British Military Aviation in 1940 - Part 6

Part 5

15 September
Sergeant J. Hannah is awarded the Victoria Cross. Sergeant Hannah, a wireless operator and air gunner, was the youngest airman to receive the Victoria Cross, being only 19 at the time of the award. He was decorated for his actions during a bombing raid on enemy barge concentration at Antwerp, Belgium, while flying in Handley Page Hampden P1355 of No.83 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command.

17 September
The first operational patrol by a Bristol Beaufighter nightfighter fitted with Air Interception radar (AI Mark IV) is flown by an aircraft of No.29 Squadron, RAF Fighter Command, during the night. The Beaufighter was the first truly effective radar-equipped nightfighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF).

19 September
The first convoy of aircraft to use the West African Reinforcement Route, six Hawker Hurricanes, led by a Bristol Blenheim carrying a navigator, leave Takoradi in the Gold Coast en route across the African Continent to Abu Sueir in Egypt. The aircraft covers the 1,026 mile route in 8 days, arriving at No.102 Maintenance Unit, RAF Abu Sueir, on 27 September. The West African Reinforcement Route is established to enable aircraft manufactured in the United Kingdom or acquired via Lease-Lend to be ferried to the Mediterranean and Middle East theatres without having to brave the dangerous passage through the Mediterranean - it will prove a vital artery for the Allied air forces.

20 September
The first operational mission by Hawker Hurricane fighter-bombers is carried out in the Mediterranean theatre, when aircraft of No.261 Squadron in Malta attack targets in Sicily.

6 October
The opening of final stage of Battle of Britain, which will continue until 31 October. Daylight attacks gradually give way to night raids.

8 October
No.71 Squadron is formed. This is the first of the Royal Air Force's 'Eagle Squadrons', the aircrew of which are predominantly drawn from United States citizens enrolled in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Subsequently, two further Eagle Squadrons (No.121 and No.133 Squadrons) are formed. Following America's entry into the war, the Eagle Squadrons are transferred to the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) where they form the 4th Fighter Group, United States 8th Air Force.

12 October
Hitler postpons Operation Sealion (the invasion of Britain) until the Spring of 1941.

18 October
It is announced in the House of Commons that, because of Luftwaffe air raids on London, nearly half a million children have been evacuated and that thousands more continue to leave on a daily basis.

25 October
Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal succeeds Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Cyril Newall as Chief of the Air Staff.

25 October
Aircraft of the Italian Air Force contingent in Belgium, the Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI), raid the United Kingdom for the first time, when fifteen Fiat BR20 bombers attack Harwich by night. The CAI is attached to the Luftwaffe's Luftflotte 2 and between 25 October and 31 December 1940, the Italian Air Force contingent in Belgium flies 97 bomber and 113 fighter sorties, without achieving any notable results.

27 October
The Skoda works at Pilsen in Czechoslovakia is attacked by Bomber Command for the first time.

28 October
Italian forces invade Greece from Albania. By the end of December the Royal Air Force (RAF) have deployed three light bomber squadrons equipped with Bristol Blenheims (Nos. 30, 84 and 211 Squadrons) and two fighter squadrons equipped with Gloster Gladiators (No.80 and No.112 Squadrons) to Greece. The Gladiator squadrons succeed in achieving a degree of air superiority over the Italians.

31 October
The Battle of Britain is officially regarded as having come to an end on this date. During November, the Luftwaffe commence night bombing operations against British cities in earnest.

On 15 May 1947, Secretary of State for Air, Mr Philip Noel-Baker, announces official German statistics for Luftwaffe aircraft casualties during the Battle of Britain between 10 July and 31 October 1940, which are accepted to be accurate: 1,733 aircraft destroyed and 643 damaged.

10 November
The first landplanes to be ferried across the Atlantic by air, seven Lockheed Hudsons, are flown from Gander in Newfoundland, Canada to Aldergrove in Northern Ireland by aircrew of the Atlantic Ferry Organisation (ATFERO). The flight is led by Captain D.C.T. Bennett, who will later rejoin the Royal Air Force, becoming Air Officer Commanding of No.8 (Pathfinder) Group, RAF Bomber Command.

ATFERO had been established in July 1940 at the initiative of the Minister of Aircraft Production, Lord Beaverbrook, to ferry aircraft purchased from United States manufacturers to the United Kingdom by air, avoiding a slow and hazardous sea crossing. ATFERO aircrews comprise a mixture of civilian and military personnel. Between 1940 and 1944, 4,321 aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and 10,468 for the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) will be ferried by air across the Atlantic.

11 November
Twenty-one Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers of the Fleet Air Arm are launched in two waves from the deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious to attack the Italian naval base at Taranto in southern Italy. Surprise is total and the attackers succeed in torpedoing one new and two old battleships and one cruiser, and damaging dockyard installations. More importantly, immediately following the attack all seaworthy vessels in Taranto leave the port for anchorages on Italy's west coast, this reducing the threat to British convoys in the Mediterranean. Only two Swordfish are lost during the attack. This raid strongly influenced the Japanese attack on the United States Navy (USN) anchorage at Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941.

14 November
During Operation Moonlight Sonata, 450 Luftwaffe bombers attack Coventry, devastating the centre of the city. The air defences fail to destroy a single enemy aircraft.

15 November
Hamburg is attacked by 49 Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers.

17 November
Operation White: the second delivery of twelve Hawker Hurricane fighters to Malta from HMS Argus. Unlike the first such operation, on 2 August, it is not a success because eight of the twelve aircraft run out of fuel before reaching the island and are forced to ditch in the Mediterranean.

19 November
The first German bomber to be shot down by Bristol Beaufighter nightfighter of RAF Fighter Command falls on this night. A Junkers Ju88A-5 of 3/Kampfgeschwader 54 is damaged by a Beaufighter flown by Flight Lieutenant John Cunningham and Sergeant J. Phillipson of No.604 Squadron over the Midlands and subsequently crashes near East Wittering, Chichester. Two of the crew are killed and the remaining two crewmembers bail out of the aircraft and are captured. Flight Lieutenant (later Group Captain) John Cunningham later becomes one of the Royal Air Force's most successful nightfighter pilots.

1 December
Royal Air Force Army Co-operation Command is formed under command of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Barrett.

1 December
No.148 Squadron (Vickers Wellington) is established on Malta, becoming the first Royal Air Force bomber squadron to be based on the island.

10 December
Hitler announces the decision to base the Luftwaffe's Fliegerkorps X in the Mediterranean. Units from this formation begin to arrive in Italy and Sicily during January 1941.

20 December
Two Supermarine Spitfires of No.66 Squadron inaugurate Rhubarb offensive sweeps (small-scale fighter or fighter-bomber attacks on ground targets) over France with a sortie against Le Touquet.

21 December
The first 'intruder' sorties (offensive night patrols over enemy territory intended to destroy hostile aircraft and dislocate the enemy's flying training organisation) are mounted by Bristol Blenheims of No.23 Squadron. This duty is transferred from Bomber Command which had flown 'security patrols' to harass Luftwaffe bombers participating in night raids on the United Kingdom.

26 December
Blind approach equipment begins to be introduced into operational aircraft for the first time.

Part 5