Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding (1882 – 1970 )
Hugh Dowding was an officer in the British army from 1900 – 1913. At the age of 32, He joined the Royal Air Corps and flew fighter planes during World War One. He rose through the ranks and was promoted to Air Chief Marshal of the RAF. In the 1930’s he realised the threat that Germany posed to peace and was aware that Germany under the rule of Adolf Hitler was rearming itself in contravention of The Treaty of Versailles.
Dowding knew that Britain needed to defend itself from attack from the air so over the 1930’s he developed a two-pronged approach. One was to acquire faster fighter planes to match or exceed Germany’s which came in the form of the Hurricane and Spitfire. The other is what is now known as the “Dowding System.” This system made use of what we now know as Radar but at that stage was called RDF for guarding the Eastern and Southern coast of Britain. Dowding was given the finances to build 242 RDF masts made of steel latticework along the coast most vulnerable to attack. This system could detect a plane taking off up to 80 miles away on the other side of the English channel. The speed, height, and direction could be ascertained from the information they provided to the Radar operators. They could only see planes coming towards them and lost track of them when they flew past them. This is where observers on the ground took over. They used binoculars and radio sextants to feed information to filter rooms and eventually the refined information was fed to the Operation Room at RAF Bentley Priory which was overseen by Dowding himself. They had a room-sized map with wooden chips on them that noted the height, speed, number of planes, and direction they had come from. Information was fed to the Hurricanes and Spitfire squadrons to intercept the enemy fighter and bombers to engage them as quickly as possible. Each RAF aircraft also had an HF radio so they could be guided to the enemy. The interception success rate was 90 – 100%. The German Luftwaffe did not have a similar system and flew blind. The system was top secret and only a few knew exactly how it worked.
Britain and France declared war on Germany on the 3rd of September 1939 two days after the Nazis invaded Poland. Germany then invaded Demark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. Spitfires and Hurricanes were sent to mainland Europe to help France and were shot down at an alarming rate. Britain sent ground forces but was forced back to the beaches of Dunkirk where one of the largest rescue missions in history was launched to bring back the soldiers to the shores of Britain. Most of their heavy weapons and vehicles were left behind. Fortunately, Herman Goering the Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe convinced Hitler to let the Luftwaffe finish off the soldiers from the air. This proved to be an error of judgement on their part and the bulk of the men escaped and this gave Britain valuable breathing space.
Dowding wrote to the War Cabinet because he was concerned that If the Royal Airforce aircraft continued to be used in defence of France then there would be none left to defend Britain from attack. He was then invited to address the war cabinet whereupon he convinced a reluctant Churchill to abandon France and save the aircraft for Britain. All air support was removed from flying in France and sent back to Britain. Germany then launched an attack that became known as the Battle of Britain. Herman Goering the supreme chief of the Luftwaffe promised Hitler that the battle would last 3 to 5 days and then Britain would be defeated. The Nazis did not realise the importance of the Radar system and German Pilots were often surprised at how quickly they were discovered sometimes even in thick clouds. Hitler needed to gain air superiority so he could launch Operation Sea Lion which would have been an invasion of Britain from the sea.
France was defeated by Germany in June 1940. The first wave of attacks on Britain started on the 30th of June 1940. The Dowding system was put to the test. Unfortunately on the first day of battle, one of the towers was faulty and in the confusion that followed some British aircraft were shot down by friendly fire. This was rectified quickly and all British aircraft were fitted with aircraft identification transponders to prevent this from happening again. The battle of Britain lasted from the 10th of July to the 31st of October 1940. Altogether the RAF lost 1744 aircraft and the Luftwaffe lost 1977 aircraft destroyed and 925 captured.
The battle of Britain reached a climax on 15th September 1940 where the Luftwaffe sent a force of 1500 aircraft to attack Britain and they were badly defeated. Hitler declared that Operation Sea Lion was postponed until further notice. After this Hitler tried to break the British resolve and the nighttime bombing of British cities began called the Blitz.
Dowding felt for his men and was deeply pained every time a pilot was killed. He called them his chicks and he was like a mother hen to them. At one point he fitted all the Hurricanes and Spitfires with two-inch-thick bulletproof glass windshields and this saved many lives. He also fought for the pilots to have longer breaks after fighting so they would be refreshed. The pilots appreciated Dowding’s support. He was well known for his sincerity and humility. He also was not a party goer and didn’t drink much and this was contrary to the RAF spirit and because of this was nicknamed “Stuffy “. He was a spiritualist and claimed that he could see and speak to the dead airmen. This made some question his sanity and others used it as a means to get rid of him. Just before the end of the battle of Britain Churchill ordered Dowding to be seconded to the USA. Churchill still had a grudge again Dowding and the work Dowding did in saving Britain was overlooked. However, Dowding was Knighted and made a Lord some years later. Eleven years after he died in 1970 a statue was put up in his honour outside St Clement Danes Church, London.
If the Germans had gained air superiority then they would have launched a sea invasion and the history of the world could have been very different. The people of Britain owe Hugh Dowding a huge debt of gratitude. Four years later Allied forces launched an assault from British soil which was code-named D-Day and from there Germany was defeated.
1941 Hawker Hurricane Mk IIB
1/72 metal diecast scale model of a British Royal Air Force 1941 Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIB.
A British single-seat fighter of the 1930s-1940s originally designed for the Royal Air Force, used in the World War II, Battle of Britain & the Pacific War.
Includes a free display stand.
This model has a nose-to-tail length of 13.3cm and a wingspan width of 17cm.