3744 x 5616 px | 31,7 x 47,5 cm | 12,5 x 18,7 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
23. August 2016
Ort:
The Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, Kent.
Weitere Informationen:
Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand soldier, First World War flying ace and Second World War Royal Air Force commander. He was in operational command during two of the most significant air battles in the European theatre in the Second World War, helping to win the Battle of Britain and the Battle of Malta. In Germany, he was supposedly known as "the Defender of London". Promoted to the rank of air vice marshal, Park took command of No. 11 Group RAF, responsible for the fighter defence of London and southeast England, in April 1940. He organized fighter patrols over France during the Dunkirk evacuation and in the Battle of Britain his command took the brunt of the Luftwaffe's air attacks. Flying his personalised Hawker Hurricane around his fighter airfields during the battle, Park gained a reputation as a shrewd tactician with an astute grasp of strategic issues and as a popular "hands-on" commander. However, he became embroiled in an acrimonious dispute with ambitious Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, commander of 12 Group. Leigh-Mallory, already envious of Park for leading the key 11 Group while No. 12 Group was left to defend airfields, repeatedly failed to support No. 11 Group. Leigh-Mallory and his Big Wing (led by Douglas Bader) often ran amok through No. 11 Group airspace confusing the UK's defences. Quintin Brand's No. 10 Group in the South West successfully supported No. 11 Group when required despite having far more arduous defensive duties in its own area than No. 12 Group. Park's subsequent objection to Leigh-Mallory's behaviour during the Big Wing controversy may have contributed to his and Dowding's removal from command at the end of the battle, but neither Park nor Dowding had much time for internal politics and fell easy prey to their waiting critics.
