The Untold Battle of Britain

[bobbysocks]

Battle of Britain veterans take to the skies again
Fourteen Battle of Britain veterans are taking to the skies in a special memorial flight.

A chartered airliner is flying over parts of England and the English channel that saw some of the fiercest aerial combats.

The British Airways Airbus is being accompanied for part of the way by a Spitfire and Hurricane from the period.

“This is going to be real pleasure, a great day”

Said William Walker ,Spitfire fighter pilot.

The battle for air supremacy between the RAF and the Luftwaffe in 1940 was a decisive chapter in World War II.

The daily dogfights in the skies of southern England saved Britain and averted a German invasion.

Important battle

Bill Bond, of the Battle of Britain Historical Society, who organised the two-hour flight, said that with just a few remaining veterans still alive he wanted to mark the 70th anniversary celebrations with "something a bit special".

He told the BBC that with the Hurricane and Spitfire flying alongside the British Airways Airbus, it "would be the first time that any of the veterans had flown in formation since the end of the war".

One of the veterans, Wing Commander Bob Foster, said the flight was an important reminder to those who were not born at the time as it "would bring home to (them) what happened way back 70 years ago".

"This is what we trying to get over to the younger generation, the importance of the battle fought then."

'Wonderful flight'

Flight Lieutenant William Walker, the eldest of the veterans who was shot down by a German fighter plane over the Channel, said the flight was going to be a "real pleasure".

Speaking before boarding the plane, he said: "This wonderful flight with a few friends who I flew with is going to be a great day.

"I've just had my 97th birthday and this is going to be like having an additional birthday celebration."

The plane, which is also carrying 15 widows of Battle of Britain pilots, will fly across the Home Counties, the Isle of Wight, northern France, the Netherlands and parts of the North Sea.

These areas were the main arenas of the Battle of Britain. It was over the English channel that Flt Lt Walker was shot down in 1940.

Bailed out

Based at an airbase in Surrey, Flt Lt Walker was often sent up two or three times a day. On one such mission he, along with two other planes, was scrambled to meet the enemy. They soon came under attack and his Spitfire was shot up by a Messerschmitt 109, the main German fighter plane.

"My leader was shot down and badly burnt, my number two was killed and I got a bullet in my leg and my plane was shot to pieces. I bailed out at 20,000 ft," he recalled.

As he gently descended he removed his boots, blew up his Mae West life jacket and landed in the water close to a wreck on the Goodwin Sands just off the Kent coast.

He was rescued by a fishing boat and taken to Ramsgate, where he was met by a crowd.

"They cheered as I came ashore and a dear old lady gave me a cup of tea," he said.

Suffering from hypothermia, he was taken to hospital where he underwent an operation to remove a bullet from his ankle. When he woke up, a doctor was by his side.

"He had a bullet in his hand and told me that when the surgeon prised it out of my ankle it flew out and hit the ceiling. He gave it to me and I still have it as a treasured possession," he told the BBC.

[FOZ_1983]

Originally Posted by bobbysocks

Battle of Britain veterans take to the skies again
Fourteen Battle of Britain veterans are taking to the skies in a special memorial flight.

A chartered airliner is flying over parts of England and the English channel that saw some of the fiercest aerial combats.

The British Airways Airbus is being accompanied for part of the way by a Spitfire and Hurricane from the period.

“This is going to be real pleasure, a great day”

Said William Walker ,Spitfire fighter pilot.

The battle for air supremacy between the RAF and the Luftwaffe in 1940 was a decisive chapter in World War II.

The daily dogfights in the skies of southern England saved Britain and averted a German invasion.

Important battle

Bill Bond, of the Battle of Britain Historical Society, who organised the two-hour flight, said that with just a few remaining veterans still alive he wanted to mark the 70th anniversary celebrations with "something a bit special".

He told the BBC that with the Hurricane and Spitfire flying alongside the British Airways Airbus, it "would be the first time that any of the veterans had flown in formation since the end of the war".

One of the veterans, Wing Commander Bob Foster, said the flight was an important reminder to those who were not born at the time as it "would bring home to (them) what happened way back 70 years ago".

"This is what we trying to get over to the younger generation, the importance of the battle fought then."

'Wonderful flight'

Flight Lieutenant William Walker, the eldest of the veterans who was shot down by a German fighter plane over the Channel, said the flight was going to be a "real pleasure".

Speaking before boarding the plane, he said: "This wonderful flight with a few friends who I flew with is going to be a great day.

"I've just had my 97th birthday and this is going to be like having an additional birthday celebration."

The plane, which is also carrying 15 widows of Battle of Britain pilots, will fly across the Home Counties, the Isle of Wight, northern France, the Netherlands and parts of the North Sea.

These areas were the main arenas of the Battle of Britain. It was over the English channel that Flt Lt Walker was shot down in 1940.

Bailed out

Based at an airbase in Surrey, Flt Lt Walker was often sent up two or three times a day. On one such mission he, along with two other planes, was scrambled to meet the enemy. They soon came under attack and his Spitfire was shot up by a Messerschmitt 109, the main German fighter plane.

"My leader was shot down and badly burnt, my number two was killed and I got a bullet in my leg and my plane was shot to pieces. I bailed out at 20,000 ft," he recalled.

As he gently descended he removed his boots, blew up his Mae West life jacket and landed in the water close to a wreck on the Goodwin Sands just off the Kent coast.

He was rescued by a fishing boat and taken to Ramsgate, where he was met by a crowd.

"They cheered as I came ashore and a dear old lady gave me a cup of tea," he said.

Suffering from hypothermia, he was taken to hospital where he underwent an operation to remove a bullet from his ankle. When he woke up, a doctor was by his side.

"He had a bullet in his hand and told me that when the surgeon prised it out of my ankle it flew out and hit the ceiling. He gave it to me and I still have it as a treasured possession," he told the BBC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YL0eWbh4hE

Found this.

[bobbysocks]

Surprise garden find leads to tales of the lives lost in the region’s skies
from the nothern echo

‘I HAVE dug that border two or three times a year for the last ten years and I have never spotted anything,” says Joe Bench.

“Then I came out one morning and there it was, sticking up out of the soil.

“It’s such a coincidence, with this being the 70th anniversary of the Spitfire in the Battle of Britain.”

Joe discovered a mini- Spitfire. It’s less than 2in long and appears to be made of lead. It could be a toy; it might have been a large tiepin.

As well as being the anniversary of the Spitfire’s heroics in keeping the Luftwaffe at bay, there’s another coincidence. Joe made the find near his shop, Catterick Village Pet Supplies in Low Green, which was once beneath the Spitfires’ flightpath… THERE are 52 airmen buried in Catterick Cemetery. Each headstone tells a different version of the same story: young men being drawn from all over the world to die in this corner of North Yorkshire fighting for freedom.

The story begins in 1914.

Work was just beginning on the huts for the nearby garrison which would become the largest in Europe; the military railway was being extended over the Swale from the Richmond branchline. The airfield opened on a flat, grassy strip to teach the first Royal Flying Corps’ pilots how to fly early bi-planes.

The fatalities soon followed, the unfortunate Second Lieutenant Maurice Thornely being the first on December 3, 1916.

The following August, another four airmen – one from Dublin, one from Melbourne, another from New Zealand and the fourth a British captain – died, probably in two accidents involving the rudimentary flying machines.

All five deaths occured before the Royal Air Force was officially formed on April 1, 1918 – this makes RAF Catterick one of the oldest military airfields in the world.

After the First World War, the grass was allowed to grow for a little, but as the Thirties wore on, the base was modernised, and in August 1939, the first Spitfires arrived.

The Spitfire is the symbol of Britain’s determined and stubborn resistance in 1940 (although the less glamorous Hawker Hurricane was the true workhorse of the Battle of Britain). It was designed by Reginald Mitchell – “the first of the few” – and entered service on August 4, 1938.

A year later, Spitfires reached Catterick, and their first kill was on October 17, 1939, when pilot Albert Harris helped bring down a Heinkel bomber 20 miles off Whitby. Two days later its pilot and observer became the first German prisoners captured on British soil, when their inflatable liferaft drifted ashore at Sandsend, near Whitby.

But by then Sergeant Harris, a Canadian, was dead, as the following day a bomber in which he was travelling crashed. He is buried in Berkshire.

Harris’ attack fulfilled RAF Catterick’s crucial role in providing fighter cover for the North-East. Equally important, it was a resting and re-equiping station for the fighter squadrons which had been in the heat of the Battle of Britain over the south of England.

Catterick was important enough to have its own decoy airfield – near Kirkby Fleetham, to attract the Germans’ aerial attention – and its own satellite, at Scorton.

SCORTON airfield opened in October 1939. Initially it was an emergency landing strip so Catterick’s planes had somewhere to land should the Germans have bombed their runways in their absence (as happened in mid- June 1940).

Soon, Scorton had its own contingent of Blenheim bombers. In 1941, its runway was enlarged to 4,800ft so it was longer than Catterick’s 3,300ft – the Swale on one side and the Great North Road on the other preventing Catterick extending – and it had its own decoy airfield near the village of Birkby.

Catterick and Scorton airfields were multi-national.

In 1942, Canadian nightfighters – “we kill by night” was their motto – were stationed at Scorton followed by 422 Squadron of the American IXth Air Force, which was equipped with sinister black Black Widow planes.

There were Canadians at Catterick, too, accompanied by a Czech squadron of Spitfires and a Norwegian squadron of Hurricanes.

And so Catterick Cemetery is a multinational place. The majority of the 52 airmen’s graves are British, but 12 are Canadian, four are New Zealand, three Australian, one Swedish and one Czech.

The Swede is Flight Lieutenant Ole Bechgard, 31, who died on October 7, 1943, when his 604 Squadron Beaufighter from Scorton crashed during an airtest half-a-mile south of Catterick.

The Czech is Sergeant Josef Gutvald, 29, from 313 (Czech) Squadron, which was formed at Catterick. He died on May 27, 1941, when his Spitfire crashed into farmland at Uckerby, Scorton, and its fuel tanks exploded creating a 10ft crater.

With peace in 1945, such stories came to an end.

Instead, Catterick starred in a fictional war story: it was the setting for many parts of the film The Way to the Stars (see previous Memories), starring John Mills and Renee Asherson.

Because its runway was too short for modern aircraft, Catterick became a training base, particularly for the RAF Fire Service. In 1994, it became part of the Army’s garrison complex.

The Americans left Scorton in July 1944. The Ministry of Defence, fearful of the Cold War, kept it until 1958 but gradually agriculture and quarrying took over its land and its buildings. Now there is very little left, apart from a tall pole from which its windsock once hung.

Later this year a plaque is going to be unveiled detailing all the squadrons which served there.

THERE were once two more graves in Catterick Cemetery.

They contained the bodies of the first German airmen to die on British soil during the Second World War.

They were the victims of a Spitfire flown by Group Captain Peter Townsend – then a Flight Lieutenant – who later became noted for his doomed liaison with Princess Margaret.

On February 3, 1940, Townsend led the attack on a Heinkel bomber which had been strafing an unarmed trawler off Whitby.

The Heinkel crashlanded near a farm four miles north of Whitby, killing two of its four-man crew.

The German attack on the trawler so angered the seafaring folk of Whitby that it was considered too dangerous for Observer Rudolph Lenshacke and Flight Engineer Johann Meyer to be buried in the town.

Their bodies were sent to Catterick, as it was the nearest airbase cemetery, where they were interred on February 6, the uncomfortable funeral captured by a Northern Echo photographer.

In 1960, the two were exhumed and taken to the Cannock Chase German War Cemetery in Staffordshire, which had just been opened.

ANOTHER Catterick first: the first active US serviceman to die in Britain during the Second World War met his end in Catterick airspace – before his nation had even entered the war.

Lieutenant Follett Bradley Jr is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC. The Arlington website says he was 24 when he died on June 22, 1941, “in an airplane accident near Catterick, Yorkshire, England”.

It adds: “No details of the accident that caused the young officer’s death were made public.”

Echo Memories understands that Lt Bradley was the son of Major-General Follett Bradley, who was a pioneering flier in the First World War and who was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal in 1944.

Follett Jr was a junior officer observer who came to Britain surreptitiously in April 1941 – eight months before the Americans were formally bombed into the war by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

It is believed that Lt Bradley was taking part in a highaltitude research flight in a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Established aerial combat tactics said that the fighters – Spitfires, Hurricanes and Messerschmitts – should get higher than the heavier bombers and then dive at them out of the sun. The research flight was to find out how high a bomber could go.

Lt Bradley and the six-man crew set off from a Suffolk airbase, and by the time they were over North Yorkshire, they had reached 31,000ft.

There they flew into a terrible thunderstorm. The Flying Fortress was struck by lightning and plummeted 20,000ft, where it disintegrated.

The only survivor was Flight Lieutenant KW Stewart, who was one of two medics on board testing airmen’s reactions at high altitude. He baled out before disintegration.

Parts of the plane rained down on the Catterick area, scaring the residents. The Boeing’s engines crashed near Catterick Bridge. Lt Bradley’s remains were discovered near Scorton Grange.

THERE were at least 20 air crashes over this corner of North Yorkshire during the Second World War, accounting for many young lives.

Here’s a final war story. On June 9, 1943, bad weather prevented a Lancaster bomber from landing at its home base of RAF Thornaby. It was diverted to RAF Middleton St George but for an unknown reason the pilot, Sgt Francis Haydon, requested to land at Scorton.

At 2.45am on his approach, he turned too steeply, stalled and crashed into farmland near East Lingy Moor Farm.

All four aircrew – two British, two New Zealanders – perished.

■ With thanks to, among others, Colin Stegeman and Tony Pelton. Many thanks also to everyone who has been in touch regarding Gatherley Castle. More in a few weeks’ time.

[scottyvt4]

The Battle of Britain

For many centuries before World War II, aggressors had attempted to invade and conquer the island nation of Great Britain. The last successful invasion, however, had occurred almost 900 years earlier, when William the Conqueror conquered Britain in 1066 at the Battle of Hasting. In 1588, Spain tried to invade the island, sending the greatest naval fleet of the time against the British. But the Spanish Armada was defeated by the well-organized British Navy which, although smaller than the Spanish, was aided by a communication system of beacon fires across the country to signal fleet locations. This was a history lesson that Adolf Hitler chose to ignore when, fresh from victory in France and the Low Countries, he targeted England as his next conquest. He prepared a mighty force but, in the end, was defeated by a small air force and another system of "beacon fires," this time composed of radios and radar.



Hitler assumed that with the surrender of the mainland Allies, England would be unable to continue fighting. To conquer England, he planned an invasion, which would be preceded by intensive aerial attacks by the Luftwaffe intended to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF) and gain air superiority. The plan was named Operation Sea Lion and its launch day was termed Aldertag (Eagle’s Day). Until then, the Luftwaffe would attack shipping in the English Channel, hoping to draw the RAF into skirmishes and begin to deplete their strength. Although the Luftwaffe was spread thin by a large war theater and constant battles, it still possessed almost 2,000 airplanes, many more than Britain’s 675. The German aerial fleet included the Messerschmitt Bf.109, at that time the most feared airplane in the world. But the British boasted the Submarine Spitfire and the Hawker Hurricane, two previously little-known airplanes that came into their own as the fighting over England got underway.



Despite appearances, the British were ready to fight. In June 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had promised the world that even though his nation now stood alone, it was ready to fight the Battle of Britain to save the world from defeat and a new Dark Age. He encouraged his country to "brace ourselves to our duties, and men will say, ‘This was their finest hour.’" Fighter Command, led by Air Marshall Hugh Dowding, was ready, having been preparing for such an event since 1937. They had a well-developed radar system and the Filter Room at Fighter Command--a central operations room that coordinated observer and radar reports and allowed for early warning and attack of incoming German forces. Plus, the British had home advantage, as a downed British pilot could hop on a train and be back to his unit in time for the next mission, but a downed German pilot became a prisoner of war. The RAF had also performed well covering the evacuation of Dunkirk in France, gaining confidence.



The Battle of Britain began on July 10,1940, when the Luftwaffe began attacking shipping in the English Channel and limited bombing missions against RAF bases. Although Germany suffered greater losses than England in this period (248 vs. 148 ), the British were quickly losing experienced pilots. On August 1, Hitler issued Fuhrer Directive No.17, which read: "I intend to intensify air and sea warfare against the English homeland...The Luftwaffe is to overpower the Royal Air Force in the shortest possible time." Operation Sea Lion officially began on August 8 with orders for intensified attacks directed at airfields and radar stations. Aldertag, originally planned for August 10 but delayed because of bad weather, was August 13. On that day, the Luftwaffe flew 1,485 sorties; losing 39 airplanes while the British lost 15. The Germans also knocked out a number of radar stations, shutting off the eyes of Fighter Command. Although most of these belonged to Coastal Command and the few that did belong to Fighter Command were repaired quickly, the Luftwaffe still maintained an edge for the next several days. Commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering made several adjustments in tactics and for the remainder of the month, the RAF, although winning on paper, was losing aircraft and pilots faster than it could afford. It was three weeks away from defeat.



But the RAF was saved by a simple mistake. On August 25, the pilot of a Luftwaffe Heinkel He.111 became lost and accidentally bombed central London, despite standing orders not to do so. Churchill ordered a retaliatory strike on Berlin, sending 81 RAF Hampden bombers to Berlin the next night. Although the attack was ineffectual, it struck right at Hitler’s ego. He immediately gave a radio address, promising, "If the British bomb our cities, we will bury theirs" and, against the advice of his generals, issued orders to institute a merciless bombing campaign against London. On September 7, the London Blitz began. Initially, the bombing was during the day, but as Luftwaffe losses added up, it became a nighttime bombing operation.



Although difficult on the civilian population, the Blitz gave the RAF a much-needed break. Air bases and factories could be repaired and plane inventory could be replaced. With its increasing strength, the RAF continued to deal the Germans horrendous losses, until the Luftwaffe could no longer absorb the punishment. On October 12, Hitler officially canceled Operation Sea Lion and Great Britain emerged undefeated.



Germany could easily have won the Battle of Britain, but it committed too many costly errors. The German government failed to emphasize aircraft production and did not replace downed planes quickly enough. Adjustments to current production were not made to increase the airplane range, although auxiliary fuel tanks had been developed during the Spanish Civil War. A Messerschmitt Bf.109 had only enough fuel to remain over England for 20 minutes and bombers were often left unescorted. But most importantly, German military intelligence was deplorable. Its sources said radar stations were unimportant and should not be targets. It also misreported strength, weapons, and losses. At one point, Hitler complained to Goering that "you have apparently shot down more aircraft than the British ever possessed." The faulty intelligence resulted in poor strategy.



Fighting for its existence, the underdog British managed its campaign better. Under the supervision of the Minister of Aircraft Production, Lord Beaverbrook, resupply and maintenance became a national priority. Housewives donated pots and pans to be turned into Spitfires (it is unknown if the factories actually used the donations) and whenever a squadron needed a replacement airplane, it soon appeared.



The Fighter Command communication system helped save airplanes and the country as well. As the Filter Room received reports of enemy strength and location from radar stations and the Observer Corps, it sent out only the exact number of fighters needed to the exact location, sparing unnecessary sorties. And in a controversial decision, Dowding ordered Fighter Command to concentrate on attacking bombers going to the target and ignore all other German aircraft. His goal was to prevent German bombing from occurring but not to expose his pilots to unnecessary risks. As a result of this unpopular decision, as well as political battles below him, Dowding was forced to retire two weeks after the end of the Battle of Britain.



The citizens of London became used to the nightly bombings of the Blitz until the following May. But as inconvenient and harrowing as the bombings were, they did not complain because they knew that Fighter Command had saved them from invasion and defeat. In a speech before Parliament in August, Churchill remembered the brave men of the Fighter Command:



The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day"



--Pamela Feltus < owner of the original doc.



References:

Clayton, Tim and Craig, Phil. Finest Hour: Battle of Britain. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.

Collier, Richard. Eagle Day: The Battle of Britain. London: Cassell Military Publishers, 1966.

Corum, James S. The Luftwaffe: Creating the Operational Air War: 1918-1940. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1997.

Gunston, Bill. History of Military Aviation. London: Hamlyn, 2000.

Lopez, Donald S. Aviation: A Smithsonian Guide. New York: MacMillan USA, 1995.



Great Air Battles: Battle of Britain: http://wings.buffalo.edu/info-poland...airbattle.html

Imperial War Museum: Battle of Britain: http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/battle%...tain/intro.htm

Museum of London Blitz Web Exhibit: http://http://www.museum-london.org....itz/intro.html

RAF Battle of Britain History Site: http://www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/bobhome.html

Winston Churchill Homepage: http://www.winstonchurchill.org



Additional Recommendations:

Churchill, Winston. Their Finest Hour. Volume 2 of Second World War. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1986.

Hough, Richard and Richards, Denis. The Battle of Britain: the Greatest Air Battle of World War II. London: Hodder & Stoughton: New York: Norton, 1989.

Mosley, Leonard and the editors of Time-Life Books. Battle of Britain. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1977.

Overy, Richard. The Battle of Britain: The Myth and the Reality. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001.

Wood, Derek. The Narrow Margin: the Battle of Britain and the Rise of Air Power 1930-40, Rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1990.

[McQ59]

Great post.
Just a little flaw in there Scotty...

Quote: 'But the British boasted the Submarine Spitfire and the Hawker Hurricane, two previously little-known airplanes that came into their own as the fighting over England got underway.'

A submarine Spit would certainly been nice, but I don't think Pamela Feltus got it quite right there.