Originally Posted by
Brewster Buffalo
I've read that, initially, Douglas thought that RAF casualities in "Circus" operations would be too severe for any results achieved which turned out to be correct. Post war analysis estimated that 4 RAF aircraft were lost to 1 German.
But on the other hand could it be acceptable to have a large number of RAF home based day squadrons not engaging with the enemy especially after the June 1941 invasion of Russia.
There are several ways of looking at this.
Regardless of what Douglas thought about casualties, he persisted with the operations, which began in January 1941.
It was assumed that the Wehrmacht would roll up Russia in a few weeks, hence keeping large numbers of squadrons at home, rather than send them to the M/E or SE Asia.
Had the Luftwaffe not been affected by Barbarossa, then the RAF may have come off even worse.
I think it was Johnson who said, he didn't mind being shot down in a dog fight, but didn't want to have his career ended by a chap with a rifle.