Operation Dynamo and the Supermarine Spitfire
By the summer of 1940, Britain faced one of its greatest military crises during the Second World War.
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF), the field army deployed to Europe to fight alongside Allied forces, was trapped on the French coast. And without immediate rescue, they were going to be wiped out by the German war machine.
The evacuation of Dunkirk, codenamed Operation Dynamo, has become one of the defining stories of World War II. But while history is often told from the perspective of evacuating troops or rescuing ships, the RAF was fighting a fierce battle in the skies above.
Most RAF sorties during Operation Dynamo were flown by the Hawker Hurricane, Britain’s most numerous aircraft. But the Supermarine Spitfire played a vital role that changed the course of the evacuation – and, as a result, the entire war.
Today, the skies above Dunkirk are quiet and peaceful. But with Spitfires.com, you can still fly the same English Channel journey as hundreds of brave pilots almost 100 years ago!
Book your Spitfire flight experience today from one of 10 locations across Britain, including the South Coast.
A brief history of the Dunkirk evacuation
Nazi Germany invaded Poland on 1st September 1939.
This prompted Britain and France to declare war two days later, beginning the Second World War.
After several months of fighting during the ‘Phoney War’, the 8-month period at the start of WWII, Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg on 10th May 1940.
Allied commanders expected the main German attack to come through central Belgium. But German Army Group A, made up of 3 field armies and a specialised armoured strike force, instead advanced through the dense Ardennes Forest. This route was considered unsuitable for large armoured formations, allowing the German army to subvert their opponents.
German forces crossed the River Meuse at Sedan between 13th and 15th May, breaking through the French defensive lines and allowing Panzer divisions to advance rapidly westwards. And by 20th May, they’ve reached Abbeville on the English Channel.
That meant the BEF, the Belgian army and several French armies were cut off from the rest of France.
Unable to retreat south, Allied forces escaped north-west towards the Channel ports. Instead of planning a counterattack, their goal was to preserve as many lives as possible.
The coastal town of Dunkirk was their only viable evacuation point. It was the last major port still in Allied hands. And its long sandy beaches meant troops could embark even while the harbour was under attack to make the relatively short 47-mile journey back to Dover.
On 24th May, Hitler unexpectedly ordered German armoured divisions to halt outside of Dunkirk for almost 48 hours.
The precise reason for the decision is a topic of debate for historians. But it gave the Allies precious time to establish a 30-mile defensive perimeter around Dunkirk. This slowed the German advance and created a critical window for evacuation.
Operation Dynamo was authorised by Winston Churchill, and the evacuation of Dunkirk officially began on the evening of 26th May.
The original plan was to rescue around 45,000 troops over two days. But in the end, 338,226 British and Allied troops were saved between 26th May and 4th June 1940, making Operation Dynamo one of the largest military evacuations in history.
How the Spitfire protected Operation Dynamo
Joining the operation to assist Hawker Hurricanes
The Supermarine Spitfire was still a relatively new fighter in May 1940.
It had entered RAF service just two years earlier, though the history of the Spitfire extends quite some time before that. As such, Fighter Command possessed far fewer Spitfire squadrons than Hurricane squadrons.
Before the German invasion of France, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding deliberately kept most Spitfire squadrons in Britain. He believed that the country would soon face invasion, and so couldn’t afford to lose its most valuable fighter aircraft.
Hurricanes carried much of the fighting during the Battle of France. But they suffered heavy losses as they supported ground troops. And as the situation at Dunkirk became more dire, Dowding accepted that Spitfires could no longer be held in reserve.
Despite the risk of weakening Britain’s home defenses, he committed multiple Spitfire squadrons to protect the evacuation.
Supermarine Spitfire vs Messerschmitt Bf 109
Between 26th May and 4th June 1940, Fighter Command flew 2,739 sorties over Dunkirk.
Spitfire squadrons were tasked with intercepting Luftwaffe bombers before they could attack the harbour and evacuation fleet. But they also engaged the escorting Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft, Germany’s most powerful fighters.
The Spitfire Mk. Ia and the Messerschmitt Bf 109e that fought during the Dunkirk evacuation were the latest generation of single-seat monoplane fighters on each side.
The Bf 109e was slightly faster in level flight and could dive more rapidly. But the Spitfire’s elliptical wing design gave it exceptional manoeuvrability. This allowed RAF fighters to match the advanced German fighters.
Dunkirk marked one of the first sustained battles between the two aircraft. And the experience gained during these engagements had a direct impact on the Battle of Britain just a few weeks later.
Fuel restrictions
The Spitfire’s greatest limitation during the evacuation of Dunkirk was its range.
Operating from airbases in southern England, pilots often had just 30-40 minutes over Dunkirk before fuel forced them to return.
German fighters, on the other hand, could remain over the battlefield for much longer, as they flew from recently captured airfields in France and Belgium.
This restricted endurance meant Fighter Command constantly rotated fresh squadrons into battle. And back at base, ground crews worked continuously to refuel, rearm and repair aircraft so they could return to the skies as quickly as possible.
Inland fighting
Many soldiers waiting on the beaches of France feared that the RAF had abandoned them. That’s because they rarely saw British fighters overhead.
But in reality, a great deal of fighting took place further inland, where British aircraft intercepted Luftwaffe formations before they ever reached the evacuation area.
The Luftwaffe still managed to inflict heavy damage to Allied ships, sinking 6 Royal Navy destroyers, 3 French Navy destroyers and hundreds of smaller ships. But thanks to the brave pilots of the RAF, the Germans failed to establish air superiority over Dunkirk.
Key Spitfire squadrons at Dunkirk
No. 19 Squadron
On 4th August 1938, No. 19 Squadron became the first to receive the Supermarine Spitfire. That meant they had more experience piloting the aircraft than any other unit.
During Operation Dynamo, the squadron flew from RAF Duxford, around 95 miles from Dunkirk. But by the time they arrived, they only could only spend around 20 minutes over the evacuation site before fuel reserves forced them home.
Their main role was high-cover patrols, climbing to intercept German bomber formations before they reached the beaches.
Throughout the operation, No. 19 Squadron claimed 26 enemy aircraft destroyed. That made them one of the most successful Spitfire units to take part in the Dunkirk evacuation.
No. 74 Squadron
Known as the Tiger Squadron, No. 74 Squadron was commanded by Adolph ‘Sailor’ Malan, a South African pilot and phenomenal tactician.
Many RAF pilots pursued individual victories, especially during the early days of the Second World War. But Malan believed that supporting fellow pilots was of the utmost importance. So he insisted on maintaining a disciplined flying formation during Operation Dynamo.
Malan’s WWII combat experience formed the basis of his ‘Ten Rules for Air Fighting’. This was a set of tactical principles distributed throughout Fighter Command, even posted on mess walls during the Battle of Britain. And the guide is still studied by military aviators today.
How Dunkirk influenced aircraft design
The fighting above Dunkirk was the Spitfire’s first prolonged campaign against the Messerschmitt Bf 109e. This gave Fighter Command a large body of combat reports under operational conditions.
And one of the clearest lessons learned from 9 days of fighting concerned the Spitfire’s propeller.
Pilots of the No. 65 Squadron found that Spitfires fitted with the standard two-pitch de Havilland propeller struggled to match the Bf 109’s operational ceiling, acceleration, climb and diving performance. That’s because the German fighters were already using constant-speed propellers.
Rather than follow the normal procurement process, Squadron Leader Desmond Cooke approached de Havilland to convert one Spitfire to constant-speed operation. Work began on 13th June 1940. And after 36 hours of continuous work, de Havilland’s engineers completed the conversion.
Comparative trials at RAF Hornchurch on 15th June 1940 showed just how significant the improvement was. The modified Spitfire:
- Reduced its take-off run from 320 yards to just 225
- Lowered its time to reach 20,000 ft from 11:08 to 07:42
- Increased its service ceiling from 32,000 ft to 39,000 ft
Cooke submitted the trial results to Fighter Command on 7th June. And they immediately forwarded them to the Air Ministry, recommending the modification for all fighter aircraft.
On 22nd June, the Air Ministry ordered all operational Spitfires, Hurricanes and Boulton Paul Defiants that used de Havilland two-pitch propellers to be converted to constant-speed operation as a matter of urgency.
The first squadron to receive the modified aircraft was No. 609 at RAF Northolt on 26th June. And within days of the conversion programme’s commencement, the squadron reported that the modified aircraft could outmanoeuvre German fighters in every instance.
This campaign gave British fighters, the Spitfire included, the edge they needed to overcome German aircraft in the Battle of Britain, which began just two weeks later.
The Battle of Britain cemented the Spitfire’s place in history. But it was Operation Dynamo that exposed the aircraft’s early shortcomings, inspiring one its most important technical upgrade in its service lifetime.
Experience supreme wartime aviation with a Spitfire flight experience
The Dunkirk evacuation wasn’t just an early combat deployment for the Spitfire. It was the campaign that proved the aircraft’s capabilities in sustained frontline service against Germany’s best fighters.
Every patrol flown over Dunkirk helped protect the evacuation fleet, saving many Allied lives and preserving Britain’s fighting strength. And it provided the data necessary to improve the aircraft in time for conflicts that lay just over the horizon.
Only around 78 airworthy Spitfires still exist in the world today. And just 30 or so of those remain in the UK.
But that doesn’t mean the marvellous engineering of Britain’s most iconic aircraft is lost to time. You can still experience its incredible speed, power and aerobatic capabilities with your very own Spitfire flight.
Book your Spitfire flight experience online today from one of 10 locations across Britain, and fly the same skies as aviation’s greatest heroes.
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