Targets in Kent, Sussex and Weymouth attacked.

Night: Raids on London, Liverpool, Manchester and Tyne and Tees.

Weather: Mainly fair apart from showers in coastal areas. Fog developed during the night.

Enemy Action by Day

The weather across much of southern England remained generally fair, with isolated showers in coastal regions. Fog developed during the night, curtailing later operations. RAF and Luftwaffe activity remained high throughout the day and into the night, with a combination of reconnaissance, fighter-bomber operations, and night raids on industrial and civilian targets.

Morning Engagements and Early Reconnaissance

Enemy air activity began before dawn, with reconnaissance aircraft observed between Swanage and Portsmouth from 05:00 to 06:50 hours. At 06:32 hours, several small formations of 1–3 aircraft crossed the Kent coast between Dover and the North Foreland, probing inland before returning to France. By 07:20 hours, six or more enemy aircraft, including Bf 109s and fighter-bombers, penetrated as far as Central London before withdrawing by the same route. At approximately 08:00 hours, Spitfires of No. 72 Squadron, scrambled from Biggin Hill to protect a convoy off Deal, intercepted a formation of six bomb-carrying Bf 109s. Though the attackers caused minimal damage, the engagement marked the beginning of a pattern that continued throughout the day—stream attacks by high-flying fighter-bombers that proved difficult to counter.

Major Daylight Attacks: Waves from France

At 10:20 hours, the first significant attack wave formed over the Cap Gris Nez area, followed by three more at 10:50, 11:00, and 11:30 hours, totalling over 190 aircraft. These formations—comprising primarily Bf 109s from JG 53 and JG 26, supported by a minority of bombers—crossed into Kent and Sussex. The first wave penetrated deep into Kent, while the others targeted Hastings, Folkestone, Whitstable, and the Thames Estuary. Although many bombs fell across southeastern towns, only one raid reached the outskirts of London. Spitfires of No. 66 Squadron and No. 72 Squadron, along with Hurricanes of Nos. 73 and 253 Squadrons, engaged the attackers. P/O J.H.T. Pickering of No. 66 Squadron was wounded when his Spitfire I (X4562) was shot down over Canterbury by Oberst Werner Mölders of JG 51 at 11:15 hours.

At 11:38 hours, two raids of approximately 55 aircraft each approached the Dorset coast via Poole from Cherbourg. These formations, composed of Bf 109s and bombers, failed to penetrate far inland and were dispersed by RAF fighters. At 11:50 hours, another formation of 50+ enemy aircraft crossed the coast at Hastings. A portion of this group headed toward Biggin Hill, while the remainder turned back shortly after entering English airspace.

Afternoon Attacks on London and Portland

Shortly after 14:20 hours, fresh raids began assembling over northern France. At 14:30 hours, a formation of over 60 aircraft crossed the Channel between Deal and Dungeness, moving northwest toward London. Thirteen squadrons from No. 11 Group were scrambled, with No. 12 Group reinforcing with three squadrons on patrol between Eastchurch and Canterbury. The majority of the enemy aircraft remained east of a Hornchurch–Biggin Hill line, with only one section penetrating about five miles further west. Among the raiders was a four-engined Dornier, plotted from Clacton to North Weald before turning southeast and exiting over Dover.

At 14:35 hours, a further raid of 50+ aircraft from Cherbourg advanced toward Portland. No. 10 Group dispatched five and a half squadrons to intercept. These aircraft penetrated about ten miles inland before being turned back.

A final coordinated afternoon attack commenced at 16:00 hours, when a raid of 25+ aircraft approached Dungeness and split into sections targeting the Hornchurch, Biggin Hill, and Kenley areas. Hurricanes of Nos. 73, 249, and 253 Squadrons, and Spitfires of No. 41 Squadron, engaged the formations. The air battles continued until nearly 17:00 hours, with both sides sustaining losses. No. 41 Squadron and No. 66 Squadron each lost three Spitfires. Flying Officer D.H. O’Neill of No. 41 Squadron died after his parachute failed to open when he bailed out of Spitfire X4052 following a mid-air collision with Sgt. L.R. Carter in Spitfire X4554 near West Kingsdown. Both aircraft were climbing to intercept Bf 109s.

Additional Engagements and Pilot Losses

C.A.H. Ayling of No. 421 Flight was killed in action when his Spitfire Mk II (P7303) was shot down over Newchurch at 16:00 hours. Maj. Adolf Galland of JG 26 claimed a Spitfire and a Hurricane late in the day, bringing his tally to 44 confirmed kills. Hptm. Walter Adolph of Stab II./JG 26 also claimed two Spitfires during the same period.

Convoy Patrols and Isolated Reconnaissance Flights

Throughout the day, enemy reconnaissance aircraft conducted wide-ranging patrols. Several single aircraft crossed the English coast between Selsey Bill and East Anglia, with one track running as far as Rochester and Brighton before exiting at Dover by 10:00 hours. Two aircraft were plotted reconnoitering near Newcastle from Denmark during the afternoon, while others penetrated over Aberdeen and the Firth of Forth between 18:45 and 19:54 hours. A reconnaissance was flown 100 miles east of Aberdeen by three aircraft just before dusk.

Enemy Action by Night

Night bombing operations began at 18:35 hours, with approximately 55 enemy aircraft crossing the coast from Cherbourg, Le Havre, and the Low Countries. London was again the primary objective, with bombs falling across many districts. A stick of 500-pound bombs struck Wimbledon, damaging Centre Court and destroying nearby buildings. The Lever Brothers factory at Port Sunlight sustained structural damage, but its critical plant remained intact.

At 19:35 hours, high-explosive bombs struck the City of London Electric Light Co.’s Bankside Power Station, damaging electrical feeders. At 21:00 hours, an unexploded bomb landed at the Metal Box Factory in Southgate, near civilian trench shelters.

Rail traffic was seriously disrupted. At 22:00 hours, an HE bomb passed through a Southern Railway arch near Waterloo Station, blocking all main lines. Further damage occurred at Heston due to an unexploded bomb on the Syon Lane–Isleworth section. A 24-inch water main was fractured at Leyton, where a bus was destroyed, leaving approximately 30 civilians dead and 20 injured. Bombs also damaged the Hop and Waterloo Telephone Exchanges and caused extensive fires at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton.

Elsewhere, bombs fell on Portsmouth Road at Esher, the SR lines at Vauxhall, and several towns across Dorset, Kent, Surrey, and Norfolk. Fires were started by incendiaries at Gunnersbury, Stepney, and Mitcham, with varying degrees of damage to local factories, including the Mullard Radio Valve Co.

Coastal and Maritime Operations

In coordination with RAF Bomber Command, Royal Navy vessels including HMS Revenge and supporting cruisers, destroyers, and torpedo boats conducted a bombardment of Cherbourg overnight. Fires were observed in the target area, and shore defences responded with heavy AA fire. After the bombardment ceased, German coastal batteries fired salvos with remarkable accuracy, suggesting the use of radar-directed fire control.

Off the Isle of Wight, German torpedo boats Falke, Greif, Kondor, Seeadler, and Wolf attacked Allied naval units, sinking HMT Warwick Deeping, French submarine chasers CH.6 and CH.7, and the trawler Listrac. Significant loss of life occurred, with many French sailors killed or captured.

Strategic Assessment

The Luftwaffe’s continued use of high-flying fighter-bombers, supported by aggressive Bf 109 sweeps, challenged Fighter Command’s interception efforts. While several raids failed to reach their intended targets, London and the southeast sustained further disruption. Reconnaissance flights extended deeper into British airspace than on previous days, and the night bombing campaign remained intense, though somewhat hampered by fog. Meanwhile, RAF and Royal Navy coordination on the French coast demonstrated the Allies’ growing capacity to strike back.

German Losses:
Airmen: 17 | Aircraft: 10

British Losses:
Airmen: 4 | Aircraft: 9

Spitfire X4052, No. 41 Squadron
F/O D.H. O’Neill killed. Mid-air collision with Spitfire X4554 during a battle climb to engage Bf 109s.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/ONeillDH.htm

Spitfire P9447, No. 41 Squadron
P/O J.G. Lecky killed. Shot down in combat with Bf 109s. Pilot baled out but was killed.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Lecky.htm

Spitfire P7303, No. 421 Flight
Sgt. C.A.H. Ayling killed. Aircraft crashed at Newchurch after combat with enemy aircraft over Hawkinge.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Ayling.htm

Spitfire P7323, No. 611 Squadron
Sgt. K.C. Pattison critically injured (died 13/10/40). Aircraft badly damaged by return fire from Do 17 over Kidderminster in Worcestershire.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/PattisonKC.htm

Photo Descriptions

1. Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 (“White 10”) of 1./JG 2 Richthofen taxis out to take off, October 1940.
2. Pilot Officer A.V. “Taffy” Clowes of No. 1 Squadron, climbing into his Hawker Hurricane Mark I (P3395 “JX-B”), in a revetment at RAF Wittering, Huntingdonshire, October 1940. P3395 was passed on to No. 55 Operational Training Unit on 8 November 1940. Transferred to No. 5 Flying Training School, it was written off after a wheels-up landing at Ternhill on 24 March 1942. © IWM (CH 17331)
3. Pilot Officer A V “Taffy” Clowes of No. 1 Squadron, standing by the nose of his Hawker Hurricane Mark I, P3395 ‘JX-B’, at Wittering, Huntingdonshire, October 1940. The wasp emblem was painted on the nose of his aircraft during the Battle of Britain, Clowes adding a new stripe to the body for each enemy aircraft which he shot down. His final score was at least twelve. © IWM (CH 1570)