Battle of Britain Foreign Contribution
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Apart from the 2543 British pilots the Royal Air Force also accepted foreign pilots from the beginning of the war. It must be be noted however, that separate citizenship within the British Empire did not come about until after the end of the Second World War and therefore volunteers from the Empire and Commonwealth (for example, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Rhodesia, South Africa etc.) were not foreign in the modern sense of the word, and were in fact simply subjects of His Majesty King George VI. The RAF roll of honour for the Battle of Britain recognises[1] 510 overseas pilots as flying at least one authorised operational sortie with an eligible unit of the Royal Air Force or Fleet Air Arm during the period 10 July to 31 October 1940.
| Nationality | Number |
|---|---|
| Polish | 139 |
| New Zealander | 98 |
| Canadian | 86 |
| Czechoslovakian | 84 |
| Belgian | 29 |
| Australian | 21 |
| South African | 20 |
| French | 13 |
| Irish | 10 |
| Unknown | 8 |
| American | 7 |
| Jamaican | 1 |
| Palestinian (Jewish) | 1 |
| Southern Rhodesian | 1 |
Contents |
[edit] Polish contribution
On 11 June 1940, the Polish Government in Exile signed an agreement with the British Government to form a Polish Army in Britain and a Polish Air Forces in Great Britain. The first two (of an eventual ten) Polish fighter squadrons went into action in August 1940. Four Polish squadrons took part in the battle (300 and 301 Bomber Squadrons; 302 and 303 Fighter Squadrons) with 89 Polish pilots. Together with more than 50 Poles fighting in British squadrons 147 Polish pilots defended the British sky. 30 were killed in the battle.
Polish pilots were among the most experienced in the battle, many having vast pre-war flying experience and had already fought in the Polish September Campaign in Poland and the Battle of France. One must also point out the high level of pilot training in the pre-war Poland. 303 Squadron named after the Polish hero General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, achieved the highest number of kills (126) of all the fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though he only joined the combat on August 30. The 147 Polish pilots claimed 201 aircraft shot down. To put things in perspective, the top 30 scoring Allied aces shot down 376 aircraft, i.e. 1% of pilots were responsible for 13.5% of the total. Pilot Officer Eric Lock of 41 Squadron was the top claimant with 21 (1st July-1st November 1940.) S/L W. Urbanowicz of 303 Sqn was top Polish scorer with 13 claims. Tony Glowacki was famous at the time as the only RAF pilot in the Battle to Britain to shoot down five German planes in one day, which he achieved on August 24.
Dedicated in 1948 the Polish War Memorial on the outskirts of RAF Northolt continues to commemorate to this day the Polish contribution to Allied arms.
[edit] New Zealand Contribution
The Royal New Zealand Air Force was set up as a separate service in 1937 but numbered less than 1200 by September 1939, although training plans had resulted in 100 trained pilots being sent on to the RAF. The RNZAF main objective was to supply trained aircrew for service in the RAF under the Empire Air Training Plan. An annual rate of 1,500 fully trained pilots was reached by January 1941. The RAF recognises 127 Fighter Command aircrew from New Zealand serving in the Battle. Several New Zealanders became high scorers, including P/O Colin Gray (No 54 Sqn) with 14 claims, F/O Brian Carbury (603 Sqn) 14 claims and P/O Alan Deere (54 Sqn) 9 claims. The most prominent New Zealander was AVM Keith Park, in overall command of No. 11 Group, which was tasked with the defence of London. [2]
[edit] Canadian contribution
Many Canadians served in the squadrons of Spitfires and Hurricanes which repulsed the Luftwaffe in the summer of 1940. In fact, although the RAF only recognises 83 Canadian pilots as flying on fighter operations during the Battle of Britain, the RCAF claims the actual figure was over 100 and that of those 23 died and 30 were killed later in the war. Also another 200 Canadian pilots fought with the RAF's Bomber and Coastal Commands during the period and approx 2,000 Canadians served as groundcrew.[3], [4].
Of these, 26 were in the RCAF's No. 1 Squadron on Hurricanes, which arrived in Britain soon after Dunkirk with 27 Officers and 314 ground staff. This squadron would later be re-numbered as the RCAF's 401 "City of Westmount" Squadron, in line with the RAF's policy of numbering Dominion units flying with the RAF in the 400-series to avoid confusion with similarly-numbered RAF units (this numbering system is still used by Canadian air squadrons to honour their World War II contributions).
1 Squadron made an inauspicious start to its service with Fighter Command, when on August 24th 1940 two of its Hurricanes mistook a flight of Bristol Blenheims for Ju-88's, shooting one down with the loss of its crew- a tragic example of what is now known as friendly fire. No. 1 became the first RCAF unit to engage enemy planes in battle when it met a formation of German bombers over southern England on August 26, 1940, claiming three kills and four damaged with the loss of one pilot and one plane. By mid-October the squadron had claimed 31 enemy aircraft destroyed and 43 probables or damaged for the loss of 16 aircraft and three pilots.
On the second day of the battle, July 11, the Canadians suffered their first fighter casualty. In a Luftwaffe attack on the naval base at Portland, PO. D. A. Hewitt of Saint John, New Brunswick, flying a 501 Squadron Hurricane, attacked a Dornier bomber and was hit himself. His plane plunged into the sea. Another Canadian pilot, Richard Howley, died eight days later; A. W. Smith and Hugh Tamblyn had narrow escapes. Both were in 141 Squadron and flew the Defiant, a two-seater hunchback with an impressive power-operated gun turret that limited its aerodynamics.
Other Canadians were spread across RAF squadrons. Leading to some confusion, the dispersed Canadian airmen included one who flew with the Poles in 303 Squadron.
12 Canadian pilots of the Royal Air Force flew with No 242 Squadron at various times through the battle, which had been formed in 1939. On August 30, under the command of Squadron Leader Douglas Bader nine 242 squadron planes met a hundred enemy aircraft over Essex. Attacking from above, the squadron claimed 12 victories for no loss.
Canadians also shared in repulsing the Luftwaffe's last major daylight attack. On September 27, 303 Squadron RAF and 1 Squadron RCAF attacked the first wave of enemy bombers. Seven enemy planes were claimed destroyed, one probably destroyed and seven damaged.
The top Canadian scorer was F/L H.C.Upton of 43 Squadron who claimed 10.25 aircraft shot down.
[edit] Czechoslovakian contribution
There were also a lot of Czechoslovak pilots in the Battle of Britain. Two Czechoslovak fighter squadrons 310 and 312, were formed early enough in 1940 to take part in the battle. Together with Czechoslovak pilots serving in other RAF units, a total of 87 Czechoslovaks served claiming almost 60 air kills. 8 pilots were killed. The top Czech scorer was Sgt. Josef Frantisek, flying with 303 Polish Squadron who claimed 17 confirmed kills.
Despite all of Czechoslovakia's contributions to Britain, neither Czechoslovakia nor Czechoslovakian pilots were recognised for their efforts after WWII came to an end. The Allies were too intimidated by Stalin to recognise Czechoslovakian efforts. Czechoslovakian pilots were not even allowed to march in the victory parade in London after WWII ended.
[edit] Australian contribution
Australia had always been a close supporter of Britain, and when war was declared in 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies supported Britain in her war effort. However, due to the small size of the Royal Australian Air Force at the time, the Australian contribution was low at approximately 22 aircrew, the majority of whom had joined the pre-war RAF. (The first RAAF fighter squadron did not serve in Europe until mid 1941) The top Australian pilot was F/L P. Hughes of 234 Squadron who claimed 14 kills before his death in September 1940.
[edit] South African contribution
One of the RAF's leading ace, and the one of the highest scoring pilots during the Battle of Britain was Adolph Malan (Sailor Malan) who lead the led No. 74 Squadron RAF during the height of the Battle of Britain. Under his leadership the 74 became one of the RAF's best units. Claiming his first two victories over Dunkirk on 21 May 1940, he had claimed five more by the time the battle started in earnest; Between 19 July and 22 October he shot down six invaders. His Ten Rules for Air Fighting were printed and pinned up in crew rooms all over Fighter Command. He was part of a group of about 20 pilots from South Africa that took part in the battle, 8/9 (depending on sources) of whom died during the battle.
Other notable pilots included Albert Lewis (Zulu) who opened his account with the Luftwaffe over France in May, shooting down three Messerschmitt Bf 109s in one action. Lewis scored ten in the battle, before being shot down on 27 September. Burned and blinded, he missed the rest of the battle and his recovery to flying fitness took at least three months. Later, he commanded 26 Squadron in Ceylon and Basil 'Hugh' Stapleton, with several probables to his credit, who surviving a crash on 7 September, trying to stop the bombers getting through to London, he went on to become a flight commander with 257 'Burma' Squadron and, in 1944, commanded 247 Typhoon Squadron.
[edit] Irish contribution
Among the dozen or so Irish pilots who flew in the battle was Dubliner Brendan "Paddy" Finucane, an air ace who went on to claim a total of 32 enemy aircraft before being shot down and killed in 1942. He became operational in July of 1940 and shot down his first Bf 109 on 12 August, getting a second Bf 109 the following day. In a 51-day period in 1941 he claimed 16 Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighters shot down, while flying with an Australian squadron. "Paddy" Finucane went on to become the youngest wing commander in the RAF, an appointment he received at the age of 21. Despite his early death, his score remains the second highest of the "Home nation" RAF aces.
[edit] United States contribution
The RAF recognises 7 aircrew personnel from the United States as having taken part in the Battle of Britain. P/O WML 'Billy' Fiske saw service with No. 601 Squadron, claiming one kill before dying of wounds on the 17 August 1940. P/O AG 'Art' Donahue served with 64 squadron, while 609 squadron had a trio of American pilots see action through August and September (P/O's 'Andy' Mamedoff, VC 'Shorty' Keogh and EQ 'Red' Tobin). P/O PH Leckrone was with 616 Sqn, while P/O JD Haviland served in 151 Squadron. Only the latter pilot survived the war. Ultimately three squadrons of RAF pilots from the United States, known as Eagle squadrons fought with the RAF, although the first ( No. 71 squadron) became operational in February 1941, well after the main daylight battles.
[edit] American high octane gasoline
Perhaps the most important American contribution was high octane gasoline, invented by Standard Oil of Indiana; the Germans never matched it. The British used 100 octane fuel, the Germans had 87 octane. This gave the British planes at extreme performance an extra rate of climb, higher speed, and greater maneuverability.[1]
[edit] Palestinian contribution
The RAF's official "Battle of Britain Roll of Honour" recognises 1 Palestinian, Pilot Officer George Ernest Goodman, a Jew from Palestine, then a British Mandate territory.
The Palestinian contribution is also sometimes described as the "Israeli contribution", although the State of Israel was not proclaimed until 1948.
At least 32 (probably 43) Jewish airmen took part in the Battle of Britain (just over 1% of participants). Over three-quarters were British Jews, the rest fighting in the American, Belgian, Canadian, Czechoslovak, Polish and South African contingents (Martin Sugarman, [5]).
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Leonard M. Fanning, "Petroleum" in Walter Yust, ed. 10 Eventful Years (1947) 3:512,
