With Wings Like Eagles (36 page)

international pilots in, 144–45, 169, 210

morale of, 194, 207–8

No. 10 Group, 129, 144, 150, 196, 228, 251, 257, 271

No. 11 Group, 79, 93, 129, 132, 144, 148, 169, 175, 177–78, 183, 193–96, 200, 212, 213, 218, 221, 227, 236, 241–42, 252, 253–54, 255, 257, 259, 265, 269, 277–80

No. 12 Group, 129, 144, 149–50, 177–78, 179, 183, 190, 212, 236, 242, 252, 257, 279, 289

No. 13 Group, 129, 144, 150, 177, 190, 257, 271

Operations Room of, 17–18, 32, 35, 38, 44, 47–48, 171

pilot exhaustion in, 193, 253–54

pilots available to, 146, 169, 181, 208–9, 210–12, 231, 236, 251

and political infighting, 111–12, 149–52, 177–78, 242, 243, 259, 290

preparation for war, 17–18, 31–32, 37–39, 42, 103, 136, 142–44

success of, 3, 15

“Ten Rules” for, 169, 170

in the years between the wars, 4, 17

Fink, Johannes, 165, 168–69, 171

First of the Few, The
(film), 52

Fiske, W. M. L. “Billy,” 61, 206

Foch, Marshal, 19

Ford, Henry, 134

France:

air war over, 76, 80, 93–110

allied bombing raids over, 284

Ardennes, 76

aviation as a sport in, 19

and Battle of Borodino, 202

British aircraft sent to, 43, 93, 94–95, 97–110, 114–16, 136, 138, 296

British alliance with, 94, 95–96, 99–107

British Expeditionary Force in, 12, 77–78, 95, 100–102

demands for help, 48, 95–110, 151

Dunkirk,
see
Dunkirk

German airfields in, 125, 128, 129, 152

German defeat of, 5, 13, 17, 78, 94, 97, 99, 136, 152

German occupation of, 121

government in exile, 109n

Luftwaffe
bases in, 12, 77, 94

Maginot Line in, 19, 94, 101

ships destroyed in port, 153–54

surrender of, 118, 121

unprepared for war, 43, 76, 77, 94, 104, 106, 110

in World War I, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98

in the years between the wars, 19, 42

František, Joseph, 144, 210

Galland, Adolf, 184–87, 267–68

Gallieni, Joseph-Simon, 93

Gamelin, Maurice, 97, 98, 104

Gangster (dog), 199

Geneva Conventions, 148–49

George V, king of England, 20

George VI, king of England, 6, 37, 143, 272–73, 293, 297–98

Germany:

air defense of, 38n

air force of,
see Luftwaffe

allied bombing of, 101-2, 104, 106-7, 108, 166, 245-47, 248, 256, 258n, 260, 284

aviation industry in, 24, 62–63, 74, 75, 287–88

Blitzkrieg of, 75, 166, 232, 240, 281, 283, 284

bombers vs. fighters debate in, 63–64

Britain underestimated by, 5–6, 174

and British appeasement policy, 4, 42

British fears about, 42, 55, 122–23, 261, 271, 276

Enigma code of, 161

horse-drawn artillery in, 75–76

morale in, 246, 247, 248

Schrecklicheit
tactics of, 18, 24, 63, 108

territories taken by, 5, 8, 56, 108

Third Reich politics in, 66

and Treaty of Versailles, 10, 19, 62

U-boats of, 74, 122n, 284, 285

in World War I, 18, 22, 143

see also
Hitler, Adolf

Gilbert, Sir Martin, 122n

Gloster Gladiator, 53, 55

Goebbels, Josef, 198, 250, 259

Göring, Hermann, 14

and aircraft design, 40–41, 71, 268

and allied bombing of Germany, 246

“Blue Max” award to, 10, 72

boasts of, 63, 78, 146, 148

and bombing of London, 258–59, 263, 272, 280

character flaws of, 10–12, 63, 125, 165, 184, 256, 268, 288–89

and decision to bomb London, 198, 245, 247, 256, 257, 258

and Eagle Day, 158, 164–66, 171, 183, 187

and Hitler, 10–11, 78, 136, 184, 235, 245

and invasion of Britain, 134–36, 155, 161, 235

and
Luftwaffe,
9–10, 11–12, 25–26, 63–64, 78, 80, 183–85, 186–87, 202, 237, 241, 260, 266–68, 276, 280

and Messerschmitt, 40, 67, 68, 80

misinformation fed to, 157, 250

in Paris, 152–53

Gosport airfield (Royal Navy), 227, 228, 230

Gotha biplane bombers, 18

Graf Zeppelin, 43

Graham, Ted, 190–91

Great Britain,
see
Britain

Great Depression, 19

Grosvenor, Lord Edward, 61

Guernica, bombing of, 13, 108

Haig, Sir Douglas, 112

Halder, Franz, 174

Halifax, Edward Wood, earl of, 6, 135, 136, 152, 154, 249, 297

Hardinge, Alec, 272

Harris, Sir Arthur, 59, 289

Hawker Hurricane:

design of, 56-58, 70n, 83, 88–89, 97–98

effectiveness in battle, 81, 95, 174, 260

production of, 17, 26, 31, 38, 42, 57, 68

Hearn, Joan Avis, 230

Heinkel:

He 59 rescue airplane, 148, 149

He 111, 25, 70–71, 112, 172, 176, 190, 218, 226

Hillary, Richard, 194–95

Himmler, Heinrich, 11, 250

history, rewriting of, 2–3, 4–5

Hitler, Adolf:

and allied bombing of Germany, 246

and British wish for peace, 6, 42, 78, 152, 198, 246, 289

death of, 248

decision to bomb London, 198–200, 245, 246, 249, 250, 256–58, 264

defeat of, 282

and Göring, 10–11, 78, 136, 184, 235, 245

as “land animal,” 8

and
Luftwaffe,
10, 26, 30, 31, 63–64, 78, 268