THREAD/Today is Battle of Britain Day, a day on which there were two daylight raids on London, both of which were largely repulsed, as well as a nighttime raid, which was to become the norm over the coming months of the Night Blitz. We're going to look at one incident from the...

first raid on London, which culminated in an air battle over the centre of London. The day was Sunday 15 Sept 1940 and the raid consisted of 25 Dornier 17s who were tasked with bombing the railway lines outside Victoria/Waterloo Stations. There were also 21 fighter bombers...

tasked with targets of opportunity, together with a covering escort of some 150 Me109s. On paper, a formidable force. By 11:05, it was clear to the RAF Controllers at Uxbridge that the force was heading towards London and the first squadrons began to be scrambled accordingly. In

the Gallery at RAF Uxbridge was Winston Churchill, who had decided to make one of his periodic visits and who was watching intently. As well as aircraft from 11 Group, fighters from neighbouring 10 and 12 Groups were scrambled, including the Duxford "Big Wing". In south London,

the air raid sirens sounded at around 11:45 and five minutes later over Ashford, contact between the two forces was made. An intense air battle now began, which would continue all the way towards London. At first, it was fighter versus fighter as the RAF pilots attempted to peel

away the fighter escort to get at the bombers, The enemy fighter bombers began to drop their bombs, which fell widely over southeast London, including Penge, Dulwich, Streatham, Lambeth and Lewisham. Amongst the Dornier formation, one aircraft was dropping out of the formation,

having developed engine trouble. It was piloted by Oblt. Robert Zehbe and soon found itself being attacked relentlessly by British fighters. Soon, two crew were dead and Zehbe, seeing no future in continuing, ordered the two surviving crew to bale out, set the autopilot on the

aircraft and followed them out. The first two to jump came down safely in Anerley and were quickly taken into captivity but Zehbe, having baled slightly later, came down near the Oval Cricket Ground. Before he could be reached by the Police, Zehbe was attacked by members of the..

public and died the following day in Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital. Meanwhile, in the skies above central London, the now unmanned Dornier was still flying on, damaged but still looking as if it was on a bombing run. The pilots attacking it could not know that the crew had

departed and one RAF pilot in particular closed in on the Dornier. His name was Sgt. Ray Holmes of 504 Squadron from RAF Hendon. As he closed the Dornier from head on, he opened fire but after a very brief burst, his guns fell silent, having expended their ammunition. Ray held..

course and attempted to cut through the tail of the Dornier with the port wing of his Hurricane. As the two aircraft collided, the Do-17's tail was severed and the two sections began to fall uncontrollably to the ground. As a result of the G-forces at work, two 50 kg bombs and a

basket of incendiaries flew out of the bomb bay, with one of the 50 kg bombs hitting Buckingham Palace without exploding. Meanwhile, Ray's Hurricane had also been crippled and began to spin. Ray managed to bale out and despite hitting his shoulder on the tail fin of his aircraft,

he came down safely in Ebury Bridge Road, after initially getting his parachute snagged on the gutter of an apartment block. Ray was "rescued" by two pretty girls from an adjacent garden and he was so overjoyed at still being alive, he was able to give them both a kiss before...

he was taken to the nearby Orange Tree pub for a stiff brandy! The bulk of the Dornier fell on the forecourt of Victoria Station, with the severed tail falling on the roof of a building in Vauxhall Bridge Road. The base of the wall at this part of Victoria Station still carries..

the scars from the damage to this day. Ray Holmes was eventually found in the pub by a home guardsman, who asked if he'd liked to see the crash site of his Hurricane. Ray was keen to do this and thought he might be able to "steal a glance" at the remains of his aircraft but when

people recognised him as a RAF fighter pilot, he was given many hearty slaps on the shoulder, which did his injury no good at all! Ray was eventually taken to Chelsea Barracks, given the once-over by a doctor and then taken to the Mess for a few more drinks, before being sent to

RAF Hendon in a cab (paid for by the Army). Ray lived until 2005, when he passed away, aged 90 and lived to see the remains of his Hurricane excavated from the crash site. Before the dust had settled on the days attacks, the news was released that the RAF had shot down 185 enemy

aircraft. Dowding at Fighter Command and Park at 11 Group were not happy with this as they knew it to be false. Whether it was deliberate over-claiming as part of Leigh-Mallory in 12 Group's machinations, or whether it was down to the "fog of war" is still a matter of debate but

the reality is that the Luftwaffe lost 60 aircraft, against 26 for the RAF, of whom 13 of those pilots were safe to fight another day. Two days later, Hitler postponed any thought of an invasion of Great Britain as control of the skies over England had not been achieved./END