Unsung hero Hurricane brought wind of change to aerial battle
THE Supermarine Spitfire is remembered as the fighter that won the Battle of Britain. But twice as many Hawker Hurricanes took part in the action and many of these unsung heroes were made by the Gloster Aircraft Company.
GAC built 1,000 of these rugged planes between October 27, 1939 and October 27, 1940, the majority of them taking part in the Battle of Britain.
Designed by Sir Sydney Camm, the Mk 1 Hurricane was armed with eight Browning machine guns, four in each wing and its Rolls-royce Merlin engine gave a maximum speed of 366 mph.
The Hurricane was the RAF’S first plane capable of exceeding 300 mph in level flight.
When Hurricane production came to an end at GAC in March 1942, 2,750 had been built.
The factory’s total war contribution also included 200 Henleys, the allies’ first jet, the Gloster-whittle E28/39, 3,300 Typhoons and over 200 Meteor jet fighters.
The latter was the only plane fast enough to chase and destroy Hitler’s V1 flying bombs, also known as Doodlebugs.
Most of the struggle in the air during the Battle of Britain took place over the south east of England.
But there was plenty of action in the skies above Gloucestershire.
On July 25 South Cerney airfield was attacked by two German bombers and on the same day people in Cheltenham caught sight of the enemy in the air for the first time when a JU 88 flew low over the town.
This could have been the same plane that was brought down at Oakridge Lynch, near Stroud, when it was rammed by a Hurricane of the Kemble Defence Flight, killing its pilot Alex Bird.
The four-man crew of the Luftwaffe plane abandoned their stricken Junkers.
One perished when his parachute failed to open, the other three, uffz Dorner, uffz Hugelschafer and Gefr Treue survived and were rounded up by the Home Guard.
On Saturday, July 27 1940 German bombs fell in the county at Arlingham, Aust, Alveston, Blaize, Bailey, Frampton Cotterel, Golden Valley, Bitton, Hewels Field, Ingst, Newnham, Staple Hill, Tidenham, Tutshill, Box Edge Farm and Westerleigh.
The following day a high explosive bomb dropped near Compton Abdale left a crater measuring 25 feet across.
On August 3, Cirencester experienced its first alert when bombs fell just outside the town.
A few days later RAF Kemble was put out of action when the runway was attacked and nine Whitley bombers destroyed.
The station was soon back in service, thanks to the Pioneer Corp called in to make good the damage.
An incident that remains clouded in mystery to this day took place on Sunday, August 18 1940.
Sergeant Bruce Hancock, 26 and almost at the end of his course at No 6 Flying Training School, took advantage of the good conditions to notch up some night flight time and took off from the grass airstrip at Windrush, near Bourton-on-the-water, in an unarmed Avro Anson trainer.
Lights on the Windrush runway attracted the attention of a German Heinkel He111, which released a number of high explosive bombs and attacked Hancock’s plane.
Witnesses reported that Hancock doused the lights of his Anson and banked to port.
» To share your pictures and memories of local people, places and events, please email them to nostechocit@gmail.com
As the Heinkel overflew him, Hancock pulled back the control column and rammed his Anson into the underside of the enemy.
The German plane came down at Blackpit’s Farm, Aldsworth, near Northleach, and pictures of the wreckage appeared in the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershireshire Graphic.
So did photographs of the military funeral given to the Henkel’s crew of four, all men in their 20s.
Bruce Hancock’s body was found some distance away from the remains of the Anson.
Bibury airfield was the target on August 19, when a JU88 dropped bombs and peppered half a dozen Spitfires on the ground.
One was destroyed and an RAF airman killed, but the remaining crew took off in pursuit and brought down the attacker over the Solent.
In the last week of August 1940 bombs fell on Chipping Camden, Moreton in Marsh, Gothering railway station and in Cheltenham at Hester’s Way and the Reddings.
An attack on a barrage balloon post at Staverton airfield left three airman dead.
High explosive bombs turned Tewkesbury taps dry when the town’s water main was hit and a brace of oil bombs narrowly missed a searchlight position in Prestbury.
A crescendo was reached on Thursday, September 5 when 200 bombs fell on the county in numerous attacks, but after that date the worst was over, at least for the people of Gloucestershire.
By this time the losses being sustained by the Luftwaffe were so great that the Nazi command ordered a change of strategy.
Rather than try to destroy the RAF, Hitler and Goering ordered their airforce to bomb London.
The Battle of Britain was over. The Blitz was about to begin.