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

recovered and applied to join the RFC. Accepted, he began life as a spotter
then became a pilot, later commanding 48 Squadron, and finishing the war
with fourteen victories, a couple of MCs, the DFC and the Croix de Guerre.
One of the comparative few to receive a regular post-war commission in the
RAF, he later served as Dowding’s Senior Air Staff Officer at Fighter
Command before being given command of 11 Group in April.
Tall, with a lean face, trim moustache and twinkly eyes, he was
nonetheless a rather stern, austere figure: a tough, exacting man who
suffered no fools – in many ways not unlike Dowding. He was also a great
thinker and had done much to develop fighter tactics and the defence
system during his time as Dowding’s Chief of Staff. The two both liked
each other and worked extremely well together. For Dowding’s part, Park
had repeatedly proved his competence. As a commander and leader, he
trusted him implicitly – and with good reason.
For covering Dunkirk, Park had sixteen squadrons at his disposal out of
the thirty-six now left in Fighter Command, the rest remaining as both a
reserve and to protect other parts of the country. Like Kesselring, Park was
also faced with the problem of range, although not so much from lack of
fuel (although his fighters had a limit of forty minutes over the French port)
but because it meant operating outside Britain’s defensive system. There
was no radar cover over Dunkirk so he was forced to rely on inefficient and
exhausting standing patrols.
From the Admiralty came demands for constant fighter cover around
the clock. Park was not sure this was the best use of his fighters, however.
Flying over Dunkirk himself in his Hurricane, and then talking to pilots, he
quickly became convinced that it was better to send over two squadrons for
some of the time rather than one or half a squadron to provide non-stop
cover. He was undoubtedly right, and by 29 May he got his way, Dowding
authorizing him to use his aircraft as he saw fit, rather than how the
Admiralty was demanding. It was one of the many benefits of the two
men’s close working relationship.
In order to try to keep all his squadrons at reasonable strength, Park also
made sure he rotated them regularly. 92 Squadron, for example, had flown
two missions over the French coast on the 23rd and one on the 24th, and
then one Channel patrol on the 25th, before being posted to Duxford and
out of the fray, while those who had earlier served in France, like Pete
Brothers’ 32 Squadron, were kept out of it altogether.