[Bruce Dennis]

Hello Chris,

In broad terms, this is what happened.

On the morning of August 12th, Luftwaffe strikes were directed at several targets, among them Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. These attackers were from Kg51, who had formed up over France without being detected by British radar. The first warning of this raid came from Polling radar station at 11:45. The main body of the Luftwaffe force headed north towards Brighton, turned west along the coast to pass between the IOW and Portsmouth. They then split, with the bulk of the bombers veering sharp north just outside the entrance to Portsmouth, exploiting a gap in the balloon barrage. Fifteen Ju88s broke south and headed for the centre of the Isle of Wight, then dived on the CH station perched on the high ground above Ventnor on the eastern coast. The German fighter cover was circling at 10,000 feet. Three Bofors guns sited near the radar station had no chance of stopping the Ju88s. After dropping their bombs, the attackers from Kg51 raced for the south coast of the island. They were bounced by Spitfires of 152 and 609 Squadrons as they made their escape: 109s of Jg53 then intervened and a dogfight with 609 aircraft followed, allowing 152 to continue after the bombers. Park also directed twelve Hurricanes of 615 Sq. to engage another nearby group of 109s to prevent them joining the fray off the Isle of Wight.

Every building at the Ventnor station was damaged or destroyed by fire, the masts were a mess and the power and landline cables were out of action. Dover, Rye and Pevensey stations were also bombed that day, causing temporary disruption to radar coverage, but none were damaged as seriously as Ventnor which was off the air for three days.

Hope this helps,

Bruce