Ronald Derek Gordon Wight D.F.C. R.A.F.

Ronald Derek Gordon Wight

 

Sunday 11th August 1940


( Details from "Battle over Britain" by F K Mason, published by Alban Books )

 

On this day the Luftwaffe came to the battle in force; yet once again, despite a day of ferocious combat, the operations still fell short of the planned Adlerangriff (Operation Eagle Attack, the planned invasion of Britain).  The losses inflicted during this Sunday bear testimony to the growing weight and tempo of the Battle, but the near -equality of casualties on both sides must have caused more than passing worry to Dowding, for such an attrition balance could only result in the decimation of his fighter squadrons before that of the Luftwaffe.

Dawn brought fine weather almost everywhere and this deteriorated only slowly as the day wore on.  Without serious complications enforced by weather conditions the attacks launched can now be seen clearly as a dress rehearsal of carefully synchronised attacks against No's, 10, 11 and 12 Groups.

Picture of Radar Masts
Radar Mast


With all of the radar stations between the Wash and Land's End "on the air" good warning of attacks was afforded.  The main target of the day's operations was again to be the naval base at Portland, the significance of Portland as a main target during the Battle has not hitherto been emphasised adequately, yet it is strategically proved that, apart from London and Liverpool, this naval base was scheduled for more formation raids than any other target during 1940.  Portland being outside but fairly close to the proposed invasion area, was regarded as being the Royal Navy's principal Channel base from which operations could be mounted against the German sea communications once the invasion had been launched.  However, owing to the general efficiency of the fighter defences of No. 10 Group- harmonised with well-sighted Chain Home radar stations, only about half the German raids managed to reach the Portland base itself.

Picture of Home Chain Receiver
Home Chain Receiver

 

At 09:45 hours while Park was busy restraining his squadrons from unnecessarily engaging fighter sweeps over Kent and Sussex, Ventnor Home Chain radar first reported what looked like a very heavy raid building up near the Cherbourg Peninsular.  A hurried discussion between Park and Brand brought agreement that this was the enemy's main threat, and forthwith twelve Spitfires of 609 Squadron were ordered up to patrol over their base at Warmwell at the same time as nine Hurricanes of No. 1 Squadron were scrambled from Tangmere.  Six other Squadrons (involving fifty-three fighters) at Exeter, Middle Wallop, Tangmere and Warmwell were ordered to readiness while the radar picture developed.

The enemy raid consisted in the main of fifty-four Junkers Ju 88's from 1 and 11 Gruppen, KG 54, led by Oberstleutnant Hoehne and Major Leonardi, accompanied by about twenty Heinkels from KG 27 led by Oberst Behrendt and Major Schlichting, escort was provided by sixty-one Messerschmitt Bf 110's of 1 and 11 Gruppen, ZG 2, led by Oberstleutnant Friedrich Vollbracht and Major Ott.  Thirty Messerschmitt Bf 109's from 111 Gruppe, JG 2, led by Hauptmann Dr. Erich Mix accompanied the leading formations.  This raid, amounting to about 165 aircraft approaching Portland on a front of more than five miles, was the largest yet sent against Britain.  By ten o'clock it had reached mid-Channel.

At seven minutes past ten, three Home Chain stations amended the raid strength to " one hundred plus" so that Brand and Park ordered off their main fighter formations.  These took off as follows:

No. 152 Squadron (four Spitfires), up from Middle Wallop and headed for Warmwell, diverted at 10.04 hours
No. 145 Squadron (twelve Hurricanes), up from Westhampnett at 10.06 hours.
No. 87 Squadron (six Hurricanes) up from Exeter at 10.08 hours.
No. 213 Squadron (eight Hurricanes) up from Exeter at 10.08 hours.
No. 238 Squadron (twelve Hurricanes) up from Middle Wallop at 10.14 hours.

Eleven Hurricanes of 601 Squadron (up at 09.55 hours from Tangmere) and twelve Spitfires of No. 609 Squadron were directed to the raid at 10.05 hours.


Sgt. Butterfield


The German fighter formations arrived well ahead of the bombers at a point five miles south-east of Portland at 10.09 hours and immediately formed a number of holding circles, as if to attract the intercepting fighters.  Battle was joined at 23,000 feet about one minute later when Sqdn/ Ldr Horace Darley led his 609 Squadron Spitfires straight across the top of the huge circle formed by th Bf 110's.  By firing full deflection bursts and breaking down on the far side of the enemy circle they were able to avoid the Messerschmitt's front guns, and no fewer than five Bf 110's were shot down in this initial charge.

Most of the squadron's fell for the German "trap" and allowed themselves to become fully occupied by the escorting Messerschmitts with the result that casualties among the fighters were high on both sides.  Only some of the Exeter - based Hurricane pilots and those of the four Spitfires of 152 Squadron who arrived rather late in the combat, spotted the Ju 88's and He 111's as they made for Portland and Weymouth.  The Heinkels commenced their level bombing runs at 15,000 feet just as the Ju 88s dived from 10.000 feet and struck the oil storage farm, hitting and setting two oil tanks on fire.

The massive dogfight which, by 10.40 hours, had spread across the width of Weymouth Bay, was dying out as the Bf 109's sought to cover the broken ranks of ZG 2 while they retired.  Further Bf 109's from JG 27 had arrived as reinforcements to assist in covering the withdrawal which continued until well after 11.00 hours.

Up until approximately 11.00 hours German casualties were substantially fewer than those claimed, with six Bf 110s, five Ju 88s one He 111 and six Bf 109s destroyed.  Fighter Command lost sixteen Hurricanes with thirteen pilots killed and two wounded, and one Spitfire of 152 Squadron lost, the pilot drowned.  On this day the Royal Air Force lost 32 fighters with 25 pilots killed the Luftwaffe lost 33 fighters, bombers and seaplanes losing 55 airmen in total.

The Combat Report of Sgt Snowden reads as follows:  I was forming Blue Section, No. 213 Squadron, with F/Lt Wight & Sgt. Butterfield when we intercepted a large formation of Me 110's 15 miles S.E. of Portland.  We individually attacked the centre of the formation which executed a gentle left hand turn with the apparent intention of forming a circle. I took a deflection shot on an Me 110 which turned on its side after the second burst and went down.  I obtained deflection shots on two others, silencing the rear gunners.  I had used up all of my ammunition by now, I received a cannon shell in my engine from underneath, setting me on fire and bursting an oil pipe.  I spiralled down and the flames went out, and I forced landed at Lulworth Tank Ranges.  Soldiers there told me that they had seen 4 Me 110's crash in the sea.


It is to be assumed that Flt/Lt RDG Wight DFC and Sgt. Butterfield DFM were shot down either by return fire from the Me 110s or by the Me 109s that were protecting the slower Me 110 fighters.  Either way their Hurricanes came down in the sea and both pilots were lost to the sea.

Wight being recovered from near Cayeux-sur-Mer where he was laid to rest in the Communal Cemetery.  Alongside Wight are buried P/O Frederick Norman Cawse of 238 Squadron and F/O Richard Stephen Demetriardi of 601 Squadron, another two Hurricane pilot lost in the same battle.

Butterfield was washed up on the French coast near Boulogne and is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.



Sgt Snowden


Sgt Snowden

Sgt. Snowden claimed five destroyed, two probables and one damaged in the Battle of Britain.  After the Battle of Britain in Dec.1940 he went to No.17 Central Flying School to train as an instructor, then to No.4 EFTS and officer training until January 1942 when he was posted to 34 EFTS Assiniboia Saskatewan as an instructor.
He stayed in Canada until March 1943 and then was posted to 58 OTU flying Spitfires.  In July he was posted to 234 Squadron on Spitfire Vb's.  In Oct.1943 he went to 501 Squadron on Spitfires and shot up locomotives in Le Treport France.  In November he went to No.8 OTU flying photo reconnaissance on Spitfire V11's.  Then in February 1944 he was posted to Lagens in the Azores on Spitfire Vc's on anti-submarine patrols.  He was then posted to 287 Squadron from October 1944 to November 1945 flying Hurricanes, Tempests and Beaufighters.

After being released from the RAF in 1946 as a Flt/Lt he became a pilot for British Air Transport.  Whilst flying an Avro Anson from London to deliver newspapers to the Channel Islands in 1947 he lost his life when he crashed into a radar pylon of the Home Chain system at Ventnor on the Isle of Wight in thick fog.  Ironically the system that saved us in the Battle of Britain was to claim the life of one of its 'aces', George Snowden.  ( Snowden didn't like the name Ernest and was always known as George or ‘Snowy’ ).