The 15th of August became known as "Black Thursday" to the Luftwaffe due to the heavy losses they took in several bombing raids. It was also their biggest day in terms of sorties. The RAF was equally hard pressed. Flying Officer Al Deere with No. 54 Squadron would fly six sorties, fight in three or four combats, score one kill, and be shot down by Adolf Galland and his wingman. This mishap occurred when he hotly pursued a Bf 109 to its home field at Calais only to stumble into a nest of fighters. Two Bf 109s (Galland and his wingman) in the traffic pattern spotted him and chased him back across the Channel to the English coast, shooting him up in the process. Shortly after they broke off, Deere's engine burst into flames and he took to his parachute.
