18/08/2026
On This Day: 18th August 1940 / 18th and 19th August 1942
On 18 August 1940, RAF Fighter Command - including Biggin Hill - was very much on the backfoot. Indeed, during the 114 day campaign of the Battle of Britain this date became known as ‘the Hardest Day’ due to the number of RAF aircraft lost in action. More specifically, Biggin Hill suffered its first big air raid that day when 60x He1-11s (escorted by 40x Me109s) dropped 84 tonnes of bombs on the site. The escorting Me109s did their job exceptionally well. Of Biggin’s fighter Squadrons, 610 did not lose any aircraft during the course of the day, in return managing to shoot down one He1-11 on the raid. But 32 Squadron lost 6 Hurricanes shot down that day – thankfully no pilots were killed but four were wounded. The airfield was damaged, but not put out of action. AA defences had been ordered not to fire for fear of hitting friendly aircraft. On the ground three military personnel died, and there were also civilian casualties at nearby Leaves Green.
In August 1940 the Luftwaffe hugely outnumbered the RAF. By August 1942 over France the RAF now outnumbered the Luftwaffe, and Biggin Hill was playing a big role in providing the air cover for Operation Jubilee – the Dieppe landings which took place on 18/19 August. Biggin’s two resident Spitfire Squadrons – No.133 (Eagle) and 401 (Canadian) had decamped to RAF Lympne on14 August and were temporarily replaced by another 3x squadrons - Nos 222; 602; and 307th Pursuit (USAAF). Whilst Biggin had dispersal areas for up to three squadrons to operate, it usually accommodated only two, but for short-term operations there was room around the perimeter to take more aircraft.
For Operation Jubilee, the RAF operation was the brainchild of AVM Trafford Leigh-Mallory, C-in-C of No.11 Group who for the last 18 months had been a great proponent of offensive fighter sweeps over France. He saw the Dieppe raid as a prime opportunity to bring the Luftwaffe to battle and cause the Germans grievous losses.
But the tables were turned in more ways than one. In 1940 Luftwaffe bombers had been escorted by Me109 fighters operating from Northern France which had only limited time over Southern England. In 1942 the Spitfires operating from Biggin Hill had only limited time over enemy territory. In 1940 the Spitfires and Me 109s had been pretty evenly matched, but in 1942 the Spitfire MkVs which made up the majority of the fighter force had inferior performance compared to the new Fw 190s. This would only be rectified when the MkIX Spitfire came into widespread use.
The August 1942 landing on Dieppe’s beaches was an expensive failure, the Allies suffering 3,625 casualties or taken prisoner. Luftwaffe losses were less than 50 aircraft. The RAF lost 100+ aircraft, with 53 aircrew fatalities. Yet despite having 5x Squadrons involved, Biggin Hill sector recorded only a single fatality – Flt Sgt Morton Buckley of 401 Canadian Sqn, flying his second sortie of the day. That is not to say there were not near misses – an American, Sam Junkin, flying with the same Squadron was wounded over the English Channel and had to bail out. Ironically, 401 were one of the few Squadrons who had converted on to the Spitfire MkIX.
Interestingly, AVM Leigh-Mallory considered the RAF role at Dieppe a success in bringing the Luftwaffe into the air. He lobbied for further such operations and would have been happy to see them take place on a weekly basis!
