at a nearby pub, overlooking the harbour, an air raid began on Southampton. Finucane heard the drone of German bombers over the Isle of Wight in the distance and watched as the pathfinders marked the city. They clambered into a Wolseley Hornet two-seater car and headed into the town to seek out acquaintances of a squadron-mate. After seeing the destruction in the city Finucane said "Until this war is won we must shoot every Jerry from the sky." Channel Front By early 1941, the Luftwaffe rarely appeared in daylight and Finucane spent most of his operational time patrolling the Channel coast. On 4 January 1941 at 09:50 off Selsey Bill, he caught and shot down a Bf 110 at . It took 15 minutes and four attacks to bring it down. The Bf 110 crashed into the Channel. Off St. Catherine's Point on 19 January, Finucane was one of two Spitfires that intercepted a Junkers Ju 88 at . They chased the Ju 88 to within of Cherbourg and broke off for lack of fuel. They left the Ju 88 on fire in both engines and flying at 50 feet. The pilot had proven a skilful opponent. The Ju 88 flew low-level skidding turns and into the sun where the glare prevented the British pilots from gaining a clear view. The rear gunner was also firing accurately, hitting Finucane's fighter with a few well-placed rounds. The Ju 88 was credited as shared destroyed. The share was with Sergeant H. Orchard. In November 1940 Air Marshal Sholto Douglas became Air Officer Commanding (AOC) RAF Fighter Command. On 8 December 1940 a directive from the Air Staff called for Sector Offensive Sweeps. It ordered hit-and-run operations over Belgium and France. The operations were to be conducted by three squadrons to harass German air defences. On 10 January 1941 'Circus' attacks were initiated by sending small bomber formations protected by large numbers of fighters. The escalation of offensive operations throughout 1941 was designed to draw up the Luftwaffe as Douglas' Command took an increasingly offensive stance. Trafford Leigh-Mallory, AOC 11 Group, promulgated Operations Instruction No. 7, which he had written on 16 February. Leigh-Mallory outlined six distinct operations for day fighters: 'Ramrod' (bomber escort with primary goal the destruction of the target); 'Fighter Ramrod' (the same goal where fighters escorted ground-attack fighters); Roadstead (bomber escort and anti-shipping operations); Fighter Roadstead (the same operation