Introduction
This book appears to spring from the growing interest in ‘battlefield’
archaeology, and the author’s own interest in the 1939-45
air war and his subsequent involvement with two Channel 4 'Time
Team' episodes examining crash sites. It introduces the subject
area, outlining its potential and practical implementation from
an archaeological perspective, and presents the results within a
wider debate regarding the dichotomy between history and archaeology;
highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each evidential
strand, and how they can be used to compliment one another.
The Text
Battles Over Britain: The Archaeology of the Air War is
illustrated not only with numerous examples from the Battle of Britain
itself (July-October 1940), but also from the ill-fated British
Expeditionary Force of May-June 1940 (culminating with the evacuation
from Dunkerque), the Blitz (September 1940-May 1941) and also the
Allied bombing offensive against Germany (principally from 1942,
involving RAF Bomber Command and the United States 8th and 9th Air
Forces). The majority of crash sites and other physical remains
discussed are located in southern England, East Anglia (where the
USAF bombers were based) and northern France. Also, archaeological
examples of the air war from Germany and other theatres are not
considered, for instance the Dresden ‘firestorm’ has
left a readily identifiable archaeological horizon, which resulted
from the massive RAF bombing raid of 13th February 1945.
The book is organised into seven chapters. The first three chapters
(Myth, The historical background and The aircraft)
‘set the scene’. Chapter 1 outlines how the current
popular conception of the Battle of Britain has been created and
fostered. This is achieved by considering the available documentary
record, wartime propaganda, contemporary books (such as The
Last Enemy by Richard Hillary, published in 1942) and official
Ministry of Defence records. Also utilised are the popular imagery
of the aircraft (particularly the Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire),
personal testimonials (a finite resource, as the participants' generation
reach old age) and the curatorial decisions regarding what and how
salvaged remains are exhibited. An additional section entitled Rituals
in the air is also included, which regards the idiosyncrasies
of the aircrew [Footnote
1]. Highlighting the ‘human dimension’ of the air
war appears to have been the rationale behind these chapters.
In contrast, the following two chapters aim to provide the necessary
factual framework for those unfamiliar with this period of history,
i.e. archaeologists with no previous knowledge of the air war of
the Second World War. Chapter 2, The historical background,
outlines the development of the military ideology and philosophy
behind strategic bombing in the 1920-30’s (strangely the role
of single-seat fighters as bomber interceptors was an afterthought),
the chronology and minutiae of the Phoney War, the Battle of Britain
and the beginning of the Blitz, the mood of the British populace
and the defensive measures that were put in place.
Chapter 3 The aircraft charts the general evolution of
aircraft design during the inter-war period from braced-framed wood
and canvas biplanes to all-metal stressed-skin monocoque monoplanes.
This process was enabled by advances in metallurgy (mass production
of aluminium and other lightweight alloys) and the departure from
technically simple air-cooled radial engines to vastly more powerful
liquid-cooled inline supercharged engines, as the preferred design
of power-plant. The developmental histories of the Hawker Hurricane
and Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire are considered in detail, as case
studies, to illustrate British aircraft design. German aircraft
design is considered more generally, as it essentially pursued the
same philosophy (with the exception that Germany was severely hampered
by restrictions imposed after the First World War, which meant most
military aircraft designed in the 1930’s masqueraded as civilian
specifications). Extant examples are considered, alongside the recovery
policy towards downed aircraft at the time, to demonstrate the scarcity
of the resource-base.
Although Battles over Britain is predominantly concerned
with the aircraft and their crash sites all the physical remains
from the air war of the Second World War which survive to the present
are discussed. Airfields (Chapter 5) that survive to this
day are relatively few in number, especially the rather makeshift
grass fields of RAF Fighter Command dating to 1940, partly because
of the subsequent demands of development in southern England (a
few still operate as airfields, such as Manston and Duxford). More
likely to survive, to some degree, are the slightly later and much
larger purpose built (with concrete runways) American bomber bases
of East Anglia. However in most instances the runways have been
returned to agricultural use. Air raid shelters, bomb damaged buildings
(especially pertinent to archaeologists working in large urban conurbations)
and more infrequently defensive sites, such as the concrete footings
of anti-aircraft batteries, barrage balloons, listening posts and
radar stations, are all considered (incorporated into Chapter 6
The Blitz).
The crux of the book is not reached until Excavating the air
war (Chapter 4). This chapter commences with a justification
for the excavation of crash sites, and poses the rhetorical question
(paraphrased here) of ‘why excavate a well documented event
when the date, location, sequence of events, and the identity of
the aircrew and aircraft are already known?’. This is juxtaposed
with the wider criticism often applied to archaeology of ‘why
excavate more Neolithic axes or Roman pottery?’ (De la Bédoyère’s
example) - a question we have all faced as archaeologists from the
lay-public, and one that also requires an inner reconciliation and
justification. Ultimately, the known ‘facts’ are always
incomplete or inaccurate, and further research enlarges the dataset,
enabling re-interpretation and the development of new perspectives.
Of interest to the archaeologist is how an aircraft crash site
can be treated as an archaeological site and how it can be excavated
in a methodical way, when in reality all it represents is a massive
single event with no real stratigraphy (other than an irregular
shaped hole full of wreckage and disturbed natural). De la Bédoyère,
using the example of a Spitfire excavated in northern France by
the ‘Time Team’, eloquently describes what happened
to the airframe and engine when it hit the ground in excess of 500mph
in a near-vertical dive. This reconstruction is based on fieldwork
that amalgamated aspects of both traditional archaeological excavation
and air-crash investigation.
As with all other physical remains incorporated into the archaeological
record, aircraft are subject to differential preservation, partially
due to the nature of the burial environment. This is also dependent
on the materials used in their construction, for instance various
components were manufactured from magnesium, which corrodes into
a blue-coloured oxide in a short period of time. Therefore, crash
sites are also finite resources, and have to be treated as such;
the need to treat physical remains from the Second World War as
an archaeological resource is becoming more widely recognised, for
instance through the implementation of projects like The Defence
of Britain Project databases maintained by the Archaeological
Data Service.
Many crash sites constitute official war graves, as they still
contain the remains of aircrew, and their excavation is subject
to legislation (1986 Protection of Military Remains Act). The morality
issue concerning exhumation is considerably heightened when the
remains of Second World War aircrew are involved (for obvious reasons),
and will consequently require careful and empathic consideration
before excavation is embarked upon. It is actually illegal (without
the relevant permission and licences from the Ministry of Defence,
which are rarely issued) to excavate Second World War aircraft crash
sites and several groups have been prosecuted for doing so. Conversely
in cases where human remains have been present, the relatives have
usually supported exhumation, as it enables a proper burial. De
la Bédoyère does not consider this aspect in a specific
section (it would have been ideally suited to the Excavating
the air war chapter), but interweaves it throughout the book.
Chapter 7, The effects of bombing, outlines how the Blitz
affected the historic centres of many British cities, and how through
post-war redevelopment archaeological research has been greatly
facilitated (despite the obvious information loss through destruction).
This is illustrated with numerous Romano-British and medieval examples,
mostly from London and Coventry, and makes a special case study
of London’s City churches, which were designed and re-built
by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire in 1666. Understanding
the urban landscape of Britain has increasingly fallen within the
realm of archaeology (with the advent of developer funding, technological
innovations, such as GIS, and the greater attention given to standing
building survey), so understanding how Second World War bomb damage
has contributed to its evolution is essential.
When attempting to justify the treatment of World War Two aircraft
and all their attendant elements as an archaeological resource,
De la Bédoyère highlights the fact that the period
is virtually out of living memory, and the documentation (through
blatant propaganda and the ‘fog of war’) is often inaccurate
[Footnote 2].
As a Romanist and numismatist, De la Bédoyère draws
numerous analogies between the air war and chronological periods
which are more usually the preserve of the archaeologist. This is
in an effort to demonstrate the relevance and importance of the
physical remains of the air war as an archaeological resource, and
how the analysis of this epoch from an archaeological perspective
can aid its interpretation. This is only partially successful, although
not from any real failing on De la Bédoyère’s
part. The treatment of Second World War aircraft as an archaeological
resource may be validated from an ‘intellectual’ stance,
but remains difficult to justify to the contemporary (sceptical?)
majority.
De la Bédoyère has likened the current state of aviation
archaeology to that of nineteenth century antiquarians, and this
may have historically been the case with the advent of crash site
excavations in the 1960s by small amateur groups. However increasingly
such groups are refining their techniques and are keen to legitimise
their activities. The British Aviation Archaeologist’s Council
(BAAC) has even introduced a code of conduct for its members. Increasing
professionalism seems to be reflecting a more general interest in
‘battlefield’ archaeology by not only legislative organisations
(English Heritage is preparing an advice note entitled Military
Aircraft Crash Sites: Archaeological Guidance on their Significance
and Future Management - refer to Holyoak 2002), but also the
general public (for instance the BBC’s ‘Two Men in a
Trench’).
Conclusion
Overall, De la Bédoyère has produced an articulate
and informative book that manages to maintain a balance between
providing an introduction to Second World War aviation for the lay-person
and the archaeologist alike, whilst fairly successfully arguing
and justifying aviation archaeology as a legitimate sub-discipline.
The narrative is also well illustrated with a wide variety of examples,
diagrams and photographs supporting the narrative. The appendices
also contain useful information, such as further reading and contact
addresses, for anyone wishing to discover more on the subject. Additionally,
anyone interested in ‘battlefield’ archaeology could
also refer to three other recent publications: Freeman & Pollard
(2001), Holyoak (2002) and Saunders (2002).
Footnotes
[1] For example, how would an archaeologist
interpret a half-crown found amongst the personal affects of a Luftwaffe
airman, which was recovered from the wreckage of his downed aircraft?
[2] For instance, all airframes and engines
had their own unique identification number, but the official documentation
is often missing or incorrect (as paperwork was a minor consideration
at the time). This was exasperated because it was not unusual for
an airframe or engine to have a combat life measured in seconds.
Bibliography
Freeman, P.W.M. & Pollard, A. (eds.), 2001. Field of Conflict:
Progress and Prospect in Battlefield Archaeology. Proceedings
of a Conference held in the Department of Archaeology University
of Glasgow, April 2000. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (International
Series) 958.
Hillary, R. 1997. The Last Enemy. Pimlico.
Holyoak, V. 2002. Crash Sites and the War Dead. The Archaeologist
44: 26- 27.
Saunders, N.J. 2002. Excavating Memories: Archaeology and the Great
War, 1914-2001. Antiquity 76: 101-108.
2002. Council for British Archaeology. The Defence of Britain
Project. [online]. Available from:
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/specColl/dob/index.cfm
[Accessed 22.04.2003].
Andy Hammon
Andy Hammon is a consultant zooarchaeologist currently completing
his Ph.D. at Sheffield after working in zooarchaeology and as a
field archaeologist for a number of years. Andy’s interest
in Second World War aircraft stems from his building too many Airfix
kits and reading too many Commando comics during adolescence. As
a small child he helped to excavate a Hawker Hurricane, which had
embedded itself in the North Downs. His dream-job would be to combine
both archaeology and aviation history. Andy can be contacted at:
PRP99AJH@sheffield.ac.uk
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