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

could see for ever. All of England seemed stretched out before him: the
jagged coastline, the Isle of Wight, Portland Bill and Chesil Beach. It
seemed impossible on such a day that he could not see a single other
aircraft, but the skies were strangely empty. ‘After further wanderings and
long periods of silence from control,’ noted Tom, ‘we returned with nothing
to show for our trouble other than eyes bloodshot from the glare and necks
positively aching from swivelling about.’
Dolfo Galland and his men were in action again during the last major
attacks of this extraordinary day, protecting raids aiming for Kenley and
Biggin Hill – for once, fighter airfields. So too were Hans-Ekkehard Bob
and the pilots of II/JG 52. No fewer than seventeen RAF squadrons were
scrambled to intercept this raid, and it soon dispersed, the fighter cover
quickly embroiled in another tangle of manic air fighting. As it neared
Biggin, Hans’s Schwarm was suddenly attacked by a lone Spitfire, although
the pilot never opened fire; his guns must have jammed at the crucial
moment. At any rate, Hans followed it in what became a hard-fought chase,
the Spitfire weaving and turning relentlessly in an effort to shake off his
pursuer. But Hans managed to keep on his tail, and eventually pulled close
enough to open fire. With smoke gushing from the Spitfire, Hans watched
the pilot bail out down into the Channel below.
The combination of British fighters and evening haze now lying like a
blanket over England had knocked the attacks off course, however. Rather
than hitting Biggin, the raiders attacked the satellite airfield of West
Malling, while Walter Rubensdörffer and his elite Zerstörer pilots also had
trouble finding Kenley. Walter had struggled to tell whether they were even
over sea or land. Leading his Gruppe down to under 10,000 feet, he realized
to his horror that they were over England but no longer with any fighter
escort. The Me 109s had gone. A moment later, however, he spotted an
airfield and, assuming it must be Kenley, prepared to attack.
As the Zerstörers began their dive, Hurricanes from 111 Squadron
began to pounce down after them, putting Walter and his men completely
off their stride. As they roared over the airfield, many of their bombs fell
wide, hitting not hangars or aircraft, but factories around the perimeter – for
this was not Kenley at all, but Croydon, London’s primary civilian
aerodrome and strictly off limits to German attack.