Figure 1.-- ."

"Tracers passed above and below, curving downwards and giving the impression of flying in a gigantic cge of gilt wire. I looked for another target and ... a Hun passed just to the right and slghtly above. I raised the nose ... and at about 75 yards opened fire .... After 2 or 3 seconds the steady rhythm of the Hurricane's eight Browning machne guns turned into a series of feeble clicks .... A quick glance in the mirror showed three or more 109s on my tail ... so I kicked the Hurricwne on its side ... skidding and turning until I was going flat out."

-- Group Captain Thomas P. Gleace, RAF fighter pilot, August 1940

The Luftwaffe, seeing that the FAF had not taken their bait, began the Battle of Britain in ernest on August 9. Masive Luftwaffe raids were scheduled to begin earlier, but had to be cancelled because of bad weather. The Germans launched 300 aircraft. Among the targets were radar stations. There were additional attcks on radar stations during the next two days, but as the Luftwaffe could see no clear results, thus the radar stationswere not made a priority as the air offensive unfolded. The plan was to destoy the RAF with a overpowering attack on Adler Tag (Eagle Day). The Fighter Command air fields protecting the Channel coast where the Germans were to land were located in Kent. This meant that many attacking Lufwaffe formations flew over the same Hell Fire Corner where many of the Kanakkamof battles were fought. The major attack came on August 13, Eagle Day. Massive Luftwaffe raids envolving nearly 1,500 planes targetted British airfields and aircraft factories. The Germans came in successive waves. The RAF thanks to the radar network was not destroyed on the ground as the Luftwaffe had expected, rather they were airborn and shot down 45 Luftwaffe planes. The Luftwaffe on the next day could only launch 500 planes because of poor weather and the RAF shot down 70 of them. The Lutwaffe despite losses kept coming. The Luftwaffe on August 17, however, had to scale back the attacking forces somewhat by withdrawing the Stukas which were slow an vulnerable to attack. The same night the Bomber Command responded with night raids on northern German cities. The British each night reponded with night raids on German cities, although only a few bombers were involved. The next day August 19 there were no Luftwaffe attacks. Goering ordered changes in the Luftwaffe tactics. Because of bomber losses, the fighter escorts were ordered to closely acciompany the bombers which robbed them of their fighting power. Goring also ordered a ration of 3 fighters to every bomber which mean that the bomber raids were limited because of an inadequate number of escorts. The Luftwaffe, however, launched a massive attack on August 23 on air craft factories and oil depots. A huge raid on August 30 focused on the RAF airfields. The steadily unfolding Luftwaffe campaign substantially damaged RAF forward bases in Kent and had seriously weakened the fighter units stationed there. The Luftwaffe, albeit at considerable cost, was seriously weakening the RAF. Fighter Command was having increasing difficulty maintaining its forward air bases in Kent and its ability to maintain air superority over the Channel coast. Althought the campaign was proving far more costly than the Luftwaffe had expected, their strategy was working. In desperation the FAF commited its foreign squadrons who for the first time flying effective aircraft performed brilliantly and with fierce, often suicidal determination. The Polish Kosciuszko Squadron flying Hirricanes downed twice as many Luftwaffe planes as any other RAF unit. [Olson and Cloud] They were soon the darlings of London society and the British press. Despite the heroism of the RAF pilots, the weight of the Luftwaffe was gradually destroying the effecivness of the RAF forward bases which would be those needed to oppose a cross-channel invasion. At the end of August the issue was still in doubt.

Created: 2:30 AM 2/13/2025
Last updated: 2:30 AM 2/13/2025