At 14.40 hours the airmen were back
'I will now continue.' Said Park this morning we covered the part the RAF will
take in the inevitable battle ahead.
I will now outline the part the Royal Navy will play.'
There was some murmuring within the ranks.
'As you, hopefully, will not know, a number of out carriers are now based in
the Irish Sea and in the Western Isles. These are out of the range most of the
Reds. The aircraft from these carriers will be able to carry out the duties
that our groups would normally do themselves. This will be a great asset for us
all. Up to another 500 fighters to cover the rest of the country some based on the
ships and others on land based at airfields in the North West, and Ulster.'
said Sir Keith.
A voice spoke up. Sir Keith didn't know whom.
'But don't the navy still use Martlet's?'
'Yes we still have some of them, but also a lot of the newer American aircraft
like the Corsairs, and a couple squadrons of the new Bearcat. We were very
lucky to have some of these. We also have a fair few of their naval bombers
like the Avenger I would now like to pass you over to the Royal Navy and ask
them to give you more details.'
The meeting carried one until near dusk.
Many of the pilots returned to their squadrons, some being as little as five
miles away, other stayed in Duxford or Cambridge. Among those did remain was
Bader and Garland. They were in the snug at The Plough.
Soon they were joined by four more officers.
'So Major Falck what more can you tell us about your night fighting
experiences?' asked Bader.
'Well, one of the best ways, as you well know is to get under and behind the
bomber and a hit and run. I think you call it.'
Falck's English wasn't good but was getting better but
still wasn't that good, he talked slowly.
'We had good radar. But not as good as you had, and you have even better now.
What we all need to do is just teach to each other how we, sorry you.'
He halted looking for the right words.
'I mean to say.
How your bomber boys knew, bomber boys, is that the right word?'
Bader nodded. 'Please continue Major.'
Falck did. 'If we can talk to your bomber boys and ask them how they did it,
then maybe we will know had to stop the Stalinist's.’
More pilots joined the group, they had to move to the main bar, and tables
pushed together
The conversation turned to the use of planes the Russians had used on the
Eastern front. Mostly the small PO-2's that were used to buzz German ground
forces at night.
One German officer spoke of his experiences 'The main concern was not the
damage the little planes could do, but what they might do. Some had bomb load
of, maybe 200kg or more of bombs. We didn't encounter any with that amount. One
thing I can tell you, we could hear them before we could see them. They flew in
low and were gone in 30 seconds. It was very frightening'.
Ideas of the kind of plane they could use went back and forth. No decision was
made; it was not up to them anyway.
The weather had, at last, cleared a little. Part two of the bombing of the
Russian airfields was about to begin.
Rhubarb's, Ramrod's and Circuses were to, again, start, this time with a lot
more planes. The idea was the same as the last war. A small number of bombers
escorted by a larger number of fighters. The thinking, again was the same.
Get their fighters up and then shoot them down.
All of them down.
The only problem was the Russian rockets, but with the high speed of the
aircraft they were going to put up it shouldn't matter too much this time.
Unlike the aircraft of Bomber Command, Fighter Command's aircraft are least one
hundred fifty miles an hour faster. Giving the Red's no time for them to get
their act together.
The bombers to be used were Mosquito's and Beufighters and not the Bristol
Blenheim's and other now, obsolete bombers as before. The new Wellington radar
aircraft would see the Soviet fights before the NATO fighters and bombers could
and then direct them to the targets, while the bombers would go for the command
centers that the French had told them about. Also it was the first time The
Free French had taken part in such a raid.
All 11 Group fighters were going, this meant 12 group would have come move down
to protect the bases in the south east.
Everything was up, from Spitfire MK IX's to recovered German. From Meteor’s to
Mustangs to the new Hawker Tempest's. Two squadrons were to going in first, to
lure the Yak's and Mig's up, they then were going to turn tail a run.
Run.
Run straight into the path of over five hundred fighters. The more aircraft
Stalin got airborne the more they could shoot down. Meanwhile the bombers would
continue their attacks deeper into France and the Low Countries than they had
been before. These were to be escorted by a further five squadrons. More than
one hundred planes in all.
Another of the ways Fighter Command decided was, if you can't shoot them down
get them over England, and over your own fields 12 group would take care of
them, if not their fuel would run out. Either way one less Russian. They then
would have to take more from the rest of Europe and therefore take pressure
away from Scandinavia.
The attack was going to take place at one in the afternoon. Not at dawn, not at
dusk but lunchtime. Everyone had lunch didn't they?
Also a smaller number of P-47's, P-51's and Spitfire's would go to Normandy and
hit anything they could, air bases, railways, roads, and if they were lucky
enemy fuel depot's.
By 15.00 hours most had come back. By 16.30 no more had returned back to their
own bases. Others had landed elsewhere, or crash landed on English soil, those
which ended up in the channel he hoped would be picked up later. Those who
hadn't been heard of, maybe they were alive. The stories he had been told by,
his now German allies, he didn't even want to thinking about.
Claims of over three hundred enemy aircraft shot down had reached the office of
Air Chief Marshall, Sir Keith Park, as well as many ground targets destroyed.
Sir Keith knew the claims of shot down Russian aircraft were well over the top.
Maybe eighty?
It had been the
same in the Battle of Britain, three pilots claiming the same aircraft. Other
just damaged and they were able to make it home, how many pilots the Russians
had lost all together there was no way to tell.
As for the ground targets they would have to wait until the photographs had
been checked.
NATO's own losses where a lot better than he had hoped. Less than ten percent
planes down with only six percent of aircrew unaccounted for.
Unaccounted for, but not all dead.
Over the next couple of days the numbers did come in and
was almost the same result that Sir Keith had thought, give or take. The
bombing was better in some places than others; the Normandy raid was by far the
better. All targets destroyed or out of action for weeks. Across Northern
France it was more hit and miss. And a lot more miss than had been hoped. One
thing had had him thinking, the further inland they had struck the worse the
damage the RAF had done. Why crossed his mind. Could have been that the
Russians had put all their eggs in one basket, blind to them as they tackled
the fighters over the channel? Or just didn't think we would try it in the
first place. One command post and one railhead where no longer there, that was
something. He'd have to have a word with Harris. But it had taken three re-con
planes to get the photos back, two Spitfire Mk 19's and a Mossie. How long
would it take to get a Meteor fixed up for PR? A couple of days?
Then the most important question.
'Can we get away with it again?' He said aloud 'we might', but that would be
the last time to get at the Reds the same way. They would be up all the time
bad weather or not. The strength and range of their radar was still a matter of
discussion. It was better than what Germany had in '45 that was for sure.
As for any radar the Russians it must go, and that was a job for small teams of
commando’s. And if what he had heard was right, the bloody SS.
Nasty bastards.
He smiled. Then laughed.
At least they were now our bastards.
