Battle of Britain
1941 - 1945
ROYAL AUXILIARY AIR FORCE I 100 th ANNIVERSARY
Battle of Britain
Following the end of the Battle of France , the Battle of Britain officially began on 10 th July 1940 ( known as Adlertag ( Eagle Day ) to the German Luftwaffe ) and officially ended on 31 st October 1940 , as the Germans switched across to city night-bombing known as the “ Blitz ”, which lasted until 11 th May 1941 . The aim of Adlertag was to destroy the Royal Air Force , gaining air supremacy to allow the invasion of Britain by the Germans ( OP SEALION ).
Sergeant James “ Ginger ” Lacey
During the Battle of Britain , the AAF provided 14 of the 71 RAF , Commonwealth , Overseas fighter squadrons and Coastal Command squadrons that took an active part in the battle , and it was calculated that the AAF squadrons accounted for approximately 30 % of the 1,740 enemy aircraft destroyed during the battle , providing 15 AAF aces ( pilots who shot down more than five enemy aircraft ) including Squadron Leader Archie McKellar ( 605 Squadron , with 22 confirmed “ kills ”) and Sergeant James ‘ Ginger ’ Lacey ( 501 Sqn ), the highest scoring
Aircrew awaiting the next scramble Royal Air Force noncommissioned pilot who flew during the battle , attaining 23 confirmed kills , including the Heinkel bomber that had bombed Buckingham Palace on 13 th September 1940 .
AAF Groundcrew servicing a Hurricane
In a letter to the Honorary Inspector General of the RAuxAF on the presentation of the first Sovereigns Colour in June 1989 , Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II , remarked on the great skill and valour of the RAuxAF during the Battle of Britain , mentioning ‘ Ginger Lacey ’ by name . At the end of the Battle , no fewer than four AAF squadrons were in the top 10 scoring squadrons ; 501 ( 2nd with 99.5 kills ), 607 & 609 3 rd with 84 kills ), and 602 ( 7 th with 65 kills ). The AAF order of battle of 188 aircrew also included 11 wireless operator / air gunners and one radar operator of whom 35 gave their lives .
In 1942 , it was 501 Squadron from the Auxiliary Air Force which provided the aircraft and pilots in the Battle of Britain combat scenes in the period film First of the Few , starring David Niven and Leslie Howard . The Squadron OC , Squadron Leader ‘ Bunny ’ Currant had an active role in the film , appearing as himself .
1941 - 1945
After the Battle of Britain and throughout the rest of World War 2 , AAF Sqns continued to serve with distinction in every theatre of war , including the siege of Malta , the North African Desert , the Battle of the Atlantic and the Far East . AAF squadrons were involved with the Sicilian Campaign the Italian campaign and were also involved in D-Day , the battles for Normandy , Arnhem , and liberation of Europe where , as squadrons in the Tactical Air Force , they carried out several ultra-low-level raids on numerous targets in occupied Europe . At the same time AAF squadrons continued the defence of the home front including the campaign of the V1s in 1944
( AFF squadrons were credited with the destruction of 279 V1 ’ s ). In 1944 , 616 was the first Sqn to be equipped with Meteors and the first to destroy a V1 flying bomb with a jet aircraft . Other AAF Sqns attacked and destroyed V2 sites .
In 1945 at the end of hostilities in Europe and the Far East , the AAF squadrons were disbanded . However , within months , perhaps linked to the oncoming Cold War and the prospect of US military assistance programmes , the decision was made to re-form all of the AAF Sqn .
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