48 FLYPAST May 2015194019401940
state of emergency was cancelled
and the Fox VIs from the 3ème
Bomber Regiment’s 7^ Esc that flew
a patrol of the German border
during the day had their armament
removed!BLITZKRIEG
UNLEASHED
As dawn broke on May 10, 1940 in
the eastern sky, Luftwaffe aircraft
swept over airfields in Belgium,
Holland and northern France to
destroy their foe’s airpower on the
ground. As Fireflies of 5 Esc took
off for a patrol from Schaffen at
around 03:00 a wave of He 111s
began bombing and strafing.
The attack destroyed three
Hurricanes and badly damaged
another six while two more were
smashed when their hangar was hit
and set on fire. Several pilots were
injured during the raid. At a stroke
Belgium’s best fighter force had
been crippled.
Lt Wilmots attempted to take
off in a Gladiator but in the
mayhem collided with a
burning Hurricane. He was
able to extricate himself from
the wreckage without serious
injury.
Three Gladiators (G-24, G-34
and G-37, the latter flown by Cne
Gerard) managed to get airborne
and intercepted a formation of He
111s near Louvain. Cne Albert van
den Hove d’Ertsenrijk in Hurricane
H-23 claimed one of the bomberswhile the Gladiators
may have damaged
two more; one of the
biplanes was hit by return
fire and had to force-land and
the surviving pair put down at
Le Culot.
The attacks were repeated
all over the country. At
Nivelles the Fiats were
ordered to disperse
to Brustem (St
Truiden) and, led
by Major Jacques
Lamarche in
R-43, began
to depart at
04:45. As they
approached
Brustem 20minutes later, enemy aircraft
were spotted but the fighters
were ordered to land, 1/Sgt
Marcel Michotte
overturning
R-30 in the
process.
As the
lastAbove
A pair of Firefl y IIMs,
modifi ed as single-
seaters. BELGIAN AIR FORCERight
W/O Leroy du Vivier.
VIA C F SHORES46-51_Blitzkrieg_fpSBB.indd 48 06/03/2015 16:53