A Spitfire Pilot's Story: Pat Hughes: Battle of Britain Top Gun by Dennis Newton

Author:Dennis Newton [Newton, Dennis]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Amberley Publishing
Published: 2016-07-11T04:00:00+00:00

14

5 SEPTEMBER 1940

The stress of sustained battle was showing on airmen and machines on both sides of the Channel but Thursday, 5 September would bring no respite. Once again the weather was ideal for air fighting.

Beginning around 10.00 a.m. Luftflotte 2 launched numerous raids over southern England. There were at least twenty-two separate formations dispatched although two were larger than the others. Kesselring targeted the airfields of Croydon, Biggin Hill, Eastchurch, North Weald and Lympne.

Biggin Hill was still only capable of operating one squadron, 79, while 72 Squadron, Desmond Sheen’s unit, which was already down to nine serviceable Spitfires, remained at Croydon. 79 Squadron was scrambled to cover Biggin Hill and broke up a raid of thirty bombers and their escorts. Six Hurricanes met the Dorniers at 15,000 feet and scattered them so effectively that their bombing was well off target. It was obviously going to be a very busy day so reinforcements from the adjacent groups were alerted to reinforce Park’s 11 Group.

After the raid on Biggin Hill, the CO, Group Captain Grice made an aerial inspection of his airfield. One hangar, although it was only a burnt-out shell, appeared from the air to be undamaged. This, he reasoned, was why the enemy persisted with attacks. Grice arranged to have explosive charges placed in the hangar so that when the next raid occurred they could be detonated and the building brought down.1

Just after lunch, RDF tracked another large concentration of aircraft sweeping in over the Thames Estuary at extremely high altitude. These were Heinkel He 111s and Junkers Ju 88s which bombed the oil storage facility at Thameshaven and caused serious fires.

RAF fighter squadrons were scrambled from everywhere. Clawing for height over Kent, the Spitfires of 72 Squadron climbed as fast as they could. They were flying in their usual tight vic formations of three with the rear section providing two ‘weavers’ while the leader flew in the box position at the rear. It was the duty of the weavers to guard the others against being surprised by German fighters but this time the warning came too late.

Over Canterbury, Desmond Sheen heard a shout in his earphones but, before he could react, he was bounced from behind. His Spitfire shuddered from a heavy burst of cannon and machine-gun fire and flying metal struck his leg, hand and face. As he passed out, the stricken Spitfire, with large pieces missing from its port wing, heeled over into a vertical dive. Fortunately, Sheen regained consciousness just seconds later. His plane was still hurtling straight down. He tried the controls but they did not respond. He had no idea how close he was to the ground but he sensed that it could not be far away. Releasing the harness pin to rid himself of his straps, he was instantly sucked out of his seat but did not fall free. His feet were caught, stuck somehow at the top of the windscreen. Pinned by the slipstream against the top of the fuselage, he struggled with all his strength, but in vain.

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