “F” – the combat form. Everyone is mighty fed up with this task!
The CO saw the other day what he thought was a camouflaged aerodrome with a river nearby, he landed on this aerodrome, which wasn’t, and finished up in the river which was!
249 Squadron Operational Record Book – 7 September
2 patrols were carried out in the morning, Flt Lt Barton, now leading the Squadron, owing to the Squadron Commander’s absence in Maidstone Hospital. No contact made during these patrols. 11:30 hours third patrol at Rochester, 15,000 feet. Immediately on reaching patrol line, Squadron ordered to Maidstone in time to intercept a raid of 30 He111s with the usual escort of fighters above and at the sides. A quick flank attack was made on the bomber formation, but there was no time to observe the effect of the fire before breaking away. The Squadron was then attacked by Me109s and a dog fight followed. 6 serviceable aircraft returned to base and were ordered off again within quarter of an hour. As these 6 took off, a large enemy force passed over the aerodrome but did not bomb until they reached NE London at 15,000 feet. The 6 aircraft of the Squadron then attacked an enemy force of approximately 100 aircraft, as a result of which 1 Do17 was destroyed and several damaged.
By far the heaviest day’s fighting the Squadron has yet had. Enemy casualties: 4 ½ destroyed, 1 probable, 3 damaged. It is worthy of note that during this, the enemy’s longest full-scale attack on the London docks, POs Meaker and Loweth had motored to Maidstone to collect the CO from the hospital there. On their return they arrived at Surrey docks about 5 mins before these attacks took place and spent a very undignified forty minutes lying on the pavement at the entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel.
PO D.H. Wissler Diary – 7 September
We had one short scrap with Me109s but I only had one short burst with no effect. These raids created a lot of damage in London, the provisional casualty list says 400 dead, 1500 seriously injured. What complete swines these Jerries are.
266 Squadron Operational Record Book – 7 September
Very warm – visibility excellent. 6 aircraft operating from Coltishall. 2 raid investigations from Coltishall during which 1 enemy aircraft (a Do 215) was shot down off Island of Walscheren near Flushing. 5 Spitfire I aircraft delivered to no. 616 Squadron.
Reported Casualties (RAF Campaign Diary 7th September 1940):
* Enemy: 74 confirmed, 34 probable, 33 damaged
* Own: 27 aircraft with 14 pilots killed or missing.
Todays’s theme: The Airfields – RAF Duxford
