Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 24, 2019 9:35:06 GMT 12
HOW NAZIS FAILED
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
N.Z. HERO LOOKS BACK
(Special P.A. Correspondent.)
LONDON, September 22.
Britain never had more than 25 day fighter squadrons deployed to meet the whole of the Luftwaffe in any one day along the south coast during the Battle of Britain. The Germans came within sight of winning that battle, but made a fatal mistake. This was when they thought they had smashed the fighter stations; and broken the R.AF.'s fighter strength, and they then switched the attack to London on, September 7, 1940. They switched too soon, for though the fighter stations in southern England had been badly bombed they were still just operating; and these vital aerodromes were given a breathing space in which to reorganise and finally beat the Luftwaffe.
These facts were explained to me in the only interview on the Battle of Britain so far given by Air Vice Marshal Sir Keith Park, K.B.E., C.B., M.C., D.F.C., Air Officer Commanding at Malta. This famous New Zealander, when commanding the No. 11 Fighter Group, played a decisive part in winning that struggle, which turned the whole course of the war. Sir Keith is on leave in England for ten days after spending two years in Egypt and Malta.
Recalling that vital period three years ago, he said: "Dunkirk was the most exciting time—it was one of the most exciting operations in this war. I believed at that time that if we could not get the. Army out from Dunkirk and that if it was captured or its shipping sunk this would have a far-reaching effect, on the war from a political as well as a military viewpoint We could never have got the Army out if it had not been for the fighter protection given over Calais, Boulogne and Cherbourg, as well as Dunkirk.
INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE.
"The Battle of France and the Battle of Dunkirk gave our fighter squadrons their first real fighting experience. It was invaluable when the Battle of Britain came. The casualties were relatively low considering that we were taking on the bulk of the Luftwaffe, and for every fighter we lost we shot down five of the enemy—and we were fighting over enemy territory at long range.
"It is somewhat difficult to talk about the Battle of Britain. It went on from July to October. My most lasting and vivid impression of that period was those enormous raids of 400 to 500 enemy aircraft being plotted on a table in the No. 11 Group operations room, all converging on our aerodromes round London. I'll never forget that — nor the magnificent show the fighter pilots put up. They met odds of four or five to one. I think the reason why we all kept up our high morale was because we had done so well at Dunkirk. We felt confident that we could beat the Hun over England if we kept on long enough and that we would smash his morale by sheer weight of casualties inflicted week after week. Another fact which kept us going was, that we knew we had to win that battle or bust. We knew very well from our reconnaissance that he had masses of barges collected along the coasts of Holland, Belgium, and France, and that if he could land in England there would be nothing to prevent the panzers overrunning Kent in quick time.
SWITCHING OF THE ATTACK.
"The Hun lost the Battle of Britain when he switched from bombing my fighter stations to bombing London on September 7. It was my normal routine in those days to begin work in the operations' room at 7.30 a.m. and to continue till 5.30 p.m., then to take off in my Hurricane from Northolt and fly round the stations which had been blitzed that day to see how the squadrons and pilots were standing up to it. On September 7 I flew over London. It was burning all down the river. It was a horrid sight, but I looked down and said: 'Thank God for that!' because I knew the Hun had switched his attack from my fighter aerodromes, thinking he had knocked them out, but they weren't knocked out; they were very groggy, and if he had continued his bombing of them he might have finished them off, but though he put out many essentials they were still just functioning. He was probably working to a set schedule, and no doubt his reconnaissance and photos showed there was little left of my aerodromes. They must have looked pretty bad—yet they weren't out.
"That pause gave my fighter stations the breather they required and time to come back. From then on we never looked back! From then on we began to slaughter him, and his bombers began to drop their bombs at the sight of a few fighters.
"I do not think it has been told before, but we never had more than 25 day fighter squadrons in the line to meet the whole German air force in any one day deployed along the south coast during the Battle of Britain, and from those 25 squadrons some aircraft were being serviced. The pilots had to get a little time off for meals, otherwise they would have been grounded in a week.
GALLANT MEN AND WOMEN
"It should never be forgotten that the men who did almost as much as the fighter pilots were the airmen who serviced the Spitfires and Hurricanes. Those fellows worked 16 hours a day, and often hungry because the kitchens had been bombed, and they would be in their slit trenches sheltering from the bombs. The fighters would return and out they would come, refuel and re-arm the aircraft; and to hell with the bombs. They stuck to their jobs, and if they hadn't the Battle of Britain would never have been won.
"And the W.A.A.F.s! Those W.A.A.F.s were first-class —telephonists, plotters, and switchboard girls. They were magnificent. At some stations they set an example to the men. They carried on at their jobs when others— quite rightly—had gone to shelter. By jove, they were stout-hearted girls. Many of them were decorated for bravery.
"Malta, from July to October, 1942. was like the Battle of Britain in miniature, except that we were fighting heavier odds because we had only a very small fighter force, added to which our men were hungry. We were very short of food, and so short of petrol that we were unable to carry out engine tests, which meant that the pilots had to take off and trust to luck, but there were very few accidents. The airmen did good work again. They were first-class—magnificent. I used exactly the same tactics in Malta as in the Battle of Britain. The plan was so simple! It was to intercept before the Germans dropped bombs on the target and to attack them with the maximum strength I could get into the air in time. That depended, of course, oh the length of warning and the height at which the raiders were coming in.
"It was those tactics, with good leadership, a high standard of air firing, and proper control from the ground, which won the Battles of Britain and Malta."
I hope one day to tell the full story of this outstanding New Zealander whose baptism of fire was on the beaches of Gallipoli, and who was later wounded in France. He was invalided from the Army after a bullet wound. When told in 1916 that he could find a sitting-down job, Sir Keith declared that he could do that in an aircraft, and he joined the R.F.C. and soon won the M.C. and bar and the D.F.C. Then he lived to fight in another war. He took the lion's share in winning the Battles Of Britain and Malta. When his full history is told those vital periods connected with his name will be written large.
EVENING POST, 25 SEPTEMBER 1943
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
N.Z. HERO LOOKS BACK
(Special P.A. Correspondent.)
LONDON, September 22.
Britain never had more than 25 day fighter squadrons deployed to meet the whole of the Luftwaffe in any one day along the south coast during the Battle of Britain. The Germans came within sight of winning that battle, but made a fatal mistake. This was when they thought they had smashed the fighter stations; and broken the R.AF.'s fighter strength, and they then switched the attack to London on, September 7, 1940. They switched too soon, for though the fighter stations in southern England had been badly bombed they were still just operating; and these vital aerodromes were given a breathing space in which to reorganise and finally beat the Luftwaffe.
These facts were explained to me in the only interview on the Battle of Britain so far given by Air Vice Marshal Sir Keith Park, K.B.E., C.B., M.C., D.F.C., Air Officer Commanding at Malta. This famous New Zealander, when commanding the No. 11 Fighter Group, played a decisive part in winning that struggle, which turned the whole course of the war. Sir Keith is on leave in England for ten days after spending two years in Egypt and Malta.
Recalling that vital period three years ago, he said: "Dunkirk was the most exciting time—it was one of the most exciting operations in this war. I believed at that time that if we could not get the. Army out from Dunkirk and that if it was captured or its shipping sunk this would have a far-reaching effect, on the war from a political as well as a military viewpoint We could never have got the Army out if it had not been for the fighter protection given over Calais, Boulogne and Cherbourg, as well as Dunkirk.
INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE.
"The Battle of France and the Battle of Dunkirk gave our fighter squadrons their first real fighting experience. It was invaluable when the Battle of Britain came. The casualties were relatively low considering that we were taking on the bulk of the Luftwaffe, and for every fighter we lost we shot down five of the enemy—and we were fighting over enemy territory at long range.
"It is somewhat difficult to talk about the Battle of Britain. It went on from July to October. My most lasting and vivid impression of that period was those enormous raids of 400 to 500 enemy aircraft being plotted on a table in the No. 11 Group operations room, all converging on our aerodromes round London. I'll never forget that — nor the magnificent show the fighter pilots put up. They met odds of four or five to one. I think the reason why we all kept up our high morale was because we had done so well at Dunkirk. We felt confident that we could beat the Hun over England if we kept on long enough and that we would smash his morale by sheer weight of casualties inflicted week after week. Another fact which kept us going was, that we knew we had to win that battle or bust. We knew very well from our reconnaissance that he had masses of barges collected along the coasts of Holland, Belgium, and France, and that if he could land in England there would be nothing to prevent the panzers overrunning Kent in quick time.
SWITCHING OF THE ATTACK.
"The Hun lost the Battle of Britain when he switched from bombing my fighter stations to bombing London on September 7. It was my normal routine in those days to begin work in the operations' room at 7.30 a.m. and to continue till 5.30 p.m., then to take off in my Hurricane from Northolt and fly round the stations which had been blitzed that day to see how the squadrons and pilots were standing up to it. On September 7 I flew over London. It was burning all down the river. It was a horrid sight, but I looked down and said: 'Thank God for that!' because I knew the Hun had switched his attack from my fighter aerodromes, thinking he had knocked them out, but they weren't knocked out; they were very groggy, and if he had continued his bombing of them he might have finished them off, but though he put out many essentials they were still just functioning. He was probably working to a set schedule, and no doubt his reconnaissance and photos showed there was little left of my aerodromes. They must have looked pretty bad—yet they weren't out.
"That pause gave my fighter stations the breather they required and time to come back. From then on we never looked back! From then on we began to slaughter him, and his bombers began to drop their bombs at the sight of a few fighters.
"I do not think it has been told before, but we never had more than 25 day fighter squadrons in the line to meet the whole German air force in any one day deployed along the south coast during the Battle of Britain, and from those 25 squadrons some aircraft were being serviced. The pilots had to get a little time off for meals, otherwise they would have been grounded in a week.
GALLANT MEN AND WOMEN
"It should never be forgotten that the men who did almost as much as the fighter pilots were the airmen who serviced the Spitfires and Hurricanes. Those fellows worked 16 hours a day, and often hungry because the kitchens had been bombed, and they would be in their slit trenches sheltering from the bombs. The fighters would return and out they would come, refuel and re-arm the aircraft; and to hell with the bombs. They stuck to their jobs, and if they hadn't the Battle of Britain would never have been won.
"And the W.A.A.F.s! Those W.A.A.F.s were first-class —telephonists, plotters, and switchboard girls. They were magnificent. At some stations they set an example to the men. They carried on at their jobs when others— quite rightly—had gone to shelter. By jove, they were stout-hearted girls. Many of them were decorated for bravery.
"Malta, from July to October, 1942. was like the Battle of Britain in miniature, except that we were fighting heavier odds because we had only a very small fighter force, added to which our men were hungry. We were very short of food, and so short of petrol that we were unable to carry out engine tests, which meant that the pilots had to take off and trust to luck, but there were very few accidents. The airmen did good work again. They were first-class—magnificent. I used exactly the same tactics in Malta as in the Battle of Britain. The plan was so simple! It was to intercept before the Germans dropped bombs on the target and to attack them with the maximum strength I could get into the air in time. That depended, of course, oh the length of warning and the height at which the raiders were coming in.
"It was those tactics, with good leadership, a high standard of air firing, and proper control from the ground, which won the Battles of Britain and Malta."
I hope one day to tell the full story of this outstanding New Zealander whose baptism of fire was on the beaches of Gallipoli, and who was later wounded in France. He was invalided from the Army after a bullet wound. When told in 1916 that he could find a sitting-down job, Sir Keith declared that he could do that in an aircraft, and he joined the R.F.C. and soon won the M.C. and bar and the D.F.C. Then he lived to fight in another war. He took the lion's share in winning the Battles Of Britain and Malta. When his full history is told those vital periods connected with his name will be written large.
EVENING POST, 25 SEPTEMBER 1943
