Battle Of Britain Day

[Jimbuna]

Lest We Forget

~SALUTE~

http://u1.ipernity.com/15/15/36/8321536.a0c9602a.640.jpg?r1 (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=GH_TMs2s3draOM&tbnid=wSNBw_TCfwEKIM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipernity.com%2Fdoc%2F57114%2F %40%2Fpage%3A834%3A18%3Fview%3D1&ei=ZbQ1UvnNN8qN7Qb6ioHICg&bvm=bv.52164340,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNHyjni_gkzCOAWopjQeij40hP_mNQ&ust=1379337695339683)
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i152/94thBombGroup/Battle%20of%20Britain%20%20-%20Art%20Chronology/BattleOfBritainDay.jpg (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=jEQoq4X5ZFpETM&tbnid=32TPpxUP9OXwKM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehangar.com%2Fforum%2Fehangar-com-gallery%2Fbattle-of-britain-art-chronology%2Fpage-6%2F&ei=grQ1UuzcNeew7AbF14GQBA&bvm=bv.52164340,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNH-TsLbju2a_WbXwA5UblXk5GpBvQ&ust=1379337718875321)

[BossMark]

To all the brave airman who thought in this battle :salute::salute::salute::salute::salute::salute:

[Oberon]

Sunday 15 September 1940


Weather: Fair with some cloud patches. Fine during the evening.
Day: Heavy attacks on London, broken up by Fighter Command. Highest German losses since 18 August [185 claimed by the RAF] force a serious rethink by the German High Command.
Night: Heavy damage to London.

Enemy action by day The enemy delivered two major attacks on London during the day. Later smaller formations attacked both Portland and targets in the Southampton area.
Our fighters destroyed 176 enemy aircraft (124 bombers and 53 fighters) plus 41 probable and 72 damaged.
AA destroyed 7 enemy aircraft plus 4 probable.
Our casualties are 25 aircraft and 13 pilots killed or missing
Enemy patrols were plotted between 0900 and 1100 hours in the following areas:


In the Straits.
Off Harwich.
Between Lympne and Dungeness.
20 miles East of line Lowestoft to Spurn Head.
In the Estuary.
South of Shoreham and the Isle of Wight.

Attempts to intercept the above were not successful. One He 111, flying west, was intercepted and destroyed near Start Point.
First Major Attack At 1100 hours enemy aircraft began to mass in the Calais/Boulogne area and at 1130 hours the leading wave of about 100 aircraft crossed the coast between Dover and Dungeness, followed by a second wave of 150 aircraft. Objectives appeared to be in the London district.
No 11 Group sent up 16 Squadrons to meet the attack, and No 12 Group provided 5 Squadrons to patrol Debden and Hornchurch.
Approximately 100 enemy aircraft succeeded in reaching Central London.
Second Major Attack At 1400 hours a wave of approximately 150 enemy aircraft crossed the coast near Dover, followed by a second wave of 100 aircraft. These formations spread over South-east and South-west Kent and the Maidstone area, and about 70 penetrated Central London.
No 11 Group sent up 16 Squadrons and No 12 Group 4 Squadrons. Targets in South London and railways in London and Kent appeared to be the chief objectives.
Attack on Portland At 1530 hours a formation of 25 enemy aircraft attacked Portland. It was engaged and successfully driven off by our fighters.
Attack on Southampton At 1725 hours about 50 enemy aircraft flew over the Isle of Wight and attacked objectives in the Southampton district. This formation was intercepted and driven off by 6½ Squadrons.
By night The first hostile raids were plotted leaving the French Coast at Le Havre at about 2000 hours. They crossed the Coast at Shoreham and penetrated to the London area which appeared to be the main objective throughout the night. At about 2230 hours raids to London started to come from the Dieppe area crossing the coast between Selsey Bill and Dover. Between 0100 and 0300 hours raids were coming in via the Thames Estuary and Essex. About fifteen raids were plotted out of the Cherbourg area to South Wales and the Bristol Channel, some of which penetrated to the Midlands and others to Liverpool. By 0130 hours these raids had withdrawn by the activity over London and the South-east continued until about 0500 hours.
Two raids were plotted in the Digby and Church Fenton areas and two were plotted in the Irish Channel. Some ten raids were suspected of minelaying between Montrose and Flamborough Head.
During the night on He111 was destroyed (plus one probable) by a Defiant of No 141 Squadron.
Statistics

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 15th September 1940



Blenheim - 47
Spitfire - 192
Hurricane - 389
Defiant - 24
Gladiator - 8
Total - 660

Casualties:

Enemy Losses By Fighters
Destroyed Probable Damaged
38 Me109 8 Me109 9 Me109
10 Me110 2 Me110 3 Me110
31 Do215 10 Do215 19 Do215
46 Do17 8 Do17 16 Do17 7
Do? 1 Do? 4 Do?

2 Ju88
26 He111 9 He111 13 He111
21 (?) Type 4 (?) Type 6 (?)Type

179 42 72

By Anti-Aircraft 7 (?) Type

7 Nil Nil

Own:
25 aircraft with 13 pilots killed or missing.

Patrols:



Own
During the night of 14th/15th September - 28 patrols involving 28 sorties.
During the day of 15th September - 115 patrols involving 705 sorties.



Enemy
It is estimated that about 80 enemy aircraft operated over Great Britain during the night 14th/15th September and 600 during the day of 15th September.

Balloons:



No report.

Aerodromes:



No report.

Organisation:



Nil.

Home Security Reports



General Summary
Date: 15th September 1940
The London area was again the chief objective of enemy aircraft during the day, and the attack on the Capital was maintained at intervals from about noon until the early hours of 16th September 1940. A certain about of damage and casualties resulted, mainly in the districts South of the River Thames, where several factories were hit by bombs and many fires started. Communications and utility services are also affected.
Elsewhere, bombs were dropped in Kent, Sussex and East Anglia during the day, and attacks were made on Southampton, and on the Portland area where slight damage was done in the dockyard.
After dark, London continued to bear the brunt of the attack, which was intensified in the early hours of 16th September, and many reports of major damage have been received. Isolated raids were also made during the night in the Southern and South- Eastern coastal Districts, and in the Bristol Channel area but damage from these appears to have been moderate.
Detailed Summary
London Area
Battersea: At 1210 hours railway bridges between Victoria and Clapham |Junction were hit and bombs also fell on the West London extension Line, and at 2325 hours HE bombs fell on the Projectile Engineering Company's Works causing major damage. Damage has been done to Utility Mains and roadways in this District.
Lambeth: At 1215 hours Water and Gas mains were damaged by HE bombs, and Norwood Road and Brixton Hill were blocked. An unexploded bomb at the Telephone Manufacturing Company caused production to be suspended. At 2029 hours a major fire was caused at the Brixton School of Building and other extensive fires as well as damage to Gas and Water Mains resulted from bombing with HE and IB.
Beckenham: At 1200 hours the Electricity Station was hit but damage was not serious and distribution is not affected.
Islington: At 0030 hours KB fell close to GPO Stores and to Mount Pleasant Post Office, but no reports of serious damage have been received.
Mitcham: The roof of Smith's Meters Factory was badly damaged by a bomb during the night but it is reported that the machinery escaped damage.
East Croydon: The railway track is closed and damage has been done to the property in the vicinity by HE bombs which fell at 0030 hours, 16th September.
Shepherd's Bush: HE bombs have fallen on private property near the Electric substation, which has been put out of action by the resulting blast. There is no current on the Hammersmith City Line.
Barnes: At 0238 hours 16th September, HE bombs fell on a council house necessitating the evacuation of the Control Centre of temporary premises.
Kilburn: HE bombs fell at Kilburn High Road which is blocked as a result, and damage was done to the railway bridge which crossed it.
Hammersmith: At 2253 hours HE bombs fell outside Cadby Hall damaging Gas and Water Mains and completely blocking Hammersmith road. At 0220 hours further HE bombs fell at the junction of Uxbridge Road which is also blocked. Utility Mains were damaged and a LCC Sewer was fractured.
Strand: Shell Mex House suffered heavy damage at 0047 hours by HE bombs. The central tower was demolished and the top storey is in danger of collapse. The Strand was blocked from Adam's Street to Aldwych. Bombs also fell near the Gaiety Theatre and serious flooding took place as a result of burst water main.
Westminster: HE bombs fell at Vauxhall Bride Road which was blocked by craters and debris.
Hospitals: St Thomas's, Guys and Lambeth Hospitals were all hit by bombs but no serious damage or casualties have been reported.
Elsewhere
Southampton: At 1750 hours three fires were caused by bombs near the Super Marine Aviation Works and damage was done to house property and mains nearby. Slight damage was also done to Thorneycroft's and a further attack at 2132 hours caused a fire at a furniture depository in the High Street.
Portland: At about 1530 hours HE and IB were dropped at Portland causing heavy damage to four houses and several small fires. Bombs also fell in the dockyard but damage was not extensive.
Cardiff: At 2245 hours five HE bombs were dropped in a residential district causing casualties. A number of unexploded bombs have fallen near the Docks.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/campaign_diaries.cfm?diarymonth=9&diaryyear=1940&diaryday=15

Also - http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0041.html A good read

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/gallery/E6E25F8B_5056_A318_A876DAAC630FBCB3/15sept(a).jpg

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/gallery/E6E25F8B_5056_A318_A876DAAC630FBCB3/15sept(b).jpg

http://www.marklittlejohn.com/images/gallery/FullSizeImages/TallyHo_Large.jpg
(I have this picture on the shelf above my desk :D)


And lastly, but certainly not leastly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43zVRey2XEs

[Jimbuna]

Battle Of Britain theme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtBMgAUQQS8

[BossMark]

Nice post Oberon :yeah:

[Tchocky]

I've been listening to this one :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye4R1B_Hfm4

[Schroeder]

To all the brave airman who thought in this battle :salute::salute::salute::salute::salute::salute:
You're not supposed to think in a battle.:O:

[Tchocky]

You're not supposed to think in a battle.:O:

You could be a conscientious endorser!

[Jimbuna]

You're not supposed to think in a battle.:O:

Trust you to notice :)

[mookiemookie]

:salute:

[Sailor Steve]

I've had this mouse pad since 1989.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/SteveStuff/9-151MousePad_zps36a823cf.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/SteveStuff/9-151MousePad_zps36a823cf.jpg.html)

And I need to watch a certain movie tonight. :sunny:

[Jimbuna]

Not U-571 again :nope:

[Red October1984]

Oh. It's the anniversary of this too?

Salute to those involved in this :salute: :salute: :salute:

[Sailor Steve]

Whut? Where? :shifty:

[Oberon]

This is worth a watch too, it dispells some myths about the Battle that have been held since it took place:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Td8bF6Xgb_Y

[Sailor Steve]

That's a pretty good video, except for the parts they got wrong. :O:

Mostly it was okay though.

[Jimbuna]

One of many of my favourite parts in the movie:

Battle of Britain - "Repeat please!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXf1bhEEXd0

[Aktungbby]

That's a pretty good video, except for the parts they got wrong. :O:

Mostly it was okay though.
As a security officer on a lot of CA movies and commercials these days (somebody watches the sets on production hiatus) its never "wrong"- it's "Poetic License"-generally a function of production cost cutting, the directors myopia, and budgetary requirements. Did get all the Mozzarella from a recent 1 day-shoot cheese commercial though, which went well with my home grown tomatoes and basil.. the perks!:Kaleun_Cheers:

[Schroeder]

This is worth a watch too, it dispells some myths about the Battle that have been held since it took place:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Td8bF6Xgb_Y
His comparisan of the 109 to the Spitfire is an utter fail.:dead:

[soopaman2]

Thank you all on the Isles for your strength, and determination.

Britain was a shining light in a dark situation. Churchill did a great job, and the people were strong and stalwart, despite the losses.

If not for Britain withstanding the nasty assault, allied forces would have had no staging area to counter-attack.

Thank you from America for being such a good friend to us all these years. *bows*

[Oberon]

His comparisan of the 109 to the Spitfire is an utter fail.:dead:

This is true, but many of the other statements are true, in terms of the odds were not as stacked against us as it is often stated, particularly since the infamous sea mammal would have been an abject failure if attempted and as such was not really that much of a serious proposition.
Not by any means to degrade the value of the sacrifices of the pilots of both sides.

[Sailor Steve]

His comparisan of the 109 to the Spitfire is an utter fail.:dead:
I was taken by his passionate display of the differences in the guns. Half-baked information is worse than no information at all. :down:

This is true, but many of the other statements are true, in terms of the odds were not as stacked against us as it is often stated, particularly since the infamous sea mammal would have been an abject failure if attempted and as such was not really that much of a serious proposition.
Not by any means to degrade the value of the sacrifices of the pilots of both sides.
I completely agree. I'm sure at the time a lot of people were terrified that Britain might fall, and that has been reflected in books written in the following thirty years or so. I've seen "We almost copped it!" and "They never had a chance!" - sometimes in the same book. It was pretty much a repeat of the whole Armada thing.

Of course I'll also agree about the men who fought. They followed their orders and did what they thought was right.

[Jimbuna]

Thank you all on the Isles for your strength, and determination.

Britain was a shining light in a dark situation. Churchill did a great job, and the people were strong and stalwart, despite the losses.

If not for Britain withstanding the nasty assault, allied forces would have had no staging area to counter-attack.

Thank you from America for being such a good friend to us all these years. *bows*

Well just remember what you've posted the next time you 'trash' Europe because we are still a part of it....sadly :sunny:

[soopaman2]

Well just remember what you've posted the next time you 'trash' Europe because we are still a part of it....sadly :sunny:

I am trying to be nicer, and trash specific situations rather than blanket statements. I said mean things sometimes, and read them the next day like "why did I say that?"

Sorry,I love you guys.:yeah:

I always thought it ironic how strong an ally we are despite our history.
:D

[Jimbuna]

^ + 1

[Aktungbby]

[QUOTE=Sailor Steve;2114948]


I completely agree. It was pretty much a repeat of the whole Armada thing.

/QUOTE]
Not quite; the Armada had God on its side:arrgh!:

[Aktungbby]

Well just remember what you've posted the next time you 'trash' Europe because we are still a part of it....sadly :sunny:
Well... close the Chunnel man! god knows you didn't adopt the Euro too.:arrgh!:

[eddie]

Is there any of our UK members who had relatives who fought in this air battle? Would love to hear their experiences during this epic struggle.

[Jimbuna]

My uncle was a flight sergeant on Lancasters but not exactly BoB.

[eddie]

What was his job on that Lanc Jim?

[Cybermat47]

The Kanalkampf (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9KLw8rMY7s)

The Day Before Adlertag (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBsFkAP48iI)

The Blitz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_htwfzAgX_Q)

R.I.P. all the British, Commonwealth, American, German and Italian airmen who fought in the battle.

[Jimbuna]

What was his job on that Lanc Jim?

IIRC he was a gunner.

At the beginning of the war lower ranks could be made to work at POW camps but not NCO's and officers so mid war (I don't remember the date), all crew members were made to Sergeant and upwards to stop said differential treatment.

[HunterICX]

A Salute to all who took part in this struggle where one side seeked to control all of Europe and the other which wanted to keep the door open to liberate it. :salute:

HunterICX

[Herr-Berbunch]

One has to wonder how thing would've panned out if we'd agreed to let Hitler 'have' Europe, and Britain kept the seas? :hmmm:

[Jimbuna]

Hitler may well of had the industrial might to beat Russia and his twisted ego would have eventually led him across the channel....a possibility anyway.

[Schroeder]

Hitler may well of had the industrial might to beat Russia and his twisted ego would have eventually led him across the channel....a possibility anyway.
Well, you would then be driving on the correct side of the road now and you would have proper food.:O:


:D

[Catfish]

Hitler may well of had the industrial might to beat Russia and his twisted ego would have eventually led him across the channel....a possibility anyway.

He did not have the industrial might as he soon found out in Russia, and as he admitted to the finnish general during their meeting.
Invading a big part of Russia had been his plan all along, not that this excuses anything.
He just did not believe in the english interference, after all the Soviet Union had invaded Poland just like Germany, from the other side.

Without England's declaration of war there probably would not have been an invasion of France, nor Denmark, nor Norway etc.. And he never intended to invade England, this whole sea lion thing was a half-hearted action to keep up the pressure. From what i read he did not bomb the retreating british army because he still had hopes for getting peace, with England. Good for most, it did not happen .. on the other hand there might have been no WW2.
I am happy not to have lived in that time anyway.

[Sailor Steve]

Without England's declaration of war there probably would not have been an invasion of France...
I'm not sure I agree with that assessment. France and England had humliated Germany at the Versailles treaty talks in 1919. I think Hitler would have invaded France no matter what.