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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1704.PDF
524 JUNE 13, 1940 WAR IN THE AIR (CONTINUED) being, cast back and disturbed by the onrush of a few thousand of armoured vehicles. "May it not be also that the cause of civilisation itself will be defended by the skill and devotion of a few thousand airmen ? There never has been, I suppose, in all the world, in all the history of war, such an opportunity for youth. The Knights of the Round Table, the Crusaders, all fall back into a prosaic past—not only distant but prosaic. These young men going forth every morn to guard their native land and all that we stand for, holding in their hands these instruments of colossal and shattering power, of whom it may be said that Every morn brought forth a noble chance And every chance brought forth a noble Knight, deserve our gratitude, as do all of the brave men who in so many and on so many occasions are ready, and continue to be ready, to give life and all for their native land." Lastly, the Vice-Admiral, Dover, sent this message to the Commanders-in-Chief of the Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands: — " I and the Forces under my command who have been engaged on the evacuation of the Allied Armies owe a deep debt of gratitude to the Royal Air Force for the support and protection which they have given to us. We are fully conscious of the severe strain these operations have imposed on all taking part and we are filled with admiration for the courage and devotion of our comrades in the air." (Signed), Vice-Admiral, Dover. Many stories are current of gallant deeds during this evacuation, and one which seems to us particularly worthy of being put on record concerns three American- built Hudsons of the Coastal Command. On Saturday, June 1, they were off Dunkerque when they encountered 40 enemy aircraft about to bomb the transports. There were Junkers 87 and 88 ready to dive on the vessels, Heinkels above them, and high overhead a guard of Messer- schmitts. The Hudsons attacked at once, and in thirteen minutes had dispersed the dive-bombers, shooting down three. The Heinkels tried to bomb the Hudsons but missed. During the day a fighter pilot who had fired off all his rounds found himself close to a Junkers. He dived at it, and so frightened the pilot that the latter stalled on a turn and crashed to earth. That night the R.A.F. heavy bombers attacked objec- tives in Germany, at Hamm, Osnabruck, and Rheine, with success and without loss The Coastal Command bombed Bergen. On the night of Sunday, June 2, the Bomber Command was-very active over North-West Germany. An important railway junction at Soest, east of Dortmund, was heavily damaged, Osnabruck was raided for the second night in succession, Homburg and Hamm experienced destruction r. of railways, and enemy bases at Rotterdam, Deventer and Wesel were also visited by night raiders. Paris was the victim of a large air raid on Monday, June 3, for the first time. It started at 1.30 p.m., and went on for fifty minutes. It was estimated that about 300 machines took part in the raid, and that some 1,000 bombs, high explosive and incendiary, were dropped. The raiders went over at a great height, perhaps 30,000 feet, and were invisible to the naked eye through the heat haze. The casualties in Paris amounted to 254 killed and 652 wounded. French fighters went up and shot down 25 of the German raiders with a loss of four machines themselves. Among the victims were a number of school girls, but, though mercy for innocent civilians of any sort has not been a distinguishing characteristic of German pilots during this war, in this case the bombs were dropped from such a height that there was practically no chance of aiming at any particular target. The enemy just bombed Paris. They knew they would kill civilians, but did not select the girls' school. The population of the city displayed admir- able calm, and the reaction of the people to this barbarous act has been not panic but anger. Bombing and Counter-bombing '"THE Allies were prompt to reply. That very night French •*- aircraft bombed Munich (the cradle of the Nazi movement) and Frankfurt, while the R.A.F. blew up munition works, oil depots, and transport centres in the Ruhr and the Rhineland. Oil is the most vital of Ger- many's war ingredients, and the R.A.F. has been setting very large quantities of it on fire. A good supply of the precious stuff has had to be abandoned in Holland and Belgium, and the stores there have, it seems, been handed over to the attention of the Coastal Command. The whole supply at Rotterdam is believed to have been destroyed by now, and the tanks at Ghent have been receiving constant attention from the Coastal machines. Bombs were also dropped on Britain on the same Mon- day, but by comparison with the cruel slaughter in Paris the event was trivial. A German raider, who may have lost his way* released two bombs which fell in Ashdown Forest, near to the small town of Forest Row. Little damage was done and there were no casualties, except one chicken. By Tuesday, June 4, our fighter patrols found little enemy air activity over the Dunkerque area. The enemy's in- terest had shifted to the south. However, on both the Monday and the Tuesday nights he bombed Le Havre, evidently being determined that no Channel port should remain in a workable condition in case it might be used by the determined British. Most certainly we intend that the British Expeditionary Force shall again fight on French soil, side by side with the magnificent French Army. But for the moment the B.E.F. needs to be re-equipped with guns, tanks, and all the other neces- saries which go to make up a field force. The stand of the garrison of Calais, consisting of some 4,000 men of the Rifle Brigade, the 60th K.R.R., and the Queen Victoria's Rifles, the last being a Territorial battalion, con- tained a large force ol Germans and so relieved the pressure on the all-im- portant point of Dunkerque. Only 30 unwounded men were finally rescued from the place. The R.A.F. played a part in helping the defence, and the Loading bombs on to a Martin 167F of the French Air Force for an attack on advancing German units
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