Archive for August 1940

1940

01

Aug

Thursday 1 August 1940

East and south coast shipping attacked. Night: South Wales and midlands targets. Minelaying in Thames Estuary and north-east coast Scottish coast. Weather: Fair in most districts with Straits and Channel overcast. Low cloud dispersing during the day. Warmer. On this day, Hitler issued Directive No. 17 ordering the Luftwaffe ‘to overpower the English Air Force […]

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02

Aug

Friday 2 August 1940

Shipping attacked in Channel and east coast. Night: South Wales and the Midlands. Weather: Mainly fine in the north but cloudy in the east. Channel cloudy. Drizzle in Dover Straits. Main Activity: Around 0000 hours, a convoy was attacked by two He 115 seaplanes south of Aberdeen. One of the aircraft struck the lifeboat davit […]

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03

Aug

Saturday 3 August 1940

Mainly shipping reconnaissance in Channel. Night: South Wales, with some raids continuing to Liverpool, Crewe and Bradford areas. Weather: Mainly dull with bright patches. Cloud base 4,000ft. Visibility two to five miles. Main Activity: No major Luftwaffe operations due to dull weather. German LossesAirmen: 11 | Aircraft: 6 British LossesAirmen: 0 | Aircraft: 0 Photo […]

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04

Aug

Sunday 4 August 1940

Reconnaissance along the south coast and Bristol Channel. Night: Little activity. Weather: Fair to fine early. Cloudy with bright intervals at midday, clearing in the evening. Main Activity: No major Luftwaffe operations due to cloudy weather. German LossesAirmen: 2 | Aircraft: 2 British LossesAirmen: 1 | Aircraft: 1 Spitfire N3271, No. 616 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.Sgt […]

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05

Aug

Monday 5 August 1940

Shipping in Straits attacked. Night: Minelaying between the Wash and the Tay. Weather: Temperatures high. Fine weather with slight haze in the Channel. Main Activity: At 0800 hours, a formation of Ju 88 bombers was despatched to attack a convoy sailing between Hastings and the North Foreland. Four RAF squadrons were scrambled to intercept including […]

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05

Aug

Air Attack On Dover Harbour

Newsreel footage “Air Attack On Dover Harbour”, 5 August 1940. Source: British Pathé

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06

Aug

Tuesday 6 August 1940

Little activity Night: Minelaying off east and south-east coasts. Weather: Generally cloudy with fairly strong winds. Cloud ceiling 3,000 – 5,000 ft. Main Activity: At about 0630 hours, Hurricanes of No. 85 Squadron intercepted and shot down a Do 17 of III/KG 3. The Dornier was spotting a convoy east of Lowestoft. German LossesAirmen: 9 […]

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07

Aug

Wednesday 7 August 1940

Convoy reconnaissances. Convoy off Cromer attacked. Night: Widespread raids from Thames Estuary to Aberdeen and from Poole, Dorset, to Land’s End and Liverpool. Weather: Mainly fair with cloud and thunderstorms in eastern districts. South-eastern districts cloudy. Winds variable. Main Activity: At 0635 hours, a convoy off Cromer was attacked. Hurricanes of No. 46 Squadron observed […]

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08

Aug

Thursday 8 August 1940

Three major attacks on a Channel convoy. Night: Small raids and minelaying. Weather: Showers and bright intervals. Channel cloudy. Main Activity: At 0840 hours, Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers of II and III/StG 1, escorted by Bf 109s of I/JG 27, attacked the convoy codenamed PEEWIT off St Catherine’s Point, sinking the SS Coquetdale and the […]

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09

Aug

Friday 9 August 1940

Quiet with isolated raids on east coast shipping. Night: Minelaying and attacks off east coast. Weather: Cloudy with showers, some bright intervals. Channel still cloudy. Main Activity: At 1140 hours, a lone He 111 of 7./KG 26 attacked the Sunderland shipyard, killing four civilians and injuring seventy-eight. The bomber was intercepted and shot down by […]

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