Heavy damage to Fighter Command airfields following four major attacks. Night: Liverpool attacked again. Smaller raids in the Midlands and South Wales. Weather: Fair with cloudy patches during the morning, clearing during the afternoon. Main Activity: As September opened, a Fighter Command diarist noted that ‘the month of August saw the beginning of a war […]
1940
01
Sep
02
Sep
Monday 2 September 1940
Once again four main phases of airfield attacks. Night: Scattered raids on Liverpool, the Midlands and South Wales. Weather: Continuing fine and warm. Early-morning mist and fog patches. Main Activity: Once again the early morning was warm and hazy, although there were occasional patches of low cloud. The Luftwaffe stepped up the tempo, determined to […]
03
Sep
Tuesday 3 September 1940
Further heavy airfield attacks. Night: Liverpool bombed once again. Harassing raids on South Wales and the south-west coast. Weather: Fine and warm. Some cloud and drizzle in the north, haze in the Channel and Straits. Main Activity: At eight o’clock in the morning Luftflotte 2 began the familiar pattern of building up formations over Calais, […]
04
Sep
Wednesday 4 September 1940
Two major attacks on airfields. Serious damage to the Vickers Works at Brooklands. Night: Further raid on Liverpool. Weather: Fine and warm with haze in the Channel and Straits. Occasional rain and strong winds in the north. Main Activity: On September 1st the Luftwaffe Operations Staff IA had issued an order to the Luftflotten covering […]
05
Sep
Thursday 5 September 1940
Airfield attacks in two phases. Park (CinC No 11 Group) orders special cover for fighter factories. Night: Continuous activity over southern England. Weather: Continuing fine and warm with cloud developing later. Main Activity: As on previous days, the Luftwaffe effort was divided up into two major attacks, the sub-formations breaking away and heading for their […]
05
Sep
06
Sep
Friday 6 September 1940
Three main attacks, largely broken up. Night: Harassing raids. Weather: Fine, but cooler. Haze in the Straits and Thames Estuary. Main Activity: Air Vice Marshal Keith Park’s orders on factory defence had been issued none too soon for on Friday the 6th Luftflotte 2 tried to attack the Hawker works at Brooklands where half the […]
07
Sep
Saturday 7 September 1940
Day bombing switched to London with a heavy attack on the capital. Night: Raids on London continue from dusk till dawn. Main objectives are the East End and Docks. Weather: Fair with some haze. Main Activity: Göring decided personally to command the assault against London, and accordingly his immaculate personal train with its cooks, telephones […]
08
Sep
Sunday 8 September 1940
Slight activity. Some small attacks on airfields. Night: Heavy raid on London, mainly in the east. Weather: Fair early morning and evening, cloudy for the remainder of the day. Main Activity: While Fighter Command examined the records of the London attack the day before, the Luftwaffe somewhat reduced the scale of its efforts on the […]
09
Sep
Monday 9 September 1940
Unsuccessful attacks on London, Thames Estuary and aircraft factories. Night: Main target is London, including the City and West End. Weather: Scattered showers, thundery in the east. Channel fair. Main Activity: Once more the morning brought respite, and attacks did not develop until the afternoon, when formations began massing in the area Calais-Boulogne. Raids of […]