Lmst

Latest volume of the Battle of Britain Combat Archive (18) has landed so I've updated my dataset with the numbers from 4-11 October 1940.

https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/statistics/data-set/daily-data-set/

#BattleOfBritain #WW2

A mobile canteen serves up hot food to British soldiers next to an anti-aircraft battery - England, Nov 1940 #antiaircraft #battery #greatbritain #ww2 #england #worldwar2 #battleofbritain #canteen #hotfood

Women from the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) operate a height and range-finder in conjunction with a 4.5” anti-aircraft battery - south coast of England, Dec 1942 #antiaircraft #battery #ats #rangefinder #battleofbritain #southcoast #england #unitedkingdom #ww2

A British 4.5in anti-aircraft battery goes in to action at night - England 1940. The Predictor and the Rangefinder are in the foreground #ww2 #england #worldwar2 #antiaircraft #battery #rangefinder #predictor #battleofbritain

Found a copy of the Luftwaffe Strength and Serviceability Tables on the RAF Air Historical Branch website, it's a document I've been interested in for a while having seen references to it around the place. I've now updated my dataset with the numbers: https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/statistics/data-set/daily-data-set/

Source: https://www.raf.mod.uk/what-we-do/our-history/air-historical-branch/ahb-translations-from-captured-german-documents/luftwaffe-strength-and-serviceability-tables-august-1938-april-1945/

#BattleOfBritain

This is good. It’s amazing what can be done outside of established film and TV production companies now.

A 40-minute documentary about the 18th August air battles over southern England during the Battle of Britain. Known as The Hardest Day.

https://youtu.be/u5GQViHFCKQ

#History #WWII #BattleOfBritain

On the night of 8/9 April 1941, Coventry endured another major air raid as 230 German aircraft bombarded the city, dropping 315 tons of high explosives along with 25,000 incendiaries. Over the course of this attack and a second raid two nights later, on 10/11 April, approximately 451 people were killed and more than 700 sustained serious injuries. #ww2 #worldwar2 #airraid #theblitz #coventry #england #uk #greatbritain #battleofbritain

Battle of Britain #aircraft #airshow #airtattoo #airtattoo2010 #RIAT #RIAT2010 #RAF #spitfire #hawkerhurricane #WW2 #WWII #messerschmitt #history #battleofbritain #dunkirk

Four vintage military aircraft are flying in formation against a backdrop of a clear blue sky with scattered clouds. Three of the planes feature British insignia (two Spitfires and a Hurricane) and the fourth (a Messerschmitt) displays German insignia.

Summary of the turning point of the #BattleOfBritain in primary, contemporary, sources:

The first RAF bombing of Berlin on 26 August 1940 was intended to target factories and airfields but there was 10/10 cloud and only 35 of 86 aircraft report bombing a target in Berlin - and many of those record in the squadron record books that the effect on target could not be observed.

The German assessment of the raid was that it was targeting residential areas and explicitly state that this was the reason Hitler ordered the bombing of London on 7 September.

On 7 September, and unaware of the switch to targeting London, Fighter Command's leadership assessed that if the present rate of attrition carried on for four more weeks it would be difficult to maintain more than a front line defence.

On 12 September Keith Park, commander of the RAF's front line defence, assesses that the change in the Luftwaffe's attack strategy since 5 September means that he is confident in maintaining air superiority over British territory.

Full list of sources:

* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/08/26/raf-bomb-berlin-for-the-first-time/
* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/09/07/dowding-has-a-conference-to-discuss-how-to-manage-fighter-commands-pilot-losses/
* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/09/12/park-issues-report-on-german-air-attacks-on-england-8th-aug-10th-sept/

Operations Record Book of 50 Squadron (AIR 27/485/20) recording aircraft L.4062 having bombed Berlin.

"This aircraft was one of 5 that took off to bomb one of the electricity power stations of BERLIN.

The target was attacked from 18,000' and 8 x 250 lb. bombs were released. No results could be observed on account of extensive cloud over the area."

Extract from "A Study of British Air Defences" - AHB Translation VII/59

"When on August 26, 1940 Berlin had had its first British air-raid, in which residential areas of the capital had borne the main brunt of the attack, the Fuehrer in his speech of September 4, announced imminent reprisals. A few days later, on September 7, the large-scale attacks on London began."

Extract from Minutes of a Conference held at Headquarters,
Fighter Command, on Saturday 7th September 1940 (AIR 16/330)

"24. A.V.M. Douglas stated that there were one or two things which could be done; one was the introduction of a further O.T.U.; that was one of the things which would have to be done if casualties continued at the present rate. He submitted that, according to the figures in his possession, the numbers would about break even; that was if the figures for the whole of August were considered. The C-in-C. pointed out that 25.it was necessary to consider the figures subsequent to about the 8th August if a true picture was to be obtained. A.V.M. Evill stated that if the present wastage continued for 4 weeks we should be definitely down in numbers.

25. The C-in-C. stated that he was working on the assumption that the present enemy scale of attack would persist."

Extract from German Air Attacks on England. - 8th Aug. - 10th Sept. (AIR 16/737)

There's more text in the image than will fit here but this is the important bit:

"41. There was a critical period between 26th August and 5th September when the damage to Sector Stations and our ground organisations was having a serious effect on the fighting efficiency of the fighter squadrons, who could not be given the same good technical and administrative service as previously. As a result of an immense amount of hard work day and night on the part of Group Staff and personnel at Sector Stations and satellite aerodromes, the critical period was tided over, without any interruption in the operations of our fighter squadrons. The absence of many essential telephone lines, the use of scratch equipment in emergency Operations Rooms, and the general dislocation of ground organization, was seriously felt for about a week in the handling of squadrons by day to meet the enemy's massed attacks, which were continued without the former occasional break of a day.

Conclusion

42. At the time of writing, confidence is felt in our ability to hold the enemy by day and to prevent his obtaining superiority in the air over our territory, unless he greatly increases the scale or intensity of his attacks. Every endeavour is now being made to improve our fighter defences by night. To achieve this aim will require not only better equipment, but greater specialisation of pilots on night flying and fighting."

Today's field trip 12/10 (miscounted by one, and forgot one): Guston Tunnel. This is where "Scene Shifter" - a WW I 13.5" railway gun - was parked.

#BattleOfBritain

* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/09/18/scene-shifter-railway-gun-arrives-at-guston/

A very deep railway cutting with a tunnel at the end. A yellow nosed train is entering the tunnel on the left hand of two tracks.

Yesterday's field trip 9/10: Site of Lickpot Lane bridge - probably EVL 2018 but I haven't got the right book to hand to check the reference.

This was one of the firing sites for the Bosche Buster railway gun.

#BattleOfBritain

https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1941/02/13/bosche-buster-fired-for-the-first-time/

Run of trees in the distance that show the line of the former railway approaching the bridge site over the road in the forground.

Run of bushesthat show the line of the former railway approaching the bridge site over the road in the forground.

Yesterday's field trip 7/10: Ladwood Farm, Acrise. P/O Barton force lands his Hurricane N2596 at Ladwood Farm, Acrise.

#BattleOfBritain

* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/08/12/p-o-a-r-barton/

Yesterday's field trip: 6/10: Acrise. Sgt Bill Green's Hurricane crashes into a field near here. He lands in his parachute near Ottinge (near 8/10 of this thread).

#BattleOfBritain

* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/08/29/sgt-william-j-green-is-shot-down-over-elham/

Field near Acrise (other side of the road to the other photo)

Yesterday's field trip 5/10: Eythorn. 8./JG 52's Unteroffizier Max Reiss' Bf 109 E-1 6✙~ crashed near here.

#BattleOfBritain

* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/07/25/iii-jg-52-escort-ju-87s-attacking-convoy-cw-8-in-the-straights-of-dover/

Yestreday's field trip 4/10: Coldred. Bf 109 >✙8 (Wn.4827) of 1/JG26 piloted by Uffz Gerhard Kemen crashed near here.

#BattleOfBritain

* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/08/14/32-sqn-intercept-raid-34-behind-dover/

Yesterday's field trip 3/10: Coldred Court Farm. Spitfire R6925 is believed to have crashed here.

#BattleOfBritain

https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/09/18/po-j-r-mather/

Yesterday's field trip 2/10: 5 Monins Road and (formerly) Taylor's Garage in the Elm's Vale area. Both destroyed by the first cross-channel shelling. (I also visited a house in Folkestone last week destroyed in the same barrage.)

#BattleOfBritain

https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/09/09/dover-is-shelled/

A post war garage attached to a Victorian terrace. It is still a working garage.

A post war house at the foot of a Victorian terrace.

Yesterday's field trip 1/10: 15 Chevalier Road, Dover. A 15 Sqn Blenheim crashed into this house after hitting a barrage balloon whilst returning from a patrol of the Dutch and Belgian coasts.

#BattleOfBritain

* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/08/24/53-sqn-blenheim-crashes-into-house-in-dover/

A post-war semi-deteched house in the middle of a Victorian terrace going up a hill. There are starlings flocking in the sky above.

Today's field trip 4/4: Dunkirk radar station. Dunkirk (in Kent, not the French port) radar station was one of four hit in precision strikes by EprGr 210 on 12 August 1940 in advance of Adlertag. The concrete foundations of the masts are still visible.

In the past week I've also visited Swingate (Dover) and Rye radar sites where the same footings are visible. Pevensey is the fourth site but that's a bit far for a field trip on this visit to Kent.

#BattleOfBritain

* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/08/12/egr210-attack-four-radar-stations/

Four large concrete blocks in a field that is now an agricultural storage area.

Closer view of two of the concrete blocks, they are about one and a half meters tall and two-ish metered square at the base - tapering slightly towards the top. They are spaced about five or six meters apart from each other.

Four concrete blocks in a field with metal beams embed in the top of them which have been cut-off at about one meter.

Today's field trip 3/4: Eastchurch was attacked by KG2 at the start of Adlertag on 13 August 1940. One of the surviving buildings - a workshop for the light railway that served the station from the main line - was strafed and the bullet marks are still clearly visible.

#BattleOfBritain

* https://battle-of-britain-diary.org.uk/1940/08/13/kg-2-bomb-eastchurch/

#BattleOfBritain

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