Sunday 28 October 2012

Australians in the Battle of Britain. 29 October 1940. Peter Moore

Australians in the Battle of Britain. 29 October 1940. Peter Moore

On 29 October, during the Luftwaffe’s last substantial daylight effort, 253 Squadron scrambled three times and encountered the enemy in its third interception. At 4.30 p.m., eight Hurricanes left Kenley in company with 501 Squadron. They had been ordered to patrol the Kenley−Brooklands line at 15,000 feet. Peter, in his third sortie of the day, was flying Hurricane V7301.

Looking back over his time in 253 Squadron, John Greenwood, who had been with the squadron since it reformed in late October 1939, recalled that throughout the Battle of Britain 253 had clung to the rigid Fighting Area Attacks they had practised so diligently in pre-war training. Because of the hectic days it had had no opportunity or time to change. Greenwood recalled that:

‘Our tactics remained the same throughout the Battle, four flights of three aircraft, in vic formation, which could be either turned into either line abreast or line astern for attacking purposes. It showed no imagination, it was discussed between us several times, but nothing was done.’

Despite this recollection, it seems that by late October, the squadron had implemented some changes to battle formation. On 29 October, the squadron flew with one section of four and line astern of it was another section of two. Two pilots were acting as weavers, keeping a close eye out for the enemy. The squadron climbed to 21,000 feet and there altered the formation to three pairs in a shallow vic, but still with the weavers. Near Dover 501, Squadron attacked a formation of Messerschmitt 109s at 15,000.

During their attack, 253 sighted eighteen 109s in two formations of nine at 28,000 and 30,000 feet. The first gaggle of Messerschmitts was flying in a wide fan to 253’s west. The second was position in two lines abreast of five and four astern. 253 continued to climb and when it was at 27,000 feet circled beneath both enemy formations whilst 501 Squadron engaged and dispersed Messerschmitts at 15,000 feet.

The two formations above 253 Squadron then turned south east and east. 253 found it impossible to engage either formation so split into pairs to hunt isolated enemy aircraft. One of the weavers, Pilot Officer Guy Marsland, sighted one of the Messerschmitts at 16,000 feet travelling south towards Horsham. He closed and attacked from slightly below and astern. The enemy aircraft did a half roll and the Horsham Observer Corps later reported a crashed 109 at the time of engagement. Pilot Officer Nowak sighted a Dornier Do 17 (or Z) at 200 feet with a Spitfire circling above it about 1000 feet, apparently out of ammunition. Nowak delivered four separate attacks and the Dornier crashed into the sea.

The pilots landed between 17.25 and 17.35 p.m., when Peter Moore landed. The squadron had suffered no losses and claimed Marsland’s destroyed over land and Nowak’s Dornier. There is no combat report for Peter and he is not mentioned in the squadron’s operation record book so if his machine gun fire had struck at any enemy aircraft no noticeable damage had been done. But he had finally encountered the enemy, and he had survived.
 

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