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.
Following the intense and costly actions of 8 August, the Luftwaffe scaled back its daylight operations on 9 August, likely due to poor weather and the need to regroup after heavy losses. While reconnaissance and probing attacks continued, large-scale formations were absent. Isolated raids occurred along the east and south coasts, with scattered bombings, machine-gun attacks, and attempted strikes on barrage balloons.
In contrast, night operations saw renewed intensity, with widespread bombing and suspected minelaying along the eastern seaboard, the Thames Estuary, and the North Sea coast.
Enemy Action by Day
The morning began with scattered German raids off the Yorkshire and Norfolk coasts, most of which appeared to be reconnaissance sorties or searches for coastal shipping. Three Spitfires of No. 234 Squadron were dispatched towards an aircraft reported twenty-five miles east of Southwold, but the raider withdrew before they could intercept it.
11:40–11:52 Hours: Raid on Sunderland
At approximately 11:40 hours, a lone He 111H-3, coded 1H+EK, of 7./KG 26 crossed the coast near Sunderland and dropped fourteen high-explosive bombs. The shipyards at Laing’s, a railway bridge, Bonners Field and the Monkwearmouth Station Hotel were struck, killing four civilians and injuring seventy-eight.
Yellow Section of No. 79 Squadron—Flight Lieutenant R.F.H. Clerke, Sergeant J. Wright and Pilot Officer G.H. Nelson-Edwards—intercepted the Heinkel as it withdrew across the coast. Following a sustained attack, the damaged bomber came down in the sea off Whitburn at approximately 11:52 hours.
Unteroffizier Otto Denner, Feldwebel Willi Haertel, Unteroffizier August Karkos and Unteroffizier Fritz Meinekat were rescued and taken prisoner. Karkos and Meinekat had been wounded during the engagement.
Another He 111, coded 5J+CK, of 2./KG 4 was later shot down by anti-aircraft fire near Flamborough Head. Feldwebel Richard Schmitt, Feldwebel Hans Geisdorf, Gefreiter Herbert Hebeld and Gefreiter Willi Soffel were all killed.
13:00–17:00 Hours: Reconnaissance and Harassing Raids
Between 13:00 and 17:00 hours, enemy reconnaissance flights were noted along a route stretching from the Isle of Wight up the Channel towards Dungeness, while other patrols extended westward towards Falmouth and the area south of Start Point and Portland Bill. These appeared to be meteorological or reconnaissance sorties rather than coordinated attacks.
Between 14:00 and 14:20 hours, an enemy aircraft was observed conducting reconnaissance off Spurn Head, and was later reported to have reconnoitred a convoy. RAF observers believed this may have been connected to a possible submarine rendezvous between 70 and 90 miles northeast of Haisborough Light—an area where similar loitering behaviour had been reported on 1 August and again the previous night.
During the day’s scattered interceptions, Pilot Officer W.M. Sizer of No. 213 Squadron, flying Hurricane N2650, claimed a Ju 88 damaged.
15:55–17:25 Hours: Fighter Combat
Late in the afternoon, a section of three Spitfires from a ten-aircraft patrol by No. 64 Squadron was surprised by Bf 109s, believed to have belonged to JG 26. All three Spitfires were damaged during the ensuing combat.
Sergeant J. “Jackie” Mann, flying Spitfire R6995, met one of the Messerschmitts almost head-on. Neither pilot gave way until the aircraft narrowly passed one another, and cannon fire tore away the Spitfire’s pitot head, leaving Mann without an airspeed indicator. He nevertheless succeeded in landing safely by judging his speed by feel.
Spitfire R6639, flown by Pilot Officer C.J.D. Andreae, and R6992, flown by Pilot Officer A.G. Donahue, were also damaged, but both pilots returned safely. No victories were claimed by the squadron.
16:45 Hours: Loss off Dunbar
Sergeant R.D. Ritchie of No. 605 Squadron reported a glycol leak in Hurricane L2103 and warned that the fumes were making him drowsy. Shortly afterwards, the Hurricane crashed into the sea approximately one mile off Dunbar.
The motor yacht Eunmara reached the scene and recovered Ritchie, but he had suffered a broken neck in the impact and was already dead.
16:50 Hours: Attacks on Dover
At 16:50 hours, two Messerschmitt Bf 109s carried out a low-level machine-gun attack on Dover Harbour. RAF fighters were dispatched to intercept and engaged the attackers, but no hits were confirmed and the Messerschmitts escaped.
Later in the evening, four separate raids approached Dover, targeting the town’s barrage balloon defences. The attacks were unsuccessful, and two RAF squadrons sent to intercept reported no visual contact with the raiders.
Bomber Command Activity
No. 2 Group dispatched fifteen Blenheims against airfields and other targets in France and the Low Countries, but poor weather prevented all but two of the aircraft from locating suitable objectives.
Pilot Officer J.L.G. “Gerry” Glaister of No. 82 Squadron reached Guernsey in Blenheim T1796 and found the airfield crowded with Bf 109s and transport aircraft. He bombed the airfield, claimed a direct hit on a Ju 52 and machine-gunned several other aircraft on the ground.
Leutnant Wilhelm Heidemeier of 2./JG 53 took off to intercept the Blenheim but failed to make contact. While landing, his Bf 109 struck a flak position, killing three men and injuring two others; Heidemeier was seriously injured.
The other Blenheim to locate a target was R3902, flown by Sergeant Hunt, which attacked a flying-boat base near Brest. Approximately twelve flying boats were reported in the harbour, and Hunt’s crew bombed the base before machine-gunning the aircraft below.
Enemy Action by Night
Around 21:00 hours, a lone raid entered Kent and dropped bombs near Chatham. At approximately the same time, six raids crossed the coast between Plymouth and Portsmouth after approaching from the Cherbourg area.
Several raids believed to be engaged in minelaying were reported in the Thames Estuary, off Harwich and between Cromer and Great Yarmouth. Additional formations appeared off the Tyne and the Wash before steering north-westwards.
Between midnight and 01:00 hours, approximately twelve raids, many of them assessed as minelayers, were active between Aberdeen and the Wash. Other aircraft dropped bombs over East Anglia, North London, Weymouth, Gloucester, North Devon and the Mersey area.
KG 26 continued its attacks around Wearmouth, while twelve He 111s of II./KG 27 were dispatched to bomb RAF Filton and scatter propaganda leaflets shortly before midnight.
23:00 Hours: Friendly Fire over Westgate
During a night patrol off the Kent coast, Blenheim IF L8679, coded BQ-O, of No. 600 Squadron suffered an engine failure. Flight Lieutenant S.P. le Rougetel turned towards the coast, but at approximately 23:00 hours the crippled aircraft was fired upon by British anti-aircraft guns near Westgate.
Unable to reach RAF Northolt, le Rougetel and his gunner, Sergeant E.C. Smith, baled out over the sea before the Blenheim crashed nearby. Smith swam ashore at Westgate, while le Rougetel was found by the Margate lifeboat after the crew spotted the luminous dial of his wristwatch in the darkness. Both airmen survived.
German Losses:
Airmen: 13 | Aircraft: 6
British Losses:
Airmen: 1 | Aircraft: 3
Hurricane L2103, No. 605 Squadron. Crashed into sea.
Sgt R.D. Ritchie killed. Crashed into sea after aircraft had glycol leak. Rescued by boat, pilot dead.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/RitchieRD.htm
Photo Descriptions
- A Heinkel He 111 bomber in flight. Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-647-5211-33 / Wilzek / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
- Bren gun carriers of the 53rd Striking Force, Royal Armoured Corps, passing through Amesbury in Wiltshire, 9 August 1940. © IWM (H 2919)