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. This date marked a significant shift in Germany’s strategic posture. Adolf Hitler issued Directive No. 17, formally […]
1940
01
Aug
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. Day Operations Low cloud and intermittent drizzle across southern England suppressed much of the Luftwaffe’s activity during daylight hours, but several attacks were still carried […]
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. German aerial activity remained limited, with most operations confined to shipping reconnaissance in the Channel and scattered inland raids. The Luftwaffe’s planned campaign […]
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. Enemy Action by Day The day was generally quiet, with limited Luftwaffe activity, mostly confined to sea reconnaissance and minor incursions. A number of German reconnaissance missions were observed […]
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. Enemy action by day With the return of better weather, Luftwaffe operations against Britain increased. Early in the morning, German aircraft attacked trawlers south of Selsey Bill. Several small formations were seen […]
05
Aug
Air Attack On Dover Harbour
Newsreel footage “Air Attack On Dover Harbour”, 5 August 1940. Source: British Pathé
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. Enemy Action by Day: Limited Activity amid Poor Weather The day saw a continuation of the previous day’s low tempo of operations, with the Luftwaffe showing only limited activity over Britain. Cloud cover […]
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. Enemy Action by Day Enemy operations during daylight hours were minimal. A few reconnaissance flights were plotted […]
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. Start of Phase 2 – The Battle Intensifies 8 August marked the beginning of Phase Two of the Battle of Britain. It was the first full-scale test of German resolve to dominate the skies, as the […]
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. Enemy Action by Day Air operations over southern England and the Channel were severely limited due to poor weather conditions. Despite this, several small raids approached the East Coast during […]