Battle of Britain campaign – 26th Aug – RDF stations targeted before change in Luftwaffe target priorites

The attack on Biggin Hill, 64 & 151 Sqn take on the Me109’s while 141 and 264 Defiants engage the bombers

26th Aug AAR – Cloudy, clearing by 1100

Once again the Luftwaffe targeted the RDF stations on the South coast beginning with a lightning low level attack followed by one of the largest single raids of the campaign to date.  At 1000 hrs a force of 25 elite Me110 Jabo bombers flew in low over the Channel affording our defences little time to respond.  Our own elite 266 Sqn did manage to scramble but were disadvantaged from the start as they had no time to form up.  They did however manage to distract the enemy attacks and successfully defend Beachy Head but at a heavy cost of 4 of our own fighters. The Sqn Ldr, RL Wikinson , Flt Lt SH Batley &  Sgt RH Gretton all perished in the action.  The Sqn will now be commanded by Sqn Ldr Patrick Geraint “Jamie” Jameson, a New Zealander who joined the RAF in 1936. He has accumulated 2 of the Sqns kills to date.  At 1100 a formation of 110 Ju88’s and Ju87 Stuka dive-bombers with a massive fighter escort of 175 Me109’s attacked Foreness RDF.  The formation was unmolested as not enough Sqns were available to make an effective attack. The station received light damage but will be fully operational tomorrow. The next attacks commenced at 1600 this time over RAF Biggin Hill.  A mixed force of 120 Ju88’s and He111’s with a small escort of just 25 Me109’s were accurately detected. Ace 64 Sqn (Spitfire) on their first sortie since the loss of their CO (Sqn Ldr A Macdonell) led the attack under Sqn Ldr Norman Cyril Odbert and were joined by 141 Sqn (Defiant), 151 Sqn (Hurricane) and 264 Sqn (Defiant). The expert pilots of 64 Sqn made short work of the fighter escort shooting down 5 Me109’s before destroying a gruppe of Ju88’s. The new CO claimed his first, a Ju88 and no fewer than 4 Sqn pilots now have 3 or 4 kills each.  Plt Off J J O’Meara (3), Plt Off A.F. Laws (3), Plt Off AG Donohue (American with Canadian citizenship) (3), Sgt GW Scott (4).  Unfortunately the Boulton Paul Defiant Sqns were totally ineffective against the remaining bombers. 2 of their number were lost along with 2 Hurricanes although only light damage was done to the airfield.  RAF North Weald was next on the Luftwaffe’s agenda, with 25 more elite Me110 Jabo’s protected by 25 Me109’s. 257 Sqn was scrambled but were shot up badly. Sqn Ldr H Harkness commanding the Sqn failed to return and is presumed lost over the estuary. Command of the Sqn is now placed in the hands of Sqn Ldr Robert “Bob” Stanford Tuck who has transferred from non-operational 92 Sqn.  Moreover, 25 Sqn who were preparing for night patrols were damaged on the ground and could not participate in attempting to intercept any enemy night raiders.  

During the night the enemy still showed either a reluctance or inability to send over large numbers but his attacks on London did cause some damage.   

End of day losses

RAF 13, Luftwaffe 11

 

 

RAF = 18% of daily force committed (Daytime only)

LW  = 2% of daily force committed (Daytime only)

(Cumulative RAF 169, Luftwaffe 321)

Victory point score 0 (Cumulative -30)

Game Notes – A couple of missed opportunites where I had the chance to do real damage for once ended up with the day being another stalemate although losing 18% of my committed forces and 4 Sqns to rest boxes compared to the meagre losses of the Luftwaffe despite eliminating a gruppe of Ju88’s basically made today feel like another defeat. The Biggin raid should have yielded at least 2 and potentially 3 destroyed gruppen but I had to make do with just one and take a point of bomb damage for good measure so the 2 VP gain was cancelled out almost immediately.

My night patrols are turning into a shambolic mess with only 1 successful interception in 2 weeks. The early loss of 600 Sqn (the only ones fitted with aircraft detecting radar) has been more keenly felt than originally envisaged and nullifying the night attacks has proven to be almost impossible so far. Now that 600 Sqn are back I’m hoping that if I can avoid getting damaged on the ground I might have a bit more success in that department. The change of the Luftwaffe’s target priorities might finally help out my beleaguered RDF stations and airfields, how long they stick to targeting Industry & Ports is anyone’s guess.   

Battle of Britain campaign – 21st Aug – It’s a game of 2 halves as RAF run out of Sqns late on

 21st Aug AAR – Clear skies

 Today owing to the seriousness of the situation, Fighter Command announced the secondment of 808 Sqn FAA from the Royal Navy’s Ark Royal carrier to 12 Group. The Fleet Air Arm Sqn is commanded Sub-Lt Rupert Claude Tillard of Wimborne and operates Fairey Fulmar aircraft. 600 Sqn has now received its compliment of replacement pilots (reduced training) and will be operational in a few days time.

 

Fairey Fulmar Mk. I carrier-borne fighter of Royal Navy .(early series) in 1940 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The morning saw large raids met in kind by determined resistance. At 1100 a force of 120 Heinkel He111 & Dornier Do17‘s with 100 Me109 & 110 fighter escorts was detected late heading toward RAF Tangmere. 266 Sqn, 601 Sqn and new boys 1RCAF Sqn arrived just as the bombers ranged over their target. Some damage was inflicted on the station but at a very high cost.  No fewer that 29 enemy raiders were shot down 20 of which were bombers without loss. All the Sqns contributed with 2 pilots from 601 Sqn aka “The millionaires Sqn” achieving particular success. Sqn Ldr The Honourable J “Max” W Aitken notched up 2xMe110’s and 1xHe111 and kept the enemy fighter escort preoccupied while the other pilots set about the bombers  The pick being Flt Lt Sir Archibald Hope who shot down no fewer than 4 bombers, 2xHe111’s and 2xDo17’s.

 This proved to be the high watermark of the day for the RAF.  At 1400 hrs a formation of 30 bombers and 100 fighters was correctly identified heading toward Foreness RDF.  This time 4 Sqns, 17 Sqn, 151 Sqn, 615 Sqn and the newly rebuilt but inexperienced 65 Sqn intercepted the raid.  4 enemy fighters were destroyed but at the cost of 8 of our own.  However such was the determination of our boys that no bombs fell even remotely close to their target. A gruppe of 25 Me109’s were later observed over Beachy Head but the RAF chose not to engage. At 1700 hrs Rochester undefended, was lightly bombed by an escorted force of 60 Dorniers . At the same time RAF Tangmere was visited for a second time. Unfortunately this time all the patrolling Sqns had landed and were being refuelled when the attackers arrived. Heavy damage occurred, and 2 Sqns were damaged on the ground.  At 1830 hrs 255 aircraft were detected heading toward RAF Hornchurch. However a large proportion failed to rendezvous meaning that just 60 bombers and 25 fighters arrived. 501 Sqn and 303 Sqn (Polish) attempted to foil the attack. 9 bombers were shot down for the loss of 6 of our own mostly Polish who flew very carelessly in their first action.

The day ended thankfully with no damage from the night raiders.

 

End of day losses

 

RAF 14, Luftwaffe 42

RAF = 13% of daily force committed (Daytime only)

LW = 5% of daily force committed (Daytime only)

(Cumulative RAF 114, Luftwaffe 228)

Victory point score -1 (Cumulative -26)

Game Notes – Another +2 free VP’s by putting green pilots with the replacement 600 Blenheim Sqn was a no brainer, in fact if I hadn’t taken all those green pilot points I’d now be on minus 33 just 2 points away from total defeat.  As it is I’m still staring down the barrel of a gun but at least I have a small cushion. The free Fulmar Sqn activated today as the VP score was below minus -15 was gratefully received. And so at the start of the day I was pleasantly surprised when the Luftwaffe effort was Normal as oppose ALL OUT.  But owing to the number of attacks for the day it became to all intents and purposes an all out attack.  With the first 2 targets being ones I didn’t want to risk leaving, by 1400 I found myself down some 9 Sqns from the morning, the remainder spread thinly and most on the ground.  Inevitably this led to uncontested or unable to contest raids. At the end I was really suffering and had that feeling that the Luftwaffe were almost playing with me. The lack of real opportunities to destroy enemy units is really hurting me with very few JU87s or raids outside 109 range to get stuck into leaves no chance to pick up any VP’s.  That and a couple of impetuous risks have effectively undone my efforts this time and it just looks like a matter of a few days before the inevitable.   With tomorrow set fair I find my situation even more perilous than this morning with 9 Sqns (4 of which came from being damaged on the ground) still off the board in rest and repair boxes and another 4 fatigued. That leaves just 16 front line Sqns available with a couple of Blenheim, Defiant, the Gladiator and Fulmar units as second line defence, if I roll an ALL OUT attack chances are the defence may well crumble. 

Battle of Britain campaign – 20th Aug – Luftwaffe draw breath inadvertently allowing crucial respite for the RAF

Sgt JH “Cock Sparrow” Ellis 85 Sqn scored 2 confirmed kills today 20th Aug

Sgt GB “Sleepy” Booth 85 Sqn added an Me109 today 20th Aug to the He111 downed on 11th Aug

  20th Aug AAR – Cloudy with clearing skies from 0930hrs

After yesterdays all out effort to destroy the RAF either the Luftwaffe themselves are exhausted or they believe they have almost done enough as today only small Me109 sorties were despatched to probe the RAF and no doubt confirm their erroneous beliefs. This view may have been given some credit when they flew over Rochester unopposed in the morning but when 50 Me109’s arrived at RAF Hornchurch at 1800hrs they were met with determined resistance from no less than 3 full strength Sqns – 85 Sqn, 151 Sqn & 501 Sqn. Flying in an uncharacteristically loose formation the 109’s were set about by the Hurricane Sqns and at the end of the action 10 enemy fighters had been destroyed without loss. Sgt JH Mortimer “Cock-Sparrow” Ellis of 85 Sqn claimed 2 of the enemy while Sgt GB “Sleepy” Booth also of 85 Sqn added a 109 to the He111 he had bagged on the 11th Aug.

20th Aug – 10no. British Sqns out of action in the rest and damaged boxes.

65 Sqn (Spitfires) & 87 Sqn (Hurricanes) after being destroyed yesterday have been rebuilt today by reducing the number of combat hours training for pilots.  65 Sqn was deployed at half strength awaiting arrival of replacement aircraft this evening.  87 Sqn will be fully operational in a couple of days time.

As darkness approached the now familiar sound of Heinkel engines was detected over the English skies. 210 bombers were estimated to have attacked population centres on the South coast. Light damage was inflicted.

 

 

 

End of day losses

RAF 0, Luftwaffe 10

(Cumulative RAF 100, Luftwaffe 186)

RAF = 0% of total daily committed force (daytime only)

LW = 10% of total daily committed force (daytime only)

Victory point score +5 (Cumulative -25)

Game Notes – No choice today but to bring back the 2 eliminated Sqns with green pilots giving them minus modifiers for their first few combats BUT giving me those crucial +4 VP’s and at the end of the day a 9 point cushion from the minus 35 automatic decisive defeat end game result.  Its a fair strategy to do on Spits but not Hurricanes so this is a gamble. A lucky respite with just light effort from the Luftwaffe meant no loss of points from daylight raids that I may not have been able to defend.  A shame that the 2 raids only yielded Me109’s as I had no chance of eliminating them. A lone Heinkel could have reaped some reward but I guess the Luftwaffe in the guise of an inanimate card deck just isn’t that stupid.  Proof if you need it that dark forces do roam this planet in a Lovecraftian existence where they lurk just out of your peripheral vision. But looking on the positive I did manage to put 2×109 Gruppen out of action for up to 3 days and will have back tomorrow 2 more Sqns than I started with today.  It’ll be safe to put green pilots in the replaced Blenheim Sqn tomorrow as I’ll keep them for night duties which will protect them from any chance of being eliminated and as 600 Sqn are the only Sqn fitted with radar they should get into action quickly and lose that green status.  Tomorrow might be the key day that I half expected today as the weather is set to be fair and an ALL OUT attack is likely again. The fact that I’ll have 7 Sqns in a fatigued state sat on the ground & considering my past shambolic use of fatigued Sqns will probably mean that I’ll have to manage without them and more likely some will get hit on the ground putting them out of action for another day.  But that’s the self-inflicted situation I’m in so its time to knuckle down once more. 

Battle of Britain campaign – 13th Aug – RDF receivers sabotaged, Fifth Column suspected. Situation worsens

RAF – THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN – West End Games

13th Aug AAR – Cloudy

ANNOUNCEMENT – After another day where the RDF stations were targeted and once more failed to accurately identify incoming enemy attacks until the last minute it can now be revealed that in a new twist to hostilities dastardly enemy Fifth Columnnist agents are suspected to have been tampering the RDF receiver sets thus rendering the UHF/VHF frequencies used to detect the enemy next to useless.  Steps are now in place to ensure that this doesn’t happen again but the public are once more reminded to be ever vigilant of unsavoury types whether they be parachutists disguised as nuns or other sinister suspicious types speaking broken English and carrying little black books.

In light of the above, the detection of enemy formations was compromised until late afternoon. RAF North Weald & the town of Southend were bombed early this morning flying over their targets without opposition. Damage was very light, “Rumours” nightclub received a direct hit but no fatalities were reported.

At 0900 a formation comprising 60 bombers escorted by 125 fighters flew over RAF Tangmere with very little warning. 43 Sqn only just managed to get airborne and the 12 fighters were immediately embroiled in a vicious battle against a more numerous enemy. In testament to our pilots superior ability against such odds they managed to account for 15 enemy aircraft (12 Me110’s & 3 He111’s)  for the loss of just 2 aircraft.  Flt Lt J I Kilmartin an Irish volunteer and Sgt H J L Hallowes both claimed 3 Me110’s each. The Sqn Ldr, JVC Badger also claimed 2 unconfirmed kills. Despite these heroics and owing to the late warning, the airfield was heavily damaged and large casualties to ground crew were received. 266 Sqn was also damaged on the ground having had insufficient time to scramble.

At 1100 a large formation of 250 aircraft arrived undetected over Poling RDF on the Isle of Wight.  Significant damage was inflicted on the station which will be out of action for 5 days while repairs are being made.

At 1700 the RDF network finally picked up a formation in good time heading toward the Kent.  RAF Biggin Hill was the target but despite 5 Sqns being detailed to intercept a confused fighter aerial battle ensued allowing the bombers to get through.  At the end of the raid, 10 of our fighters had been lost for only 5 enemy machines. The airfield and another Sqn on the ground also received damage.

Finally in the last hours of daylight another formation of enemy raiders appeared over the Sussex coast. Yet again the RDF failed to pick up their quarry which was targeted actually targeted on the RDF station itself.  Most Sqns had landed at this time their patrols finished, the only unit capable of intercepting being that of 600 Sqn operating in twin engine Bristol Blenheims.  Ordered to intercept and protect the RDF station at all costs it is with regret to announce that this unit was destroyed in the course of the action. Only 4 of the 10 aircraft returned all badly damaged, Sqn Ldr D de B Clark who himself was grievously wounded stated that if it hadn’t been for the self sacrificing heroics of Fg Off D N Grice (see attachment left) the entire Sqn would have been destroyed.  The enemy force comprised 15 bombers and 50 Me109 fighter escorts.  With the advantage of height and superior performance they descended on the 10 Blenheims while they were attempting to gain altitude. The action quickly became a rout and it was at this time that Grice steered his machine directly into the centre of the enemy swarm in a gallant attempt to divert attention from the surviving Blenheims who were attempting to extricate themselves and make good their escape. Damage to Rye RDF was consequently not as heavy as was expected although the station will be out of action until 15th Aug.

Night raids continued to intensify with light damage inflicted across the South East.

Finally 1RCAF (Royal Canadian airforce) arrived at RAF Northolt and will be ready to participate in active patrols as from tomorrow 14th Aug.

End of day losses RAF 18, Luftwaffe 20.

RAF = 22% of daily committed force (daytime only)

LW =  3% of daily committed force (daytime only)

(Cumulative RAF 35, Luftwaffe 60)

Victory point score -15 (Cumulative -18)

Game notes – What started out a bad day eventually unravelled into an unmitigated disaster following my usual pathetic dice rolls.  Only 1 of the first 9 raids had benefitted from a decent detection roll. So looking at the dice it dawned on me that I should be using a blue one (RAF colours after all) as oppose the red one.  They were duly switched and the subliminal message from the dice gods proved right as I immediately rolled a 5 on the next detection roll. 

The poor detection rolls effectively curtailed my attempts to send in a big wing against the enemy formations.  Even when I did manage to put up a strong force over Biggin Hill my luck (what luck?) deserted me and I actually took heavier casualties than inflicted.  Then the final straw, first a Patrolling Sqns Land event then with almost the entire Luftwaffe’s LF2 force fatigued they decide to have yet another go at a RDF target. Not wanting to let another station get knocked out and with the knowledge that this could be my best chance to eliminate some units, 3 of the 4 Gruppen arrived over Rye fatigued but my detection roll of “1” meant that only a Blenheim Sqn was in range to intercept. Against my better judgement I decided to risk them hoping to get through and knock out the bombers. No such luck, another 1 was rolled and the Blenheims were massacred. 15 VP’s lost in a single day, another 2 days like this and it will be all over in less than a week. It gets worse as I find myself with 9 Sqns out of action being repaired, leaving me with just 18 front line Sqns ready with a handful of second line units for tomorrow against a virtually intact enemy.  The choice to expend 3 VP ‘s for a reinforcement Sqn might have been taken prematurely too but with no chance of adding any more for the foreseeable future at least I have that 1 extra sqn.  Dark days ahead, hopefully tomorrow will provide me with a change in fortune.