BATTLE OF BRITAIN DAY PART THREE
THE AFTERNOON RAID.
Goering’s plan hoped that the rapid arrival of a second raid would catch Fighter Command on the ground. Sadly for him, the work of Fighter Command’s often ignored and unsung heroes, the armourers, riggers, mechanics and others who made up its ground force ensured that every single squadron involved in the morning fighting was at readiness when the second assault began.
At 13.30 RDF plots again showed a large raid forming up over France and at 14.00 Park reacted by sending off eight squadrons to patrol in pairs over Sheerness, Chelmsford, Kenley and Hornchurch. Five minutes later he sent off four more squadrons, followed by another eight. Reinforcements were called in from 12 Group.
This time the German raid comprised 114 bombers, Do 17s from II. and III./KG 2 in the lead, followed by, in turn, 24 He 111s from I. and II./KG 53, 19 Do 17s from II./KG 3 and finally 28 He 111s from I. and II./KG 26, escorted by 360 fighters. Galland’s JG 26 and Molders’ JG 51 went out first making a fighter sweep between Dover and London. Major Günther Lutzow led his entire JG 3 on the top cover mission, to which also II./JG 2, I./JG 52, III./JG 53 and I.(J)/LG 2 were assigned. Major Trautloft led his Stabsstaffel and I./JG 54 on the close escort mission, which was shared with 20 Bf 110s from II./ZG 76 ‘Haifischgruppe’ and V.(Z)/LG 1.
At 14.15 the first German aircraft crossed the English coast near Dungeness. Over Romney Marsh Nos 41 and 603 Squadrons made the first attacks, shooting down two bombers before the escorting fighters could intervene. Just south of Maidstone (again!) No 73 Squadron met a formation of bombers whose escort had been pulled away and shot down three of them. Over Dartford Nos 66 and 72 Squadrons became involved in a fierce fight with a large formation of bombers and their escort and were shortly joined by four more squadrons. This formation was the first to waver. Some of the bombers turned to avoid the attacks, some turned for home. This is another incident shown slightly out of context in that film. No 303 (Polish) Squadron, with just nine Hurricanes, was the next to engage a formation over Gravesend, claiming two Bf 110s and several bombers for the loss of two of its own. Further west another of the German formations, about eighty strong was attacked by the Hurricanes of Nos 213 and 607 Squadrons from Tangmere, which claimed several of the bombers. Over Kent 170 British fighters had made contact with the German formations, turning back fifty of the bombers, but the escorts and remaining bombers forced their way on. Having run the gauntlet of London’s anti aircraft batteries and preparing to bomb they were confronted by another fifteen fighter squadrons, ten from 11 Group and the five from 12 Group’s Duxford Wing. Bader gave a characteristically exaggerated account of events,
“This time, for a change, we outnumbered the Hun, and believe me, no more than eight got home from that party. At one time you could see planes going down on fire all over the place, and the sky seemed full of parachutes. It was sudden death that day, for our fighters shot them to blazes.”
The German bombers did drop some bombs, but unlike 7 September, when they caused such destruction along the Thames, they were scattered over a wide area. Incidents were reported as far west as Hammersmith, at Islington and Kilburn in the north and Croydon and Mitcham south of the river. Subsequently the bombers were once again harassed on their withdrawal.
Horst Zander, observer aboard a Dornier 17 from II./KG 3, recalled,
‘Our Gruppe had scattered. Each crew sought its own safety in a powered gliding race down over the sea and for home… Suddenly our Dornier was struck hard. The cabin was full of blood. Our pilot was hit. In the intercom I heard him say feebly: “Heinz [Laube], you have to fly us home!”’
No 249 Squadron’s P/O Thomas Neil was one of those chasing the bombers home.
“Then I saw another Dornier flying across my bows, about a mile away, which I immediately followed. It was going down the estuary, by this time we’d got up roughly over Gravesend. It took some time for me to catch it up because it was going in a slight dive. Eventually I caught it up and I suddenly found that a Spitfire was to my left. And thereafter it was fairly straightforward, a single aeroplane, on its own, two of us, we took it in turns to fire, it went down and down and down, out to sea, across a convoy of ships…I thought, ‘Oh God, we’re going to lose this one, he’s going to get home.’ The Spitfire and I had run out of ammunition but we flew alongside it. I could read all the letters on the cockpit, and I could see the damage that had been done. And then it got slower and slower and slower and the nose came up and up and up, suddenly it splashed down. I felt satisfaction, total satisfaction.”
In the aftermath twenty-seven He 111s of KG 55 slipped in to bomb Portsmouth harbour losing one of its aircraft to No 152 Squadron which managed to intercept. Epgr 210 attacked the Supermarine works at Southampton. 10 Group managed to react to this raid with seven squadrons, but no interceptions were made because they were sent far too high. Despite a clear run Epgr 210 missed the target, though they caused considerable damage elsewhere, killing 9 and wounding 42 on the ground. I have seen it written that this raid was broken up by anti-aircraft fire over the Solent and aborted, but the reports from Southampton’s Civil Defence Organisation clearly refute this.
“The damage to property was tremendous. It was confined almost entirely to small shops and small houses…No damage to any military objective, though the windows in the Supermarine works were broken…34 properties were destroyed, 81 others so badly damaged that they had to be demolished…”