Green For Go!
The Germans were convinced that with Fighter Command stretched to its limits in the south of England, northern Britain would be thinly defended. So, on 15 August 1940, a large formation of Heinkel He 111s, with Messerschmitt Bf 110s as escorts from Luftflotte 5, attacked North-West England. Catterick’s 41 Squadron went to intercept and Pilot Officer Ted “Shippy” Shipman led Green Section into the fray in what proved to be a disastrous encounter for the Luftwaffe.
The attack against Britain’s “vulnerable” northern flank began at 09.30 hours when s Stafflel of Heinkel He 115 seaplanes set off from their base in Norway. They were to fly across the North Sea and head for Dundee before swinging back away from the Scottish mainland. These ’planes, it was hoped, would lure the British fighters northwards whilst the true attack would be delivered farther south. The targets were airfields at Usworth near Newcastle and Dishforth to the north of Leeds.
Thirty minutes later seventy-two Heinkel He 111s of Kampfgeschwader 26 took to the air, followed soon after by twenty-one Messerschmitt Bf 110s. The Messerschmitts could not reach Britain and return on standard fuel tanks so they were fitted with one additional tank under the belly and one under each wing. The intention was to use to use the fuel in the wing tanks first and then jettison them into the sea. This left just one tank under the belly as the only impediment, but even this reduced the aircraft’s speed by a few kilometers.
At first everything went to plan for the intruders. The Anstruther Chain Home picked up the He 115s heading for the Firth of Forth and Fighter Command duly scrambled. But due to a navigational error the formation of He 111s and Bf 110s also flew towards the Firth of Forth.
As the Germans approached the coast they realized their mistake and turned south – straight into the path of 72 Squadron’s Spitfires from Acklington in Northumberland who were heading north.
“None of us had ever seen so many aircraft in the sky at one time,” recounted Pilot Officer Robert Elliott. There was a gap between the lines of bombers and the Me110s coming up in the rear, so in there we went. I do not think they saw us to begin with. When they did, the number of bombs rapidly jettisoned was fantastic. You could see them falling away from the aircraft and dropping into the sea, literally by the hundreds. The formation became a shambles.”
After 72 Squadron had exhausted its ammunition, and two Bf 110s and one Heinkel had been shot down, its place was taken by 605 Squadron from Drem near Edinburgh and four more bombers crashed out of the sky. Then, as the formation approached Newcastle it was attacked by 79 Squadron from Acklington and 41 Squadron from Catterick.
41 Squadron’s Green Section leader, "Shippy" Shipman takes up the story: “The weather on 15 August was fine, but there was a fair amount of cloud between about 10,000 feet and 15,000 feet. It was almost full cover inland of Newcastle. I was scrambled to 18,000 feet over Durham at 13.00 hours - the raid was reported as thirty-plus at first, but this was later increased to 170."
Green Section, along with Blue Section, was ordered to concentrate on attacking the 110s, whilst Yellow and Red sections talked the Heinkels. Shipman selected a flight of the twin-engine fighters on the left of the enemy formation and he told his section to echelon to port. It was three Spitfires against three Messerschmitts:
“Before getting into range, the targets tirned hard to port and came straight for us. I doubt if they had seen us, for the Me110s didn’t fire at us, which they could have done with their four machine-guns and two cannon in the nose. This was most unexpected, and our training did not prepare us for this tactic They weren’t supposed to do this! Our previous battle training was about one hour per day at most and had been based on formation flying with a flight of three aircraft.
“I fired at the first Messerschmitt head on from about 400 yards with a short burst of two seconds’ duration. This was a bit risky because of the very fast closing speed, probably in excess of 600 mph. There was very little time for a steady and considered aim but it seemed a chance not to be missed. One moment the windscreen was full of enemy aircraft approaching at an alarming speed then, a second later, the sky appear empty as the Bf 110 disappeared behind me. There was no return of fire, and the result could not be seen and no claim was made, but I could have been successful in at least damaging the 110. The Bf 110 broke away at very close range to my left and disappeared.”
Shipman then went after another Bf 110. He chased after this one which evaded the Spitfire by diving violently in steep turns to port and then rapidly climbing. Shipman managed to get onto the Messerschmitt’s tail and he fired his .303 Browning machine-guns from a range of about 200 yards.
“This was a prolonged engagement,” continued Shipman, “which used up the remainder of my ammunition. The starboard engine of the Me110 belched clouds of smoke and appeared to be on fire. I believe I had put it out of action. Then the aircraft made an erratic turn to port and disappeared into the cloud below, apparently out of control.”
Shipman claimed this as damaged and a probable “kill”. It was subsequently confirmed as a kill from the camera-gun assessment and the record of a Me110 crashing about three miles east of Barnard Castle. According to Shipman, this was the only occasion when his camera-gun actually worked!
In the engagement 41 Squadron achieved seven confirmed and several probable victories. The squadron’s only damage was a single bullet hole.
The German fighter that Ted Shipman shot down had been flown by Oberleutnant Hans Ulrich Kettling. He too recalled vividly the events of that day in 1940: “We were told that special precautions had been taken to avoid premature detection [the flight of the He 115s] but at about twenty miles from the English coast, the first of several waves of Spitfires came in for a fight …
“All around dog-fight developed rapidly, and I followed my Number One, Oberleutnant Helmut Lent, who went after two Spits … and looking back, I stared into flaming machine-guns of four Spitfires in splendid formation. They were coming straight towards me.
“My 'plane was hit. Not severely, but the right engine went dead, lost coolant and the olil temperature rose rapidly. I had to switch off the engine and feather the propeller and tried to reach the protection of the bombers, which were overhead in close formation.
“I was not successful – the plane was slow and I could not gain height. Over the radio, I heard the boys in the bombers talking about my plane, so I gave my ‘Mayday’ because the Spits came in for a second attack and the kill … This time they got the left engine of my Me110, my Bordfunker (radio operator) and the front windscreen (the tracer bullets missing me by a fraction of inches). Ogefr. Volk was lying on the floor, covered with blood and unconscious. I had no means of ascertaining whether he was alive or not.
“Since all the flight controls were in perfect order (without the engine of course) and the belly fuel tank empty, I decided to bring the 110 down for a belly landing. I dived away from the fighting, down and down, leaving the lethal Spitfires behind and looking for a suitable landing site.
“I eased the plane carefully down over a very large meadow, but on touching down, I found the speed was still rather high. Finally, it crashed through a low stone wall which was hidden by a hedge, leaving the rear fuselage behind which broke just behind the cockpit … The plane came to a halt at last. I jumped out, freed Volk and carried him to a safe distance, fearing fire and explosion.”
After disabling the radio and making a vain attempt to set fire to the remains of his aircraft, Kettling found himself surrounded by a large angry crowd wielding sticks and threatening to stone the German flyers. The two men were saved from the mob by the red-caped Military Police.
Ted Shipman and Yellow Section Leader “Ben” Bennions were jointly credited for the shooting down of Kettling’s Messerschmitt.
Luftflotte 5 conducted two raids that day, suffering a loss rate of twenty per cent. Hans Kettling and Obergefreiter Volk (who was not seriously wounded) were amongst more than eighty German aircrew that were killed, captured or lost. Never again would the German air fleet conduct any large-scale daylight operations over northern Britain.
ONE OF “THE FEW”
The Memoirs of Wing Commander Ted “Shippy” Shipman AFC
Ted “Shippy” Shipman was one of “The Few”, serving in 41 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. He called it his “Gentle Battle”.
This book is based on the copious notes that “Shippy” wrote in the 1970s and brings a first-hand insight into the life of an RAF Spitfire pilot during the early war years and then his remaining wartime and post-war service until 1959. His career as a senior instructor included No.8 Service Flying Training School and the Central Flying School at Upavon. He then went on to teach at the Flying Instructors School at Hullavington in 1942 and the Rhodesian Air Training Group between 1943 and 1945. One of the Few not only serves as a useful reference source to those interested in the Second World War, but is also both a fascinating read and account of the activities of a wartime Spitfire pilot.
Published by Pen & Sword, the book is priced at £19.99. For more information on this or any of the other Pen & Sword titles, visit:
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
