Madam, – K McGloin’s “carefully concocted myth” (November 11th) that the Battle of Britain was won by the sons of the English ruling class without recognition of the other “common folk who answered the call” is not one perpetuated by any serious historian of the time.
It's a well-documented fact that at least a third of the pilots who fought in the battle were NCOs, and also that many of the officers were hardly "sons of the ruling classes". They came from all over the world: in his book Fighter Boys, Patrick Bishop quotes research showing the wide range of nationalities. Of the 2,917 who took part, 2,334 were British but the remainder were from at least 13 other countries, including 145 from Poland, 11 from the US and 10 from Ireland. The Irish included John Kilmartin and the well-known Brendan "Paddy" Finucane, whose father had been in the Irish Volunteers in Easter 1916. Finucane, flying a Spitfire emblazoned with a green shamrock, would later receive the DSO and DFC and become the youngest wing commander in the RAF.
K McGloin also writes that it is a myth that the only reason Hitler did not invade Britain is because he was “frightened” by the RAF. At least as important was British naval superiority in the English Channel, which would have made launching an invasion fleet a very risky business.
The spindoctors of the time may well have done a good job, but the fairytale that the RAF was nothing but “a bunch of well-bred adventurers” is a figment of K McGloin’s over-extended imagination. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – K McGloin (November 11th) is rather off the mark when talking about supposed myths arising from the Battle of Britain. While we can never be sure of his exact motivation, Hitler decided not to invade Britain after Dunkirk. He most likely saw no reason to invade an island he believed would simply sue for peace. This was reasonable to assume as there was a large contingent within Westminster who saw no reason to continue fighting Nazi Germany. If it weren’t for Churchill, these voices might have turned the popular mood within Britain and they might well have sought terms.
As for claiming that the “RAF could not have prevented a fleet of fishing boats from crossing(the channel), never mind the German army” he betrays a lack of rudimentary military knowledge. Hitler would never have launched an invasion without air superiority, which the Luftwaffe failed to achieve through a combination of Goering’s failings as a commander and the RAF’s superb Command and Control structure along with its bravery in the skies.
For proof of this, witness the massive aerial superiority built up by the Allies prior to the Normandy Operation. As for the myth of the “knights of the sky”, it has been acknowledged since that it was the entire British population that stood against the Nazis, and the sense of togetherness forged that summer has left a lasting impression on the subsequent course of British history. The pilots, who were both officers and NCOs (drawn from the “working” classes), were seen as the front line of this combined defence of their homeland.
As for the “myth” that the RAF “stopped Hitler in his tracks”, they certainly played a huge part, as Britain stood alone against the Nazis in 1940. Had they not, Europe, and Ireland, would be a very different place now. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – K McGloin (November 11th) is correct to note the contribution of “the factory workers; the miners; the postmen; the taxi drivers and all the other common folk who answered the call” to the narrow victory of the RAF over the Luftwaffe (1,173 RAF planes lost compared to the 1,733 lost to the Luftwaffe), which culminated on September 15th, 1940. The RAF Spitfires were made in part from aluminium kitchen utensils given by the public who were no more seeking of praise than the brave young men who gave their lives whilst flying them and who should be remembered today. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – K McGloin’s letter regarding apparent historical spin and perceived lack of ability of the RAF to prevent Operation Sea Lion succeeding needs some clarification.
A brief read of the history of the Luftwaffe, published by the Public War Office, clearly outlines their belief in taking out the opposing air defences with the Wermacht then pushing through the ground forces. This had worked in Poland, Low Countries and France. With France falling, Churchill ordered the withdrawal of the RAF to home bases which would prove crucial.
German forces indeed stopped short of Dunkirk for a number of days allowing the withdrawal, without any major air defence, of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).
However, your writer fails to note the fierce defence of the Calais pocket by the BEF, including the Irish Guards, which bought this crucial time for the withdrawal. Issues of fuel supply to Panzers is also not noted.
Kesselring instructed his forces to attack Britain on a line south from Gloucester to London, thus drawing RAF squadrons, down from the North, with follow-up attacks from Norway. Your writer fails to have noticed the technical superiority of the Spitfire over the ME109, which suffered from lack of long range time over target ability. Britain also had developed a superior radar defence system which enabled Dowding and home command to co-ordinate defences quickly.
The RAF suffered a huge attrition rate during this time but it was the casualties inflicted on the Luftwaffe which forced the German high command to switch to high level bombing of industrial target in Mid to late 1940.
The inability of the Krieg marine to dominate the channel also had a huge bearing on the battle as the Royal Navy would have destroyed a landing craft assault without the aforementioned air dominance.
Finally, your writer may like to visit the Battle of Britain memorial on the Embankment which lists all their casualties. Pilots and ground crew came from all backgrounds and corners of the globe, and included a substantial number of Southern Irish. – Yours, etc,