Hugh Dowding won us the Battle of Britain
Was he rewarded?
No! He was sacked!
The Battle of Britain was never part of Germany's war plan. If it had of been they would have built a strategic bomber force but their intent was to subdue the UK into taking no part in hostilities.
Hitler had assured Goering in 1938 that "War with England was quite out of the question". Even as late as August 1940 Hitler was hoping that the UK would sue for peace and forbad terror bombing of English cities.
The Battle of Britain was not even in the fore-minds of many of those at the Air Ministry or high up in the Royal Air Force. In 1932 British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin declared that "The bomber will always get through" and many people in positions of authority agreed with him.
There was a popular view that there was little point having a fighter defence system and that the only way to win an air war was to have sufficient bombers at your disposal so as to be able to deliver a "knock-out" blow to the enemy in response.
Dowding disagreed with Baldwin and all his supporters. He could foresee an air war that Baldwin thought would never happen but an air war that we now call the Battle of Britain.
Dowding was right. He confronted the political heavy-weights who advocated "the bomber will always get through" and won, but not without making political enemies.
The "Dowding System"
In July 1936 Dowding was appointed commanding officer of the newly created RAF Fighter Command. The integrated air defence system he put together had the following elements:
1. Radar (Dowding was one of the first to see its potential)
2. Royal Observer Corps (who filled in the gaps of radar coverage)
3. Raid Plotting
4. Radio control of aircraft
He ensured that the network was linked by dedicated telephone cables buried sufficiently deeply to provide protection against bombing. The network had its centre at a converted country house on the outskirts of London, RAF Bentley Priory.
The system as a whole later became known as Ground Control Interception (GCI) but is still referred to as the "Dowding System."
Introduction of New Aircraft
Dowding introduced modern aircraft into the service including the Spitfire and Hurricane. He was not a supporter of the Defiant, instead he felt that the best fighters were those that were forward firing and aimed by the pilot.
He is credited with having taken on the Air Ministry and won to ensure that fighter aircraft were equipped with bullet proof wind shields.
Battle of Britain
Dowding resisted repeated requests from Prime Minister Winston Churchill to weaken the home defence by sending precious squadrons to France before it fell.
Yet again, Dowding had determined a carefully thought through path and faced-down political heavy-weights, but with political cost.
During the Battle itself the Dowding System worked as a force-multiplier, getting much greater benefit from the small forces at his disposal.
Dowding's major contribution during the Battle was to marshal resources behind the scenes including replacement aircraft and air crew. He left his subordinate commanders more or less a free hand to run the battle in detail.
Dowding's Downfall after Victory
Dowding had foreseen the Battle of Britain, prepared for it, fought it and won it. At each of these stages he had carefully considered his options, chosen what turned out to be correct choices but in the process he made resentful political enemies.
"The bomber will always get through" supporters thought money should be spent on building a stronger bomber force not wasted on his Fighter Command approach.
During the Battle of Britain it became clear to all that Bomber Command was nowhere near strong enough to be capable of delivering the "knock-out blow" required to deter Germany from bombing England. As Dowding's Fighter Command approach was seen to be succeeding, resentment against him grew.
Dowding's strategy of preserving his fighter reserve by using guerrilla tactics against large bomber formations as directed by his ground controllers proved highly successful. At the height of the Battle his approach was challenged strongly by 12 Group commander Leigh-Mallory and Acting Squadron Leader Douglas Bader. They strongly advocated the unwieldy and ineffective Big Wing approach of forming up three or more squadrons before engaging the enemy. As Keith Park pointed out, Big Wings were too slow to form up and usually in the wrong place.
History gives us the hindsight of knowing that Dowding's choices were correct but political momentum seemed again to have been with his adversaries.
As the RAF began to win the air war over England it was inevitable that the daylight skies would be cleared and German bombers would restrict their operations to night bombing. Dowding knew this would happen and also knew that the only answer to this lay in the development of Airborne Interception Radar. His efforts to bring AI radar into service had been frustrated by those around him but when the night Blitz of London started and AI radar wasn't ready, political pressure was applied to him.
A committee of enquiry chaired by Sir John Salmond produced a long list of recommendations to improve night air defence. Dowding approved only a selection of Salmond's recommendations. Churchill and Lord Beaverbrook decided it was time for Dowding to step down.
Personally I don't know what the recommendations were but it seems entirely in Dowding's character to have carefully considered all the options and only backed those he thought of value...and he may have been right...but those panicked by the politics caused by the dreadful bombings would have wanted to have seen every possible action taken.
Dowding was unwillingly replaced in command in November 1940 by Big Wing advocate Sholto Douglas.
If you want to know more about how Dowding and his 11 Group commander Keith Park suffered politically after their victory of the Battle of Britain, you may like to read our blog about it:
Big Wing or Political Conspiracy
The Gratitude of Every Home in Our Island?
It seems sad that it was Churchill's words about the gratitude of the whole nation going out to those who'd eventually win us that Battle of Britain, and that it was Churchill who sided with Dowding's political adversaries in his sacking.
The lack of gratitude felt by Dowding when he was sacked by Churchill after he won the Battle of Britain must have been remarkably similar to that that Churchill wrote about after losing the 1945 General Election having won the War.
In the Words of His Pilots
Squadron Leader George Darley
Dowding was too nice a chap and he came up against a gang of thugs. Leigh-Mallory was very jealous of him. He felt he wasn't getting enough of the limelight and he got a lot of backing in the Air Ministry.
Flight Lieutenant Francis Wilkinson
It was entirely [Dowding's] foresight in being able to see where the strain was going to come, and to be able to take the measure of that strain, which allowed Fighter Command to bear the enormous, almost unbearable load that it had when the fighting came. Stuffy (the pilot's nickname for Dowding) had foreseen that our fighter squadrons were going to be depleted in strength. He had foreseen that Sector Operations Room would be bombed. And he'd made plans for the rapid interchange of squadrons between Scotland and Northern England and the South. If it hadn't been for his colossal foresight and meticulous planning right from the very beginning, we'd have had it.
Squadron Leader Sandy Johnstone
After Stuffy was made to retire the war blew up into a global thing. Great names arose - Eisenhower, Montgomery, Alexander, Bradley. Great battles were won - Alamein, D-Day, the crossing of the Rhine. But they were all courtesy of Stuffy Dowding. None of these people would even have been heard of if Stuffy hadn't been there, if he hadn't won the Battle of Britain. His statue ought to be standing atop a plinth in Trafalgar Square.
My Personal Opinion
Dowding was known for his humility and great sincerity and was widely considered by his pilots as a leader who cared for his men and had their best interests at heart.
He often referred to his "dear fighter boys" as his "chicks", in fact his son Derek was one of them.
All politics can do is get you sacked...but being wrong can get people killed!
Luckily for us he achieved great things,
things that we could easily look back on and say that "This was our Finest Hour"
things that we could easily look back on and say that "This was our Finest Hour"
...sadly he suffered terribly at "man's ingratitude".
The inscription at the foot of Dowding's statue outside St Clement Danes church on the Strand in London, is one of the finest tributes to him I have read and I share it with you:
Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding was commander-in-chief of Fighter Command, Royal Air Force, from its formation in 1936 until November 1940.
He was thus responsible for the preparation for and the conduct of the Battle of Britain. With remarkable foresight, he ensured the equipment of his command with monoplane fighters, the Hurricane and the Spitfire.
He was among the first to appreciate the vital importance of R.D.F. (radar) and an effective command and control system for his squadrons.
They were ready when war came.
In the preliminary stages of that war, he thoroughly trained his minimal forces and conserved them against strong political pressure to disperse and misuse them.
His wise and prudent judgement and leadership helped to ensure victory against overwhelming odds and thus prevented the loss of the Battle of Britain and probably the whole war.
To him, the people of Britain and of the Free World owe largely the way of life and the liberties they enjoy today
If you want to know more about how Dowding and his 11 Group commander Keith Park suffered politically after their victory of the Battle of Britain, you may like to read our blog about it:
Big Wing or Political Conspiracy
by Steve Dunster
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