Norwich's Military Legacy by Michael Chandler

Author:Michael Chandler [Chandler, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Europe, Great Britain, General
ISBN: 9781526707765
Google: xLPNDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2017-09-30T22:18:16+00:00

Airmen from 264 Squadron in front of a Boulton Paul Defiant.

A Defiant on display at RAF Museum Hendon. (Photo Alan Wilson)

The first unit to fly the Defiant was No. 264 Squadron, which operated from RAF Sutton Bridge, and from Marsham Heath from the 1940s. The Defiant made its first appearance, over Dunkirk, during the evacuation of the BEF forces. Initially Luftwaffe fighter pilots mistook the Defiants for Hurricanes, attacking from above and from the rear, which was a grave mistake. The Defiant turret gunners had a field day with the Messerschmitt Bf 109s. But in a very short space of time, however, the turret fighter became known to the Bf 109 pilots and many were shot down by the Luftwaffe who quickly found the aircraft’s weaknesses.

No. 141 Squadron, while on its first mission with the Defiant, came into contact with a flight of Bf 109s off the coast at Folkestone. The German fighters shot down two with their first pass, before returning and shooting down four more. No. 264 Squadron suffered a similar fate in August 1940. It had been operationally proven that the Defiant lacked manoeuvrability. It was therefore declared unsuitable for operations on the scale that were taking place during that year and it was withdrawn.

The range of the Defiant was better than that of the Spitfire, but not as good as the Hurricane’s. One of the problems was the relatively slow maximum speed. Added to this, it had no forward firing power, and could only rely on the dorsal turret.

At 4:40 a.m. on 4 July 1940, RAF Coltishall, eight miles north of Norwich, saw three Spitfires of No. 66 Squadron fly up to 15,000 feet. Once over Stalham, they came close to a Luftwaffe Dornier Do 17 bomber. A German gunner hit one of the Spitfires forcing it disengage. The other two Spitfires carried on with their attack, finally shooting the Dornier down into the sea. The Battle of Britain had begun.

When the Germans crossed the English Channel, their pilots were tracked by the Observer Corps, with information being relayed by telephone to central observer centres. There were around fifty observer posts for each RAF group area. One such observer centre was located at Norwich.

On 16 July, Hitler issued Directive No. 16: ‘As England, in spite of the hopelessness of her military position, has so far shown herself unwilling to come to any compromise, I have decided to begin to prepare for it, and if necessary to carry out, an invasion of England … if necessary, the island will be occupied.’

With the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, all Norwich Corporation work, except for essential services, was suspended. The city council set up an emergency committee, which only had four members at the start: the Lord Mayor, and Aldermen Jex, Riley and Witard.

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