| Day: The climax of the Battle, remembered as The Battle
of Britain Day. A maximum effort by the Luftwaffe, with layered groups
from 15,000 to 26,000 ft, heading for London with diversions and feints.
Escorting fighter screens positioned upward to 30,000 ft. Once this air
armada is set on its course, other raids set off for Portland / Southampton.
Most raiders continued to climb when they were inland, and then in full
sight of British radar split into numerous groups on different headings.
Determined defence by Fighter Command, which puts up 24 squadrons during
the day, prevents concentrated bombing by these groups, and by the time
they have split up under attack and been backed by further incoming groups,
the whole airspace over South-Eastern England appears filled with enemy
formations. Bombing is generally sporadic and inaccurate, and spread over
a far larger area than planned. Two bombs landed on Buckingham Palace but
failed to explode. Those two U.X.B's were a godsend for the British propaganda
machine.
This was the day Winston Churchill visited 11 Group's headquarters at Uxbridge with his wife and met Park's famous answer to his question about reserves: "There are NONE".
Losses: Luftwaffe 56: Fighter Command 27. Weather: Fine, though some light cloud during the middle of the day. Early mist and haze give a hint of likely large-scale attacks |
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