Dieppe: The Greatest Air Battle:

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Dieppe : The Greatest Air Battle

Air Battle for Dunkirk. However, though the cannon fire did keep the defenders' heads down, the few bombs dropped had hardly any effect at all -- and when they were gone the Germans merely re-commenced fire. Heavy and accurate AA fire was encountered, but despite a flak explosion which shattered his jaw, Flt. Scott led his Blenheims on to lay smoke on the East Headland. Then the beach supporting fire and bombing ceased just before the first landing craft touched land at The German defences, virtually intact, immediately chopped the main assault force to pieces.

On the beaches all control of the situation was lost and with but a few exceptions, the assault was pinned down. However, with the beaches covered in smoke screens and due to a monumental communications break-down, the Force Commanders were to be quite unaware of the real situation for the next three hours, and were to act accordingly till then.

Mist over Jagdgeschwader 26's airfields had precluded immediate action, but JG 2 was clear and the first Luftwaffe sortie, a reconnaisanee to the North West of Dieppe, was off at At first only a few German fighters were up, though 71 Squadron shot one of them down as one of the first kills of the day. Bjorn Raeder became separated and fought a single-handed action against eight Fw s until he disengaged over the Channel and crash-landed in England. Just behind the latter attack, at Arques-la-Bataille, six Hurricanes went in to attack the th Divisional HQ supposedly there.

It was not, and four Hurricanes were lost, crashing into the town, killing their pilots and eight civilians. Further main beach landings at Sepp Wurmheller of JG 2, despite a broken leg in plaster, was in action, though he was soon forced to crash on a beach. Later that day, he shot down seven Spitfires and a Blenheim. Approximately every twenty minutes sections of Hurricanes arrived for ground support patrols over Dieppe, with Bostons at longer intervals. However, Air Commodore Cole was forced to point out that the RAF's time table only allowed for a maximum effort to cover Vanquish at His point made and accepted, Cole informed Uxbridge at With the job of air cover foremost, the RAF was soon paying a high price for maintaining its superlative and near-impregnable air umbrella over the main assault force.

It was losing aircraft because its Spitfire VBs not to mention tactics were outclassed by the Fw l9OAs and Bf l09Fs, but they were stopping the German bombers from getting at the ships and the beaches. Thus for all its victories, the Luftwaffe was losing the air battle of Dieppe. But two Typhoons failed to pull out of their dives when their tails snapped off. In the end, some nine Spitfire squadrons were sent into the area to stop the bombers reaching Dieppe.

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Returning over the Channel, a frantic "Look out approaching 3 o'clock! Kristensen, Yellow One, to whip round and fire a short, effective burst. The burst into flames and dived inverted into the Channel -- it was only then that they realised that it was a Typhoon R of Squadron, the pilot being killed. Back at Dieppe, "Vanquish" was going badly. As Squadron's Bostons laid dense smoke screens on the headlands and along the waterfront at Uxbridge was inundated with calls for more bombing. Hurri-bombers were on the way, but would only arrive at noon.

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At Pourville the remnants of the attack on the West Headland were being evacuated under increasing attack from both shore and air. Fw 1 90s strafed while Ju 88s were subsequently reported as "flame thrower aircraft" early napalm? The RAF, however, were fully engaged over Dieppe, and could not give cover here. At last the Hurricane 11Bs arrived over Dieppe at Heading for England now were some vessels in close convoy with the inevitable stragglers behind.

With a renewed effort, the Luftwaffe tried to inflict more casualties. For the RAF fighter pilots flying their third, fourth or even fifth sorties of the day, this was the last challenge.

Dieppe : Norman Franks :

Tn addition to the general air cover provided, eighty-six additional patrols were put up to intercept specific attacks. Only one incident was to mar what was otherwise a near-perfect essay into fighter cover. At the tail end of the convoy a free-for-all was developing over the last ships getting into station.

Her crew were evacuated and she was sunk by a fellow destroyer. During the day the Luftwaffe had made scattered raids on South East England. They came again that night: Pleasance's Beaufighter of 25 Squadron. For several nights afterwards, Ju 88s intensified their shipping reconnaisance over the Channel, some falling foul of 29 Squadron. The raid had failed, the "Reconnaisance in Force" had succeeded, though the high price was unnecessary.

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The RAF had played its part to the best of its ability. While it had lost more aircraft than the Luftwaffe in the air battle, the Luftwaffe had been defeated on its own doorstep -- prevented by Fighter Conimand from interfering to any great extent with the assault forces. However, in other spheres the RAF had not been so successful. Aerial photographic reconnaissance had not been properly utilised nor supplemented by adequate ground intelligence.

The tactical reconnaissance had not been completely satisfactory, and, in the fields of bombardment and close-support, the RAF had fallen short -- though through no fault of the aircrew involved: