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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 2131.PDF
JULY 28, 1938. FLIGHT. 75 THE COAST DEFENCE EXERCISES Last Week's Instructive Operations : Some Im pressions by " Flight" Representatives who Flew in the Defending Aircraft Illustrated with "Flight" Photographs THE GENERAL SCHEME W AR between "Blue and Red was declared at midnight on Tuesday-Wednesday, July 19- 20. Blue was an enemy naval force in the North Sea, consisting of four battleships, the carrier Courage ous, four cruisers of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, two destroyer flotillas and one submarine flotilla, the whole under Admiral Sir Charles Forbes, C.-in-C. the Home Fleet. Two of the destroyers, Fury and Foxhound, were detailed as air safety vessels, presum ably to help aircraft in distress. The Red (defending) naval force was a skeleton of two cruisers and four destroyers, but it was held to represent a more powerful fleet than that of Blue. Territorial gunners and sappers manned the coast fortresses of the Forth, Tyne, Harwich, Thames and Med way. No anti-aircraft guns or searchlights were manned. The Red Air Force consisted of the following units: No. 201 (G.R.) Squadron (Saro Londons) at Newport on the Tay, No. 204 (G.R.) Squadron (Londons) at Invergordon, No. 228 (G.R.) Squadron (Supermarine Stran- raers) at Invergordon, and the following G.R. squadrons equipped with the An son: 206 and 220 at Bircham Newton, 224 and "269 at Montrose, 233 at Thornaby; one torpedo-bomber squad ron, No. 42 (Vildebeest IV) was stationed at Thornaby, while four fighter squadrons were detailed to defend the Thames, viz., 54 (Gloster Gladiators) and 74 (Gloster Gauntlets) at Hornchurch and 56 (Hawker Hurricanes) and i5r (Gloster Gauntlets) at North Weald. The fighters were under Air Vice-Marshal Gossage, and the G.R. and T.B. squadrons under Air Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill. On Wednesday morning the visibility was poor and hampered air reconnais sance. The first warlike activities were attacks on Rosyth, Montrose, Leuchars, and Thornaby by Blue aircraft from the Courageous, and the Red fleet was also attacked from the air as it lay at anchor, but without suffering serious damage. J he first tidings of the Blue vessels came HI about 6.30 a.m. from merchant ships which had been attacked by submarines on the Yorkshire coast. Soon after 7 a.m. Red aircraft found a Blue cruiser off the Orkneys. At 2 p.m. Red aircraft round the Blue battle fleet north-east of the Dogger Bank and steering towards the coast. At 7 p.m. the Red fleet, in overwhelming strength, caught the Two glimpses from the windows of a London II of No. 2or (G.R.) Squadron which intercepted the Blue battle fleet. In the lower picture the four destroyers have just broken away from the battle formation, and the London was about to determine their new bearing. enemy and mauled it severely. The Blue flagship, H.M.S. Nelson, was put out of action for six hours. The umpires then stopped the battle. The Blue cruisers were not present at this battle, but at 8.20 p.m. two of them, with three destroyers, were found by Red aircraft 75 miles off Lowestoft. A superior Red force of cruisers and destroyers caught them and engaged them at 1 a.m. on Thursday. Red air patrols started off again at 4 a.m. on Thursday, and it was found that the Blue fleet had separated. Two battleships, with destroyers, bombarded the mouth of the Tyne, and one battle ship, with destroyers, the Firth of Forth. The Red battlefleet moved to the east of them to cut off their retreat and hap pened upon H.M.S. Nelson, which was lying in support of the attacks. It seems that she was again shot to pieces. Red
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