The Battle of France (10 – 30 June 1940)
10 May 1940
10 May 1940 The pilots of the A Flight, based at Le Touquet, are awakened very early in the morning due to a bombing by Heinkel He 111 (II./KG 27). Three…
11 May 1940
11 May 1940 There is little information regarding No.615 Squadron activity during this day, except for the mention of patrols between Abbeville and Le Touquet [1]. It is likely that the…
12 May 1940
12 May 1940 Unlike the day before, No.615 Squadron is experiencing more intense activity. In order to compensate for the shortages, the A Flight receives the order to join the former…
13 May 1940
13 May 1940 Brian Cull reports the presence of B Flight on Merville airfield, with a number of training on Hawker Hurricane Mk I [1]. The A Flight remains deployed for…
14 May 1940
14 May 1940 Several reinforcements arrive in No.615 (County of Surrey) Squadron when the RAF decides to detach several Flights to reinforce the units in France. These are pilots from B…
15 May 1940
15 May 1940 Unlike previous days, No.615 Squadron activity is quite intense and relatively well detailed. It is also the occasion of several claims, but also new losses. The day begins…
16 May 1940
16 May 1940 After the renforcement from No.229 (RAF) Squadron, a second backup group arrives with a detachment of three pilots from No.242 (RAF) Squadron, B Flight. They are Pilot Officer…
17 May 1940
17 May 1940 In the morning, several sections of No.615 Squadron take off from Moorsele for various patrols, details of which are known for at least two of them. For example,…
18 May 1940
18 May 1940 Unfortunately, there is no concrete detail on the events of this day. At most, the ORB indicates the preparation of an escort mission, for the benefit of Bristol…
19 May 1940
19 May 1940 At 04h00, six Hawker Hurricane Mk I took off from Moorsele for a patrol of the Cambrai -Le Cateau-Cambresis area. At 17h30, six aircraft patrol over Arras, while…
20 May 1940
20 May 1940 The No.615 Squadron leaves, finally, at 04h30, for the airfield of Norrent-Fontes with thirteen Hawker Hurricane Mk I (as well as one Miles Magister). The day starts very…
23 – 30 May 1940
23 – 30 May 1940 : Return on Gloster Gladiator Unfortunately, there is little information available about this period in the squadron ORB, which only starts again in early June. However,…
1 – 7 June 1940
1 – 7 June 1940 : reorganization Squadron Leader Joseph R. Kayll is involved in the reorganization of No. 615 Squadron at Kenley Airfield following various losses suffered during the operations…
8 June 1940
8 june 1940 : back over France After a short period of reorganization, the No. 615 Squadron was quickly returned to operation over France. Nine Hawker Hurricane Mk I take off…
9 June 1940
9 June 1940 As on the previous day, nine pilots left Kenley at 10h15 to join Tangmere in order to carry out an offensive patrol, in company with No.111 and 601…
10 June 1940
10 June 1940 Nine planes take off from Kenley, at 11h15, to reach Tangmere. They leave at 14h00 for a new offensive patrol over France. This time, it is the Fécamp…
11 June 1940
11 June 1940 Nine Hawker Hurricanes take off from Kenley at 13h30 for an offensive patrol over the Fécamp – Le Tréport sector with the No.111 (RAF) Squadron [1]. A German…
12 June 1940
12 June 1940 Nine pilots take off from Croydon at 15h15 for a patrol in the vicinity of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme – Le Tréport – Le Havre. At the end of the mission,…
14 June 1940
14 June 1940 As usual, eight Hawker Hurricanes take off at 08h15 from Kenley to patrol over Abbeville – Saint-Quentin – Saint-Omer with No. 111 (RAF) Squadron. They land at 09h45…
15 June 1940
15 June 1940 Nine aircraft take off at 10h45 to reach Hawkinge to provide cover for a sea convoy from 14h45. An alert takes place around 15h00 but the threat turns…
18 June 1940
18 June 1940 On 16 June, a message arrived indicating that if the squadron remained available for operations over France, a series of training sessions should be organized to participate in…
19 June 1940
19 June 1940 Nine pilots take off from Kenley at 06h45 hours to reach Hawkinge airfield. They left at 08h00 for an offensive reconnaissance of Abbeville, Flixecourt, Poix, Rouen and Dieppe.…
22 June 1940
22 June 1940 Nine Hawker Hurricanes take off from Kenley to join Hawkinge at 05h45. They leave at 07h00 for an offensive reconnaissance of the Abbeville – Poix – Rouen –…
26 June 1940
26 June 1940 Twelve pilots take off from Kenley at 06h44 in the direction of Hawkinge to carry out a reconnaissance of the Dieppe – Rouen – Boos sector. There were…
27 June 1940
27 June 1940 Ten aircraft take off from Kenley at 09:40 am to join Hawkinge to escort a Flight of twelve Bristol Blenheim in charge of an aerial photography mission over…
28 – 29 June 1940
28 – 29 June 1940 These two days are essentially devoted to a series of training sessions during the day and night. Thus, three pilots are sent over the Sutton Bridge…
30 June 1940
30 June 1940 Eleven aircraft take off from Hawkinge at 09:25 to participate in a joint mission with No.111 (RAF) Squadron to escort several Bristol Blenheim Mk IV aircraft over Merville.…
