Hundreds of Spitfires spring into action
On the eve of the invasion, 53 Spitfire squadrons were available to cover the invasion once dawn had broken. The Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) had 22 Merlin-engined and four Griffon-engined squadrons, together with another 500 fighter aircraft, while 2TAF had mustered 27 squadrons with 480 aircraft.
ADGB’s main task was to protect the invasion fleet from the prying eyes of Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft as it gathered and set sail. The task fell mainly to the high-altitude Spitfire Mk.VII units and, flying from Bradwell Bay, 124 Squadron’s Flight Lieutenant Peter Ayerst patrolled Gravelines-Le Treport for 90 minutes, noting in his logbook: “D-Day. Very quiet!”
At 0350hrs on June 6, Wing Commander Peter Powell led the Spitfire Mk.Vbs of 611 Squadron from Harrowbeer to patrol the Omaha and Gold beaches. Arriving over the area at 0430hrs, they are thought to have been the first ADGB aircraft to cover the landings. From Deanland, 64 Squadron followed with its first patrol. Up at the same time was 501 Squadron from Friston, one of whose pilots was a Canadian, Flight Lieutenant Warren Peglar. He recalled: “We had known that something big was about to …
