Bill Millington
had a quieter day on 9 October 1940. 249 Squadron only flew one patrol to
Biggin Hill, commencing at 3.00 p.m. and ending at 4.45 p.m. For a change, Bill
was flying V6693. Yet again, no action.
The air war had
changed radically over the last few weeks. Luftwaffe twin-engine bombers were
largely withdrawn from daylight operations (the exception was on occasions
where thick cloud protected them) and bombing raids a.k.a The Blitz were the
province of the night. When daylight forays were laid on, they were of much
smaller complements of Me 109s and 110s, flying at great heights, largely
attempting to draw the RAF fighters ‘out to play’. 249 Squadron had already
noted their frustration with this strategy:
‘it was not
possible to make contact. This has occurred many times recently and is due to
the fact that the 109s are now operating with a new engine which enables them
to easily out climb the Hurricane I. The Hurricane II has been promised for
some time and all pilots are naturally very keen for its arrival.’
How times had
changed. Just three months ago while with 79 Squadron, on 9 July, Bill had notched
up his first victory, a Messerschmitt 109E off the coast of Dover. He briefly
described that action in a letter home, acknowledging the superiority of the
Hurricane I over the German fighters:
‘On patrol over mid-Channel, four of us ran into a
formation of 9 Me 109s. We were soon milling around in a terrific dogfight. I
was fortunate to get on the tail of a Hun and he was soon diving for the sea in
flames. We chased another over the French coast, but shot him before turning
back. Our machines are vastly superior to those of the Luftwaffe and Jerry gets
very shy when tackled, and usually breaks up and streaks for home.’
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