Convoys and shipping in the Channel raided

Night: Minelaying in the Firth of Forth and Thames Estuary. Reconnaissance over Bristol and Channel area.

Weather: Fine day with haze in the Straits of Dover. Winds north-westerly and light.

Main Activity:

At 1207 hours, a large formation of Messerschmitt Bf 109s from III/JG 52 approached Dover at low altitude, only to be intercepted by Spitfires from No. 65 Squadron. In the engagement, one German fighter collided with the sea and was lost.

By 1245 hours, a fierce dogfight erupted near Dover as twenty Hurricanes from Nos. 32 and 615 Squadrons engaged more than forty Bf 109s. One Hurricane was severely damaged during the battle. As the fighters disengaged, a new threat emerged—sixty Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers from II/StG 1 and IV/LG 1 began their assault on the convoy codenamed PEEWIT, traversing the Dover Straits. Nine Spitfires from No. 54 Squadron were scrambled to assist but were ambushed by Bf 109s of III/JG 26, resulting in the loss of two Spitfires.

At 1430 hours, the attacks intensified as thirty Junkers Ju 88 bombers from III/KG 4, escorted by over fifty Bf 109s, targeted PEEWIT. Spitfires from Nos. 64 and 610 Squadrons, supported by Hurricanes from No. 111 Squadron, intercepted the raid. The coordinated response successfully disrupted the attack, though two Spitfires were lost and another two damaged. One Bf 109 was confirmed destroyed during the engagement.

The convoy faced yet another assault at approximately 1715 hours when Ju 87 Stukas from II/LG 1 and III/StG 1 launched a devastating attack off Folkestone. The raid resulted in the sinking of five ships and severe damage to four more. Hurricanes from No. 56 Squadron, along with Spitfires from Nos. 54, 64, and 610 Squadrons, intercepted the attackers, shooting down two Ju 87s and two Bf 109s. However, two Spitfires were also lost during the confrontation.

By the end of the day, PEEWIT had suffered catastrophic losses. Eleven out of twenty-one ships were sunk, and another seven were damaged, along with the British destroyers HMS Boreas and HMS Brilliant. Both destroyers had been dispatched from Dover to engage German E-boats but sustained damage during the operations. The heavy toll underscored the ferocity of the Luftwaffe’s assault and the immense challenges faced by the RAF and Royal Navy in defending the Channel convoys.

German Losses
Airmen: 19 | Aircraft: 19

British Losses
Airmen: 7 | Aircraft: 9

Spitfire P9451, No. 64 Squadron. Lost at sea.
F/O A.J.O. Jeffrey. Killed. Was last seen crashing into the Channel. Body washed up on Dutch coast.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Jeffrey.htm

Spitfire R6707, No. 54 Squadron. Lost at sea.
F/Lt B.H. “Wonky” Way. Presumed drowned. Shot down by Bf 109 and crashed into Channel.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/WayBH.htm

Spitfire R6693, No. 610 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
S/L A.T. Smith. Killed. Crashed and burnt out after stalling on landing. Previously in combat with Bf 109.
http://bbm.org.uk/airmen/SmithAT.htm

Spitfire L1035, No. 64 Squadron. Lost at sea.
Sub/Lt F.D. Paul. Died of Injuries. Shot down by Bf 109, captured by a German E-boat but died five days later.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Dawson-Paul.htm

Spitfire R6816, No. 54 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
P/O A. Finnie. Killed. Hit by gunfire from Bf 109 and crashed at Kingsdown, near Dover.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Finnie.htm

Spitfire P9493, No. 234 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
P/O G.K. Gout. Killed. Crashed just outside town. Circumstances not known.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Gout.htm

Photo Descriptions:

  1. Blenheim Mk IFs of No. 25 Squadron at Martlesham Heath, 25 July 1940. The foreground aircraft is equipped with AI Mk III radar. The squadron was used for night fighter operations. © IWM (HU 104651, HU 104652)
  2. Blenheim Mk IF of No. 25 Squadron taxying at Martlesham Heath, watched by air and ground crews, 25 July 1940. © IWM (HU 104653)
  3. Two armourers service the machine guns of a Hawker Hurricane Mk I of No. 85 Squadron, while a third unpacks belts of .303 inch ammunition at RAF Debden, 25 July 1940. © IWM (HU 54510)
  4. Hawker Hurricane Mk I P3166 VY-Q, flown by the CO of No. 85 Squadron, Sqn Ldr Peter Townsend, taxiing out at Castle Camps, 25 July 1940. © IWM (HU 104488)
  5. HMS Boreas (H77) under attack by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers on 25 July 1940 after engaging German E-boats off Dover Harbour. Her bridge was hit twice by bombs that killed one officer and twenty crewmen. Boreas was under repair at Millwall Dock until 23 January 1941.
  6. Bystanders gather around the wreckage of a Junkers Ju 88A (9K+GN) of 5./KG 51 at Oakridge near Stroud in Gloucestershire. The bomber had been tasked to attack the Gloster Aircraft Factory at Hucclecote on 25 July 1940 when it was intercepted by two Hurricanes of the Airfield Defence Flight, No.4 Ferry Pilot’s Pool, RAF Kemble. Pilot Officers R.G. Manlove and C.A. Bird intercepted the Junkers, but in the attack Plt Off Bird collided with the bomber’s tail causing the enemy aircraft to crash at Lower Weir Farm, Oakridge. The four-man crew of the Ju 88 baled out, although one of them was killed when his parachute failed to open. Plt Off Bird was killed in the collision. © IWM (HU 69164)