Post by person67 on Jan 18, 2021 17:08:45 GMT
6th August 1940: Goering, Kesselring, Sperrle and Stumpff at a meeting agree to first of all eliminate RAF's Chain Home before then attacking Fighter Command Airfields.
13th August 1940:Aldertag, Instead of beginning by attacking RAF Fighter Command Airfields, attacks are launched on the dozen Chain Home stations covering the south east as identified by the German airship the Graf Zepplin. Rather than attacking the open steel girder transmission stations, the Luftwaffe attack the four wooden receiving towers by a combination of strafing, low level and dive bombing runs. The wooden towers prove much more vulnerable than the steel girder transmissions towers but equally essential to the operation of the radar stations. Initial damage puts many of the stations out of action. RAF Fighter Command struggle to respond to these raids on the coastal radars in time and only manages to shoot down 20 German aircraft taking 9 losses in return.
14th-16th August: Follow up attacks are launched on Chain Home in the south east to properly put them out of action and force the Fighter Command to rely on the Royal Observer Corps for warning. 40 German and 25 British aircraft are lost.
17th August: Having disabled much of Chain Home attacks begin on No 11 Group. Royal Observer Corp warnings come in frequently confused and only once the Germans are overland. No 11 Group takes loses 50 aircraft against 30 German aircraft with half of the destroyed British aircraft on the ground. Losses are also taken to aircrews on the ground.
18th August- 12th September: The Luftwaffe keep up attacks on No 11 Group's airfields and Chain Home. Without warning from Chain Home, No 11 Group are frequently taken by surprise on the ground. Some 700 British aircraft are lost against 400 German aircraft.
13th September: Park, Dowding, Leigh- Mallory and Newall meet at Whitehall where they agree that No 11 Group is taking unsustainably high casualties and should be moved to north of London where they are unlikely to be caught out by German raids. Everyone agrees that the German goal is to attack London and that protecting London is still possible from bases north of London. The likelihood of an invasion is seen as low. Newall and Dowding meet with Churchill next and Churchill signs off on the plan.
14th-17th September: No 11 Group begin the move northwards while Hitler gives the go- ahead for Operation Sea Lion. On the night of the 16th September, Bey's destroyers begin escorting minelayers into laying barrier minefields off Selsey Bill and Beachy Head while torpedo boats do the same laying minefields blocking the approaches from Dover. Loading of supplies onto barges begins on the 16th September at Antwerp.
18th-22nd September: The Admiral Hipper sets out northwards. Loading of supplies, vehicles then horses and troops onto barges continues. No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF overflies Calais spotting preperations on the afternoon off the 22nd September and the Royal Navy increases patrols.
23rd September: The first convoys set off from Amsterdam and Rotterdam on the 23rd working their way down the coast to Ostend as their forming up point. On the morning of the 23rd September, Operation Herbstreise is enacted. Emden, Nürnberg, Köln, Bremse and other light naval escort the liners Europa, Bremen, Gneisenau and Potsdam and 11 transport steamers leave Wilhelmshaven and sail into the north sea onto a latitude the same as Edinburgh. After six hours of sailing a two minute long radio message is sent back to Berlin. The Admiral Hipper makes a similar radio message from north of the Faroe Islands. High frequency direction finding stations in Scotland and England pick up the both the Admiral Hipper and the convoy fleet air arm spotter plane locates them a few hours later. Pound dispatches the HMS Repulse, Furious, Berwick, Norfolk and destroyers to go after the Admiral Hipper while Charles Ramsey sets out destroyer sweeps to locate the German convoy and keeps the HMS Nelson and HMS Hood at anchor in Rosyth.
24th September: The German diversionary forces turn back during the night while the royal navy focus their attention on locating them. The real convoys begin to form up and prepare to sail with minesweepers heading out to clear the path and lay lanterns for movement in the dark. Following once darkness falls the four convoys set out.
13th August 1940:Aldertag, Instead of beginning by attacking RAF Fighter Command Airfields, attacks are launched on the dozen Chain Home stations covering the south east as identified by the German airship the Graf Zepplin. Rather than attacking the open steel girder transmission stations, the Luftwaffe attack the four wooden receiving towers by a combination of strafing, low level and dive bombing runs. The wooden towers prove much more vulnerable than the steel girder transmissions towers but equally essential to the operation of the radar stations. Initial damage puts many of the stations out of action. RAF Fighter Command struggle to respond to these raids on the coastal radars in time and only manages to shoot down 20 German aircraft taking 9 losses in return.
14th-16th August: Follow up attacks are launched on Chain Home in the south east to properly put them out of action and force the Fighter Command to rely on the Royal Observer Corps for warning. 40 German and 25 British aircraft are lost.
17th August: Having disabled much of Chain Home attacks begin on No 11 Group. Royal Observer Corp warnings come in frequently confused and only once the Germans are overland. No 11 Group takes loses 50 aircraft against 30 German aircraft with half of the destroyed British aircraft on the ground. Losses are also taken to aircrews on the ground.
18th August- 12th September: The Luftwaffe keep up attacks on No 11 Group's airfields and Chain Home. Without warning from Chain Home, No 11 Group are frequently taken by surprise on the ground. Some 700 British aircraft are lost against 400 German aircraft.
13th September: Park, Dowding, Leigh- Mallory and Newall meet at Whitehall where they agree that No 11 Group is taking unsustainably high casualties and should be moved to north of London where they are unlikely to be caught out by German raids. Everyone agrees that the German goal is to attack London and that protecting London is still possible from bases north of London. The likelihood of an invasion is seen as low. Newall and Dowding meet with Churchill next and Churchill signs off on the plan.
14th-17th September: No 11 Group begin the move northwards while Hitler gives the go- ahead for Operation Sea Lion. On the night of the 16th September, Bey's destroyers begin escorting minelayers into laying barrier minefields off Selsey Bill and Beachy Head while torpedo boats do the same laying minefields blocking the approaches from Dover. Loading of supplies onto barges begins on the 16th September at Antwerp.
18th-22nd September: The Admiral Hipper sets out northwards. Loading of supplies, vehicles then horses and troops onto barges continues. No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF overflies Calais spotting preperations on the afternoon off the 22nd September and the Royal Navy increases patrols.
23rd September: The first convoys set off from Amsterdam and Rotterdam on the 23rd working their way down the coast to Ostend as their forming up point. On the morning of the 23rd September, Operation Herbstreise is enacted. Emden, Nürnberg, Köln, Bremse and other light naval escort the liners Europa, Bremen, Gneisenau and Potsdam and 11 transport steamers leave Wilhelmshaven and sail into the north sea onto a latitude the same as Edinburgh. After six hours of sailing a two minute long radio message is sent back to Berlin. The Admiral Hipper makes a similar radio message from north of the Faroe Islands. High frequency direction finding stations in Scotland and England pick up the both the Admiral Hipper and the convoy fleet air arm spotter plane locates them a few hours later. Pound dispatches the HMS Repulse, Furious, Berwick, Norfolk and destroyers to go after the Admiral Hipper while Charles Ramsey sets out destroyer sweeps to locate the German convoy and keeps the HMS Nelson and HMS Hood at anchor in Rosyth.
24th September: The German diversionary forces turn back during the night while the royal navy focus their attention on locating them. The real convoys begin to form up and prepare to sail with minesweepers heading out to clear the path and lay lanterns for movement in the dark. Following once darkness falls the four convoys set out.