The convoy of small ships was nearly home - some had in fact already reached the safety of their home ports. The weather had not improved. Thick clouds and occasional rain showers made visibility poor over much of the remaining convoy.
Jubilee was nearing its end, only the safe return of the ships with the survivors of the raid had still to be completed. Fighter Com-mand continued to cover the last phase as they had covered the operation throughout the day.
At exactly 5 pm, the Typhoon Wing took off from West Mailing for its last patrol of the day. Again the Typhoons were led by Wing Commander Gillam and all three squadron commanders took part, Squadron Leader Dundas (R7825), Squadron Leader Green and Squadron Leader Richey. Their task was to sweep the area from the Somme Estuary to Cap Gris Nez. During this sweep Gillam's port wing gun panel came open and he had to abort. He radioed to the others but being on the wrong radio button there was some confusion. In consequence and also because Paul Richey's machine also developed some trouble, eight of 609's pilots followd Gillam back to England. Squadron Leader Green of 266 took over the sweep and with the remaining Typhoons crossed the French coast north of the Somme at 12,000 feet but 10/10ths cloud forced them to return instead of going on to St Omer. Green led them back to their home base of Duxford.
Ninety-one Squadron had continued its Jim Crow activities each hour as briefed. Pilot Officer I. G. S. Matthew and Pilot Officer A. M. leMaire searched for a high speed launch (HSL) and were nearly jumped by eight FW190s which were attacking another launch, having set it on fire . The two Spitfire pilots tried to attack but the 190s flew off. Half an hour later Pilot Officer R. M. Batten and Sergeant M. K. Eldred, also searching for a missmg HSL, found two HSLs on fire and then escorted three others back to England. The burning boats were in fact the same as the previous two pilots found.
In the air over the convoy was an extremely dangerous place to be at this hour. With rain showers and low cloud the German Focke Wulf fighters were able to take advantage of hiding in these clouds and pouncing on the patrols of Spitfires. If the Spitfires got too low under the cloud then they could be shot at by the ever-ready Naval gunners.
Sergeant V. Evans (BL673) of 222 Squadron, was flying withdrawal cover with his squadron which was led by Squadron Leader Oxspring and included Wing Commander E. H. Thomas. A FW190 swooped down from the cloud, shot up Evans' Spitfire and dived away. Sergeant Evans struggled back to England to crash-land at Hawkinge successfully.
Other FW190s were ranging over the northern area of the Channel but the combats were fast coming to an end. The 307th Fighter Squadron saw four 190s about to attack some Spitfires but they drove them off, claiming two as damaged. Squadron Leader Tommy Balmforth, leading 124 Squadron, saw six Mel09Fs but they turned tail when his 12 Spitfires approached. Johnnie Johnson leading 610 Squadron also saw some 190s who also turned and flew off. 610 gave chase but left them. They then gave air cover to some ASR boats they found five miles off Dieppe still searching for missing pilots.
Some Dorniers and Junkers were still about, one Dornier being found by Squadron Leader Grant of 485 Squadron. He attacked it but it rapidly disappeared into the clouds. Some other Dorniers were seen but they also slipped into the clouds and out of sight. Flight Lieutenant R. W. Baker chased one, using 16 lbs of boost to catch it. His fire from 300 yards produced some strikes on the bomber's wings and fuselage but Baker had to give up the chase near the French coast when his ammunition gave out.
No 411 Squadron also found a Dornier over the convoy, it being attacked by Flight Sergeant Matheson and then by Squadron Leader Newton. The bomber was forced to jettison its bombs about one mile from the convoy but it got away although damaged.
Duke-Woolley led 71, 232 and 124 Squadrons out, Gus Day mond leading 71 (BM510) with Bob Sprague leading one section. Oscar Coen led the third section which comprised Sergeant P.]. E. Evans, Strick Strickland and William O'Regan. Strickland later recorded in his diary:
We arrived over Dieppe to find all of our assault boats and transporters away from the beaches and on course for England. Destroyers, however, were still firing at long range and Dieppe itself was ablaze. A large force of 190s appeared. Wing Commander Duke-Woolley ordered the Debden Wing to prepare for attack. We manoeuvred into the sun and climbed above. When we turned towards them from below, they retreated headlong towards Le Touquet. Shortly before dusk the assault craft, transports, tank-carriers were within sight of Beachy Head with a rear-guard of destroyers and E-boats. We set course for home and landed at Gravesend, refuelled, re-armed, prepared for night fighting.
124 Squadron also saw six Messerschmitt 109Fs but they quickly turned tail and retreated when the Spitfires turned towards them. 232 .also saw some 109s briefly in the clouds.
At 5.45 pm, 'Blackgang' control located another 'bandit' and radioed to Sergeants Cleo and Grant still on patrol in their 141 Squadron Beaufighter. The bandit was said to be flying north-west and Cleo, guided to the location by his radar-man, obtained a visual contact with it ten minutes later when it was five miles ahead of him. For a moment he lost sight of it in 9/l0ths cloud but quickly found it again at 6.10 pm,just one mile ahead. It was raining quite heavily in places. Cleo closed to a range of 1,000 yards, then closed still further until he was just 250 yards away. At this range he fired three bursts of cannon and machine-gun fire of one, three and five seconds' duration, closing right in to 150 yards. Strikes were observed on the enemy aeroplane, which had been identified as a Ju88, and both of its engines caught fire. The Junkers went down slowly, hit the sea in flames and sank, four miles south of Selsey Bill.
No 131 Squadron, led by Michael Pedley was also successful. They scrambled to intercept an incoming raid at 5.55 pm, control vectoring them towards enemy raiders plotted near Selsey Bill. Two D0217s and a Ju88 were encountered and attacked. The Junkers were attacked by Pedley, Flying Officer H. S.Jackson and the New Zealander, Pilot Officer H. G. Copeland, shot down and destroyed. Flight Lieutenant J. C. S. Doll, Flying Officer Jackson, Pilot Officer E. A. J. Williams and Pilot Officer I . K. Crawford, severely damaged one of the Dorniers which they claimed as probably destroyed, while Squadron Leader R. H. Allen damaged the other Dornier. For the 23 year old former New Zealand farmer, from Mataura, Copeland, it was his fourth sortie of the day. He had shared in the destruction of two enemy aircraft during the battle and damaged another. However, the rear gunner oftheJunkers succeeded in putting hits into both Copeland's and Pedley's Spitfires. Copeland (AD348) staggered away with his engine knocking and made for the coast. As he reached it his engine failed but he managed to glide the las t half mile to crash land in a field damaging his mainplane.
Having landed from what we believed to have been our final sortie we were scrambled yet again, this time to intercept an enemy raid heading for Tangmere itself. The weather which had been sunny and bright all day, had by now deteriorated and we climbed up through layer after layer of cloud under directions of the fighter controller. At last we spotted a motley assortment of aircraft comprising a Dornier 217, a J u88, HeIII and possibly a few more of one or another. Blue and Yellow sections went after their chosen targets whilst I took Red section after the J u88. All the EA jettisoned their bombs and dived for cloud cover. We followed the J u88 in a very steep dive, catching glimpses of it between the cloud layers and closing on it slowly, it was a dead stern chase and when we were near enough to open fire we could see a light winking back at us, the significance of which we did not initially fully appreciate! Firstly my Number 2 called up saying he had been hit; turning away he crash-landed safely near Selsey Bill. Next, my cockpit filled with the smell of cordite as an explosive shell went through the wingroot, the rudder bar then 'kicked' so violently that it nearly broke my ankle. Then Number 3 of section called up, 'Watch it, Peerless Leader, your rudder is coming off'
Not being cas t in the mould of heroes I decided it was time to give theJu88 the best of it so I also turned back gingerly, for base where I performed a highly entertaining ground loop on landing due to my hydraulic system having been shot away. We claimed theJu88 as a probable as both its engines were smoking when we saw it last. However, an anti-aircraft unit on the Isle of Wight reported it going in to the sea. I felt really sorry that it had gone down for the rear gunner in it must have been not only an excellent shot but also a cool-headed and very courageous man.
Wing Commander Michael Pedley) OC 131 Squadron
These raiding bombers were taking every advantage of the rain and cloud to slip across the south coast and bomb RAF bases now that the convoy was all but home. At 4.30 one enemy bomber had been damaged by anti-aircraft fire over Southampton. At approximately 6 o'clock two or three bombers flew over Ford and dropped bombs near 605 Squadron's office, damaging two of their Bostons, although no personnel were hurt. At 6.30 a FW190 attacked Ford, dropped three bombs and machine-gunned 141 Squadron's crew room. Two.of the squadron's Beaufighters were slightly damaged by blast and one airman, Aircraftman Pridding, who had been working on a Beaufighter, was buried up to his neck in debris while running for cover.
Yet another raider attacked Ford at around 7 pm, its bombs destroying a Boston of 418 Squadron. Further enemy aircraft came over during the next hour or so. A Ju88 was damaged by gunfire over the Isle of Wight at 7.10, and the Portsmouth AA batteries destroyed another 88 at 7.40. The Isle of Wight gunners damaged a Heinkel at 8 pm.
We were in the midst of baths, shaving etc, when we were told to get back to the flights immediately. The J erries were taking advantage of the bad weather to bomb us. We all took off again but the weather was so bad we couldn't locate any. One Ju88 flew over the aerodrome [Tangmere] just as we took off, but we lost it in the clouds and rain.
Pilot Officer John Godfrey) 412 Squadron.
From a letter home dated 20 August 1942
The final patrols of this day were flown between 6.10 and 8.55 pm. There were also several scrambles in order to protect south coast bases and ports but little contact was made against these raiders.
Over the Channel the activity was quickly dying down. One of the last combats of the day was by 340 Squadron. The Frenchmen, led by Wing Commander Dutch Hugo, patrolled around 5,000 feet in 8/10ths cloud. One Dornier was seen and attacked and damaged by Capitaine Bechoff(EN889 GW-Z). It was 340's fourth mission.
The Canadians of416 Squadron led by Lloyd Chadburn saw this combat taking place five miles from their position but saw little else. Other final patrols over the remaining ships were flown by 303, 331, 332 and 616 Squadrons. 331 orbited the ships at 3,000 feet, now only 16 miles or so south of Beachy Head. After five minutes, Blue section went off to chase a Dornier which had been spotted seven miles east of the ships. Blue 3 and 4, Lieutenant Einar Sem-Olsen (BL987 FN-Z) and Sergeant E. Fossum (AD509 FN-P) attacked the Dornier, both seeing cannon and machine-gun strikes on the German's fuselage and port engine nacelle. Pieces flew off but then they lost it in the endless mass of clouds.
Nos 118, 242, 32 and 245 as well as 412 Squadron, were all scrambled at this late hour to try and locate elusive hostile raiders, Mel09s even having been reported dropping bombs near Selsey Bill, and machine-gunning trawlers off the Sussex coast. None of these squadrons made con tact.
Squadron Leader Jean 'Moses' Demozay, the French leader of 91 Squadron, led (DL-J) ten of his pilots on one last defensive patrol between Folkestone and Hastings from 7.15 to 8.15 pm but they found little activity. His unit had flown 73 patrols during the day covering a total of 61 flying hours.
Throughout the afternoon, crowds of people had begun to line the coastal high grounds along the south-coast opposite Dieppe. On the high vantage point of Beachy Head, between Eastbourne and Newhaven, many locals made the trek to the top to view the whole panorama of the returning armada of ships. 611 Squadron made mention of this spectacle in its diary. They also recorded: 'Last sight of landing craft (on their) way home, brown jobs lying down and the occasional fighter pilot standing in the front waving.'
Group Captain Harry Broadhurst, deputy SASO at 11 Group, flew four reconnaissance sorties over the Raid, bringing back valuable information for which he received a bar to his DFC. He also destroyed a FW190.
Wing Commander David Scott-Maiden won the DSO at Dieppe leading the North Weald Wing. (IWM).
Squadron Leader Peter Brothers, CO of 602 Squadron brought his unit from a rest to fly at Dieppe. (P. M. Brothers)
Several local newspapers would also report the story over the next few days.
The planes in their hundreds made the sky alive with action, speed and noise. Bombers and fighters were seen, some engaged with enemy 'planes and many a swift aerial battle was fought out within sight of the eager watching crowds.
Brighton and Hove Herald, 22 August 1942
Don Blakeslee led 133 Eagle Squadron over the last of the convoy, taking off at 7.55 pm. Little was seen but one pilot had a brief moment of excitement.
On the fourth show of the day we were attacked by two FW190s who came from above and fired on us. From a tight turn I went over on my back after them, and continued to fire down to about 3,000 feet; I observed strikes at long range, but was forced to pull out at around 3,000 feet. I barely missed going in because we were at maximum speed and I blacked out pulling out of the dive. I am reasonably sure that the 190, who was probably six or seven hundred yards ahead of me by then, had less chance of pulling out than I did. I claimed a probable.
Flight Sergeant Richard Alexander, 133 Squadron
The Eagle Squadron pilots were the last ones down. They landed back at RAF Lympne at 8.55 pm.
Operation Jubilee was at an end.
*
Special mention must be made of the Air Sea Rescue operations which were carried out tirelessly throughout the day. With so much planned aerial activity the ASR service was naturally well to the fore in the planning of the raid and all concerned carried out their duty with a high degree of skill and courage.
A total of 34 rescue launches were employed, and during the day they investigated approximately fifty distress calls and rescued 15 airmen, mostly fighter pilots. They lost three boats sunk with others damaged and had two officers and 18 airmen killed or missing as a result.
The basic plan had been for nine launches to patrol 'Inshore', between Fairlight and Littlehampton, four more to patrol further out on what was the 'Intermediate' line, fifteen miles out from Beachy Head. The 'Advanced' line of six launches patrolled 30 miles south of Beachy Head.
At 4.30 am high speed launches (HSLs) 104, 106, 116, 117 and 177 from Newhaven, were at their pre-arranged 'Intermediate' rendezvous point and remained here until between 6 pm and midnight. HSL 177 rescued one pilot at 11.15 am, this being Pilot Officer Don Morrison of 40 1 RCAF Squadron who had been in the water about 15 minutes. Later, at 4.50 pm, 177 went to the assistance of HSLs 122 and 123 of the Advanced Group, who were being attacked by Focke Wulf 190s and in distress. RML 513 assisted No 177 in beating off several determined Focke Wulf attacks and in the subsequent rescue of 14 survivors of Nos 122 and 123, seven of whom were wounded. 122 and 123 were left burning furiously and lost. 177 suffered no casualties although it suffered some superficial damage from strafing, being hit by both cannon and machine-gun fire. The launch's skipper, Flying Officer F. Conway, was awarded the MBE while his coxswain, Corporal Fellick and Leading Aircraftman Hermitage were both Mentioned in Dispatches.
From Littlehampton, HSL 442, received a call at 6.20 am from the Walrus of277 Squadron, requesting them to rescue the crew of the downed Boston of 418 Squadron, captained by Sergeant Buchanan, who had been shot down by FW190s.
Between 5.55 am and 6.22 pm, the Air Sea Rescue Service received over 40 reports, the majority from 11 Group, Fighter Command, and a few from Shore Signal Stations. Several of these calls were duplicated. Newhaven ASR dealt with 26 crash calls, two being too near the French coast to be dealt with, two more proving ficticious. Ten successful rescues were made during this time al though two pilots died following rescue.
The third launch lost was HSL 147 from Dover. Dover was informed at 1.10 pm by Air Sea Rescue Headquarters, of a Mayday at position 173°, 43 miles off Dungeness. HSLs 147 and 186 were ordered to this position at 1.12 and proceeded out to sea. At 2.40 pm, HSL 186, which had become separated from 147, rescued a pilot at position 174°, 46 miles off Dungeness. On the return to a prearranged rendezvous, 186 was attacked by German aircraft at 3.35 pm and sustained some casualties. A 'help' call to base brought two Spitfires from 91 Squadron who escorted this launch back to Dover. Meanwhile, HSL 147 had also been attacked by hostile aircraft at 3.03 pm and was assumed sunk five or six miles from the Somme Estuary. At 3.50 two Spitfires, again from 91 Squadron, flew out to search for the missing launch but their search mission was in vain.
RML 495 was also attacked by a Ju88 in the afternoon which dropped bombs then commenced to strafe it. The launches' crew returned the German's fire with their oerlikon guns and succeeded in driving it away damaged - possibly even destroyed.
ASR launches were amongst the last boats to leave the battle area off Dieppe, sta ying for as long as possible in case further rescues were needed. 91 Squadron escorted launches back well after 6.30 pm and 610 Squadron on their last patrol saw ASR launches five miles off Dieppe at the same time. Many pilots had cause to thank the crews of the ASR launches during the war, and 19 August 1942 was no exception.
