Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is a persistent, accusatory absence in the second part of the novel, which follows Robbie Turner's retreat to Dunkirk. The service is invoked not through its presence but through its failure, becoming a symbol of the army's abandonment and a target for the soldiers' rage. The RAF's role is defined by what it does not do: it does not protect the columns of retreating men from the Luftwaffe's dive-bombers, and it does not appear over the beaches where the army waits, exposed and desperate. This absence shapes the soldiers' experience of defeat, turning the RAF into a silent, hated character in the narrative of the retreat.

Absence and Resentment

The RAF is first invoked through its absence. As the Stukas dive, a voice murmurs, "Fuck. Where's the RAF?" . This question, repeated throughout the retreat, becomes a bitter refrain. The soldiers feel abandoned, and their resentment is focused on the air force. When a lone Messerschmitt strafes the column, the major who tries to rally a counter-attack notes, "He must have strayed from his group. Spotted us on his way home and couldn't resist. Can't blame him, really. But it means there'll be more of them pretty soon" . The RAF's failure is not just a tactical one; it is a moral failure, a betrayal of the men on the ground. This resentment culminates in the near-lynching of an RAF clerk in a bar at Bray Dunes. The soldiers, having suffered days of Stuka attacks, corner the man and demand, "Where was ya?" . The clerk, a wiry little fellow with thick glasses, has no answers. He is held accountable for the absence of Spitfires and Hurricanes over the beach, and the mob's violence is a direct expression of their fury at the RAF's failure (E01112-E01116).

The Single Strafing Run

The only direct encounter with an enemy aircraft is a strafing run by a single Messerschmitt 109. The fighter attacks the column, its cannon fire "a rattling hailstorm din of cannon rounds hitting metal and glass" . The major, wounded in the hand, identifies the plane and its weapon: "ME 109. Must have been his machine gun. The cannon would have blown my ruddy hand off. Twenty millimeter, you know" . This single, devastating pass is the sum total of the RAF's visible engagement. The Luftwaffe, by contrast, is a constant, terrifying presence. The Stukas, with their "satanic howling" , are a recurring nightmare, their dive-bombers a "science" of terror. The RAF is defined by its absence in the face of this onslaught.

The Bombers Overhead

The RAF appears only as a distant, impersonal force. High-flying bombers drone overhead, "a steady two-way stream moving into and returning from their target" . They are a part of the landscape, like the black cloud of burning oil over Dunkirk, but they offer no protection. The soldiers on the ground are left to the mercy of the Stukas, and the RAF's bombers are as remote and indifferent as the weather. This detachment is underscored by the contrast between the RAF's high-altitude operations and the visceral, low-level terror of the Stuka attacks. The RAF is a rumor, a hope that never materializes, a force that exists in a different war.

The Lynching and the Rescue

The soldiers' fury at the RAF's absence finds its most violent expression in the bar at Bray Dunes. The RAF clerk, a man with "thick, unclean lenses in his glasses which magnified his frightened stare" , is cornered by a mob. He is slapped, kicked, and has a cigarette stubbed out on his head. The mob's hatred is specific: "He was answerable for the Luftwaffe's freedom of the skies, for every Stuka attack, every dead friend" . The clerk's silence, his failure to defend himself, seems like collusion. The mob's violence is only averted by Corporal Mace, who picks up the clerk in a bear hug and carries him out of the bar, pretending to drown him in the sea . The rescue is a dark comedy, but it underscores the depth of the soldiers' bitterness. The RAF man is a scapegoat for a systemic failure, a failure that the novel never explains or excuses.

The RAF in the Narrative

The RAF's role in the novel is defined by its absence. It is a force that is invoked, resented, and blamed, but never seen in action. The soldiers' question—"Where's the RAF?"—is never answered. The RAF is a symbol of the army's abandonment, a reminder that the men on the ground are alone. The novel does not offer a strategic or political explanation for the RAF's failure; it simply records the soldiers' experience of it. The RAF is a ghost in the narrative, a presence that is felt only through its absence, and its failure is a central part of the trauma of the retreat.