Battle Of Britain Target London – Dilip Sarkar MBE

Although both RAF squadrons attacked before the Germans reached their target, bombs fell on Eastleigh at 16.13 hrs – not, though, as intended, on the Spitfire Final Assembly and Flight Hangars, but on the Cunliffe- Owen Aircraft factory – just 400 yards away – where Lockheed Hudsons from America were assembled and parts made for the new Stirling bomber. Spitfire production was, therefore, unaffected by this raid, but forty-nine civilians were killed, thirty-eight badly injured, and fifty-four more slightly so. At RAF Exeter, some-time after Wing Commander Dewar had taken-off, Reverend Dagger met 213 Squadron’s Adjutant: passing through the Mess …

‘I hope the CO is alright’ he said. He told me that the Station Commander was flying to Tangmere and then possibly to London ‘to see what it looks like after the Blitz, but hundreds of Jerries are passing over Tangmere’ I knew only too well what he meant – and when some hours later the CO was reported missing, I was scarcely surprised.

In my imagination then and since, I pictured hundreds of German bombers like evil vultures crossing the coast in the bright sunlight, screened over beneath and on the flanks by many fighters. Then faraway a tiny spec – a solitary Hurricane on its way to London. On 12 September 1940, the 87 Squadron ORB recorded the following: Wing Commander Dewar set out from Exeter for a visit to Tangmere and was not heard of again.

He had been informed of enemy activity on the route over which he was to pass, and no doubt must have run into more trouble than he could cope with by himself. A very sad loss to 87 Squadron.

Battle of Britain Target London 7 September 1940–17 September 1940 Dilip Sarkar MBE FRHistS FRAeS 1kitap1.com/en First published in Great Britain in 2024 by Air World An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Limited Yorkshire – Philadelphia Copyright © Dilip Sarkar, 2024 ISBN 978 1 39905 801 8 ePUB ISBN 978 1 39905 803 2 Mobi ISBN 978 1 39905 803 2 The right of Dilip Sarkar to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. Pen & Sword Books Limited incorporates the imprints of After the Battle, Atlas, Archaeology, Aviation, Discovery, Family History, Fiction, History, Maritime, Military, Military Classics, Politics, Select, Transport, True Crime, Air World, Frontline Publishing, Leo Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing, The Praetorian Press, Wharncliffe Local History, Wharncliffe Transport, Wharncliffe True Crime and White Owl.

For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact: PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk or PEN AND SWORD BOOKS 1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083, USA E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.penandswordbooks.com 1kitap1.com/en Contents Author’s Note and Glossary Foreword Introduction: Target loge Target London: A Diary, 7 September 1940–17 September 1940 Reflections Acknowledgements Bibliography Other Books by Dilip Sarkar 1kitap1.com/en T Author’s Note and Glossary he aviation-minded reader will notice that I have referred to German Messerschmitt fighters by the abbreviation ‘Me’ (not ‘Bf ’, which is more technically correct), or simply by their numeric designation, such as ‘109’ or ‘110’.

This not only reads better but is authentic: during the Battle of Britain, Keith Lawrence, a New Zealander, flew Spitfires and once said to me ‘To us they were just “Me’s”, “109s” or “110s”, simple, never “Bf ”.’ In another attempt to preserve accuracy, I have also used the original German, wherever possible, regarding terms associated with the Luftwaffe, such as: Adlerangriff: ‘Attack of the Eagles’ Adlertag: ‘Eagle Day’ Eichenlaub: The Oak Leaves, essentially being a bar to the Ritterkreuz.

Erprobungsgruppe: Experimental group, in the case of Erprobungsgruppe 210, a skilled precision bombing unit. Experte: A fighter ‘ace’. Ace status, on both sides, was achieved by destroying five enemy aircraft. Fähnrich: Officer cadet. Fallschirmjäger: Paratroopers. Freie Hunt: A fighter sweep. Gefechstand: Operations headquarters. General der Jagdflieger: General of Fighter Pilots. Geschwader: The whole group, usually of three gruppen. Geschwaderkommodore: The group leader.

Gruppe: A wing, usually of three squadrons. Gruppenkeil: A wedge formation of bombers, usually made up of vics of three. Gruppenkommandeur: The wing commander. Jagdbomber (‘Jabo’): Fighter-bomber. Jagdflieger: Fighter pilot.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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