Quiet in the morning, airfield attacks in the south and south-east later in the day.
Night: Further attack on Liverpool with diversionary raids in the Midlands.
Weather: Showers and bright intervals. Cloud in the Channel and Straits.
Enemy Action by Day
The morning passed with little activity, apart from hostile reconnaissance flights over Guildford, Weymouth Bay, and along the Sussex coast. A small raid damaged RAF Warmwell, but caused little disruption. Meanwhile, Luftflotte 2 launched its most extensive fighter sweep to date over southern England, involving more than 700 aircraft, including 560 Bf 109s and over 150 Bf 110s. Despite their scale, Fighter Command made no direct response to these provocations. Confident in this apparent dominance, Luftwaffe leadership proclaimed that air superiority over southern England had been secured.
At 15:10, a formation of nine German aircraft, likely Bf 109s from JG 26 or JG 51, crossed the coast at Dover, heading on a southwest track toward Tangmere. Moments later, a much larger wave of approximately 170 aircraft – comprising Bf 109s from JG 3, JG 26, and JG 51, and Bf 110s from ZG 26 and V.(Z)/LG 1, operating under Jagdfliegerführer 1 and 2 of Luftflotte 2 – swept inland in the direction of Biggin Hill, likely as part of a massive Freie Jagd (free hunt) or diversionary fighter sweep.
RAF Fighter Command scrambled multiple squadrons to intercept the raid, including No. 85 Squadron (Croydon), No. 151 Squadron (North Weald), and No. 603 Squadron (Hornchurch). Interceptions took place over Kent and parts of Sussex, with heavy maneuvering but limited decisive combat. Nonetheless, four German fighters were confirmed shot down, with another brought down by anti-aircraft fire. Despite the scale of the engagement, the Luftwaffe claimed little success against RAF ground targets.
Hostile fighter patrols continued to loiter over Calais and the Channel approaches until 17:25.
At 17:25, a separate force of over 20 aircraft, believed to be Bf 109s of JG 51 and possibly elements of ZG 2, crossed the coast over North Foreland, steering westward toward the Rochester area. The raid was met by swift RAF action, with No. 85 Squadron again involved, and No. 17 Squadron (Debden) possibly contributing to the response. In the ensuing clash, four German aircraft were shot down, bringing the day’s tally of Luftwaffe losses during daylight operations to at least nine.
Several intense engagements occurred during the afternoon. One British pilot, Sergeant J.H. “Cocke-Sparrow” Ellis of No. 85 Squadron, was shot down by a Bf 109 at 16:00. He bailed out safely over Ashburnham, Kent. Another pilot from the same squadron, Sergeant F.R. Walker-Smith, suffered a foot wound during combat over the Sussex coast at 16:30 and also bailed out of his Hurricane.
Later in the day, Flight Lieutenant Harry Raymond Hamilton, a Canadian serving with No. 85 Squadron, was killed when his Hurricane was shot down near Rye at 18:15. At 19:00, Pilot Officer Richard Hillary of No. 603 Squadron was shot down by a Bf 109 and crash-landed at Lympne, escaping injury. Hillary would recover from later wounds to write The Last Enemy, one of the war’s most celebrated memoirs, before dying in a later flying accident.
At 19:45, Heinz Bär of 1./JG 51 downed a Hurricane near Basildon, Essex, bringing his tally to seven. The pilot, P/O A.G. Wainwright of No. 151 Squadron, bailed out but suffered broken ribs upon landing.
In the southwest, reconnaissance flights were observed near Portsmouth, Guildford, and Selsey Bill. Around 16:00, a small raid on the Scilly Isles struck an RAF installation, though the resulting damage was minor.
Enemy Action by Night
Nightfall brought widespread Luftwaffe activity across the country, sparing only Scotland. The heaviest raids focused on Liverpool, the Midlands, and industrial centers in South Wales and the Tees-Tyne region. Many of the incoming aircraft crossed the southern coast between Shoreham and Lyme Bay, some in formations larger than the single-aircraft pattern typical of recent nights.
In the east, activity was initially light. However, after 02:30, fresh formations approached from the North Sea. These appeared primarily to be minelaying sorties along the East Anglian coast and estuaries, though some aircraft proceeded inland.
The principal attacks fell on:
- i. South West England and South Wales
- ii. The Midlands, extending to Liverpool, Manchester, and Carlisle
- iii. The Tees and Tyne area
At Liverpool, He 111s of I./KG 55, Ju 88s of III./LG 1, and Heinkels of I./KG 27 dropped bombs that damaged homes and disrupted water and electricity supplies. Fires were quickly contained. Luftwaffe losses included a He 111 from KG 55, which crashed on takeoff at Villacoublay, another that ran out of fuel and crashed at Sens, and a third from I./KG 27 lost at Fordingbridge.
German Losses:
Airmen: 45 | Aircraft: 24
British Losses:
Airmen: 2 | Aircraft: 10
Hurricane V6623. No. 85 Squadron
F/L H.R. Hamilton killed. Shot down over Winchelsea.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/HamiltonHR.htm
Spitfire R6629, No. 610 Squadron
Sgt. E. Manton killed. Shot down during combat with Bf 109s over Hurst Green and crashed.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/MantonE.htm
Photo Descriptions:
- Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 flown by Hauptmann Rolf Pingel, Gruppen Kommandeur of I/JG 26, France 1940. © IWM (HU 44150)
- A Messerschmitt Bf 110C of 6./ZG 76 (M8+EP) over the English Channel, August 1940.