Remember Remember, 15th September

[mach78]

Gents,I make no apologies for bringing this to your notice,you the community of pilots,in a gratitude befitting this singularly momentous event fought by ordinary young men whom fate chose to make extraordinary,please pause for thought tomorrow.


What did we earth-bound make of it?
Of vapour trails, a vertiginously high
Swarming of midges, at most a fiery angel
Hurled out of heaven,was all we could descry.

How could we know the agony and the pride
That scrawled those fading signatures up there,

And the cool expertise of them who died
Or lived through the delirium of the air?

Grounded on history now, we re-enact
Such lives, such deaths.Time,laughing out of court
The newspaper statistics and the faked
Statistics, leaves us only to record

What was, what might have been:fighter and bomber,
The tilting sky, tense moves and counterings;
Those who outlived that legendary summer;
Those who went down, its sunlight on their wings.

And you, unborn then, what will you make of it-
This shadow-play of battles long ago?
Be sure of this:they pushed to the uttermost limit
Their luck, skill, nerve.And they were young like you.

Cecil Day Lewis






[This message has been edited by mach78 (edited 14 September 2000).]

[a_random]

I, who am known as London, have faced stern times before,
Having fought and ruled and traded for a thousand years and more;
I knew the Roman legions and the harsh-voiced Danish hordes;
I heard the Saxon revels, saw blood on the Norman swords.
But, though I am scarred by battle, my grim defenders vow
Never was I so stately nor so well-beloved as now.
The lights that burn and glitter in the exile's lonely dream,
The lights of Picadilly, and those that used to gleam
Down Regents Street and Kingsway may now no longer shine,
But other lights keep burning, and their splendour, too, is mine,
Seen in the work-worn faces and glimpsed in the steadfast eyes
When little homes lie broken and death descends from the skies.
The bombs have shattered my churches, have torn my streets apart,
But they have not bent my spirit and they shall not break my heart.
For my people's faith and courage are lights of London town
Which still would shine in legends though my broadest bridge were down.

London Under Bombardment, Greta Briggs

from the anthology 'Other Men's Flowers' collected by Field Marshall Lord Wavell first published 1944

We all (citizens of every nation) should remember the stand of the fighter pilots of the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm. There are not words.

[Rollingthunder]

The finest kind, all. It's always valuable to to understand what that fight was all about. That's as few words as I can use and there is No Adequate Smilie.

[InFinRetirement]

And this famous poem by John Gilllespie McGee. A Canadian fighter pilot who died shortly afterwards.


Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Off sunsplit clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of; wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit slience. Hovering there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air;
Up, up the long delerious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never a lark nor eagle flew;
And while, with silent lifting wind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.


LEST WE FORGET!

[This message has been edited by InFinRetirement (edited 15 September 2000).]

[InFinRetirement]

From the RAF Battle of Britain page of to-days events.


Battle of Britain Campaign Diary
Date: 15th September 1940
Weather: Fair with some cloud patches. Fine during the evening.
Day: Heavy attacks on London, broken up by Fighter Command. Highest German losses since 18 August [185 claimed by the RAF] force a serious rethink by the German High Command.
Night: Heavy damage to London.





Enemy action by day
The enemy delivered two major attacks on London during the day. Later smaller formations attacked both Portland and targets in the Southampton area.

Our fighters destroyed 176 enemy aircraft (124 bombers and 53 fighters) plus 41 probable and 72 damaged.

AA destroyed 7 enemy aircraft plus 4 probable.

Our casualties are 25 aircraft and 13 pilots killed or missing

Enemy patrols were plotted between 0900 and 1100 hours in the following areas:

In the Straits.
Off Harwich.
Between Lympne and Dungeness.
20 miles East of line Lowestoft to Spurn Head.
In the Estuary.
South of Shoreham and the Isle of Wight.
Attempts to intercept the above were not successful. One He 111, flying west, was intercepted and destroyed near Start Point.

First Major Attack

At 1100 hours enemy aircraft began to mass in the Calais/Boulogne area and at 1130 hours the leading wave of about 100 aircraft crossed the coast between Dover and Dungeness, followed by a second wave of 150 aircraft. Objectives appeared to be in the London district.

No 11 Group sent up 16 Squadrons to meet the attack, and No 12 Group provided 5 Squadrons to patrol Debden and Hornchurch.

Approximately 100 enemy aircraft succeeded in reaching Central London.

Second Major Attack

At 1400 hours a wave of approximately 150 enemy aircraft crossed the coast near Dover, followed by a second wave of 100 aircraft. These formations spread over South-east and South-west Kent and the Maidstone area, and about 70 penetrated Central London.

No 11 Group sent up 16 Squadrons and No 12 Group 4 Squadrons. Targets in South London and railways in London and Kent appeared to be the chief objectives.

Attack on Portland

At 1530 hours a formation of 25 enemy aircraft attacked Portland. It was engaged and successfully driven off by our fighters.

Attack on Southampton

At 1725 hours about 50 enemy aircraft flew over the Isle of Wight and attacked objectives in the Southampton district. This formation was intercepted and driven off by 6½ Squadrons.

By night
The first hostile raids were plotted leaving the French Coast at Le Havre at about 2000 hours. They crossed the Coast at Shoreham and penetrated to the London area which appeared to be the main objective throughout the night. At about 2230 hours raids to London started to come from the Dieppe area crossing the coast between Selsey Bill and Dover. Between 0100 and 0300 hours raids were coming in via the Thames Estuary and Essex. About fifteen raids were plotted out of the Cherbourg area to South Wales and the Bristol Channel, some of which penetrated to the Midlands and others to Liverpool. By 0130 hours these raids had withdrawn by the activity over London and the South-east continued until about 0500 hours.

Two raids were plotted in the Digby and Church Fenton areas and two were plotted in the Irish Channel. Some ten raids were suspected of minelaying between Montrose and Flamborough Head.

During the night one He111 was destroyed (plus one probable) by a Defiant of No 141 Squadron.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 15th September 1940
Blenheim - 47
Spitfire - 192
Hurricane - 389
Defiant - 24
Gladiator - 8
Total - 660
Casualties:
Enemy Losses
By Fighters
Destroyed Probable Damaged
38 Me109 8 Me109 9 Me109
10 Me110 2 Me110 3 Me110
31 Do215 10 Do215 19 Do215
46 Do17 8 Do17 16 Do17
7 Do? 1 Do? 4 Do?
2 Ju88
26 He111 9 He111 13 He111
21 (?) Type 4 (?) Type 6 (?) Type
179 42 72

Own:
25 aircraft with 13 pilots killed or missing.
Patrols:
Own
During the night of 14th/15th September - 28 patrols involving 28 sorties.
During the day of 15th September - 115 patrols involving 705 sorties.
Enemy
It is estimated that about 80 enemy aircraft operated over Great Britain during the night 14th/15th September and 600 during the day of 15th September.
Balloons:
No report.
Aerodromes:
No report.
Organisation:
Nil.
Home Security Reports
General Summary
Date: 15th September 1940
The London area was again the chief objective of enemy aircraft during the day, and the attack on the Capital was maintained at intervals from about noon until the early hours of 16th September 1940. A certain about of damage and casualties resulted, mainly in the districts South of the River Thames, where several factories were hit by bombs and many fires started. Communications and utility services are also affected.
Elsewhere, bombs were dropped in Kent, Sussex and East Anglia during the day, and attacks were made on Southampton, and on the Portland area where slight damage was done in the dockyard.
After dark, London continued to bear the brunt of the attack, which was intensified in the early hours of 16th September, and many reports of major damage have been received. Isolated raids were also made during the night in the Southern and South- Eastern coastal Districts, and in the Bristol Channel area but damage from these appears to have been moderate.

Detailed Summary
London Area
Battersea: At 1210 hours railway bridges between Victoria and Clapham |Junction were hit and bombs also fell on the West London extension Line, and at 2325 hours HE bombs fell on the Projectile Engineering Company's Works causing major damage. Damage has been done to Utility Mains and roadways in this District.

Lambeth: At 1215 hours Water and Gas mains were damaged by HE bombs, and Norwood Road and Brixton Hill were blocked. An unexploded bomb at the Telephone Manufacturing Company caused production to be suspended. At 2029 hours a major fire was caused at the Brixton School of Building and other extensive fires as well as damage to Gas and Water Mains resulted from bombing with HE and IB.
Beckenham: At 1200 hours the Electricity Station was hit but damage was not serious and distribution is not affected.
Islington: At 0030 hours KB fell close to GPO Stores and to Mount Pleasant Post Office, but no reports of serious damage have been received.

Mitcham: The roof of Smith's Meters Factory was badly damaged by a bomb during the night but it is reported that the machinery escaped damage.

East Croydon: The railway track is closed and damage has been done to the property in the vicinity by HE bombs which fell at 0030 hours, 16th September.

Shepherd's Bush: HE bombs have fallen on private property near the Electric substation, which has been put out of action by the resulting blast. There is no current on the Hammersmith City Line.

Barnes: At 0238 hours 16th September, HE bombs fell on a council house necessitating the evacuation of the Control Centre of temporary premises.

Kilburn: HE bombs fell at Kilburn High Road which is blocked as a result, and damage was done to the railway bridge which crossed it.

Hammersmith: At 2253 hours HE bombs fell outside Cadby Hall damaging Gas and Water Mains and completely blocking Hammersmith road. At 0220 hours further HE bombs fell at the junction of Uxbridge Road which is also blocked. Utility Mains were damaged and a LCC Sewer was fractured.

Strand: Shell Mex House suffered heavy damage at 0047 hours by HE bombs. The central tower was demolished and the top storey is in danger of collapse. The Strand was blocked from Adam's Street to Aldwych. Bombs also fell near the Gaiety Theatre and serious flooding took place as a result of burst water main.

Westminster: HE bombs fell at Vauxhall Bride Road which was blocked by craters and debris.
Hospitals: St Thomas's, Guys and Lambeth Hospitals were all hit by bombs but no serious damage or casualties have been reported.

Elsewhere
Southampton: At 1750 hours three fires were caused by bombs near the Supermarine Aviation Works and damage was done to house property and mains nearby. Slight damage was also done to Thorneycroft's and a further attack at 2132 hours caused a fire at a furniture depository in the High Street.
Portland: At about 1530 hours HE and IB were dropped at Portland causing heavy damage to four houses and several small fires. Bombs also fell in the dockyard but damage was not extensive.

Cardiff: At 2245 hours five HE bombs were dropped in a residential district causing casualties. A number of unexploded bombs have fallen near the Docks.

[waco]

At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
we will remember them.............