down. There were little drawings of planes with dotted lines coming from their guns and others with smoke trailing out. It all looked so clean and simple. No blood or pain or burning. No screaming. I couldnât read it then and havenât since.
Mum and Dad wrote and said they were so proud of me. They said I was part of history now. I wrote back and told him so were they. So was Edith. So was Lenny. Harriet. We all were.
But there was truth in it. We had made a difference, we âFewâ â I had to admit it. We hadnât beaten the Nazis, but weâd shown they couldnât get everything their own way. Weâd given the bully a black eye and winded him a little. And maybe there was honour in that after all. Yes, I think that maybe there was.
Historical note
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Officially, the Battle of Britain was fought between 8 August and 30 October 1940 and was the first time that aircraft had played such a decisive role in the War. As well as ensuring that Britain remained free of German control, and free of Nazi deportations to concentration camps, the battle proved to be a major turning point in the War. It helped to convince the Americans to enter the War on the side of the Allies. British resistance also meant that there would be a base from which to bomb German forces (and civilians) and eventually launch an allied invasion of Europe in June 1944.
From the outset, the Germans knew that if they were to invade Britain successfully, they would have to put the RAF out of action first. The German air force (Luftwaffe) began to attack British shipping convoys in the Channel, to disrupt trade, to stop supplies reaching British shores from other countries, and to lure Spitfires and Hurricanes into dogfights over the sea.
During the Battle of Britain, RAF Fighter Command was led by Air Vice-Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding. It was divided into four Groups: 10 Group covered the West Country, 11 Group covered the South East, 12 Group covered the area roughly from London to York, and 13 Group covered the remaining North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
11 Group was commanded by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park from its HQ in Uxbridge, and was divided into sectors, each with its own Sector Station â Biggin Hill in Kent being perhaps the most famous. As it was closest to German Occupied France, 11 Group was the first line of defence during the Battle of Britain and squadrons in this Group were reinforced from squadrons in other groups to keep them up to full strength. Although Harry Woods is fictional, it is a squadron in 11 Group in which he is seen to serve.
The odds were in favour of a German victory at the beginning of the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe were well equipped and had well-trained, battle-hardened pilots and crews and the RAF had experienced heavy losses in France and Norway and during the Dunkirk evacuation. At the end of June it had less than 400 Spitfires and Hurricanes for the defence of the whole country. But Britain did have one secret weapon.
Radar, or Radio Direction Finding (RDF) as it was known, was first developed in 1935. It used shortwave radio pulses to pick up incoming aircraft. The radio pulses bounced back and were captured by a cathode ray tube, showing up as blips of light on a glass screen. By 1939 there were a string of radar stations along the coast from Shetland to the south coast of England.
Information gathered by radar stations (and from members of the Observer Corps dotted around the coast) was relayed by landline to the Filter Room at Fighter Command HQ at Bentley Priory in Stanmore near London. The aircraft were plotted on a large map table and then the information was relayed to the Group Headquarters and then to Sector Stations (airfields). Group commanders decided which Sector Stations to activate. Sector Station commanders decided which squadrons should fly.
Radar had its problems though. Radar picked up all sorts of things â clouds, flocks of
Mum and Dad wrote and said they were so proud of me. They said I was part of history now. I wrote back and told him so were they. So was Edith. So was Lenny. Harriet. We all were.
But there was truth in it. We had made a difference, we âFewâ â I had to admit it. We hadnât beaten the Nazis, but weâd shown they couldnât get everything their own way. Weâd given the bully a black eye and winded him a little. And maybe there was honour in that after all. Yes, I think that maybe there was.
Historical note
Â
Â
Officially, the Battle of Britain was fought between 8 August and 30 October 1940 and was the first time that aircraft had played such a decisive role in the War. As well as ensuring that Britain remained free of German control, and free of Nazi deportations to concentration camps, the battle proved to be a major turning point in the War. It helped to convince the Americans to enter the War on the side of the Allies. British resistance also meant that there would be a base from which to bomb German forces (and civilians) and eventually launch an allied invasion of Europe in June 1944.
From the outset, the Germans knew that if they were to invade Britain successfully, they would have to put the RAF out of action first. The German air force (Luftwaffe) began to attack British shipping convoys in the Channel, to disrupt trade, to stop supplies reaching British shores from other countries, and to lure Spitfires and Hurricanes into dogfights over the sea.
During the Battle of Britain, RAF Fighter Command was led by Air Vice-Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding. It was divided into four Groups: 10 Group covered the West Country, 11 Group covered the South East, 12 Group covered the area roughly from London to York, and 13 Group covered the remaining North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
11 Group was commanded by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park from its HQ in Uxbridge, and was divided into sectors, each with its own Sector Station â Biggin Hill in Kent being perhaps the most famous. As it was closest to German Occupied France, 11 Group was the first line of defence during the Battle of Britain and squadrons in this Group were reinforced from squadrons in other groups to keep them up to full strength. Although Harry Woods is fictional, it is a squadron in 11 Group in which he is seen to serve.
The odds were in favour of a German victory at the beginning of the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe were well equipped and had well-trained, battle-hardened pilots and crews and the RAF had experienced heavy losses in France and Norway and during the Dunkirk evacuation. At the end of June it had less than 400 Spitfires and Hurricanes for the defence of the whole country. But Britain did have one secret weapon.
Radar, or Radio Direction Finding (RDF) as it was known, was first developed in 1935. It used shortwave radio pulses to pick up incoming aircraft. The radio pulses bounced back and were captured by a cathode ray tube, showing up as blips of light on a glass screen. By 1939 there were a string of radar stations along the coast from Shetland to the south coast of England.
Information gathered by radar stations (and from members of the Observer Corps dotted around the coast) was relayed by landline to the Filter Room at Fighter Command HQ at Bentley Priory in Stanmore near London. The aircraft were plotted on a large map table and then the information was relayed to the Group Headquarters and then to Sector Stations (airfields). Group commanders decided which Sector Stations to activate. Sector Station commanders decided which squadrons should fly.
Radar had its problems though. Radar picked up all sorts of things â clouds, flocks of
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