achieve this, they had to get the aircraft sky-bound. The pilots had to ‘switch on’ mentally while the anxious ground crews sought to prepare the aircrafts’ engines by quickly connecting an external power supply. This was called a ‘Trolley Acc’ (Trolley Accumulator) – a two-wheeled, enclosed hand cart containing accumulators, each having a thick cable which plugged in through a flap in the engine cowling; two rechargeable six-or-twelve-volt lead acid batteries provided the power needed. Small and light enough, ground crews were able to move them with little effort. Meanwhile the pilots, having previously placed their parachutes in the cockpit, or on the wings, and who had hung their helmets on the control column or gunsight, were quickly settling into their cockpits. They hurriedly completed the pre-flight instrumentation checks before taxiing on to the airfield proper; they then pushed forward on the throttle, gained engine speed, achieved lift and accelerated off over the near horizon to face whatever was beyond.
2
WAR
Sunday, 3 September 1939 was All-Ireland Hurling Final day at Croke Park, Dublin. During what became known as the ‘Thunder and Lightning’ final, Cork hurling hero Jack Lynch stepped up to take a free, not far out from the Kilkenny goal. Kilkenny were one point ahead (two goals and seven points to three goals and three points) and all that was needed was for Lynch to casually tap the sliotar (ball) over the bar and bring the game to a replay. In the event, he went for the match-winning goal (three points) only to see his shot saved! A thunderous roar rose up from the ecstatic Kilkenny fans at the same time as a downpour of rain erupted over Croke Park. Meanwhile, war was erupting over Europe.
The Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Éamon de Valera addressed the Irish people on Radio Éireann that evening, making a special announcement.
The great European powers are at war again. That this would happen was almost inevitable for a month past. Yet, until a short time ago, there was hope. But now that hope is gone. The people of Europe are thrown into the misery and anguish of war. I do not want to make you anxious but it would be a great mistake to think that life can go on here just as before – just as if this European conflict is taking place on another planet. Although we are not engaged in this terrible war, it cannot fail to bring upon us severe hardships, but there is no reason why we should be unduly anxious. As long as our people are of the one mind with regard to the national policy to be pursued, we should be able to surmount all our difficulties. United and disciplined, we have nothing to fear. A nation that has survived centuries of suffering has no need to fear or be daunted. I would like, on behalf of our government and of our people as a whole, to offer our profound sympathy to the men and women of all nations in this period of trial and suffering before them.
Hitler’s dream of an Aryan-dominated Europe saw him instruct his army to invade Poland. In responding to the gravity of this aggressive act, Britain declared war on Germany. The prior policy of appeasement adopted by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his government had proved futile against Hitler’s expansionist ambitions and his strong desire to see Nazi totalitarianism dominate.
The Wehrmacht swept through Poland using the heretofore unseen Blitzkrieg (lightning war), combining the speed and mobility of tanks, dive bombers and paratroopers in an unprecedented and overwhelming rate of advance which the Poles were unable to defend against. Germany had prepared, fine-tuned (during the Spanish Civil War) and now perfected their war machine. Massive and rampaging, the fascist Nazi regime was whirling itself westwards until finally France, too, had fallen. Only the Channel separated Britain from a similar defeat. Hitler’s war machine, modern, well trained, well equipped and well led, seemed invincible, having brilliantly demonstrated its capacity to outfight and overrun the various oppositions in much of Western Europe. Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France all fell under the German jackboot. France fell on 25 June 1940 and Hitler cast his eye across the Channel. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF), having become involved in the Battle of France, was forced to retreat and undertake a humiliating evacuation from Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo) from 26 May to 4 June, where it was fortunate not to have suffered annihilation; as it was, they were forced into leaving most of their heavy equipment there. To bring matters to a neat conclusion, a combined operation would need to be undertaken in order to invade Britain in the summer of 1940 and remove them from the war, entirely. The scene was set; the Battle of Britain was beginning. Survival, freedom and democracy were at stake!
3
AIR SUPERIORITY
The single element likely to seriously impede and even prevent the Germans from a successful invasion of southern England had been identified by their military planners. It existed in the third dimension, introduced with the development of flight: it was the British air threat; the RAF’s ‘fighter shield’. This source of strength was the British Armed Forces’ centre of gravity, the capability from which its military force derived its freedom of action, moral and physical strength, and its will to fight. In short, the RAF stood in the way of German victory in Britain, and throughout all of Europe.
Control of the sky, command of the air; the capacity to fly unhindered over the Channel and the southern English landmass would greatly facilitate victory in Germany’s intended invasion of Britain.
If Hitler could not achieve control of the air, then the Germans could not provide secure protection for its invasion force. Commanders on the ground now had to consider what was above the battlefield and what effect it would likely have on their operations. It wasn’t simply a matter of having air assets of their own – they had to dominate their enemy’s assets; they had to render their air threat redundant.
Gaining air superiority over the RAF would allow the German military commanders to shape the future battle space and better succeed in their next step: the sole concentration of all Nazi expansionist forces on the upcoming Eastern Front campaign against Russia. But first there was the present predicament: to quell and conquer an unbowed Britain. Before German land forces could invade selected beaches along the south coast of England, a plan known as Operation Sea Lion (Unternehmen Seelöwe), control of the sky had to be claimed by physical force.
A debate has occurred among historians regarding Hitler’s actual intent to invade Britain; some argue that it was a pressure tactic designed to encourage Britain to seek terms without fighting. It may well be, however, that his intentions had always been aggressive. Not only had he plans prepared to invade England, but there existed a plan to invade Ireland, too. In 1946, one year after the war in Europe had come to an end, an Irish American who had fought with the United States Army called to the Irish Consul General in New York and presented him with a set of books and documents dealing with various aspects of Irish life – its history, economy, geography and topography. He had taken these items from the headquarters of the Luftwaffe in Bavaria after it had been captured. What these items amounted to were plans for the invasion of Ireland, known as Fall Grün (Case Green). The Irish military authorities, however, had already known of Germany’s specific intentions as far back as 1942 when a similar set of documents ‘came into the possession’ of the Irish government. The section of the plans entitled ‘General Military Estimate’ was supported by photographs of important installations and industrial centres. Maps were also prepared, which emphasised the rough terrain of the Irish coastline. The invasion, if ordered, was to take place by sea. Five to six German divisions were to land on a broad front between Cork and Waterford; the area between Cork and Cobh was listed as a specific gateway, described as ‘Offering itself especially for the case of a peaceful or completely surprise landing, in which the considerable natural obstacle of the hinterland can be overcome before the development of any strong enemy counter operation.’
Retrospective academic analysis is important in asserting the facts with the support of documentation. It is instructive, over time, to challenge the generally accepted view. This is both healthy and helpful; such arguments can broaden the perspective of how we view historical events. However, it is also constructive to bear in mind the context of the times: what people were faced with, what they believed in,
