Tag: Biggin Hill

32 Squadron activity timeline

19:40

Reconstruction of activity from 32 Sqn Form 541 (AIR/27/360/24).

Aircraft Time 09:00 09:45 13:00 13:05 13:25 14:00 14:20 14:30 15:30 15:45 16:05 16:15 16:25 16:30 16:45 17:05 17:10 17:30 19:10 19:20 19:40
N2458 Biggin Hill Whitehouse Hawkinge Whitehouse Hawkinge Whitehouse Biggin Hill Unknown
N2524 Biggin Hill Aslin Hawkinge Aslin Hawkinge Aslin Hawkinge Aslin Biggin Hill Aslin Biggin Hill
N2755 Unknown Biggin Hill Eckford Biggin Hill
N2921 Biggin Hill Brothers Hawkinge Brothers Hawkinge Brothers Hawkinge Brothers Biggin Hill Barton Biggin Hill
P3481 Biggin Hill Flinders Hawkinge1 Unknown Biggin Hill Crossley Hawkinge Crossley Hawkinge Crossley Crashed
P3679 Biggin Hill Pearce2 Hawkinge Higgins Hawkinge Higgins Hawkinge Higgins Biggin Hill Higgins Biggin Hill
P3936 Biggin Hill Eckford Hawkinge Eckford Hawkinge Eckford Hawkinge Eckford Biggin Hill
V6546 Biggin Hill Higgins Hawkinge Unknown3 Biggin Hill Brothers Biggin Hill
V6547 Biggin Hill Wlasnowalski Hawkinge Wlasnowalski Hawkinge Wlasnowalski Hawkinge Wlasnowalski Biggin Hill Wlasnowalski Biggin Hill
V6565 Biggin Hill Gillman Hawkinge1 Biggin Hill Gillman Hawkinge Gillman Hawkinge Gillman Hawkinge Unknown
V6566 Biggin Hill Barton Hawkinge Barton Hawkinge Barton Hawkinge Barton Biggin Hill Whitehouse Biggin Hill
V6567 Biggin Hill Seghers Hawkinge Seghers Hawkinge Seghers Crashed
V6568 Biggin Hill Smythe Hawkinge Smythe4 Crashed
V6572 Biggin Hill Pniak Hawkinge Pniak5 Bailed out Pniak Crashed Unknown Hawkinge Pniak Biggin Hill Unknown

Key

Meaning Cell
Aircraft at Biggin Hill Biggin Hill
Aircraft at Hawkinge Hawkinge
Aircraft in the air with pilot's name Smith
No information Unknown
Aircraft unserviceable with reason Bailed out
Last mention of a pilot Bold text
Information assumed from circumstantial evidence Italic text

Footnotes

  1. It would make more sense if this was a patrol that landed back at Biggin Hill as both aircraft are next recorded as going from Biggin to Hawkinge. ^,^
  2. Sgt. Pearce does not appear again in the record book again during August. ^
  3. It would fit if Sgt. Pearce flew this plane back to Biggin Hill.^
  4. P/O Smythe is recorded as having crashed on this sortie but is not recorded as having participated The casualty report gives the time of his aircraft crashing as approximately 1600. ^
  5. The record for P/O Pinak contains several inconsitencies and is covered in more detail. ^

II./KG 1 bomb Biggin Hill

19:00

Yesterday evening the Gruppe was briefed for another daylight raid on Biggin Hill. At 1736 hrs this afternoon we took off and formed up over Calais. We crossed the Channel in close formation, heading directly for the target area. Our fighter escort did an excellent job. They prevented the English fighters from getting anywhere near us, allowing us to lay a carpet of bombs right across the airfield. Despite the heavy flak my navigator, Oberleutnant Heinrich Prinze ze Sayn-Wittgenstein, managed to take several photos of our stick of bombs "walking" across the target. At 2010 hrs we landed back at Rosieères. We had suffered no casualties, just some minor flak damage.