Reduced activity, attacks mainly over Thames Estuary and East London.

Night: Raids on London and Merseyside.

Weather: Showery.

Enemy Action by Day

Following the indefinite postponement of Operation Sea Lion, the Luftwaffe shifted its focus to sustained reconnaissance and scattered harassment raids across southern and eastern England. Though no large-scale assaults occurred, the day was marked by persistent probing attacks, including photo-reconnaissance flights and isolated bombing raids. Activity was especially noticeable over the Thames Estuary, East London, and coastal shipping lanes. Fighter Command remained on alert throughout the day, scrambling interceptors in response to individual intrusions.

The first major intrusion occurred at 09:50 hours, when a lone aircraft crossed the coast at Beachy Head, proceeded over London, and continued northward as far as Sutton Bridge. It was intercepted and shot down near Newmarket by RAF fighters at approximately 10:50 hours. At 10:45 hours, a second enemy aircraft made a pass over Harwich and turned northwest inland. This Ju 88 was intercepted near a coastal convoy off Orfordness and destroyed.

Shortly after 11:00 hours, a formation of Ju 88s from KG 77 approached the London area from the southeast. They were engaged over North Kent by Hurricanes from No. 249 Squadron and No. 302 (Polish) Squadron. The formation broke up under pressure, and one Ju 88 was confirmed destroyed by Flying Officer J. Kowalski of No. 302 Squadron at 11:30 hours. The aircraft crashed near Bury St Edmunds. Another bomber sustained engine damage and crash-landed near Cambridge.

Reconnaissance flights continued throughout the day. At 14:42 hours, radar tracked a single Ju 88 approaching from 60 miles south of Tangmere. It crossed the coast near Selsey Bill and proceeded inland via Kenley and Northolt toward Peterborough. It eventually made a forced landing at Oakington airfield, reportedly intact, with bombs still on board. The crew was captured. The aircraft belonged to 4.(F)/121 and had suffered engine trouble after engagement with British fighters.

Elsewhere, two aircraft were destroyed during reconnaissance activity over Kent and Sussex, with one further aircraft listed as a probable. Throughout the day, numerous single-aircraft sorties were conducted over South Wales, East Anglia, and the Liverpool area. These often evaded detection until they were well inland, leading to speculation about gaps in radar coverage. Some were noted as having approached Liverpool from Wales without prior radar plotting, while others vanished from detection north of Milford Haven.

Convoy patrols continued through the afternoon. Spitfires of No. 152 Squadron from Warmwell were scrambled following radar contact with unidentified aircraft near Swanage. Two Spitfires engaged a Ju 88 over the Channel. Using alternate quarter attacks, they scored repeated hits. The Ju 88 was damaged and eventually dived into the sea. The loss is believed to correspond with a Ju 88 of 1./KG 51, recorded as missing over the Channel. Crew members Oberfeldwebel Luckard and Unteroffizier Henker were killed; Feldwebel Walter and Gefreiter Roeder were listed as missing.

Scattered reconnaissance continued into the evening. A total of four enemy aircraft were destroyed by RAF fighters during the day, with one additional probable. Despite limited operations, the Luftwaffe lost a further five aircraft in incidents over France and Belgium, including crash-landings caused by mechanical failure or return fire.

Enemy Action by Night

At 19:50 hours, radar detected several enemy aircraft forming over the North Sea. Two formations entered the Liverpool area from the west, while others approached the Thames Estuary. At 19:56 hours, a “Red” warning was issued for London as enemy aircraft flew up the Estuary at 20,000 feet. By 21:00 hours, around six raids were active over the capital, while others were plotted over Kent, the Isle of Wight, and mid-Wales.

Bombing across London began at 21:00 hours. Heston Aerodrome in Middlesex sustained serious damage, with a hangar and multiple buildings destroyed. Thirteen aircraft were affected, including PRU Spitfires, a Wellington bomber, and a Lockheed 12A used by photojournalist Sidney Cotton. In Tottenham, a direct hit on the entrance to a public trench shelter in Lordship Lane resulted in approximately sixty casualties. Other London districts, including Edmonton, Willesden, and Golders Green, also suffered bomb damage, though less severe.

At 21:30 hours, continued incursions were confined to the sector between Harwich and the Isle of Wight. The west began to clear as formations left Wales and shifted southward to Somerset and Devon. Enemy aircraft persisted in the London area and East Anglia until well after midnight.

At 00:23 hours on 20 September, a Dornier was reported shot down near Kenley by anti-aircraft fire. In Essex, a He 111 of 3./KG 55 was downed by AA fire during the raid on London. Another He 111 was pursued by Hurricanes over the Thames Estuary and was last seen losing altitude over the North Sea. At Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire, a He 111 crew was captured after their bomber was brought down by AA guns. Additional bombers were reported damaged or missing over Cheshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire.

Damage Assessments and Civilian Impact

Several RAF stations sustained damage during the night raids. At 00:50 hours, Scampton reported three craters on the landing ground. Lyneham was hit at 16:10 hours, with two high-explosive bombs and one oil incendiary causing a direct hit on a hangar. Eight civilian casualties were reported. Chivenor was attacked at 20:10 hours by 25 incendiaries, though the extent of the damage is unknown.

In London, industrial and governmental buildings were affected. Edmonton’s De La Rue, Thomas & Co. factory halted production due to an unexploded bomb. Windows were shattered at the Projectile & Engineering Co. in Battersea. At Willesden, George Kent Ltd. was struck, and an unexploded bomb was reported in the East Wing. Fire damaged the Foreign Office roof, while a burst water main affected the Scottish Office. At 02:19 hours, Whitehall was blocked due to high-explosive damage between Parliament Square and Whitehall Place.

Elsewhere, Southend was hit by bombs at 10:00 hours. Seven homes were destroyed, and several others damaged. Gas, water, and electric mains were disrupted, and a fire was ignited. At 10:25 hours, Tilbury Fort’s military quarters sustained unspecified damage. In Lewisham, a parachute mine dropped at 02:40 hours on 20 September in the grounds of the Ladywell Institution forced the evacuation of 900 people.

In Merseyside, high-explosive and incendiary bombs caused damage to homes, a church, and key infrastructure. In Liverpool, a fire broke out on the roof of the electricity station, but supply remained uninterrupted. An unexploded bomb at the Automatic Telephone Company’s factory led to the evacuation of 800 workers. In Birkenhead, rail sheds and tracks were hit near Morpeth Docks; a barge loaded with steel billets was sunk, and a hydraulic main was fractured.

Enemy and RAF Losses

Luftwaffe losses on 19 September totalled ten aircraft, several of which crashed during internal transfer flights or due to technical failure. No RAF aircraft were lost in combat, marking just the second day during the Battle of Britain with no RAF fatalities. One Hurricane of No. 257 Squadron suffered an engine failure on convoy patrol but landed safely.

Strategic Context

On the German side, Adolf Hitler issued a formal directive confirming the indefinite postponement of Operation Sea Lion. All preparations for the invasion of Britain were suspended, and the Channel invasion fleet was ordered dispersed. Troops previously assigned to the invasion began redeploying to other fronts, including Eastern Europe and Crete, in preparation for future operations.

Despite the decision, there was no let-up in German air activity. Berlin’s press portrayed the RAF as murderers following a Bomber Command raid on Bethel, while simultaneously boasting of Luftwaffe strikes on British cities. The German government sought to continue air attacks as a means of breaking British morale, though the results increasingly revealed the opposite: civil resistance and resolve remained firm amid ongoing raids.

German Losses:
Airmen: 22 | Aircraft: 10

British Losses:
Airmen: 0 | Aircraft: 0

Photo Descriptions

1. Junkers Ju 88A-1 (3Z+GH) lies in a school field at Culford Park near Bury St Edmunds on 19 September 1940, inspected by RAF specialists. The bomber had been bound for London when it was intercepted over north Kent by fighters of No. 249 Squadron from North Weald and No. 302 (Polish) Squadron from Duxford. It was claimed destroyed by Pilot Officer Julian Kowalski of B Flight, No. 302 Squadron at 11:30 hours near Mildenhall. The Ju 88, from 1./KG 77, crashed with three crew killed; the pilot, Unteroffizier Ernst Etzold, survived wounded and was taken prisoner.
2. A wide view of the damage sustained by the Peter Robinson department store at Oxford Circus, following an air raid on London. Half of the front of the building has been destroyed and large mounds of rubble are piled outside, September 1940. © IWM (D 1096)
3. Squadron Leader B J E ‘Sandy’ Lane, the Commanding Officer of No. 19 Squadron RAF (facing camera), relaxes with some of his pilots in the Squadron crew room at Manor Farm, Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire, September 1940. © IWM (CH 1461)
4. Surviving pilots of No. 601 Squadron pose on a tractor used to negotiate the muddy conditions on the airfield at Exeter, Devon. No. 601 Squadron suffered crippling losses during the Battle of Britain and moved to Exeter on 7 September 1940 after being classified as overdue for rest and training of new pilots, (Class ‘C’). Among the pilots identified are two flight commanders, Flight Lieutenant W P Clyde (first left) and Flying Officer T Grier (second left), who shot down nine and one shared, and eight and four shared, enemy aircraft respectively during the air battles over France and Britain. © IWM (CH 17324)