prior to the collision, he glided to a forced landing in a paddock near Manston, in Kent. The hood, damaged in the collision, proved difficult to open but he was able to escape before his burning aircraft was destroyed by flames. He spent the night at the nearby RAF airbase before returning to Hornchurch the next day. In the meantime, Illner was able to return to France in his own badly damaged aircraft while the He 59 was forced down at Goodwin Sands and its crew taken prisoner. Battle of Britain The first phase of the Battle of Britain commenced on 10 July 1940, when Luftwaffe attacks on targets along the coast of England and on shipping were stepped up in the Kanalkampf (Channel war). These were designed to draw out and destroy RAF Fighter Command, necessary for the proposed invasion of Britain. As part of No. 11 Group, tasked with the defence of southeast England, Deere's squadron was heavily involved. Poor weather conditions meant that No. 54 Squadron saw little action until 24 July, when the Luftwaffe mounted several large bombing raids against convoys in the Thames Estuary. Deere and his flight disrupted one raid in the morning. During a second raid at midday that included at least 20 bombers and 30 fighters, he destroyed a Bf 109. This was his first victory of the Battle of Britain; by the end of the action, the squadron had accounted for 16 Bf 109s for the loss of two pilots. A few days later, Deere was promoted to the rank of flying officer and the squadron, having flown more sorties than any other during July, was sent back to Catterick for a rest. No. 54 Squadron returned to Hornchurch on 8 August 1940 and flew an uneventful patrol later that day. On 12 August, Deere, while leading the squadron, pursued and shot down a Bf 109 that broke up his section's attack on a group of bombers off the Kent coast, near North Foreland. While returning to Hornchurch, he encountered a group of Me 110s, one of which he shot down. On 15 August, during an attempt by the squadron to intercept a bombing raid they encountered 40 Bf 109s. Deere destroyed one and damaged another. On another interception mission that evening, the squadron engaged a group of Bf 109s escorting Do 17 bombers flying towards London. He pursued one Bf