Strana 50
#82151BOXART STORY
The Battle of Britain is one of the legendary
milestones of the Second World War and also
the first battle fought entirely by air forces.
From the RAF perspective, it began on July 10,
1940, and lasted until the end of October 1940.
Its international impact is amplified by the fact
that pilots from thirteen other countries fought
on the RAF side. From the German point of view,
the battle began almost a month later and ended
with their first military failure since the outbreak
of the war. After earlier fighting over the Channel,
German command launched the Battle of Britain
on 8 August 1940, with the start of the so-called
“intensified air war against England” (verschärfte
Luftkrieg gegen England), which lasted until the
end of October 1940.
The Germans launched “Operation Eagle
Attack” (Unternehmen Adlerangriff) on August
13, 1940, after two days of extensive air battles
over England. The day had the code name
“Eagle Day” (Adlertag) and brought a shift in
German strategy. Instead of focusing on naval
convoys, the Germans intended to systematically
destroy airfields and other infrastructure of
RAF Fighter Command. The selection of targets,
however, suggests that Luftwaffe intelligence
and strategic planners did not understand the
purpose and importance of many RAF bases.
The long-planned Adlertag went awry for the
Germans right from the start. The raids were
supposed to begin in a coordinated manner at
07:00, but heavy cloud cover, ground fog, and
poor visibility over occupied northern France
hindered their execution. Although a recall order
was issued, not all bomber units received it.
The result was a series of isolated raids, some
without fighter escort and sometimes without
even reaching the target. After the official renewal
of the Adlertag order, the most concentrated
series of raids began after noon, though again
complicated by clouds and navigation issues.
During this phase of the day, Stukas formed
a significant part of the bombing forces.
Crews of St.G 1 and II./St.G 2 were assigned to
strike Warmwell and Yeovil, but due to weather
they ended up over Portland. Their escorts
were Bf 109s from I. and II./JG 53 “Pik As.” Their
colleagues from JG 27 escorted a large formation
of Stukas from St.G 77, while the fighters of
JG 26 “Schlageter” provided free-hunt fighter
cover for the Stukas of IV.(St)/LG 1, whose target
was Detling.The latter formation hit its target
very successfully and without losses. A total of
22 aircraft were destroyed on the ground,
67 service personnel and civilians, including
the station commander Gp Capt. E. P. Meggs-
Davies, were killed, and more than 40 people
were wounded. The Coastal Command base was
temporarily put out of action, but the strategic
significance of the raid was minor, since the
airfield did not fall under Fighter Command.
The success can be attributed in part to cloud
cover, which made it harder for defenders to
spot the Stukas, and also to the freie-Jagd cover
of all three Gruppen of JG 26, which were used
together in action for the first time.
The difficulty of escorting dive bombers
is described in the memoirs of Günther Rall
(275 victories): “Escorting Stukas over the
Channel could be likened to trying to get a family
of hedgehogs across a highway. Stukas flew
horizontally at some 250km/h, which wasn’t
much more than a fully loaded and fueled Bf 109
needed just to stay in the air…on the highway,
you can only save the hedgehogs by stopping
traffic as far away as possible, and not by
zigzagging through traffic with them.”
The raid of II./St.G 2 went very differently.
They were to be protected by free-hunt of
JG 53, but the escort became entangled with RAF
aircraft, lost situational awareness, and part
of the escort arrived behind the bombers with
several minutes’ delay.
Pilots of Spitfires from No. 609 Squadron
RAF, including Polish airmen, took advantage of
this situation and attacked the Stukas near the
Solent. They claimed nine bombers shot down
for certain, three probably destroyed and three
damaged. In reality, six Ju 87s were shot down,
mostly from 5. Staffel.
One of the British pilots who scored victories
in this action was F/O John Charles Dundas,
DFC & Bar. His aircraft is depicted on the box
art of the kit. This outstanding pilot was killed
on 28 November 1940, in an air battle in which
Kommodore of JG 2 Helmut Wick was also lost.
Dundas’s brother, Hugh Spencer Lisle Dundas,
also fought in the Battle of Britain, survived the
war, was awarded CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC, and was
later knighted.
From 13 to 18 August 1940, German fighters
(flying Bf 109s and Bf 110s) claimed 386 aerial
victories, while losing 61 Bf 109s and 70 twin-
seat Bf 110s shot down or heavily damaged.
During less than a week, the Luftwaffe lost
93 twin-engine bombers and 42 Ju 87 Stuka dive
bombers. The Ju 87s were no longer employed
over Britain. However, this was not because
of the losses, which were quickly replaced,
but because of their short operational range.
Text: Jan Bobek
Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz
Against the Stukas on Eagle Day
INFO Eduard50
November 2025