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

because the engines were to the side, where their glare was not in the pilot’s
eyes. The Beaufighter, developed from the Blenheim, was the best prospect
to take on night-fighting duties, but although it was coming into service,
Fighter Command had not received sufficient numbers yet. So long as the
Luftwaffe continued to concentrate its efforts during the day, this was not as
much of a problem. But Dowding liked to be prepared, and on that score he
was not.
Following the heavy attacks on the convoy on 8 August, the anticipated
poor weather meant there was little activity over the next couple of days.
There was a lot of cloud and rain about, while on 10 August it was squally
and thundery. The next day, there was plenty of cloud in the afternoon, but
during the morning it was bright and clear and soon heavy attacks
developed.
The Luftwaffe’s plan was to draw fighters out over the Dover area with
harassing raids, and then deliver the main punch at Portland. This latter
operation was a major task for Luftflotte 3. Many of the fighters of Jafü 3
were to be involved, some drawing out the British fighters, others escorting
a comparatively small bomber force. Since it was a reasonable distance, coordination
of these fighters into their formations needed to be quick and
slickly carried out. It would be a good test – a kind of dress rehearsal, albeit
for real.
Siegfried Bethke, now commanding the 2nd Staffel of JG 2, had
attended a briefing the day before, when the pilots had been told that
Adlertag would begin any day, just as soon as the weather was set fair.
Siegfried was quite struck by the magnitude of what was about to unfold.
They were about to take part in the biggest air battle the world had ever
known, and his stomach had churned at the thought in a way it had not done
before the Battle for France. He felt a bit unsure of himself too, wondering
whether he had quite the right attitude. As a Staffel commander, he knew he
should set an example, and yet the only thing that was giving him comfort
was the thought of being part of such a large mass of fighters when they
headed across the Channel. But the Channel worried him too. It was one
thing flying over the narrow Straits of Dover, but quite another crossing all
the way from Normandy. If any of them went down, he knew their chances
of survival would be slim.