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Old 18th Aug 2020, 09:35
  #90 (permalink)  
POBJOY
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Kenleys hardest day

Originally Posted by Rheinstorff
...when AC2 David Roberts won the Military Medal. Whilst under fire he downed a Dornier 17 at Kenley using the Parachute-and-Cable rocket system, its first ever successful use. He won the Military Medal for the action and ended his career as a group captain.
As depicted in the painting. He certainly judged it right the Dornier fell on to a cott in Golf lane but amazingly the occupants inside the cott survived, the crew did not. 111 squadron who intercepted the raid lost F LT SDP Connors (poss due to AA fire ) who was leading 111 on that day. His Hurricane came down near Biggin Hill. The Observer Corps had tracked the raid from the coast, and the Kenley station commander put the station on alert and ordered 111 off from Croydon. Being a 'very' low level raid (below 100ft) the defenders would have had little time to sight the Dorniers and David Roberts only had one chance to decide when to fire his rockets. 80 years ago today and Kenley still an RAF Station for the Cadets, with the 18th still remembered every year (plaques about individuals around the airfield this year).
One of the results of the raid was Kenley got a 'Flack Tower' south of the airfield, it is still there.
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