01/11/2026
The Big Wing presented by Gp Capt Tim Willbond, OBE DL RAF (Rtd) RAF (Rtd)
The final lecture of the 2026 season was by Gp Capt Tim Willbond on the Big Wing; it was refreshing to get a fighter controllers' view of the events compared to a fighter pilot.
Tim castigated Leigh Mallory and in particular Douglas Bader for their enthusiasm for the Big Wing, accusing them of disloyalty, disobedience and dishonesty.
The HF radios used at the time only had a range of 35 mikes and the frequency for each sector was preset, therefore there was no communications between them. Bader, however, would ignore his orders to patrol his sectors' (Duxford) borders and steam into the Biggin Hill sector unannounced. The controllers there were unable to identify the 'intruders' and mayhem ensued.
Furthermore, to justify the big wing theory, exaggerated claims of up to 75% were made. The big wing time to height was considerably longer than smaller formations and even post war Bader was stating that if the enemy was spotted at Calais the wing could intercept them at Chichester. Simple maths shows that by the time the wing reached Chichester the enemy would be long gone.
Sholto Douglas was also of the opinion that attrition was the key to success and was content for the bombers to reach their target if more losses could be inflicted on them on the return leg.
Unfortunately these theories had the backing of opinionated senior officers that overshadowed the achievements of Dowding and Park who undoubtedly had better tactical awareness and won the battle but lost the personality contest.
