Evening star., 1941-03-28
British Air Ministry
Bares Full Scope Of
Raids Last Summer
2,375 German Aircraft
Declared Destroyed
In Three Months
BY WILLIAM H. sTONEMAN,

Chicago Daily News Foreign Correspondent
LONDON, March 28.-The full
magnitude of the battle of Britain
last August, September and October
was revealed for the first time today
In an official publication by the All
Ministry.
Between the beginning of daylight
attacks on August 8 and the final
assault on October 81, 2,375 German
aircraft are definitely known to
have been destroyed, while the
Royal Air Force lost 375 pilots killed
and 358 wounded. it says. 1t goes
on to describe the direction and
force of the German attacks on vari-
Gus occasions, and for the first time
gives detailed description of the
dispositions and tactics adopted by
the R. A. F. fighter command in
countering the assaults. 1t promises
to become a standard textbook for
the Luftwaffe.
WI ittoNo III
II divides the battle of Britain
into four phases. The first period,
which lasted between August 8 and
August 18, was devoted to massive
attacks on conveys, ports and fighter
airdromes near the coast. and the
cost to the Germans was 697 planes
Of which 1870 were lost on August Is.
The second period, which was fea-
tured by an attack on inland air.
dromeS, lasted from August 10 to
September 5, involved 35 main at
tackS and cost the Germans 562
aircraft to Britain'S 219. The third
opened on September 6 and was
devoted to series of heavy day
light assaults on London and other
important ports, lasting until Octo-
ber 5. 1t cost the Germans 1888
planes. 1t was featured by the
attack Of September 7 when $50
bombers and fighters attacked the
Thames Estuary and London. and
reached its climax on September Is
when the r A. F. shot down 1876
planes out Of 500 which attacked
this country.
The fourth and final phase saw a
temporary abandonment of heavy
daylight bombers in favor of
fighter r-bombers. which attacked
from an altitude of 10000 feet. 1t
lasted from October 6 to October 81
No. II group of the R. A. F. shot
down 167 German planes in three
and one-half weeks, for a loss of only
e5 British pilots.
Names and Dates Given.
The report gives in detail the
names of the ports and airdromes
reached by the Germans on particu-
lar dates. something which had been
strictly forbidden to date. 1t re-
veals, for example, that on Sep
eember London did not remain
unscathed. Damage was inflicted on
dockbuildingS, on several factories,
on railway communications, on gas
and electricity plants" Again, it re-
veals that 1t was on September IL
that "a single German aircraft
penetrated the defense by the care
full use of cloud cover and bombed
Buckingham Palace in the morning" ."
II tells Of initial attacks on con-
voys and coastal fighter airdromes.
On August IS, 1t says, the Germans
attacked the fighter dromes at
Dover, Deal, Hawkinge, Martlesham,
Lympne, Middle Wallop, Jenley and
Biggin Hill On August 1913, it
continues, they made for dromes at
Rochester, Henley, Croydon, Biggin-
hill, Mansion, West Mailing, Cos
port, Northholt and Tangmere.
The details of tactics employed in
meeting new types of formations
used by the Germans in various
phases indicate that the r. A. F.
was forced to the limit to handle
the situation, that it got out of con-
troll on several occasions, but that,
in general, it was always fairly well
In hand.
copyright, 1941, Chicago Daily News, Inc