Out of England, over France,
Three by three, in swift advance,
Eager as at the first cock-crow,
Let the hunting Blenheims go!
‘Full Cry’ by Flight Lieutenant Anthony Richardson RAFVR,
Adjutant, 107 Squadron
‘There is quite a panic on here. We are going away today to WATTON. About twenty miles from Norwich. The reports of the place are not so hot. Will write soon as we get settled down now. Cheerio. We are off in about 1 hour. With love…’
So wrote 18-year-old Leading Aircraftsman (LAC) Freddie Thripp of 82 Squadron, in an urgent postcard home in August 1939. His squadron was one of ten in 2 (Bomber) Group, which had been formed on 20 March 1936. Now, in August 1939, war with Germany, which had been avoided at Munich in 1938, loomed large and 2 Group would be in the front line long before a large part of the rest of Britain’s armed forces. With headquarters at Wyton, Cambridgeshire, the group numbered five wings: 70 Wing at Upper Heyford controlled 18 and 57 Squadrons; 79 Wing at Watton, 21 and 82 Squadrons; 81 Wing at West Raynham, Norfolk, 90 and 101 Squadrons; 82 Wing at Wyton, 114 and 139 Squadrons; and 83 Wing at Wattisham, 107 and 110 Squadrons. All 2 Group squadrons were equipped with the twin-engined Bristol Blenheim Mk I or Mk IV (21, 18 and 57 Squadrons were still in the process of converting to the IV). Britain and her allies were, however, ill equipped to prevent a repetition of the fate that had already befallen Poland. Four of these wings formed the 2nd Echelon of the Advanced Air Striking Force while 70 Wing was earmarked for service in France supporting the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) along with squadrons of obsolete single-engined Fairey Battles. The Battle and Blenheim monoplane bombers were a vast improvement on the Hind biplane bombers that had equipped 2 Group in the mid-1930s but the Air Ministry seemed to have little conception of modern fighter tactics. A Blenheim cost £20,000 and sadly was about to be exposed as an expensive machine in terms of lives spent for little offensive reward (it could only carry 1,000 lb bombs internally). Apart from a fixed forward-firing gun in the wing operated by the pilot and another under the nose, there was a rather ancient Vickers gas-operated .303 machine gun in a dorsal turret, which was fed from circular ammunition pans, each of which contained 100 rounds. Spare pans were clipped on to the side of the turret. The crew of three comprised the pilot (an officer or flight sergeant), observer (normally a senior NCO) and upper gunner (usually an aircraftsman 1st or 2nd class, leading aircraftsman or corporal). AC1 (later sergeant) Jack Bartley, a wireless operator/air gunner (WOp/AG) on Blenheims, recalls.
The pilot, navigator and the air-gunner lived in three entirely separate social worlds. The only time the SNCOs and the officers met was once a month on invitation to the opposite mess. The airmen only met the officers at the annual airmen’s Xmas dinner when the officers traditionally served the meal. The SNCOs and officers enjoyed a high standard of living in their respective messes, while the Wireless Operators/Air Gunners lived in barrack rooms together with the lowest ACHs who might have cleaned the toilets. Even when waiting for take-off during a stand-by we would be in separate crew rooms in the hangar. Prior to June 1940 (when all operational aircrew below the rank were promoted to Sergeant), WOp/AGs were ‘other ranks’ (AC2, AC1, LAC and Corporal). As such they were subject to normal station duties including guards, which could mean you were flying by day sitting behind a machine gun and slinging a rifle for four-hour spells patrolling the dispersed aircraft through the icy nights that the 1939–40 winter produced. The one privilege we enjoyed apart from the princely sum of an additional shilling [5p] per day flying pay plus sixpence [2p] a day for the Flying Bullet Air Gunner badge, was a monthly two-day leave pass.