As part of a series exploring the military history of Biggin Hill, DAVID MILLS looks back to the beginning of the Battle of Britain.
BY July 1940, France had fallen.
Hitler had marched through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and the Nazi swastika was flying from the Eiffel Tower.
The Fuhrer had overpowered continental Europe and following the evacuation of Dunkirk, British troops had been forced back home.
He now turned his attention to Dear Old Blighty.
Biggin Hill was in fine shape. The fighter station boasted a new runway and air-raid shelters as well as some lovely greenery.
Germany needed 250 vessels to transport a force of 100,000 men across the Channel with the most likely landing places between Dover and Brighton.
Biggin Hill was a senior sector station of the No 11 Group of Fighter Command given the job of defending that stretch of the coast.
Historian and author Bob Ogley said: “The Luftwaffe had more than 3,500 aircraft on 400 French airfields.
“All Hitler needed to do was wipe the Royal Air Force from the skies before the onset of winter.
“The Battle of Britain was about to begin.”
By August the battle was well underway.
The controller at Biggin Hill spotted a pack of 50 German Dorniers flying towards Biggin Hill.
Twelve Hurricanes and 15 Spitfires were off the ground within minutes while Home Guard units honed their guns on the skies, waiting for the unmistakable sign of the Hun.
The Home Guard was a band of volunteers, consisting of people either too young or old for service and included veterans from the First World War.
Mr Ogley said: “The bombers appeared and stick after stick rained down on Biggin Hill. One Dornier 17 ventured particularly low. Gliding in over Leaves Green and already damaged by the ground defences from Kenley, it met a furious fusillade from the 4th Platoon of the Kent Home Guard.
“Smoke came from the tail and the bomber burst into flames and rolled over as it crashed at Leaves Green.
“The Home Guard, cheering wildly, rushed to the Dornier and got there in time to see the pilot and crew pulled out and taken to sick quarters for treatment.
“Within a month this motley but disciplined band of men has gained national fame as the only unit of the Home Guard to bring down a German bomber. Wartime propaganda made them into instant heroes.”
But what happened to the German pilot and was he really shot down by a bunch of part-time soldiers? Find out next week.
BIGGIN HILL HERITAGE CENTRE
Campaigners are hoping to open a long overdue military heritage centre on a site next to Biggin Hill airfield to remember The Few who gave their lives for so many.
The centre will chart the groundbreaking development of radar and communication technology used by aircraft during the First and Second World War, as well as house a large collection of artefacts and memorabilia from pilots based at the airfield.
Visit the Biggin Hill Battle of Britain Supporters’ Club, which is backing the campaign, at bhbobsc.org.uk
Bob Ogley has written two books about the military history of Biggin Hill, ‘Biggin on the Bump’ (£11.99) and ‘Ghosts of Biggin Hill’ (£12.99). For more information and to obtain copies, call 01959 562972 or visit frogletspublications.co.uk
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