It would be the day during the Battle of Britain that would produce the biggest losses for
both sides, with three major aerial assaults flown by the Luftwaffe against the defending
Royal Air Force.
It was a defining battle of the second world war.
It's Sunday August 18th, 1940, two months since the desperate retreat of the British
Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk.
The British Army has lost much of its equipment and armour, abandoned in France during the
evacuation.
Germany occupies Northern France and the High Command believe they need to defeat Britain
before they can safely turn their attention towards the USSR to the east.
Rish marshall guering , commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, knows he will need to destroy
the RAF to gain air superiority over southern England and the channel to allow the invasion
of Britain, Operation Sealion, to be attempted.
Luftwaffe attacks on Britain had been intensifying since July, and on this day, the Luftwaffe
would make an all-out attempt to destroy the RAF's Fighter Command.
It would become known as The Hardest Day.
Beginning at sunrise, and continuing throughout the early morning, German reconnaissance and
weather aircraft have been flying routes around the channel and the south of England.
The first main assault had been due to embark at approximately 9am, but was postponed due
to insufficient weather conditions over the targets.
Most recon flights passed uneventfully.
Elements of some RAF squadrons are scrambled to intercept but the harassing German recon
aircraft escaped unscathed, with one exception.
At just after 11am a Bf 110 on a high level reconnaissance mission crosses the English
coastline having been monitored by radars of the Home Chain.
This information is passed through the RAF command and control system, known as the Dowding
System, and 5 Spitfires of 54 Squadron are scrambled from RAF Hornchurch.
The Bf110 turns north east over the thames estuary, believing to be at too high an attitude
to be intercepted.
The fighters are vectored to the interception by sector controllers at RAF Hornchurch, and
engage the lone aircraft.
A long diving chase towards the French coast ensues, and the German aircraft eventually
crashes into the sea near Calais at 1130.
The German plan for the midday assault is ambitious.
Three bomber formations are to hit RAF Kenley, a Fighter Command airfield, from different
directions and height within a few minutes of each other.
The first is to be the 12 Junkers Ju88s of the 2nd Staffel of KG 76, which are to dive-bomb
the hangars of RAF Kenley from high altitude.
Shortly after, the 27 Dornier Do17s of the 1st and 3rd Staffels of KG 76 will level-bomb
from high altitude the runways and landing areas.
Finally, 9 Do 17s of the 9th Staffel KG76, a specialist low level strike unit, will follow
a longer south westerly route into the target at very low level, and precision bomb whichever
airfield targets were left standing after the first and second waves.
Following KG 76 are to be the 60 Heinkel He111s of KG 1, whose target is fighter command airfield
- RAF Biggin Hill.
All bomber formations except for the specialist low level unit are to be accompanied by a
close fighter escort, with another separate fighter group sweeping the airspace ahead
in a free hunt role to clear the path of RAF fighters before the main force arrives.
At 12.10pm, the formations of Ju88s and Do17s of KG76 are attempting to form up with their
fighter escorts over Calais.
Dense cloud is delaying the rendez-vous.
The Do17s finally turn west with their Bf110 fighter escort, 6 minutes late.
The Ju88s follow some miles behind.
The Ju88s should be leading the formation so as to allow them to clearly spot and precision
bomb Kenley's hangars on arrival without bomb smoke, but the confusion has cost them their
position.
The rendez-vous between KG 1's He 111s and their Bf 109 escorts is achieved without difficulty,
and they turn west towards Biggin Hill.
Meanwhile, British radar is picking up the formation massing over the channel.
Within minutes the RAF's underground control bunker at RAF Uxbridge scrambles five fighter
squadrons totalling 17 spitfires and 36 hurricanes to patrol canterbury and margate, and a further
four squadrons totalling 23 spitfires and 27 hurricanes to orbit and defend Kenley and
Biggin Hill themselves.
The initial RAF response totals 97 fighter aircraft to meet the 108 bomber and 150 fighter
aircraft of the Luftwaffe attack.
Soon after crossing the English coast, a 109 in the free hunting fighter group spots 501
squadron Hurricanes climbing below.
The pilot turns and dives on the defenders, shooting down 4 Hurricanes.
Debris from the fourth damages the 109, forcing the pilot to bail out.
The squadrons defending Biggin Hill and Kenley spot the enormous armada of aircraft heading
towards them and turn to engage, smashing head on into the bombers and then turning
to follow.
The escorting fighters fall on the defenders, and a chaotic melee ensues.
111 Squadron, who are just scrambling from Croydon, are the only squadron to spot the
low flying bomber unit approaching from the south towards Kenley, and manoeuvre to attack.
The lead low level Do17 pilot doesnt see any smoke rising at Kenley, and realises that
their group will be the first to attack the airfield, instead of the last.
As they drop their bombs on the hangars, the hurricanes of 111 squadron tear into them.
Through the melee of aircraft around them, the high altitude Do17s spot the runway of
Kenley and drop their bombs.
By the time the dive bombing Ju88s arrive, Kenley is clouded by the smoke of the first
two waves, rendering a precision strike on the hangars impossible.
The flight commander decides to instead attack the secondary target of RAF West Malling,
20 miles to the east.
The Heinkels of KG 1 are on their final bomb run on Biggin Hill.
610 sqn spitfires are struggling to break through the 109 fighter escort to deal damage
to the bombers.
The Heinkels release their bombs and turn for home unchallenged.
After dropping their ordnance on West Malling, the Ju88s also finally turn south east to
make the desperate escape home.
Meanwhile, the RAF squadrons scrambled to patrol Canterbury and Margate lie in wait
over the German route home.
Group controllers order the squadrons to fan out over Kent to increase the chance of engaging
the enemy formations.
Spitfires and Hurricanes hit the retreating formations hard all over Kent and into the
English channel.
At 1.50 the RAF are gradually returning to base to refuel and re-arm.
90 miles to the south west of the withdrawing German forces, a long range German reconnaissance
aircraft has been feeding intelligence back to a new formation of raiders massing over
Cherbourg.
Junkers Ju87 Stuka Dive bombers from two Luftwaffe Geschwaders deployed to forward operating
bases south of the city earlier in the day, bringing the south coast of England into operational
range.
After refuelling and arming at the forward airfields, the Stukas take off.
They rendez-vous to the east of Cherbourg into four flights, totalling 109 dive bombers
and turn north towards England.
157 Bf109s from JG 27 and JG53 are to provide close escort.
The 109s give the Stukas a head start to allow for their slow cruise speed, and take off
to meet over the channel.
Another 55 109s have taken off from Le Havre, and will independently sweep alongside the
main formation to attempt to clear the sky of RAF fighters.
The Stukas will split east of the Isle of Wight and to precision dive bomb four different
targets - RAF Gosport, RAF Thorny Island, RAF Ford, and Radar Station Poling.
Poling detects the enemy formations.
6 squadrons of fighters are scrambled from 5 airfields across the south coast.
The defenders total 68, made up of Hurricanes and Spitfires against the raiding force of
300 aircraft crossing the channel.
The Stuka groups attacking Gosport, Ford and Poling reach their targets avoiding the defending
fighters, who are being forced into combat with their 109 escorts.
However, numbers 43 and 601 squadrons rip into the fourth Stuka formation on its run
in to Thorny Island, shooting down 6 in the space of two minutes.
All four targets are hit, but the most devestating strike is on RAF Ford where the bombers are
free to identify and prosecute their targets without pressure.
Bombs are dropped at Radar Station Poling with precision, rendering the installation
inoperable.
The Stukas are slow, and the Hurricanes and Spitfires are mauling them in numbers as they
make the turn for home.
A widespread and confused melee breaks out over the sea to the south of Thorney Island
and the defending fighters punish the raiders.
The 109 escorts are desperately trying to counter-attack the merciless attacks on their
bombers, but the Spitfires are proving a dangerous aerial combat adversary.
The single rear gunners on the Stukas are no match for the lethal gun platform and ruggedness
of the Hurricanes.
When the slaughter ends, 15 Stukas have been destroyed with a further 7 damaged beyond
repair.
8 Bf109s have also been destroyed, bringing the total Luftwaffe loss for the raid to 30
aircraft.
The RAF lost 5 fighters.
The radar Station at Poling has been degraded.
The long range high altitude radar had been disabled, but the low level short range scanner
remained in operation.
A temporary mobile station was set up on the Isle of Wight while repairs could be made
to Poling.
The RAF considered this nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
Thanks to the concentrated effort of two squadrons on the Stukas attacking Thorney Island, the
airfield gets off comparatively lightly.
Two hangars have been leveled and three Coastal Command light aircraft destroyed.
Gosport hasn't survived unscathed, several buildings destroyed, four aircraft destroyed
and five damaged.
Ford has taken the worst beating.
The Luftwaffe has hit the airfield believing it to be a Fighter Command airfield, however
it is currently being used by Coastal Command by naval bombers.
28 people are killed on the ground with 75 wounded.
Many parked up Coastal Command aircraft have been destroyed - 5 Blackburn Sharks, 5 Fairey
Swordfish, 2 Fairey Albacores and a Percival Proctor.
Another 26 aircraft are damaged.
While the loss of life and aircraft is significant, the loss of Coastal Command aircraft is of
less strategic importance than the need to preserve Spitfires and Hurricanes to defend
the skies above Britain to prevent invasion.
Likewise, the Luftwaffe lost 30 aircraft in an endeavour against, what turned out to be,
Coastal Command airfields, and a radar capability that was only mildly inconvenienced.
The raid is a clear defeat for the Luftwaffe.
The final major raid of the day begins at around 5pm.
A simpler goal than the earlier raids, formations of bombers with fighter escort will hit RAF
Hornchurch and RAF North Weald.
The 58 Do17s heading for Hornchurch and the 51 He111s for North Weald are aiming to cross
the English coastline at approximately the time on the way to their targets, so as to
split the RAF response.
The Heinkels have a longer flight to North Weald, so leave 15 minutes earlier.
They give the east coast of England a safe distance.
Bf109 and Bf110 fighters, totalling 140, escort the bomber groups.
As the mass of German aircraft are detected, the RAF controllers begin to scramble squadrons.
Some are ordered to patrol the Margate/Canterbury line, and the remainder are to patrol and
defend the local Fighter Command airfields.
KG 53, the Heinkels heading for North Weald, head directly north to avoid making landfall
until the last moment, and then turn west when they're parallel to the target.
Bf110 twin engine fighters escort this group because they have longer range than the single
engine Bf109.
Providing close escort in the 110 is perilous because they're having to throttle back to
a slow speed to stay with the bombers.
When the fast and nimble RAF fighters are spotted, the large fighter is slow to accelerate
to combat speed, costing precious seconds during the dogfight.
The first interceptors to smash into the enemy formation are 12 Hurricanes of 56 Squadron
and 12 Spitfires of 54 Squadron.
As it becomes clear that RAF North Weald is the target another four RAF squadrons are
vectored in to the melee.
At this point during the German bombing campaign against Britain, indiscriminate bombing of
civilians is forbidden.
As the group of attackers approaches North Weald it becomes clear that the cloud cover
is far worse than forecast, and bombing the airfield is impossible.
The attack is aborted and the group makes a left turn to the south east to head for
home.
As they retreat, they're punished by the chasing fighters.
Meanwhile, to the south, the Dorniers en route to Hornchurch arrive at the same conclusion
regarding the weather and turn for home.
The group has been harassed by 15 Spitfires on its way across Kent, losing 5 aircraft.
The evening assault is an unquestionable disaster for the Luftwaffe.
No bombers reached their target.
They jettison their bomb load at the earliest opportunity in attempts to gain height and
speed to evade the relentless mauling of the RAF.
However 12 Group, RAF, responsible for defending the English midlands, show embarassing efficiency
when intercepting KG53 heading for North Weald.
Of the forty five 12 Group fighters scrambled, only 3 found and engaged the enemy.
The majority of success against KG53 was that of 11 Group.
Later in the evening, RAF Bomber Command send dispatch 60 Blenheims and Whitleys to attack
targets in northern France and Holland, the Fiat factories in Turin in Italy, and the
aluminium works on Rheinfelden in Germany.
Luftwaffe bomber units hit cities across Britain with minimal success.
Despite being outnumbered throughout the Hardest Day, the RAF has lost 40 aircraft in combat
against an estimated 70 Luftwaffe aircraft lost.
Another 28 were destroyed on the ground during the bombing.
This would be the largest number of aircraft lost in a single day during the Battle of
Britain.
Of the 403 sorties by the RAF, 320 made contact with the enemy.
The effective use of radar and the efficient command and control system within the RAF
led to this excellent 80% intercept rate.
Frontline squadrons in the south east took the brunt of the battle.
The busiest was 43 Squadron, armed with Hurricanes, flying 63 sorties, 5 sorties per aircraft
throughout the day.
The day was a strategic loss for the Luftwaffe, who’s rate of attrition was becoming critical.
Two days after the Hardest Day, Winston Churchill would give tribute to the fighter pilots,
the Few; young men of an average age of 20 from Britain, the Commonwealth, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
and other nations, who, undaunted by odds, were turning the tide of the world war with
their devotion and prowess.