Prime Minister Winston Churchill, October 1940, the Battle of Britain and the Spitfire, Which Made That Victory Possible

Along with a small archive of correspondence on the same subject from prominent English and South African figures, including Jan and Issie Smuts

 

This is our first ever letter of Churchill from 1940 concerning the RAF or the Spitfire; the donor had given 20,000 pounds total to the air and naval forces

After Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Britain found itself at war, a war for which she was ill-prepared. After a period of relative quiet, in April 1940 Germany invaded neutral Norway, seizing the capital, Oslo, and the country’s main ports with a series of surprise attacks. In May 1940 came Germany’s blitzkrieg – the invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands and France, during which the German army used the combined force of tanks, mobile infantry and artillery troops to drive through the Ardennes Forest and quickly penetrated the Allied defenses.

Amidst this disaster, on May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill became prime minister, saying “I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.” He vowed to rebuild Britain’s heretofore neglected armed forces, and particularly the air force, as a strong air force would be needed to defend against a German attack on Britain itself. Four days later Churchill brought in Lord Beaverbrook to speed up aircraft production. This Beaverbrook would do, at the same time as he sought ways to encourage Britains to help with the war effort.

The Spitfire was an airplane that went into production in the late 1930s. Its famous elliptical wing with sunken rivets gave it the thinnest possible cross-section, and thus resulted in the aircraft having a higher top speed than other fighters of the time. These wings also made the Spitfire one of the most agile fighters in the sky, giving it the advantage in battles in the air. Churchill and Beaverbrook determined to make expansion of the Spitfire force a major priority.

Lord Beaverbrook launched the Spitfire Fund soon after assuming his post in May 1940. He essentially wanted to crowd fund the cost of Spitfires. £5000 paid for a whole plane, and it could be presented to the RAF in a naming ceremony – after the person or organization who contributed. But would this unconventional concept really work?

France fell in June 1940, and now Germany planned to gain air superiority over Britain itself in preparation for an invasion of that country. This invasion was dubbed by Hitler Operation Sea Lion. Starting July 10, the German air force, the Luftwaffe, commenced the Battle of Britain, a battle in which crews on both sides took to the skies and battled for control of airspace over Britain and the English Channel. The fact that potential donors to the Spitfire Fund in Britain could see the object of their giving – the Spitfire – defending their island home right up there in the sky, guns blazing, as they attacked the Luftwaffe – was a powerful motivator to give to the Fund.

Overall, the Spitfire Fund collected £13 million (or about £650 million today), and this paid for the construction of 1500 of the world’s most iconic airplanes – the Spitfire – as well as other RAF expenses. The Spitfires were effective in stymieing the Luftwaffe, and on September 17, 1940, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain. After that the Germans focused their bombing raids on British cities at night, to reduce Luftwaffe casualties. Coastal towns, airfields and other military targets were attacked during the day. But by the end of October, the Germans were denied air superiority and the Battle of Britain was over.

Victorious in the Battle of Britain, but elements of the Battle ongoing, Churchill wrote to thank a major donor to the Spitfire Fund, Oswald Finney, a South African and Englishman who was a key figure in the cotton trade in Egypt, and who owned several major newspapers there. Typed letter signed, on his Prime Minister’s letterhead, no date but October 25, 1940, to Finney. The Lord Lloyd he mentions was Secretary of State for the Colonies. “I I have heard from Lord Lloyd that you have sent him £10,000 for the training of Sea Cadets and £10,000 for the Spitfire Fund of the Minister of Aircraft Production. May I take this opportunity of thanking you most warmly for your very generous gift and of saying how much I appreciate the thought which prompted it.”

This is our first ever letter of Churchill from 1940 concerning the RAF or the Spitfire. It is a true rarity, and a wonderful memento signed by Churchill of the victorious Battle of Britain.

Along with:

Typed letter signed, Mr. H. C. Lawrence, Minister of the Interior and Public Health, October 6, 1942.

3 autograph letters signed from Mrs. Issie Smuts on various subjects.

Typed letter signed, Field Marshall Jan Christiaan Smuts of South Africa, October 6, 1942.

Typed letter signed, HT Bishop of the Navy League, acknowledging a donation of 10,000 pounds to the Sea Cadet Corps Fund, October 25, 1940

Typed letter signed, Beaumont le Roger, on the value of his donation to the air force and the mission before the British troops, October 25, 1940

Typed letter signed, George Lloyd, as Colonial Secretary, November 21, 1940.

Typed letter signed, George Lloyd, as Colonial Secretary, stating that he has given his donations to the relevant parties and will be meeting imminently with PM Churchill, who will be thrilled. He gives a report on the state of the Seal Corp.

Draft autograph letter from Finney, acknowledging having sent the 20,000 pounds.