Fighter sweeps towards London.

Night: Attacks on London and Merseyside.

Weather: Fine.

Enemy Action by Day

As fog and early mist began to lift across the Southeast, radar stations from Foreness to Rye detected multiple incoming formations just after 08:40 hours. The initial estimate suggested that more than 200 German aircraft were assembling in tight formations over the Channel. By 09:15 hours, they began crossing the Kent coast in several waves—some over Ramsgate, others over Deal and Folkestone, with additional elements entering via Brighton and North Foreland. Once inland, the formations fanned out in a broad arc toward Maidstone, Herne Bay, the Thames Estuary, and Essex. These were massed Bf 109 sweeps from units including JG 2, JG 26, and LG 2, sent to provoke and engage RAF fighters.

RAF Fighter Command responded by scrambling at least 14 squadrons from No. 11 Group. Hurricanes from Nos. 257, 73, 229, and 303 Squadrons, along with Spitfires from Nos. 41, 72, 92, and 603 Squadrons, engaged the German fighters over Kent and the estuary between 09:30 and 10:30 hours. The combat over Herne Bay, Gravesend, and the Isle of Sheppey resulted in a series of intense dogfights.

Among the incidents, Pilot Officer A.J.S. Patterson of No. 92 Squadron was wounded during combat over Gravesend and crash-landed near West Malling. Sergeant D.J. Aslin of No. 257 Squadron was forced to bale out over Eastchurch after his Hurricane was set alight, becoming Major Adolf Galland’s thirty-eighth confirmed victory. Moments later, Galland claimed his thirty-ninth by downing another RAF fighter. Four Hurricanes from No. 73 Squadron, scrambled from Debden, were overwhelmed by II./JG 26 and shot down over the Thames Estuary. Meanwhile, Lt. Gustav Sprick of 8./JG 26 claimed a Spitfire, raising his tally further.

RAF losses in the morning amounted to 11 fighters destroyed. Four pilots baled out and another four crash-landed. At least six RAF pilots sustained burns or serious wounds. Despite these losses, the RAF inflicted measurable damage in return. No. 92 Squadron’s Flight Lieutenant Brian Kingcombe downed a Bf 109 near Maidstone; the pilot, Feldwebel Gerhard Gryzmalla of 8./JG 26, was taken prisoner. Another 109, flown by Feldwebel Arnold Küpper, was damaged and crash-landed in a pond—he too was captured. Spitfires of No. 72 Squadron claimed a Bf 109 off Folkestone, and No. 303 (Polish) Squadron reported two victories over the Thames Estuary. Additional kills were credited to Nos. 257 and 605 Squadrons.

Luftwaffe losses totalled at least 10 Bf 109s destroyed in the morning, including losses from I.(J)/LG 2 and JG 26. Unteroffizier Friedrich Dilthey of 4./JG 2, flying Bf 109E-4 W.Nr. 1969, was attacked off Folkestone by Flt/Lt. Ian H. Cosby and Sgt. Norman V. Glew of No. 72 Squadron and forced to ditch near the pier. Wounded in the shoulder and with a broken leg, he was rescued by British soldiers and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner in Britain. Among the more dramatic incidents, Hans-Joachim Marseille of LG 2 was forced to ditch in the Channel after engine failure; he spent three hours adrift before being rescued by a Heinkel He 59 floatplane.

Midday and Afternoon Reconnaissance and Interceptions

At 11:00 hours, a lone Ju 88 on a reconnaissance mission south of the Isle of Wight was intercepted by a flight of Spitfires from No. 234 Squadron (Middle Wallop). The bomber was forced to ditch in the sea, and its crew was taken prisoner. Around the same time, further reconnaissance flights were tracked along the East Anglian coast, extending as far as Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

At approximately 13:30 hours, an Anson aircraft observing coastal artillery fire from Dover, and escorted by two Spitfires of No. 41 Squadron, was attacked by nine Bf 109s. Although the Anson was forced down, one Bf 109 was shot down and another damaged during the engagement. Meanwhile, Spitfires of No. 234 Squadron scrambled from St. Eval and intercepted another formation of Bf 109s off the coast of Cornwall.

Later in the afternoon, at 17:30 hours, about 40 German aircraft approached North Foreland, turning southwest across the Isle of Sheppey and down to Rye. Simultaneously, another group of 55 crossed between Folkestone and Dover. These two raids were met by 12 RAF squadrons from Uxbridge, but no further casualties were recorded on either side.

Enemy Action by Night

As dusk fell, the Luftwaffe began its usual night operations. Starting at 19:45 hours, waves of bombers departed from Baie de la Seine and other French airfields, crossing the coast between Beachy Head and Selsey Bill. At the same time, tracks from Antwerp and the Dutch islands crossed over Harwich and moved inland toward East Anglia, Duxford, and ultimately London.

By 21:00 hours, London was the primary target, with raids converging from all directions—10 from Cherbourg, 22 from Le Havre, 10 from Dieppe, and multiple formations from Belgium and the Netherlands. Kenley and Biggin Hill served as reference points for bombers navigating into central and west London. By 23:00 hours, new formations from the Netherlands joined returning bombers, their tracks intermingling and confusing Fighter Command’s interception efforts. Additional raids struck Newmarket, Liverpool, Preston, and the Midlands.

Among the incidents reported overnight, Clarnico’s confectionery factory in Poplar was set ablaze at 23:25 hours, trapping approximately 100 people in the shelter below. In West Ham, 24 major fires were burning by midnight, including at the LNER running shed, Dextrine Ltd., and Upton Lane School. A mine explosion in Ilford demolished 100 homes and damaged another 100. A direct hit on Mile End Underground Station killed between 30 and 50 sheltering civilians. In Wandsworth, Stevenage Wharf was bombed, damaging National Benzol petrol tanks and blocking the main rail line. Walthamstow’s Mills Equipment Co. was hit again, halting production in several factories.

Elsewhere, Eastbourne was attacked at 11:50 hours, with 28 high-explosive bombs dropped, resulting in 24 casualties and widespread damage to water and gas mains. Hastings, Bexhill, and Seaford were also hit, though with fewer casualties. At Salfords, near Redhill, an oil bomb struck the Monotype Factory at 22:09 hours. In Hertford, a mine explosion at 21:19 hours destroyed three homes and injured roughly 30 people.

A Heinkel He 111H-3 of KG 26 was reported down near Chobham during the night; the crew bailed out. A Vickers Twin Mk 8 anti-aircraft gun at Waltham Cross successfully exploded a descending parachute mine. By 03:45 hours on 24 September, only one German raid remained active in the London area.

Summary

The Luftwaffe launched two major daytime sweeps and a concentrated night assault on London. Twenty-four RAF squadrons were involved in intercepting the morning raid, with 11 British fighters destroyed and three pilots killed or missing. The RAF claimed 11 enemy aircraft destroyed, six probable, and six damaged during the day. Anti-aircraft units at Dover claimed one probable and one damaged. Luftwaffe losses during the day amounted to at least 10 Bf 109s destroyed, with additional aircraft damaged or downed on return.

The night brought one of the heaviest raids of the month, with hundreds of bombers targeting London and its infrastructure. The destruction and casualties inflicted across the capital and other regions continued the trend of nightly escalation. Fighter Command’s limited night-fighting capabilities remained ineffective against such sustained attacks, although some success was achieved by ground defences and AA fire.

Oblt. Hans ‘Assi’ Hahn of 4./JG 2 claimed his twentieth victory during the day and was awarded the Ritterkreuz upon return. Meanwhile, Lt. Hans-Herbert Landry of JG 3, who had been severely wounded and captured on 28 August, succumbed to his injuries in British custody.

German Losses:
Airmen: 14 | Aircraft: 17

British Losses:
Airmen: 3 | Aircraft: 11

Spitfire R6896, No. 234 Squadron
P/O T.M. Kane. Confirmed P.O.W. Was flying routine patrol but believed crashed in Channel off French Coast.
http://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Kane.htm

Spitfire P9371, No. 74 Squadron
Sgt D.H. Ayers. Listed as missing. Baled out into the sea south-east of Southwold, possibly hit by return fire from Do 17. Body recovered on 4/10/40.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Ayers.htm

Spitfire R7016, No. 152 Squadron
P/O W. Beaumont. Listed as missing. Failed to return from operational sortie. Last seen over the Channel.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/BeaumontW.htm

Photo Descriptions

1. A Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 of 7./JG 3 at a French airfield, September 1940.
2. Spitfires flying in formation, 1940.
3. Squadron Leader Robert Roland “Bob” Stanford Tuck DSO DFC, CO of No. 257 Squadron seated in his Hawker Hurricane at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk. On 23 September 1940, Tuck was credited with shooting down the Messerschmitt Bf 109 flown by Hans-Joachim Marseille of LG 2, who had become an ace five days earlier. © IWM (CH 1681)
4. Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 (W.Nr. 1969) of 4./JG 2 ditches in the English Channel after being attacked off Folkestone by Flt/Lt. Ian H. Cosby and Sgt. Norman V. Glew of No. 72 Squadron. The pilot, Unteroffizier Friedrich Dilthey, was rescued by British soldiers after suffering a wounded shoulder and a broken leg, and he spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner in Britain.