The story of the RAF, and in particular Fighter Command, during the
Battle of Britain has been told many times. It is a tale of the gallant
pilots of 'The Few', in their Hurricanes and Spitfires, with the
nation's back to the wall, fighting off the Luftwaffe's airborne assault
against enormous odds. But the story of Fighter Command's operations
immediately after the Battle of Britain is less well known.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard commanded the
Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. His policy then had been for
his aircraft and men to be continually on the offensive, always over the
German lines taking the fight to the enemy. After being promoted to
command the RAF, Trenchard retired in 1930.
In November 1940, Trenchard showed up again at the Air Ministry and
proposed that the RAF should 'Lean Towards France' - that it should go
on the offensive. The RAF would, claimed Trenchard, win the resulting
battle of attrition.
One of the main outcomes of the RAF's new offensive stance was the
introduction of the Circus sorties. These were attacks undertaken by a
small force of bombers with a powerful fighter escort. They were
intended to lure enemy fighters into the air so that they could be
engaged by RAF fighters, the primary objective being the destruction of
Luftwaffe fighters, followed by the protection of the bombers from
attack.
A further development of the Circus missions were Ramrods, Rhubarbs and
Rodeos, all of which were variations on the same theme. A Ramrod was
similar to a Circus, though in this instance the primary objective was
the destruction of the target, the main role of the accompanying
fighters being to protect the bombers from attack. A Rhubarb was a
small-scale attack by fighters using cloud cover and/or surprise, the
object of which was to destroy German aircraft in the air and/or
striking at ground targets, while a Rodeo consisted of a fighter sweep
over enemy territory with no bombers.
Drawing on official documents and archive material, as well as accounts
by many of those involved, James Starkey reveals just how Trenchard's
views won through and the RAF went on the offensive from late 1940 into
1941. Was it a failed strategy? If so, why was it not halted once the
results began to be seen?
