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Added to which, the squadron’s Avro Ansons couldn’t carry much
fuel and it was not unusual for the tank to run dry. Several pilots
were killed, either because of the fog or a lack of fuel.
The Anson pilots were required to fly at night too, out to ensure
the blackout was being observed across London, Kent and Essex.

Other planes at the base included Fairey Albacores, Fairey
Sword fish and Lysanders. Their reconnaissance duties included
attacking submarines and E-boats in the Channel. Then
Blenheim bombers were brought to the base when targeting Ger-
Detling as a WWII base
man troops advancing on Dunkirk in 1940.
An outstanding act of bravery was shown by Cpl Daphne Pearson on the night
of May 30-31, 1940 [four days after her 29th birthday], when an Avro Anson of
500 Squadron crashed on the airfield. One of its bombs exploded, killing the
navigator and injuring the pilot and the other two crew members.

Pearson, who was serving in the medical section, climbed into the burning
wreckage and freed P/O David Bond from his parachute harness before
dragging him nearly 30 yards. She then shielded him as a 120lb bomb in the
Anson exploded.

She was awarded the George Cross – the highest award for bravery when not
in direct contact with the enemy – and became both the first member of the
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) to receive the honour and the first woman decorated for bravery
in the war. Pearson died in Melbourne, Australia, on July 25, 2000, and her
medals were donated to the Imperial War Museum. She is commemorated Cpl Daphne Pearson
with a plaque at the base.

Deadly suprise
Less than three months after that incident came the worst attack on Detling airfield – a strike by 40 Ju87
Stukas (dive bombers) on August 13, 1940. Because of poor communication, no warning was sounded.
The result was catastrophic.

The surprise attack destroyed the operations room and killed the base commander, Gp Capt Edward
Davis. Sixty-seven station personnel were killed and 94 injured. 22 aircraft, including light bomber Blenheims,
were destroyed along with explosives and the fuel supplies. There were further deaths among the many Army
personnel who manned the anti-aircraft and machinegun posts on the perimeter of the base.

The devastating attack on Detling was just one of several successful raids on airfields following damage
to Kent’s coastal radar stations earlier in the month. Other hits were made at Eastchurch, Hawkinge and
Manston, along with an aircraft factory in Rochester.
However, the failure to give Detling an early warning on August 13 resulted from an ineffective commu-
nications set-up.

The Observer Corps had seen the large Luftwaffe force as it crossed the Kent coast and passed on the
information to the Observer Corps post nearest to Detling. However, they had no direct contact with
the base.

Following procedures, they alerted their HQ in Maidstone, who contacted Anti-Aircraft Comment HQ.
There it was decided, incorrectly, that the target was the Shorts aircraft factory in Rochester. By the time
they realised their mistake, it was too late!

A member of the Observer Corps, on duty at the post near Detling, was quoted as saying: “You can’t im-
agine our feelings as we stood in our posts, helpless, and watched the bombing and strafing. It [a direct
communications line to the base] would not have stopped the raid but a phone call to them before the
Luftwaffe was in the area might have saved some lives.”