Dogfight: The Battle of Britain Anzac Battle Series

274 Pages·2013·4.14 MB·English

by  Claasen

Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dogfight the Battle of Britain
Acknowledgements
Raf Ranks
Introduction
Chapter 1: Beginnings
Chapter 2: The Prelude
Chapter 3: Channel Battles
Chapter 4: Life and Death
Chapter 5: Eagle Attack
Chapter 6: Shot Down
Chapter 7: Sector Airfields
Chapter 8: Hard Pressed
Chapter 9: London Burning
Chapter 10: Last Gasps
Chapter 11: Conclusions
Appendix: New Zealand and Australian Airmen in the Battle of Britain
Notes
Back Cover Material
DOGFIGHT THE BATTLE OF
BRITAIN
‘Claasen has a unique ability to put the reader in the cockpit of a Spitfire or
Hurricane in order to understand the experience of 1940 fighter combat. He
does a superb job in following the story of the Anzac pilots from recruitment
to training to the harsh conditions of one of history’s most decisive battles.
Dogfight is an important addition to the literature on the World War Two air
war.’
James Corum, author of The Luftwaffe’s Way of War
‘Dogfight is a fresh look at the Battle of Britain from an Antipodean
perspective. As well as being remarkably lucid and insightful, it’s packed
with drama, incident and great characters. Adam Claasen has done Second
World War history a real service by telling brilliantly the story of the
Anzacs’ enormous contribution to the greatest air battle ever fought.’
Patrick Bishop, author of Fighter Boys
To Sandra
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book is the result of an invitation from my colleague, Glyn Harper, to
contribute to Exisle’s Anzac Battles Series. I immediately saw the potential
for a Battle of Britain volume, and Glyn, along with Ian Watt, Exisle’s New
Zealand publisher, were very supportive and patient during the course of the
project. In the latter stages, Ian, in particular, provided valuable advice and
guidance that resulted in Dogfight going to press in its completed form.
Writing this book was only possible with sustained support from my
academic institution, Massey University. Two Heads of School, Peter
Lineham and Kerry Taylor, directed funds my way for research, conferences
and a period of long leave, which nurtured and greatly aided the project.
Massey University’s library staff were tireless in scouring the libraries of the
world to meet book requests and purchases, while general staff at the Albany
and Palmerston North campuses – Leanne Menzies, Tracy Sanderson, Dot
Cavanagh, Sharon Cox and Mary-Lou Dickson – helped me in administrative
matters, transcribing interviews and generally making the world a better
place.
Over the course of the research and writing I made considerable use of
archival materials. Staff at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, London
(especially Peter Devitt), the National Archives, Kew, London, and the
RNZAF Air Force Museum, Wigram, Christchurch, were very helpful and
lightened the load considerably when I was in search of vital documents. At
the latter institution I was greatly aided by Matthew O’Sullivan, Keeper of
Photographs.
Intellectually, a book is often written on foundations laid by others. In this
case, Dogfight has four significant forerunners to whom I owe some debt.
The first of these, Aucklander Kenneth Wynn, was extremely generous in his
advice, and his publications cataloguing the Battle of Britain pilots were
indispensable in getting my work off the ground. On the other side of the
Tasman, Dennis Newton has written a collection of books that chronicle the
Australian experience. These were invaluable in acquainting myself with the
Aussie side of the story. Additional questions arising from my examination
of the Australian cohort were ably answered by Dennis. In the shaken, but
unbowed, city of Christchurch, Errol Martyn, whose own prodigious work on
the New Zealanders in the RAF is an immensely important tool for
researchers, critiqued and made helpful comments with regards to the
manuscript. It is doubtful that anyone knows more about the New Zealanders
who have served with the RAF than Errol. Finally, my mentor of years gone
by, Vincent Orange, gave me good counsel on the project and still serves as
a great source of inspiration.
My wife Sandra is a very able research assistant and made it possible for
me to gather a large amount of archival materials in London in 2009.
Moreover, she generally helped me stay on track when other interests
threatened to divert me from finishing the manuscript. She also proof-read
the text as the chapters were written and her efforts here, alongside those of
my son Josiah and good friend Andrew Toulson, have made the final product
a much better piece of work. Others who deserve a notable mention are Larry
Hill, Megan Wishart, Diana McRae, Jim Dillon, Max Lambert, Richard
Carstens, Dave Homewood and cartographer Fran Whild. I am grateful also
to Crécy Publishing (www.crécy.co.uk) for granting me permission to
publish extracts from their Alan Deere and Bob Spurdle autobiographies.
Many thanks to all those who aided in the completion of this book. Of
course, any errors, omissions or misinterpretations are the sole property of
the author
The last acknowledgement must go to the airmen. When I started
Dogfight, there were only four surviving Anzacs, all New Zealanders, and I
was fortunate to be able to interview three of them. Invariably they were
generous with their time and, though advancing in age, remarkably sharp in
their recollection of the events of so many years ago. It was a privilege to
speak with these men and weave their experiences into Dogfight. We own
them and their departed Battle of Britain colleagues a great debt of gratitude.
Adam Claasen
Massey University
May 2012
RAF RANKS
During the course of the narrative I will introduce numerous airmen, the
greater part of whom held the rank of pilot officer or flying officer. This
being the case, and for ease of reading, I have chosen to include an officer’s
rank only where it deviates from this. Therefore the reader should assume
that when a new individual enters the narrative without his rank being
explicitly noted, he was either a pilot officer or flying officer. Almost all
non-commissioned airmen in Dogfight were sergeants.
These are the commissioned ranks of the RAF: Marshal of the Royal Air
Force
Air Chief Marshal
Air Marshal
Air Vice Marshal
Air Commodore
Group Captain
Wing Commander
Squadron Leader
Flight Lieutenant
Flying Officer
Pilot Officer
Acting Pilot Officer
Officer Cadet