[Homer_J_Simpson]

Thanks, Cougar. It will be great to have these diary entries running through the summer and into the fall. The Battle of Britain was background music for life in the U.S.A. Like the Democratic convention, which will begin this week in Chicago.

Homer steered me to this web sight a couple of months ago

I, in turn, was steered to it by a footnote in Michael Korda's book, "With Wings Like Eagles." Here is what he has to say about it:

"For the day-by-day details of the Battle of Britain, I have relied on two principal sources: The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Campaign Diary, which is very accurate about weather, British fighter losses, and RAF and civilian casualties, as well as the exact damage inflicted by Luftwaffe raids, but is not necessarily accurate about German losses . . ."

Another footnote relates to part of today's initial entry:

"The two MG FF (Oerlikon) cannon in the wings of the Bf 109E (each with sixty rounds) fired on an "open bolt," as opposed to a closed bolt - that is, the breech opened as they fired, like that of a submachine gun. This made them lighter (they also had a short barrel, to save weight) by eliminating a complex and heavy breeech-locking mechanism, but also substantially reduced the muzzle velocity (submachine guns are designed this way so that they don't overheat). Consequently, in 1940 the Bf 109E's wing guns, thought they packed a deadly punch, operated at a very low rate of fire and with insufficient muzzle velocity."

[CougarGA7]

The Battle of Britain was background music for life in the U.S.A.

I'm pretty curious to see how this battle will play out in the American newspapers. I get the feeling that it will not dominate the news with the possible exception of the key days where the massive attacks took place. I recall at times, the Winter War fading into the noise, and the Battle of the Atlantic has definitely been a side show throughout with the exception of the Graf Spee.