In fact the weather that year was so bad that it was June before
conditions had improved sufficiently for
the Tangmere Wing to begin the new offensive and to operate en masse. Once
again the enemy fighters kept out of the way of these large formations and as
before they were content to just pick off the occasional stray. Limited fuel
capacity meant that the RAF fighters could not fly very far inland and
consequently were unlikely to inflict much damage.
Douglas was frustrated by the lack of action and was furious when other
Wings, such as Sailor Malan’s Biggin Hill Wing, managed to score successes
while the Tangmere Wing ended up with nothing. This all changed somewhat after
22nd June following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed
Operation Barbarossa.
New tactics raised the level of RAF aggression and in addition to the
major goal of destroying as many enemy aircraft as possible, it was also hoped
that this increased aggression by the RAF would not only limit the number of
enemy aircraft being transferred to Russia, but would actually encourage the
Luftwaffe to withdraw fighters from Russia to meet the increasing attacks in
the West.
Circus operations became more complex and the Wings were in the thick of
things from late June right through July. The fighter Wings flew in
close-escort with small formations of bombers, giving close-support and
providing top cover. The aim was to draw up enemy aircraft before the main
force of the escort wing started to run short of fuel and had to turn for home.
If all went according to plan, the target-withdrawal wing would arrive to
engage the enemy just as the fighters of the escort wing were beginning to
leave.
If the weather was favourable, there would generally be two or three
sweeps almost every day. On days when the weather was bad, Douglas was in the
habit of mounting unauthorised Rhubarb flights. Ostensibly he and his section
would be engaging in ‘local flying’ but in reality he would lead them across
the Channel in search of trouble.
from "Douglas Bader" by Michael Evans
Get your copy HERE
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Douglas-Bader-Heroes-Michael-Evans/dp/1909698121/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417771944&sr=1-1&keywords=bretwalda+bader
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