The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

As the unfolding Allied disaster at Sedan was finally beginning to sink in,
the French and British air forces were ordered to urgently bomb and destroy
the newly built German bridges constructed overnight, and across which
panzers were now rumbling in a steady stream.
Air Chief Marshal Dowding might have been worried about his
precious fighter aircraft, but RAF Bomber Command could ill afford to lose
large numbers of planes over France either. Tragically, however, this was
precisely what was about to happen over Sedan. The flawed Allied air
strategy was now about to reveal its shortcomings horribly above this key
battleground. The use of RAF bombers in France had already caused no
small amount of debate. Air Marshal Charles Portal, only since April the
new head of Bomber Command, had voiced his concerns just two days
before the German offensive had begun. He was convinced that using
Blenheim medium bombers in direct support of the ground forces was a
grave mistake. The enemy front would be swarming with fighters and he
feared his bombers would suffer hideous losses. Really accurate bombing
could not be expected and he doubted whether fifty Blenheims – which was
what it amounted to – operating on information unavoidably some hours out
of date could make enough of a difference to justify the inevitable losses
that would occur. The problem was that these bombers, along with the
squadrons of obsolescent Fairey Battles, had already been committed; they
could not stand idle on their airfields, so the Air Staff back in London,
despite Portal’s grave concerns, had little choice but to commit them once
the offensive began. But in so doing they were sending precious pilots to
very early deaths.
Once again, the French seemed to be unable to respond to any crisis
with anything like urgency. The Arméee de l’Air could only muster fortythree
bombers to fly over Sedan, while the RAF sent seventy-three Battles
and thirty-six Blenheims. Recognizing that the Allies would make a
concerted effort to blow the bridges, Guderian had managed to bring to bear
a staggering 300 anti-aircraft guns around his key crossing points. The
aircraft of Luftflotte 3 were also there in force to protect the bridges,
hovering above and waiting to pounce.
French attacks, made in dribs and drabs, began early in the morning but
were hopelessly ineffective. Between three and four in the afternoon, the
RAF arrived en masse, flung against the guns and aircraft waiting for them.
It was a slaughter.