Day of Vengeance Read Online Free

combat.
    “Look at that one. Some fighter planes had cameras in them that were triggered when the guns were firing. That’s a German Heinkel bomber being clobbered,” Mr Jud said – possibly with a little more enthusiasm than was necessary.
    “So your great grandfather Ludwig – he was allowed in the RAF? Even though he was German, you know, by birth?”
    “Oh, he gained British nationality, remember, after the First World War, when he married Dot. I know it sounds a bit strange. But he kind of renounced his past and became a Brit. Eventually he made it to Flight Commander.”
    “But wasn’t he too old to fight by the Second World War?”
    “You’re right that most of the pilots were very young – eighteen or nineteen even. But they were desperate for qualified pilots so Ludwig ended up doing his fair share of operational stuff. Like the Northolt Raid I was talking about.”
    “Yeah – what was that?”
    “A bit of a wake-up call for the RAF for sure. The RAF’s communications usually gave them a big advantage – radar gave warning of incoming aircraft and fighters could be scrambled into the air to meet them. But this time it broke down. They think it was some sort of intelligence leak. They did find out about a German spy ring at that time that may have had something to do with it. Something about scientific secrets. A number of aircraft were destroyed on the ground and pilots killed. But old Ludwig didn’t hesitate, he jumped into a waiting Hurricane and got it into the air. Shot down a number of enemy aircraft that day – won a medal…”Mr Jud pulled a shiny metal cross from the box, “…there you go – Distinguished Flying Cross. Don’t know why I have never put it up on the mantelpiece.” Mr Jud buffed the medal with the cuff of his old jumper and placed it next to the jar which still contained a piece of Ludwig’s shin bone from his injury in the First World War.
    “Why was it was all such a big deal – you know, the Battle of Britain?” Jack asked.
    Mr Jud shrugged. “In some ways it wasn’t. Actually only about five hundred allied pilots died during the four or so months of fighting, which in military terms was not very many. Compare that to the millions who died in some of the other campaigns, like on the Eastern front between the Soviet Union and Germany.”
    “And Britain won the Battle?”
    “In so much as the Germans called off Operation Sea Lion, which was the plan to invade Britain after France had surrendered. In fact, just before the Battle of Britain, France had surrendered to Germany and quite a few people had lost hope. Winston Churchill was determined that Britain should fight on, alone or not.”
    Angus stared at one of the old photos, “So what happened?”
    “The Germans launched air attacks from their new bases in France and the Netherlands. They needed to get control of the skies before any sea invasion could take place, but try as they might, the German Luftwaffe could not break down the RAF. Then, in return for British planes bombing Berlin, Hitler changed tactics to bomb British cities – this gave the RAF breathing space. Eventually, Hitler gave up and then in 1941 he turned his attention to the east – invading the Soviet Union. So the Battle of Britain kept Britain in the war and, because it could continue thefight this meant that later on, in 1944, the Allies were able to launch D-Day and reoccupy Western Europe. Without those pilots, Britain may have needed to agree a humiliating peace with the Nazis, or face invasion. The world would have ended up a very different place.”
    “Hey – what about this one?” Jack held up another photo.
    Mr Jud took it from Jack and looked at it. “That one is quite famous too. It’s a picture taken from a plane showing a V-2 rocket just as it is taking off from its launch site in northern France.”
    “I’ve heard of them too, you know, V-1s and V-2s…”
    “Yes – the German Vengeance programme. Towards the end