RAF sends more fighters to help French in 1940

  • Thread starter Deleted member 1487
  • Start date

Deleted member 1487

http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/hist_op_research/CMH_70-102-1.pdf
On 14 May, the French requested additional RAF fi ghter support. Th e commander of RAF Fighter Command, Sir Dowding, intuitively opposed the transfer of additional aircraft and pilots to France and tasked the Stanmore group to make an assessment of British and French aircraft losses. In a matter of hours, Eric C. Williams, the deputy section chief, made a study of the problem and concluded that “additional transfers would involve attrition that could not be made good and that Fighter Command would be weakened beyond recovery in the face of the likelihood of a German attempt to invade Britain.”39 Th e section chief, Hugh Larnder, prepared the results of Williams’ study in easily understandable graphic form and delivered the graphs to Dowding, who presented them to the War Cabinet on 15 May. Prime Minister Winston Churchill was inclined to accede to the French request but was convinced by Dowding’s clear presentation of the risks and thus refused to send additional squadrons to France, thereby preserving critical aircraft and pilots for the coming Battle of Britain.40

What if for some reason this report is not presented and Churchill sends more Squadrons to France in May 1940, what would happen in the campaign and then what would happen if France still fell? Would the RAF fighter command be fatally compromised?
 
That is a good question. Fighter Command was already fielding fewer Squadrons than the declared minimum for the defence of the British Isles so I would say there was nothing intuitive about Sir Hugh's objection, it was inevitable. Whilst Sir Hugh Dowding is in charge of Fighter Command both the Government and the RAF High Command will be left in no doubt of the consequences of the running down of the Fighter Force in a useless attempt to prop up a failing French defence. The Chief of the Air Staff was as aware of the situation as Sir Hugh at Fighter Command, so finding a POD where their protests against such wastage might be problematical. It is not just the loss of Aircraft that is crucial but the loss of experienced peace time trained pilots. Even if more Squadrons are sent after May 14th It is likely that their number will be limited and eventually curtailed before the losses become unsustainable.
 
Top