Big Wing facts for kids
The Big Wing, also called a Balbo, was a special air fighting plan used during the Battle of Britain. It was suggested by Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory and Acting Squadron Leader Douglas Bader. The idea was to meet incoming German Luftwaffe bomber planes with a large group of three to five squadrons flying together in a wing shape. During the Battle, this plan was used by the Duxford Wing, led by Douglas Bader.
The name "Balbo" comes from Italo Balbo, an Italian air force officer. He was famous for leading huge groups of planes on long flights before the war.
Contents
How the Big Wing Idea Started
During the Battle of Britain, the sky over southern England was a very busy place. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) was fighting against the German Luftwaffe.
Britain's Air Defense System
Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park was in charge of No. 11 Group RAF of Fighter Command. This group protected southern England, which faced most of the German attacks. The head of RAF Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, had built the world's first complete air defense system. This system included Chain Home radar stations, ground observation posts from the Royal Observer Corps, and a fast communication network.
Park used tactics where individual squadrons (groups of about 12 planes) would attack German raids one after another. He thought this was the best way to use his planes, especially since the German planes didn't fly very far into British airspace. He used "hit and run" attacks, meaning one enemy raid might be attacked by several squadrons in turn.
Why a New Tactic Was Needed
Many pilots in 11 Group were worried about the high number of planes and pilots they were losing. They wanted to use larger groups of planes to protect each other and reduce their casualties. This is where the idea of the "Big Wing" came in.
The Big Wing Plan
Leigh-Mallory, who commanded No. 12 Group RAF (just north of Park's area), was a big supporter of the Big Wing idea. This caused a lot of arguments between him and Park.
Douglas Bader's Role
One of Leigh-Mallory's officers was Douglas Bader, who led No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron RAF. Bader had flown in large groups over Dunkirk a few weeks earlier. He believed that large formations were very important. With Leigh-Mallory's support, a Big Wing was formed at RAF Duxford. This base was close to the border between 11 and 12 Groups.
The Duxford Big Wing started with three squadrons:
- No. 242 Squadron RAF (Canadian) and No. 310 (Czech) Squadron RAF, both flying Hawker Hurricanes.
- No. 19 Squadron RAF (19 Squadron), flying Supermarine Spitfires from nearby RAF Fowlmere.
First Missions and Challenges
On September 7, 1940, the Big Wing flew its first mission. It was supposed to patrol North Weald, but the planes were late forming up and the group was too spread out. Even so, the Big Wing claimed to have shot down 11 enemy planes, losing only one of their own.
In September 1940, the Duxford Big Wing was sent up several times to try and stop German raids. However, it wasn't a well-practiced military unit. It was just a collection of squadrons led by a less experienced squadron leader. There wasn't much planning between Leigh-Mallory and Bader on how to use the Big Wing.
Arguments Against the Big Wing
Keith Park had tried large wings before, like during the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940. He thought they were clumsy and hard to get into position quickly. Park pointed out that over Kent and Sussex, where German planes often attacked, there wasn't enough time for a large formation to climb to a high altitude.
Bader argued that his wing could be a "reserve" for 11 Group. He said if they got enough warning, his wing could be high in the sky and ready when needed. However, Bader often caused delays by insisting on leading the Big Wing himself. This meant he had to fly his squadron to Duxford every day, land, take off again, and then form the Big Wing. This needed a lot more warning time than was realistic.
Also, the Duxford Big Wing had both Hurricanes and Spitfires. The faster Spitfires had to slow down to fly and climb at the same speed as the slower Hurricanes. Bader also didn't always follow instructions from ground control.
Disagreements Among Leaders
For such a large formation to work, it needed good planning and training, and its leaders had to follow Fighter Command's battle plan. But this was often ignored. The arguments between Park (11 Group) and Leigh-Mallory (12 Group) were never really solved by Sir Hugh Dowding.
Later, Dowding retired, and Leigh-Mallory was promoted to command 11 Group. This suggests that senior RAF officers may have agreed with Leigh-Mallory's ideas. Some historians believe these sympathies were more about disagreements with Dowding than about the best way to defend Britain.
Historians like Leo McKinstry say Dowding was criticized for keeping 11 Group and 12 Group separate. This meant the groups often didn't work together. Park wrote a letter in 1968 saying that 10 Group always helped his squadrons, but Leigh-Mallory's 12 Group often failed to respond. This left airfields like North Weald and Hornchurch open to attack while the 12 Group wing was still getting ready.
How Effective Was It?
After the Battle of Britain, Leigh-Mallory didn't really use the Big Wing for defense much anymore. It changed into an attacking formation, with Bader leading large fighter sweeps over France.
Debate Over Success
There's still a debate about how effective the "Big Wing" was during the Battle of Britain. Leigh-Mallory and Bader said it was a big success. However, later analysis suggests the actual number of German planes shot down by the Big Wing was much lower than claimed. For example, on September 15, 1940, the Big Wing claimed 52 kills, but German records showed only six planes were lost. Some senior officers wanted to believe these high claims to use the Big Wing as a political tool against Dowding.
Problems with the Big Wing
- Delayed Support: When 11 Group needed help, 12 Group often failed to provide it quickly. This left 11 Group airfields undefended.
- Wrong Place: 12 Group commanders often didn't follow 11 Group's instructions, so they arrived in the wrong place.
- Wasted Fuel: The time it took to form a Big Wing wasted fuel, reducing the time planes could spend fighting.
- Limited Interceptions: The Big Wing often met the enemy over Northern London, where German fighter escorts were running low on fuel. This meant fewer fights and fewer casualties for both sides.
- Lack of Planning: The Duxford Big Wing was not a serious tactical plan. It was formed after a phone call and lacked proper planning or agreement within Fighter Command.
Psychological Impact
However, when the Luftwaffe encountered the Big Wing on September 15, it had a huge psychological effect. German aircrews had been told the RAF was almost out of planes. But after being attacked over Kent, they were then met by another formation of 60 RAF planes over London. This happened just as their escorts were reaching the limit of their range, which really lowered German morale.
Political Tool
While not always effective as a fighting tactic, the Big Wing, along with some exaggerated statistics, became a political tool. It was used by those who disagreed with Dowding. Dowding had a "stuffy" personality and didn't like political fights. The Big Wing situation was used by his political enemies to try and remove him from his position.
Big Wing Exercise
In January 1941, Leigh-Mallory ran "paper exercises" to test the Big Wing idea. He wanted to show that large formations were better. However, he mismanaged the exercise, allowing the "enemy" raid to "bomb" airbases like Kenley and Biggin Hill while their planes were still on the ground. Leigh-Mallory said he would do better next time and planned to let enemy raids bomb their targets, then attack them fiercely on their way back to France. He believed this would stop future raids.
See also
- British military history of World War II
