During the
[Links nur für registrierte Nutzer], Leigh-Mallory quarrelled with Air Vice-Marshal
[Links nur für registrierte Nutzer], the commander of 11 Group. Park, who was responsible for the defence of south east England and London, had stated that 12 Group was not doing enough to protect the airfields in the south-east.
Leigh-Mallory, on the other hand,
had devised with Acting
[Links nur für registrierte Nutzer] [Links nur für registrierte Nutzer],
a massed fighter formation known as the
[Links nur für registrierte Nutzer],
which they used, with little success, to hunt German bomber formations. Leigh-Mallory was critical of the tactics of Park and Sir
[Links nur für registrierte Nutzer], head of Fighter Command, believing that not enough was being done to allow wing-sized formations to operate successfully.
[Links nur für registrierte Nutzer] He then worked energetically in political circles to bring about the removal of Park from command of 11 Group; the false claims for the Duxford Big Wing successes played a part in this. Throughout the Battle of Britain, his lack of support for Park's 11 Group contributed materially to the damage that the
Luftwaffe was able to inflict on 11 Group's airfields.
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After the Battle of Britain, Air Chief Marshal
[Links nur für registrierte Nutzer], the new Chief of the Air Staff, who had agreed with Leigh-Mallory, removed both Park and Dowding from their posts. Leigh-Mallory took over from Park as commander of 11 Group in December 1940.