FRONT LINE HURRICANES

Description

Having pounded Poland into submission, the German onslaught continued through Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.  The “phoney war” was over.  On May 10, 1940, upwards of seventy airfields in France, Belgium and the Netherlands came under heavy attack from the Luftwaffe, at that time rampant across the skies of northern Europe.

Aware that the crucial Battle of Britain was to come, Fighter Command’s Hugh Dowding could risk but four squadrons of his valuable Hurricane fighters to support the British Expeditionary Force as it fought its rearguard action in France.  In the face of the overwhelming might of Germany’s Blitzkrieg tactics, the RAF Hurricane Squadrons were involved in some of the most ferocious and sustained air fighting of the entire war.  In spite of being so heavily outnumbered, in May and June 1940, almost 1300 Luftwaffe aircraft fell to the guns of the young RAF pilots, though at a heavy price.

Based at a temporary forward airfield at Lille Marc, the Hurricanes of No 87 Squadron were in the thick of the fighting,  Flying the early model Mk Is, armed only with machine guns, their task was to beat back the incessant air attacks on the British ground forces, and to do what they could to hamper the advance of the German Panzer divisions as they plundered inexorably towards Dunkirk.

Flying from ill-prepared grass strips, with ground crews making the best of what meager facilities were on hand, the Hurricane pilots literally flew themselves to a standstill.  Robert Taylor’s superbly constructed painting recreates a typical scene at a forward air base of an era.

Showing the strains of battle, the single bladed Mk Is of 87 Squadron taxi in from their skirmish.  An old farmhouse has been commandeered and now doubles up as flight operations, officers’ mess, and accommodation for the lucky ones.  The rest of the squadron camp in bell tents.  The Medical Corps ambulance parked under cover of the trees is thankfully not needed on this mission, though the late model Citroën saloon car will likely convey as many as it will hold to the village tavern this evening.