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.
On this day, the Luftwaffe General Staff formalised its operational plan for the aerial destruction of RAF Fighter Command, known as Adlerangriff (Eagle Attack). The campaign was to unfold in three phases, beginning with widespread strikes within a 90-to-60-mile radius of London, followed by increasingly concentrated attacks leading up to assaults within a 30-mile radius.
Luftflotten 2 and 3, based in France and the Low Countries, would bear the brunt of the offensive, supported by Luftflotte 5 operating from Norway. The plan outlined an ambitious timetable and placed enormous pressure on German aircrews to achieve air superiority in little more than two weeks.
Enemy Action by Day
Enemy activity during daylight hours was dominated by reconnaissance flights. Four aircraft operated between Swanage and Land’s End, while another flew inland from St Alban’s Head towards Bristol and Cardiff. One of the raiders reportedly attacked a trawler, whose crew claimed to have shot the aircraft down off St Alban’s Head.
The aircraft involved was not identified, and its destruction could not be confirmed.
Further reconnaissance flights were reported off the Isle of Wight, near Beachy Head and over Wexford. Coastal patrol vessels were also bombed, while several RAF fighter sections sent to investigate the raids failed to make contact.
Another aircraft reconnoitred the Dover Straits, while German patrols operated between Pevensey and Dover. During the afternoon, four formations, each estimated to contain approximately fifteen aircraft, approached the English coast but turned back before crossing it.
Fighter Command made no successful interceptions during these incidents.
Along the East Anglian coast, reconnaissance tracks were plotted near Harwich, Cromer and Orfordness, where a convoy was observed by German aircraft.
Between 11:00 and 16:00 hours, meteorological reconnaissance flights were detected around the Orkney Islands and St Abb’s Head. Later in the day, another aircraft was plotted approximately twenty-five miles east of Aberdeen.
Numerous German aircraft were also tracked over northern France, although few approached the British coast.
16:30 Hours: Engagement over the North Sea
At approximately 16:30 hours, three Blenheim IFs of No. 235 Squadron encountered a Heinkel He 115 of 1./Küstenfliegergruppe 106 over the North Sea. The Blenheims were flown by Flight Lieutenant Andrew Fletcher, Flying Officer Reginald Peacock and Pilot Officer Richard Westlake, while the German floatplane, coded MH+FH, was commanded by Oberleutnant Willi Gaul.
The three Blenheims attacked in succession and their crews believed that they had destroyed the Heinkel. Despite sustaining damage, however, the German aircraft escaped and returned to its base. During the engagement, fire from the He 115’s radio operator and rear gunner struck one of the Blenheims between the cockpit and starboard engine. The German crew claimed the fighter damaged, but all three Blenheims returned and neither side suffered a confirmed loss.
Coastal Command Activity
A Blenheim of No. 53 Squadron, L9475, failed to return from patrol. Pilot Officer Hugh Christopher Corbett, Sergeant Sydney Ernest Riddington and Sergeant Kenneth William Crane were posted missing and subsequently presumed killed.
Hudson T9282 of No. 206 Squadron took off at 20:40 hours for an evening patrol over the North Sea but also failed to return. Pilot Officer John Allan Gilbert and Sergeants Benjamin Peter Gannon, William Logan Johnston and Patrick William Swinson were all lost.
Bomber Command Activity
At 06:07 hours, Blenheim L9239 of No. 139 Squadron departed for an attack against German airfields in the Cherbourg area. The aircraft failed to return and crashed near Nacqueville, killing Flying Officer Arthur Richard Bryan Tedder, Sergeant Donald Francis Spencer and Sergeant Owen Patrick Evans.
Other Blenheim formations attacked German airfields along the occupied coast. Blenheim T1883 of No. 107 Squadron was damaged during an attack on Schiphol but returned safely, while Blenheim R3897 of No. 114 Squadron was hit while strafing Mardyck. Flight Lieutenant Simon Maude was slightly wounded, but the aircraft and its crew reached England.
During the night, Bomber Command attacked targets in Germany and the occupied territories. Hampden P4351 of No. 49 Squadron bombed the battleship Gneisenau at Kiel but exhausted its fuel while returning to England. At 06:40 hours the following morning, the bomber ditched approximately ten miles east of Skegness. Sergeant J. Unsworth, Sergeant D.S. Imber, Sergeant A.G. MacDonald and Leading Aircraftman J.E.G. Allwood were rescued uninjured by the trawler HMT Sheraton.
Wellingtons of No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron attacked the synthetic-oil refinery at Gelsenkirchen. On the return journey, Wellington R3176 suffered engine trouble in poor weather and crashed at Barton Mills at 04:20 hours. Squadron Leader W.I. Collett was killed; Pilot Officer A.G.L. Humphreys, Flight Sergeant E.O. Williams and Sergeants J.G. Simpkin and R.G. Holford were injured, while Pilot Officer Ferriss escaped unhurt.
Operational Accident
At approximately 19:00 hours, Fairey Battle L5110 of No. 253 Squadron suffered an engine fire near Tanfield, County Durham, while being ferried from Northolt to Turnhouse. Sergeant John Anthony Anderson and Leading Aircraftman Noel Desmond Ricks abandoned the aircraft by parachute and were injured. The Battle crashed and was written off.
Enemy Action by Night
From 21:35 hours, a raid crossed the coast near Southend and continued towards North Weald, while a splinter raid headed towards Chelmsford. Another aircraft penetrated the London Central area before turning away.
From approximately 22:45 hours, several aircraft crossed the East Anglian coast and continued inland. Other raiders entered near Weymouth and flew across South Wales towards Crewe, Liverpool, Manchester and Bradford. At approximately 01:00 hours, another aircraft reached the Leeds area before turning south towards Digby and North Weald and finally leaving the coast near Beachy Head.
Fog covered much of the area between the Thames Estuary and Duxford, making interception difficult.
Bombing was reported between Kinnaird’s Head and the Firth of Forth, while suspected minelaying aircraft operated over the Thames Estuary, East Anglia and the coast between the Humber and Berwick. A Ju 88 also passed at low altitude over the searchlight position at Wembury Cliff, where the gun crew fired down upon the aircraft as it crossed the emplacement.
Two aircraft were plotted near Pembroke, while numerous tracks were detected around Scotland. Five separate raids were reported between Flamborough Head and the Orkney Islands.
At 22:16 hours, two Heinkel He 111s of I./KG 55 bombed the Bristol Aeroplane Company works at Filton. Unexploded ordnance was also reported at Laindon Hills following an attack at approximately 21:55 hours.
German aircraft dropped copies of Hitler’s recent speech over Essex and parts of south-eastern England, including Epping, Tonbridge and Waltham Cross. A small explosive charge was attached to one bundle recovered near Tonbridge during the early hours.
A Heinkel He 111P of 7./KG 55, coded G1+IR, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire during the night. Oberfeldwebel Gerhard Geisler and Unteroffiziere Karl Ohmann, Walter Weber, Werner Thieme and Friedrich Westphal were killed.
A Dornier Do 17P of 3.(F)/14 was also lost for an undetermined reason. Oberleutnants Rolf Völkel and Hellmuth Schäfer and Feldwebel Adolf Poppe were killed.
Fleet Air Arm Activity
Four Albacores of No. 826 Squadron were prepared for an attack against the oil-storage tanks at Vlaardingen. Dense fog prevented three aircraft from taking off, but the remaining Albacore reached and bombed the target before returning safely to RAF North Coates.
Six Swordfish of No. 812 Squadron also attacked Vlaardingen. Swordfish P4007, coded G3Q, was probably brought down by anti-aircraft fire; Acting Sub-Lieutenant (A) Ralph Eborn and Lieutenant Timothy Johnston of the Royal Marines were killed. A second Swordfish, coded G3B, exhausted its fuel while returning and ditched in the North Sea, but its crew were rescued by HMS Jupiter.
German Losses:
Airmen: 11 | Aircraft: 6
British Losses:
Airmen: 0 | Aircraft: 0
Photo Description
- Heinkel He 111H bombers of Kampfgeschwader 1 (KG 1) at rest in France, Summer 1940. Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-385-0582-06 / Wanderer, W. / CC-BY-SA 3.0.