The 9 May 1940 started for Air Vice Marshal Barratt in a
very inauspicious way at 2:15 a.m. with a call from London to warn him that
Germany had issued an ultimatum to the Dutch, however there was no confirmation
from the attaché in The Hague though it seemed like another “flap” like
November and April. The squadrons were again brought to standby in readiness
and although nothing came to pass that day they were held in a state of
preparedness.
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| A formation of Fairey Battles |
Early the following morning the
Luftwaffe made the first move with small groups of bombers attacking airfields
at Bethenville, Mournelen, Berrey-Au-Bac and Reims-Champagne dropping high explosives
and incendiaries but despite destroying hangers and tool sheds only three of
the AASFs Battles were lost with a further two damaged. 142 Squadron received
their visitors at 4:35 a.m. with six He 111 Bombers attacking between 600 and
1000 feet but causing minor shrapnel damage to one Battle and a clutch of
German ordinance which failed to explode at all! They received another attack
at 6:00 a.m. with incendiaries dropped causing no damage. In total forty-three
French, ten Dutch and eight Belgian airfields were hit on the first day
destroying 210 aircraft though the German crews claimed up to 829 aircraft
destroyed on the ground. Had the Luftwaffe intelligence been sharper then the
casualties in the North of France could have been a lot worse with only twenty
one of ninety one airfields being attacked with half of them not holding first
line squadrons and Luftflotte 3s crews failed to find any targets.
By 6:00 a.m. news of German soldiers
crossing the borders and paratroopers landing from Ju 52s reached the RAF and
the Battle squadrons were brought up from Standby to Alert No.2 and very
quickly Alert No.3 but by 10:30 a.m. when Barratt took control of the situation
at Chauny the Battles were still on the ground. The Blenheims of the Component
and AASF were sent on reconnaissance flights and spotted smoke over the Ruhr
which obstructed most of their field of vision but vehicle columns a mile long
were sighted heading north west from Kaldenkirchen. Three reconnaissance
sorties in the norther sector were lost including P/O Thomas’ Blenheim of 57
squadron which came down at Echtveld at 11:30 a.m. with the crew all killed.
F/Lt Wyatt of the same squadron was also injured in the arm by enemy fire
As the day unfolded and the news of
a widespread German assault on the low countries was reported the AASF were
called to attack targets ten times but it was not until midday that eight
Battles of 142 squadron, who had been on standby for two and a half hours, took
off to attack a German column on the Luxembourg to Dippoch road. The formation
had six Hurricanes flying as top cover as the low flying Battles approached the
target but the danger was not coming from Messerschmitts above them this time
and as soon as the Battles were close enough the German Flak opened up filling
the sky with shards of hot metal that eviscerated the lightly armoured Battles
at point blank range. The two sections came in at 250 feet and dropped their
four 250lb bombs, set with eleven second delayed fuses. Of the seven Battles
who reached the target (P/O Chalmers had returned following a problem with his
landing gear) three failed to return. Sgt Spears and his crew managed to escape
the Germans following their crash landing at Colmey whereas F/O Roth and his
gunner were not so lucky and were taken away to the rear of the German advance
and P/O Laws’ Battle crashed killing his crew. Other aircraft were severely
holed with crewmen like LAC Cave, who was hospitalised on the return to base.
P/O Corbett received a DFC for bringing his Battle back with an injured ankle
and his observer, Sgt Irvine, dead. Despite these loses the Squadron’s record
of events records proudly; “No. 142 Squadron was the first Squadron in the AASF
to carryout operations on enemy columns.”
Barratt was to dispatch other
squadrons throughout the day to harass the columns with 150 squadron taking off
in two sections of two and one of three taking off between 2:45 and 3:57p.m.
Like 142 squadron they had had five aircraft on standby since 5:30 a.m. which
was increased to eight at 9:45 a.m. and didn’t receive their preliminary orders
until 1:10 p.m. The first wave led by F/Lt Weeks bombed the column found
between Neufchateau and Bertrix attracting a similar hail of fire but Weekes
and Sgt Andrews’ two Battles returned with P/O Campbell-Irons disappearing. The
second wave also were never seen again after their take off whereas the third
wing led by F/O Blom whose aircraft had been hit over Differdange by Flak which
ruptured a petrol tank filling the cockpit with petrol fumes which impaired the
crew’s vision and caused “Intense discomfort.” They failed to find a target
between Luxembourg and Echternach but managed to find one near Gevenmacher and
attacked at 100 feet and strafed with forward and rear guns but Sgt White’s
Battle disappeared not long after the attack. Blom would later receive the DFC
for attacking the column with his damaged aircraft despite the four missing
aircraft only F/Lt Parker was killed with five men taken prisoner and Sgt
White’s crew making a delayed evasion arriving on the 13 May.
The crews of 103 squadron suffered
quite extensively with three of the four bombers shot-down
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| F/Lt E Parker's wrecked Battle under guard |
with P/O Drabble,
Sgt Smith and LAC Lamble were all killed as were Sgt Poole and LAC Hutchinson
of Sgt Lowne’s crew whereas P/O Wells and his crew as well as Lowne were all
captured.
The 10 May’s sorties showed that not
only were the mobile columns easy targets as Allied planners had hoped but also
that the Fairey Battle and indeed low flying Blenheims from Bomber Command,
were exceptionally vulnerable to concentrated Flak. It was not just mobile flak
batteries firing at the RAF but even German infantry firing rifles and
motorbike and sidecar riders firing their mounted MG 34s! The AASF report
stated:
Even at this early stage of operations the
difficulties of operating against fleeting targets became evident. The Columns
against which raids had been dispatched proved to have dispersed or to have
moved elsewhere by the time the raid reached the area of operations.
This was the same problem encountered by Bomber Command over Heligoland coupled
with murderous anti-aircraft fire and the threat of aerial superiority from
German fighters.
A further raid was authorised in the
early evening when it was hoped that the failing light would mean there was
less chance of being caught by marauding Messerschmitts especially as there
were no Hurricanes or French fighters available for escort duties. Two half
sections totalling four aircraft from 12 Squadron took off between 4.50 and
5.05 p.m. Although they did not encounter the Luftwaffe they did encounter
“heavy crossfire” which severed F/lt Hunts bomb control cable and he retired to
Piennes whilst Sgt Young, P/o Hulse’s observer was wounded in the shoulder.
Through the fire F/lt Simpson dropped
his four bombs and pulled away but was quickly informed by his observer, Sgt
Odell that petrol was streaming from the tanks and he soon noted that the
engine was starting to stutter as they crossed the frontier. Knowing that they
would not make it back to their base Simpson decided to put the Battle down in
a field in a controlled crash at 6:15 p.m. Odell and LAC Thomlinson pulled
themselves free of the now burning wreck only to realise that Simpson was still
in the cockpit and hurried to save their pilot. Although Tomlinson received
burns to his hands pulling a similarly burnt Simpson between the two of them
they managed to get 150 yards away before the Battle blew up. For their bravery
Tomlinson and Odell received the DFM and Simpson the DFC. The only other
aircraft not to come back was P/O Matthews who was reported last seen landing
in a field at 6:00 p.m. but the whole crew were captured.
Other squadrons had also engaged
during the day with 105 squadron losing P/O O’Brien’s Battle and 218 Squadron
whose aircraft reaped a similar level of flak killing LAC Baguley in the turret
of L5402. Battles from 226 squadron joined the evening raids on a convoy taking
off from Reims at 5:00 p.m.. Sgt McLoughlin reported anti-aircraft batteries on
the surrounding hills north and west of Luxembourg and machine guns firing
yellow tracer from railway cuttings. Despite being unable to pinpoint the troop
concentrations Mcloughlin dive bombed but was unable to report specific damage
whilst AC Russel emptied half a pan of his Vickers ammunition into targets. Sgt
Barron bombed a convoy of thirty to forty vehicles not far from a large
wireless station leaving a crater in the road and a near miss some fifteen
yards away. But Barron was struck y anti-aircraft fire with a German bullet
passing straight through his left leg but still managed to get his craft and
crew home reporting seeing F/O Kerridge’s Battle in flames south west of
Luxembourg. Kerridge was killed and Corporal Dixon badly burnt as the aircraft
crashed into the northern suburbs of Faubourg de Luxembourg. F/O Cameron
suffered a similar fate with ground fire shooting him down leaving his crew to
join Kerridge’s in a POW camp and him ding in Diekirch hospital as the surgeons
operated to save his arm.
Of thirty-two Battles to go into
action on 10 May thirteen were lost and the majority of the aircraft that
returned were holed and damaged. The following day saw the AASF faced similar
action against German columns with French reconnaissance pinpointing one
consisting of important German units on the road from Prum to Echternach on its
way towards Luxembourg. Six Hurricanes were sent to cover the target area above
Prum at 9:45 a.m. but they returned having seen no Battles over the target
area.
Two half sections had taken off from
both 218 squadron and 88 Squadron but none made it through with all four of
218s Battles being shot down. F/O Crews was brought down by ground fire which
killed his observer Sgt Jennings and left Crews and Sgt Evans POW joining F/O
Hudson and his crew. P/O Murray was badly burnt but similarly captured with his
gunner and his observer hospitalised by the Germans at Limberg having lost his
little finger. Only P/O Ridder of 88 Squadron returned as the sole survivor
albeit heavily damaged and reported that:
his leader force-landed near Bastogne, and that he
lost the remaining two aircraft near St Vith from ground fire. He was himself
unable to drop his bombs because his bomb gear had been damaged and he returned
followed by an Me 109. Of the remaining four aircraft there was no news at all.
None of the other crews returned or had landed in Allied controlled territory
with F/Lt Madge’s Battle crashing on the Bastogne to Neufchâteau road with Sgt
Whittle killed. Of the missing Battles P/O Mungovan and Sgt Robson were
captured but all of P/O Skidmore’s crew and AC1 Maltby were killed. The
combination of accurate ground fire and Messerschmitt patrols was starting to
prove a deadly combination
The Blenheims of the Air Component
were faring no batter in their reconnaissance duties with two
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| Bristol Blenheim Mk IVs |
of the four
sorties sent to the Albert Canal being lost with Sgt Voi lost at 3:30 a.m. and
F/O Ballis failed to return from the 8:30 p.m. patrol. The other squadron to
see action was 53 Squadron which returned three of four Blenheims with no
footage due to low cloud but lost P/O Alistair Panton who was bounced by six Messerschmitts
whose concentrated fire shattered the control panel and caused the starboard
engine to explode in flames whilst Sgt Bence in the rear turret cried out that
he was hit and Sgt Christie collapsed from a head wound over the navigators
table. Having brought the burning Blenheim down into a meadow. Panton pulled
Christie free of the burning wreck before returning to pull Bence free whilst
ammunition and fuel exploded around them and the Luftwaffe fighters making
strafing runs at them. Panton managed to load his crew into a commandeered car
and dodge a German column and Stuka attack to get his crew into a Belgian
hospital. Bence lost his left leg due to his injuries but Christie and Panton
managed to escape back to British lines.
The RAF headquarters made the decision
made the decision at midday that no reconnaissance flights should be made in
the Maastrict area as the Luftwaffe had gained superiority and it was too
dangerous and by 1:45 p.m. the Germans had taken the Canal and occupied Tongres
whilst the Belgians retired to the Gotte river and the Wehrmacht continued to
grow in strength in the Belgian Ardennes and Maastricht.
The Reconaisance information gained by
the French and the Lysanders of the Air Component showed that the Belgian
airforce had been decimated with thirty burnt out aircraft seen at Wunche and
Tirlement airfield. Other reports had left the planners stumped as to where the
German strike was going to come from with the continuing build-up of forces in
the Belgian Ardennes and the powerful thrusts that had already taken Paliscul,
Bouillon and Givonne with their apparent target being Sedan. The quandary came
as to whether this was to draw off attention from the Low Countries or the main
thrust that would bypass Maginot into the French Hinterland but the “unpleasantly
strong” forces in Belgium left them unsure. Barratt signalled GQG that he was;
Not yet able to decide which of
the two following enemy threats is the main attack, general axis Maastricht –
Gembloux with secondary thrusts on axis Bois-le-due – Tilbery or attack in the
Ardennes in general direction Mézières with purpose turning the Maginot line.
The decision was made for them by the
Belgians who on the night of 11 May had sent an urgent
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| Crews boarding their Fairey Battle |
request stressing the
need to destroy two remaining bridges over the Albert Canal situated three
miles to the south west of Maastricht. The Belgians had sent a team of
engineers to destroy them but they had failed to do so because they had
encountered stiff German opposition which led to the decapitation of the
commanding officer by shell fire which also cut all means of telephone
communication.
The two bridge, one near Veldwezelt
and the other near Vroenhoven on the M-Tongros line, were being fortified by
German troops with flak emplacements and with all probability an umbrella of
Messerschmitts. With such staggering odds an all-out attack by the whole AASF
was ruled out and a smaller formation of volunteer crews was to be sent
instead.
When the assembled crews of 12
Squadron were asked for six volunteer crews they all volunteered and lots had
to be drawn. Barratt did what he could to give these men a fighting chance and
coordinated with Bomber Command to attack other crossings in the Maastricht
area and German columns to draw off the Luftwaffe whilst also providing ten
Hurricanes as escort.
The Battles took off at 8:18 a.m. with
three under F/O Garland heading for Veldwezelt and two under F/O Norman Thomas
for Vroenhoven. The sixth aircraft flown by P/O Brereton suffered from a faulty
wireless set so a second aircraft was quickly appropriated but that one had a
mechanical fault with the hydraulic gear on the bomb rack failing. It was too
late for them to get a third aircraft ready and with disappointment the crew
returned to await the results of the raid unknowing that the faults had spared
their lives that day.
F/O Thomas and P/O Davey continued
with their three Hurricane escort towards Vroenhoven but encountered a sweep of
around thirty Messerschmitts when they were still twenty miles from the target.
The Hurricanes, though outnumbered ten to one charged into the Germans and
distracted them long enough for Thomas and Davy to make their attack runs on
the bridge through a fierce barrage of anti-aircraft fire and small arms. The
two Battles dived from six to two thousand feet and dropped a total of eight
250 lb bombs and striking the target. Sgt Mansell, Davey’s observer reported
that “On looking down we saw that one bridge now matched the other” and
the escorting Hurricanes saw bombs bursting on or near the target.
The fire was too thick though and F/O
Thomas’ Battle came down in flames and crash landed next to the target with the
crew quickly captured. Davy was hit quite badly and he was also quickly
attacked by a 109 which made two passes before diving away through a gap in the
clouds trailing smoke following a blast from AC1 Patterson’s Vickers. Mansell
contacted Davy down the intercom to tell him that the port fuel tank was
leaking, trailing white smoke. Davy took the decision and try and bring L5241
back but not risk the lives of his crew and whilst over Maastricht he ordered
Mansell and Patterson to bail out whilst he attempted to nurse the Battle home.
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| Fairey Battles attacking a German column (IWM C1737) |
Garland’s formation encountered the
same level of flak but Garland did not hesitate and brought
his formation down
on the bridge whilst German trucks snaked across it. One of Sgt Grey’s bombs
send a column of water into the air showing a near miss but others struck home
with one German truck bursting into flames whilst another struck the first span
but Garland was seen to immediately burst into flames and crash. As the other
two aircraft pulled out of their attack runs they were set upon by the
Luftwaffe with one aircraft crashing into the river and the other into a field.
P/O McIntosh, despite severe burns had dropped his bombs and managed to bring
the burning wreck into a landing in a field within German territory. When his
crew were interrogated the German officer was incredulous that the British had
allowed them two days to fortify the bridge before attacking. Sgt Marland’s was
last seen climbing out of control and claimed the lives of the whole crew. Only Davy returned to base that day out of
fifteen men who left that morning. Sgt Mansell returned having evaded German
patrols but AC1 Patterson broke a bone in his foot on landing and was unable to
escape the German held territory.
Although the losses were high the
crossings had been destroyed which had been the main objective of the mission
and the German advance slowed. Garland and Grey were both awarded the Victoria
Cross posthumously whilst Davy was rested but on his return to duty he was far
from enthusiastic about being back on Battles.
Holding the Germans at the Albert
Canal was to prove fruitless as Holland surrendered on the following day and
reconnaissance flights, although hampered by low cloud, which caused four
sorties to be aborted and enemy fire which damaged two with another failing to
return, reported the Germans had crossed the Meuse. When reports of German
soldiers on the left bank were reported the AASF requested permission to attack
but it took the BAFF HQ three quarters of an hour later it was decided that no
attack would be carried out on this occasion with the official history
recording that;
The reason
for returning a negative was not recorded; probably the targets were considered
unsuitable, or else action was left to the French who operated with a few
bombers in this area before midnight.
The Germans were throwing their weight
against the Meuse at where their main Schwehrpunkt would be and Guderian’s
combat engineers brought up the last of their bridging equipment whilst the
Panzers of Army Group A began to access and the flak detachments under the
command of Oberst von Hippel began to dig in around the area having been brought
to the front with all due haste. The Luftwaffe were also operating over the
bridgehead attacking French positions and providing an umbrella of fighter
cover for the vulnerable German soldiers in rubber dinghies and combat
engineers struggling to construct pontoon bridges. By the morning of 14 May the
Germans had occupied a front from Vringne-sur-Meuze to Mouzon with a depth of
ten miles to Vendressa-la Nelville. Despite the order the day before not to
engage the AASF had been put on standby with operations planned for the morning
with three half sections to attack pontoon bridges at Sedan and two half
sections at the Dinant sector. The situation was fairly fluidic though and
during the night French Bomber forces claimed the Dinant bridges destroyed and
the AASF raid scrubbed. By first light six Battles from 113 squadron were
detailed to attack four bridges over the Meuse and at Chiers and four from 150
squadron took off at 7:35 a.m. to attack pontoon bridges at the island north of
Villers and between Romilly and Allincourt. Both raids reported intense
anti-aircraft fire from German positions but no fighters. Both formations were
given fighter escorts with Hurricanes escorting the former and the French the
latter and despite one of 103s pilots being injured all of the crews returned
and reported success except for the island bridge which could not be located
and so instead the two Battles attacked German troops in the village of Moliry.
The results of these early raids were
encouraging especially considering the levels of loss experienced on the
previous days. As the crews debriefed and supplied the Intelligence officers
with fresh reports on the German disposition plans were being drawn up for
attack on German columns near Breda. By 12:15 p.m. the French contacted Barratt
and pleaded for all of the help he had available to stop the German advance.
There was a major thrust developing in the Dinant sector but more importantly
the Sedan bubble was expanding and in need of checking with the French position
being attacked before they themselves could launch a counterattack. General
Gamelin and General Georges requested as much help as could be mustered with
Barratt contacting the Chief of the Air Staff and ordering every possible
bomber to be ready from 2:05 p.m. at the shortest possible notice.
A plan was devised in coordination
with the French to see them alternate attacks with three hour intervals with
the AASF up first as the French had launched an attack of forty bombers
escorted by a similar number of fighters at 12:30 p.m.. Barratt’s plan was for
a wide spread of five brides to be attacked by eleven Battles each attack
lasting over forty-five minutes with twenty minutes between attacks. Columns
were also to be attacked in the same raids from Bouillon through Givena to
Sedan with all seventy seven aircraft in the air at the same time.
As with all plans there were two minor
hitches with the orders reaching 76 wing, who were due to lead the attack, not
getting their orders until 3 p.m. and not getting airborne until 3:25 p.m. and,
although of little impact, only seventy-one aircraft took off.
The delay in orders meant the Battles
did not arrive in order and it is difficult to say who arrived first but 12
squadron were part of the first wave sending five aircraft to attack columns
and lost four including Acting F/o Clancy who was also the acting commander of
B-flight who came down at Pourn-St Rémy where Clancy was taken prisoner and his
crew buried. A-Flight’s Commander, F/O Vaughan faired little better despite
dropping his bombs on the road between Sedan and Givonne he was brought down
and killed along with his observer Sgt Shelton-Jones. Vaughn’s gunner, J. D.
Wright along with Sgt Winkler’s crew were taken prisoner. The soul survivor,
P/O McElligott returned to base at 4:24 p.m. having witnessed Vaughan’s attack
and the German flak emplacements following his successful bombing run.
The eight Battles of 142 squadron led
by Squadron Leader Hobler were met by not only a hail of anti-aircraft fire but
also standing patrols of Messerschmitts from Jg 26, Jg 27 and Jg 53 which
proceeded to engage the helpless British aircraft quickly claiming F/Sgt
Spears’ P2333 which came down at Choloy killing two of the crew but were
repulsed by AC Greenall manning F/O Reed’s gun who claimed to have shot down
one of the German fighters. Hobler also fell to the Bf 109s and was badly burnt
but was assisted by his crew, Sgt Kitto and Cpl Barbrooke who helped him to
evade capture. On his return the gallant Squadron leader was hospitalised and
eventually evacuated. F/Lt Wight and P/O Chalmers attacked the bridges with
success and returned to Berry-au-bac reporting that they had seen fresh bridge
works being built on both sides of the river. They were eventually joined by
Sgt Spears and P/O Oakley and his crew who had managed to escape from a forced
landing at Eely leaving the only unaccounted for aircraft being F/Lt Rogers who
was posted as missing but was in fact killed with his whole crew. With the high
numbers of crews returning it could be argued that 147 squadrons losses were
less severe than others as aircraft were easily replaced but with the pressure
building on the AASF both were rapidly becoming short supply.
The last wave from 76 wing was 226
squadron who were similarly mauled with all of the aircraft sustaining damage
with Sgt Annau having to abandon his attack having had his bomb release gear
shot away by flak along with his left aileron and tail plane! Squadron Leader
Lockett was seen crashing in flames with only one parachute spotted and was
swiftly followed by P/O Dawn and Sgt Moseley. Two Battles hit the target and
returned having absorbed a lot of fire from ground forces and in the pilot’s
opinion, possibly from the French!
The worst losses were felt by 105 squadron’s Battles who took off from
Villeneuve-les-Vertas at 3:40 p.m. to attack three bridges over the Meuse and
encountered intense flak with five Battles falling in ten minutes with four of
the crews killed and fifth returning by car to the airfield later that day
whilst P/O Murray’s forced landing in a heavily damaged bomber on the airfield
but perhaps the luckiest escape was that of F/O Gibson who came down behind
enemy lines and finding himself and his crew captured by the Germans. Seizing
on an opportunity he slipped away from his guards and made it back to French
lines where due to his injuries he was admitted to hospital which is where his
luck ran out as he was still being treated when the Germans overtook him and he
re-joined his men in captivity. The Battles of 150 Squadron who had had such
relative success in the morning engaged again and dispatched four aircraft to
attack the pontoon bridges but all were lost in quick succession After the
first bloodless sorties carried out by the squadron the four afternoon sorties
were wiped out with one survivor, LAC Summerson. The other eleven men were all
killed and buried in Choloy, Douzy and Donchery cemeteries.
The German fighter patrols were
growing in number with fighters of JG 26 and 53 operating in
 |
| Hans-Carl Mayer as a Hauptman |
large numbers
escorting their own bombers, of which Stg 3 flew some 300 sorties a day at
geschwader strength, and engaging the British as they approached piecemeal. The
Blenheims of 114 and 139 squadron (flown by 114 crews) lost five of their eight
strong formation with Oberleutnant Hans-Carl Mayer (1/Jg.53) claiming two of
them on top of two Battles whilst his wingman Oberleutnant Ohly claimed two
more Blenheims and a Battle. They approached a pair of Blenheims with Meyer
taking the right-hand side one and Ohly the left and making their passes
leaving one burning and then finding another pair and doing the same thing.
This time Mayer pressed home his attack and claimed his fifth victory of the
war. Feldwebel Stark also attacked one of the Blenheims but following a burst
of fire the bomber seemed to stay airborne. Much to his wingman’s surprise
Stark got closer to his victim as the Blenheim exploded engulfing the pursuing
White 3 leaving no trace of either aeroplane or crews. Unteroffizier Heinrich
Hönisch, Stark’s wingman also put in a claim for two Battles and a Hurricane
that day.
One of the Blenheim pilots, Sgt Marcus
Potter, was attacked by four 109s with one attacking from in front and three
from behind. The German fire forced Potter to jettison his anti-personnel bombs
and despite attempting to strike the bridge at Sedan was forced to withdraw
with severe damage to the aircraft panels, propeller, cockpit and control
panel. Although during their briefing he’d been assured that there would be
fighter cover over the target area he did not see a single British fighter
while he overflew the target area. He was left with no illusion of the strength
of the Luftwaffe over the river.
We expected them to be defending the crossing
coming into France they had to come through Sedan. Obviously they were going to
defend it.
The other Battle squadrons suffered
just as heavily with 218 squadron losing seven of ten aircraft with only the
injured P/O Harris returning, 88 squadron lost only Sgt Ross’ Battle with all
killed and L5233 was heavily damaged. The men of 103 squadron lost three of
their eight attacking aircraft with P/O Cunningham receiving a direct hit from
and anti-aircraft shell causing the Battle to explode mid-air killing all
aboard whilst despite injury F/O Fitzgerald pressed home his attack before
crashing due to damage. The injury did not slow him down as he and Cpl Madkins
evaded back to Allied lines as did the other aircraft’s crew flown by Sgt
Beardsley who had been pounced upon by a Bf 109.
It was the hardest battle the AASF
would ever fight and despite the heroism of the pilots flying into what they
would call “Hell on the Meuse” they were slaughtered by the overwhelming German
opposition. Guderian would later praise his gunners describing the battle in
his memoirs:
There was
now a most violent air attack by the enemy. The extremely brave French and English
pilots did not succeed in knocking out the bridges, despite the heavy
casualties that they had suffered. Our anti-aircraft gunners probed themselves
on this day, one and shot superbly. By evening they calculated that they had
accounted for 150 enemy aircraft. The regimental commander, Oberst von Hippel
later received the Knight’s Cross for this.
Whilst crews were buried, marched to
captivity or made desperate attempts to evade captivity including one wounded
pilot swimming the Meuse, an observer and gunner evading sitting with their
mortally wounded pilot until the he died the following day and then evading,
Barratt took the news of forty aircraft lost of seventy-one and went into
shock. It is reported that he went back to his office and hung a “Do not
disturb sign” on the door and crying at his desk for the loss of his men.
Within four days the AASF had been not
only been blunted but decimated as a fighting force.
convoy had taken every precaution with
strict blackouts enforced but the moon was particularly bright and the sea so
calm that the wash from the ship’s bows was clear to sea. The inevitable
torpedo slammed into the Leasowe Castle
amidships below the first funnel. Captain Sutton of the South Nottinghamshire
Hussars felt the vessel judder through the darkness of sleep and he awoke. As
he slowly became aware of his surroundings he asked one of his berth mates what
was happening and was told; “if I didn’t get out pretty quickly I should pretty
soon know what it was.” (2) 
