Shipping and overland reconnaissance. Night: Minelaying. Weather: Squally and thundery, some bright intervals. Channel cloudy. Note: This was the date set by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring for the commencement of Adlertag (Eagle Day) but poor weather forced a postponement. Main Activity: At 0730 hours, a lone Do 17 crossed the coast at Pevensey and attacked the […]
1940
10
Aug
11
Aug
Sunday 11 August 1940
Heavy attack on Portland, feints by fighter formations over Dover. Convoy attacks in Thames Estuary and off East Anglia. Night: Harassing attacks on Merseyside. Minelaying. Weather: Fair in morning, cloudy for most of the day. Main Activity: At 0830 hours, seventeen Bf 110 fighter-bombers from Erprobungsgruppe 210 crossed the Channel and bombed Dover Harbour. Little […]
12
Aug
Monday 12 August 1940
Heavy raid on Portsmouth. Convoy in Thames Estuary, radar stations and coastal airfields attacked. Night: Widespread harassing raids. Weather: Fine with some mist patches. Main Activity: Shortly after 0900 hours, twenty Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighter-bombers of Erprobungsgruppe 210 attacked the Chain Home radar stations at Dover, Rye, and Pevensey, knocking them out of […]
13
Aug
Tuesday 13 August 1940
Opening of ‘Eagle Day’ misfires. Heavy raid on Eastchurch followed by afternoon raids on Portland, Southampton and airfields in Kent and Hampshire. 1,485 German sorties. Night: Light attacks on Midlands, Wales and the West Country. Weather: Mainly fair. Early morning mist and slight drizzle in places and some cloud in the Channel. Main Activity: Between […]
14
Aug
Wednesday 14 August 1940
Targets in south-east England, airfields and communications facilities along with airfields in the west. Night: Little activity. Weather: Mainly cloudy with bright patches and cloud in the Channel. Main Activity: At 1140 hours, a large formation comprising eighty Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers of II/StG 1 and IV/LG 1, escorted by around 100 Bf 109s of […]
15
Aug
Thursday 15 August 1940
Decisive raids by German aircraft during their most intensive period of the battle to date. Seventy-five aircraft are lost during the day with airfields as their main targets. Night: Little activity. Weather: High pressure giving fine, warm weather although some cloud remained in the Channel area. Main Activity: In Britain the early hours seemed quiet […]
16
Aug
Friday 16 August 1940
Airfields in Kent, Hampshire and West Sussex attacked with widespread damage. Radar station at Ventnor put out of action. Other targets in Oxfordshire, Essex and Suffolk hit. Night: Numerous light attacks. Weather: Mainly fair and warm with haze over the Channel. Main Activity: The plotting tables were quiet until 11 a.m. when a series of […]
16
Aug
Won Vc In First Fight
During an action near Southampton on 16 August 1940, Flight Lieutenant James Nicolson was wounded when his Hurricane was attacked by a Messerschmitt Bf 110. Despite his cockpit being on fire, he attacked and shot down another German fighter, suffering serious burns before bailing out. For his actions he became Fighter Command’s only recipient of […]
17
Aug
Saturday 17 August 1940
Activity limited to reconnaissance sorties. Fighter Command faces pilot shortage. Night: Light raids on the Midlands, Merseyside and South Wale Weather: Fine in the Channel, haze and some cloud in the east. Main Activity: The lull continued throughout the day. Reconnaissance flights were plotted and, although Fighter Command flew 288 sorties, Luftwaffe losses amounted to […]
18
Aug
Sunday 18 August 1940
Massed German formations return attacking airfields in the south and south-east. Night: Light bombing in Bristol, East Anglia and South Wales. Minelaying. Weather: Fine and fair early, cloudy for rest of day. Main Activity: The Luftwaffe’s all-out efforts to destroy Fighter Command in one week ended with a final flourish on this Sunday. The main […]