The man who won the Battle of Britain (1 Viewer)

Rob said:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8341772.stm

I will be going back to London in the next week or two and will get a picture,I'll also be there for the unveiling of the permanent memorial next year.

Rob
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Rob,

Thanks very much for the posting the breaking news for this evening.

Air Vice Marshal Keith Park was Commander of RAF 11th Group at Uxbridge at the height of the Battle of Britain.

11th Group was responsible for the air defence of southern England including London and bore the full brunt of the Luftwaffe air assault.

I wish there was a figure of AVM Keith Park (he was a Kiwi) in the new K&C Battle of Britain releases.

Raymond.
 
glossman said:
Rob,

Thanks very much for the posting the breaking news for this evening.

Air Vice Marshal Keith Park was Commander of RAF 11th Group at Uxbridge at the height of the Battle of Britain.

11th Group was responsible for the air defence of southern England including London and bore the full brunt of the Luftwaffe air assault.

I wish there was a figure of AVM Keith Park (he was a Kiwi) in the new K&C Battle of Britain releases.

Raymond.
Click to expand...

No problem Raymond,as soon as I get a picture of it I'll post it on here.

Rob
 
It is gratifying indeed to see such a great leader finally getting some measure of the credit he rightfully deserves for the Battle of Britain. His dismissal, along with Dowding's, from his command after the BoB has to rank among the most infamous decisions of the British high command. It is a pity indeed that he was not more extensively and formally appreciated during his life time. Sadly, Leigh-Mallory had the better connections and command of PR. Here's to Keith Park and all the small wings he managed to defend England in such a trying time.
 
Spitfrnd said:
It is gratifying indeed to see such a great leader finally getting some measure of the credit he rightfully deserves for the Battle of Britain. His dismissal, along with Dowding's, from his command after the BoB has to rank among the most infamous decisions of the British high command. It is a pity indeed that he was not more extensively and formally appreciated during his life time. Sadly, Leigh-Mallory had the better connections and command of PR. Here's to Keith Park and all the small wings he managed to defend England in such a trying time.
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I couldn't agree with you more on all points. What Leigh-Mallory and his followers did to Dowding and Park was disgracefull.
 
As Johnnie Johnson reportedly said of Keith Park “He was the only man who could have lost the war in a day or even an afternoon”.
 
*
The Luftwaffe called him "The Defender of London".

To RAF fighter jocks, he was affectionately called "Skipper".

Keith Park was a man who stood his ground and he is to be respected for that.
 
Louis Badolato said:
I couldn't agree with you more on all points. What Leigh-Mallory and his followers did to Dowding and Park was disgracefull.
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Well said those men. Don't forget Bader's contribution to this infamous episode, I have never thought of him the same after reading about this.

For those of you who have not read about this and the Battle of Britain generally, I recommend Len Deightons superb book 'Fighter'.

Park would fly around his command keeping in touch, might be nice to see a figure of him and his Hurricane?

Played by Trevor Howard in the film 'Battle of Britain'.
 
Spitfrnd said:
It is gratifying indeed to see such a great leader finally getting some measure of the credit he rightfully deserves for the Battle of Britain. His dismissal, along with Dowding's, from his command after the BoB has to rank among the most infamous decisions of the British high command. It is a pity indeed that he was not more extensively and formally appreciated during his life time. Sadly, Leigh-Mallory had the better connections and command of PR. Here's to Keith Park and all the small wings he managed to defend England in such a trying time.
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Louis Badolato said:
I couldn't agree with you more on all points. What Leigh-Mallory and his followers did to Dowding and Park was disgracefull.
Click to expand...

In a nutshell, there was a fierce clash of opinions over tactics against the Luftwaffe between the Commanders of RAF 11 Fighter Group (AVM Keith Park) and RAF 12 Fighter Group (AVM Trafford Leigh-Mallory).

It was Leigh-Mallory's "Big Wing" versus Keith Park's approach. Here is a link to "Big Wing" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Wing

When Keith Park needed help, he called upon RAF 10 Fighter Group under AVM Quintin Brand who supported Park's tactics of using small, rapidly deployed groups of fighters to intercept the Luftwaffe.

Happy Reading,

Raymond.
 
Thank you Rob, good spot. Great to see those guys resplendent in their blues together with the Spitfire and Miles Magister.

I was very fortunate to meet a gentlemen named Spencer Flack who owned a Spitfire G-FIRE (Mk FRXIVE) back in the early 80's. The aeroplane, painted bright red was based at Elstree aerodrome, and although I was permitted to sit at the controls I was never competent enough to be allowed to do more. Wonderful aeroplane.

Back to Keith Park, one of the air historians at my work claims Keith Park was responsible for the air defence of Malta (G.C.) anybody know more of this and did it involve Faith, Hope and Charity, the three Gladiators?
 
Evzone said:
Thank you Rob, good spot. Great to see those guys resplendent in their blues together with the Spitfire and Miles Magister.

I was very fortunate to meet a gentlemen named Spencer Flack who owned a Spitfire G-FIRE (Mk FRXIVE) back in the early 80's. The aeroplane, painted bright red was based at Elstree aerodrome, and although I was permitted to sit at the controls I was never competent enough to be allowed to do more. Wonderful aeroplane.

Back to Keith Park, one of the air historians at my work claims Keith Park was responsible for the air defence of Malta (G.C.) anybody know more of this and did it involve Faith, Hope and Charity, the three Gladiators?
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I believe that is correct , here is a good link about him including his ww1
service .He had an interesting path into the airforce .
http://nzedge.com/heroes/park.html
.
 
vandilay said:
I believe that is correct , here is a good link about him including his ww1
service .He had an interesting path into the airforce .
http://nzedge.com/heroes/park.html
.
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I think it is more accurate to say that he was responsible for the second phase of the air defense of Malta, which dates back to the beginning of the war. Park arrived in July of 1942 when the combined German / Italian air strength attacking the Island was near its zenith. Faith, Hope and Charity were instrumental in the first phase defense against the Italians and the last of them was destroyed in mid June 1941.

The period under Park's command was indeed critical and marked the turning of the air tide over the Island. Hurricanes had started arriving in July of 1940 and were finally joined by Spitfire Mark Vs in March of 1942 flown of the carrier HMS Eagle. Please note these were the land based Spitfires and they arrived unarmed and nearly out of fuel in the midst of an air attack. They were grossly outnumbered and most were destroyed within a few days of arrival but reinforcement gradually improved the finally the attackers begin to lose more than they gained.

I have combat flight simmed the BoB and the Defense of Malta with a pretty accurate program and the later is far more difficult, as the losses suggest. The Gladiator phase was nearly suicidal. The Spitfire arrival mission with avoiding fighters and landing while being bombed was also rather intense, especially if you tried to re-fit and take off to fight, which they did not in reality.
 
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