The First World War in Objects
NO.44
BATTLE of BRITAIN
HOP GARDEN DORNIER
Airfield Attacker Shot Down in Kent
During the Battle of Britain, the hop gardens of Kent were liberally scattered with the wrecks of downed British and German aircraft. One of the first was on 3 July 1940 (just before the ‘official’ start of the Battle of Britain) at Paddock Wood, Kent, when this Dornier 17-Z of 8./KG77 was shot down by three Hurricanes of 32 Sqn after it had dropped six 50kg bombs on RAF Kenley. Just prior to crashing, it dropped another nine. Two of the crew were killed – one in the fighter attack, the other by the crash landing. The other two crew members were taken POW, although both were badly wounded. The wrecked Dornier became a magnet for sightseers as it was one of the first enemy aircraft downed in the county.
(COLOURED BY DOUG BANKS)
If you asked any military aviator, or indeed any civilian pilot for that matter, what their most treasured artefact from their flying career is and the most common reply would almost certainly be their logbook. For those pilots serving in the Royal Flying Corps, this meant their AB425, the ‘AB’ standing for ‘Army Book’.
Generally containing information such as the date, times…
