http://www.flickr.com/photos/gray1720/sets/72157622746026547/

Adrian
(no, it’s not me!)

* slight edits to save space* because we have a photograph of fires on the ground at RAF Kenley and a photograph of a Do17 flying over Kenley do we necessarily have a photograph of a Do17 flying over Kenley during the attack on 18 August 1940?

Since this photograph was released by the Luftwaffe wouldn’t it be wise to view it as possibly being selective or enhanced reality;

This could also possibly explain the mistaken caption; maybe the photograph was designed to confuse the identity or importance of the Do215?

You raise three extremely good points!

1. Yes, I – probably naively – assumed that the pair were adjacent frames from the same film. Not necessarily the case, of course. I don’t think there is anything on the lower frame eg smoke to suggest that they do match – I think the smoke is blowing the wrong way.

2. You only have to take a look at the famous photo of the Spitfire in the blast pen, pre and post-retouching, to see that the Luftwaffe did that sort of thing. Beppo Schmidt was very prone to telling the story that people wanted to hear.

3. Not so sure why the 215 might be considered important, but others who know more might have an idea. Until proven otherwise, I thnk that’s entirely feasible.

Where’s Andy? He’s probably got the original print in his shed…

Adrian

For what it’s worth, I think the second photo is probably in Germany – the industrial tractor with the windscreen looks suspiciously like a Lanz of some description, rather than anything British.

Adrian

If the picture surfaces, Andy, I’ll post it – though as it’s a print from a Boots 126 camera don’t expect high art!
(incidentally, note that EOD let me come down to the bomb with them – I doubt that would happen these days!)

Adrian

I’m pretty certain it was straight cut rather than bevelled – at least, the gear did not have a 45 degree face to the toothed edge, which is what I’d understand bevelled as meaning. If that makes any sense…

Adrian

And it does explain what happened to the propellor outside the Sportsman. Now, was it really from the Ju88, or simply “found”? It certainly didn’t seem to match pictures of the Dornier wreck over the seawall on the mudflats.

Incidentally, Andy, were you ever involved in digging the Do17 at Whitstable? I know Hawkinge and RN EOD both had goes, as did the local diving club in the 1950s, so you never know…

Adrian

I thought that the switch allowed the RAF to regroup, because generally speaking the raids on london were night raids, and that the RAF only had a few pilots skilled enought to attempt night interception.
Therefore the rest(including the ground crew) had a slight reprieve, this allowed machines to be replaced, machines to be repaired, the continuation of pilot training and rotation, and the repairs to the airfields and perhaps just as importantly the buildings.

Just for you…

The contention seems to be that in fact the damage to airfields was much less than the Luftwaffe intended. Whilst Manston was abandoned, it was really too close to the channel for aircraft to get to a height for interception (though one wonders if the same applied to Hawkinge?). Biggin Hill lost its hangars, but these were less important than the Luftwaffe assumed, with a lot of work being able to be carried out out of doors at dispersals, and the really important target here actually being the communications hub, which the Germans were completely ignorant of. Whilst Kenley got a pasting, the loss rate amongst the attacking aircraft was unsustainable, and the two raids on Debden and the one on Duxford are probably best forgotten in terms of results. A lot of effort was expended on places like Detling and Eastchurch which weren’t fighter stations, losing aircraft in the process.

So the damage to Fighter Command was relatively little, compared to what the Luftwaffe intended and believed – I think Bungay cites 17 front-line fighters lost on the ground (Von Werra must be turning in his watery grave), and the Luftwaffe were losing men and machines faster than the RAF in the process. I suspect that there were enough bases a little further back from the coast, out of Bf109 range, that the RAF could probably have even withdrawn a little whilst still being able to intercept at an advantageous position – though that’s a guess on my part.

I think the main significance of the switch to London was that it signified a loss of patience in the German High Command, and the switch of objectives meant a whole new plan, with corresponding waste of vital time in formulating it, and in men and machines whilst working out the tactics for the new plan.

Incidentally, I’ve attended a day school where Stephen Bungay was one of the speakers, and he is a very, very good speaker. He’s clear, sure of his material, and very engaging (his description of the shotgun patrols round Biggin to stop squirrels eating the phone lines had the room in stitches). Interestingly, his background is in management consultancy. I’d love to set him on my boss – SB would make mincemeat of him.

I shall now sit back and wait for the brown stuff to come my way.:diablo:

Adrian

Extending the area somewhat, the Kings Arms at Cardington (Beds) has some R101 photos on the walls. There’s also the airship’s flag in the church, and the victims’ memorial in the cemetery.

The Victoria (Walton Street, Oxford) we discovered at lunchtime today has a large – quarter- or fifth-scale, I reckon – Hawker Fury biplane hanging from the ceiling. No apparent reason, it just is!

The Red Lion at Bassingbourn used to have a substantial collection of photos from the airfield. However it has now suffered the fate of so many pubs in the last few years and become an Indian restaurant and I have no idea what happened to the photos.

Adrian