The Canadians
Britain stood alone in the front line, alone and suddenly majestic. Her only allies, the faraway countries of the Commonwealth, worked frantically to help avert disaster, thankful that at least some of their strength was in the British Isles. Canada had her 1st Division there and in August sent part of her 2nd. To two army cooperation squadrons of tiny Lysanders she added the Hurricanes of No. 1 Fighter Squadron of the RCAF. Off the coasts of Britain, a few Canadian destroyers prowled.
Because the British Army had lost so much equipment at Dunkirk, General McNaughton's 1st Canadian Division was for a period the only whole and reasonably well-equipped infantry division in the country. Even it had suffered heavy equipment and transport losses in its foray into Brittany in June. The Canadian division was given the task of multiplying itself into an army for the benefit of German Intelligence. Its men were marched and counter-marched across southern England to create the illusion of vast forces on the move, and the weary soldiers came to call themselves MeNaughton's Flying Circus.
Britain's epic battle was to be fought not on the ground, however, but in the air. Before operation Sea Lion could be launched, the RAF had to be wiped from the skies.
By far the largest number of defenders were British, but fighter pilots of many other nations flew with them, including some 80 Canadians. Of these, 26 were in the RCAF's No. 1 Squadron, which arrived soon after Dunkirk; 16 flew as a team in the RAF's 242 "Canadian" Squadron; the rest were scattered among a dozen other RAF squadrons. These last included men such as PO. Johnnie Bryson, an ex-Mountie; Flt. Lt. Johnnie Kent of Winnipeg, who flew with the Poles in 303 Squadron; and FO. W. H. Nelson, who served in 74 Squadron with the South African ace Adolph "Sailor" Malan. Another 200 Canadian airmen fought in RAF Bomber and Coastal commands, which throughout the battle pounded at German invasion ports and other targets; 27 of them gave their lives.
On July 11, the second day of the battle, the Canadians suffered their first fighter casualty. In a Luftwaffe attack on the naval base at Portland,
PO. D. A. Hewitt of Saint John, N.B., hurled his 501 Squadron Hurricane at a Dornier bomber and was hit himself. Gushing smoke, his plane plunged into the sea. Another Canadian pilot,
Richard Howley, died eight days later; two more,
A. W. Smith and Hugh Tamblyn, had narrow escapes. All were in 141 Squadron and flew the Defiant, a two-seater hunchback with a large power-operated gun turret which bulged its lines and crippled its speed.
After their fighting in France, the pilots of the badly-mauled RAF 242 "Canadian" Squadron were re-forming at Coltishall, near Norwich, where they became part of 12 Group guarding the industrial Md lands; 11 Group held the front line to the south. The Canadians were awaiting a new CO, Douglas Bader. A peacetime RAF pilot, Bader had lost both legs in an air crash in 1931, had been fitted with artificial limbs and had taught himself not only to walk without a stick but also to play golf, tennis and squash. When war came, he'd badgered his way back into the RAF and proved he could fly as well as any pilot. Now, in his first command, Bader was deterrnined to make 242 the best squadron in the RAF. But it might be a battle -
the Canadians, he was told, were a wild lot and a tough bunch to lead.
When the Battle of Britain ended the overall score was 1733 German aircraft destroyed for a loss of 915 British fighter aircraft. The 42 Canadian fighter pilots of No. 1 RCAF and 242 Squadron had destroyed an estimated 60, had at least another 50 probably destroyed or damaged. Canadians flying with other fighter squadrons had done equally well. From July 10 to October 31, the dates officially recognized as the opening and closing of the battle, 20 Canadian fighter pilots died in action. Of these, three served with No. 1 Squadron RCAF, three with 242 Squadron the remainder with other RAF squadrons. As Churchill wrote: ". . . the stamina and valor of our fighter pilots remained unconquerable and supreme. Thus Britain was saved. Well might I say in the House of Commons that;
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few...
