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
Luftwaffe activity remained relatively limited as increasingly cloudy conditions curtailed operational flying over the Channel and northern France. During daylight hours, German aircraft conducted a number of reconnaissance flights, focusing primarily on the south coast, the Isle of Wight and the Bristol Channel. These missions appeared aimed at observing convoy movements, weather conditions and RAF responses.
A convoy was anchored in St Helen’s Roads, Isle of Wight, due to dense fog, likely drawing the attention of multiple Luftwaffe patrols. Four separate raids approached the convoy during the day, but all turned back upon the arrival of RAF fighter patrols. Interceptions were attempted, but visibility and low cloud hampered effective engagements. The Observer Corps reported that at least one raid over the Isle of Wight may have been intercepted, although there is no record of an engagement.
Two further raids crossed the southern coast during the day. One passed inland near Poole, tracked over Southampton, and exited to sea again over Portsmouth. The second entered near Bournemouth, flew over Middle Wallop and Upavon, and exited over Poole, fading out in the direction of the Baie de la Seine.
Enemy incursions on the east coast were few. At 14:46 hours, a single aircraft was plotted off Whitby, flying inland over Thornaby, then back out to sea over Flamborough Head, where it passed above a convoy before fading. Elsewhere, only four raids were reported along the southeast coast, including brief appearances off Pevensey and Dover, but none penetrated inland.
Further north, three raids were plotted—two likely being meteorological flights. One reconnaissance flight, potentially by a Heinkel He 111, approached to within fifteen miles of Kinnaird’s Head before turning back. Off the West Country, six reconnaissance tracks crossed Cornwall towards the Bristol Channel and South Wales, with five more flights probing shipping lanes along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall.
One unidentified enemy aircraft loitered between seventy and 100 miles northeast of Dunkery Beacon, flying on various courses in what appeared to be a prolonged search or reporting patrol.
RAF fighter patrols were scrambled several times in response to the coastal sightings, but poor visibility frustrated most interception attempts. The day’s only confirmed air combat occurred over the Channel off Le Havre.
16:50 Hours: Combat off Le Havre
At approximately 16:50 hours, three Blenheims of No. 236 Squadron were escorting Blenheim TR-Z of No. 59 Squadron during an armed reconnaissance sortie off Le Havre when four Bf 109s of 1./JG 2 attacked the formation. German motor minesweepers near the port also came under attack during the sortie.
Pilot Officer Charles B.G. Peachment’s Blenheim L8684, ND-D, was repeatedly struck during the fighting. Bullets damaged both wings, the oil system, tail and port engine, but Peachment managed to keep the crippled aircraft airborne and recross the Channel. He landed safely at Ford at 17:35 hours, and neither he nor his wireless operator and air gunner, Sergeant Joseph Lowe, was injured.
Feldwebel Rudolf Täschner of 1./JG 2 claimed a Blenheim probably destroyed during the engagement. L8684 had been severely damaged but remained repairable.
At 13:00 hours, Middle Wallop Sector officially came under the command of No. 10 Group as part of Fighter Command’s ongoing structural adjustments. With this change, No. 238 Squadron (Hurricanes), No. 604 Squadron (Blenheims), and Nos. 152 and 609 Squadrons (Spitfires) came under No. 10 Group operational control.
16:10 Hours: Training Accident near Beverley
At 16:10 hours, Sergeant John Patrick Walsh of No. 616 Squadron was killed when Spitfire N3271 entered an unrecoverable spin from 5,000 feet during a practice dogfight. The aircraft crashed between the villages of Wawne and Swine, southeast of Beverley. Walsh was twenty years old and was subsequently buried in Harrow Cemetery, Middlesex.
19:45 Hours: Blenheim Lost at Collyweston
At 19:45 hours, Blenheim L1356 of No. 23 Squadron suffered an engine failure during formation practice and caught fire while landing at Collyweston. Pilot Officer Derek Alan Willans and the remaining members of the crew escaped unhurt, but the aircraft was destroyed.
Bomber Command Activity
At 15:30 hours, Wellington R3283 of No. 9 Squadron landed heavily at Wyton while carrying a full bomb load. The port wing collapsed at the centre section, slightly injuring Acting Flight Lieutenant Thomas Gresham Kirby-Green. The other five men aboard escaped unhurt. Although the damaged Wellington was retained for instructional purposes, it did not return to flying service.
At 17:05 hours, Blenheim R3771 of No. 15 Squadron dived into the ground and exploded near Norbury, approximately ten miles southwest of Crewe, during a fighter-affiliation exercise. The aircraft had been undertaking evasive manoeuvres below the authorised minimum altitude of 4,000 feet. Pilot Officer Michael Hohnen, Sergeant Harold Norman Beard, Sergeant William Watson and Acting Flying Officer Ian Welsh Sutherland were killed.
Enemy Action by Night
Fog settled heavily across southern England overnight, significantly limiting Luftwaffe activity. Fewer than six raids were plotted, with the majority being small, single-aircraft flights.
At around 23:00 hours, two raids crossed the coast near Immingham, triggering air-raid warnings over Hull and Grimsby. Simultaneously, two further aircraft passed inland over Harwich, tracking northwest into the Midlands as far as Derby, then returning via London and exiting over the Kent coast.
A third raider flew into East Anglia, seemingly in search of RAF aerodromes near Cambridge, though no bomb damage was reported. At 00:14 hours, a bomb struck the military camp at Kennett, Cambridgeshire, killing one soldier and injuring twelve others.
Despite the reduced activity, widespread concern was caused by the renewed German leaflet campaign. Propaganda packets containing Hitler’s 19 July “Appeal to Reason” speech were dropped at various locations across Wales, Yorkshire and the West Country, including Langstone, Raglan, Glais, Helmsley, Wass, Elan Valley, Clydach, Rogerstone and Christchurch, Monmouthshire.
German Losses:
Airmen: 2 | Aircraft: 2
British Losses:
Airmen: 1 | Aircraft: 1
Spitfire N3271, No. 616 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
Sgt J.P. Walsh killed. Spun out of control from 5,000 ft during combat practice.
Photo Description
- A Junkers Ju 88 bomber, Channel Islands, 1940. Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-402-0270-05A / Bachor / CC-BY-SA 3.0.