Three major attacks on a Channel convoy.

Night: Small raids and minelaying.

Weather: Showers and bright intervals. Channel cloudy.

Enemy Action by Day

The fighting marked the climax of the Kanalkampf, during which the Luftwaffe sought to disrupt British coastal shipping and draw Fighter Command into sustained combat. The focal point was Convoy CW9, codenamed Peewit, a formation of coal-carrying merchant vessels making its way westwards through the English Channel.

02:00 Hours: Night Attack on Convoy Peewit

Convoy Peewit had sailed from Southend at 07:00 hours on 7 August. Despite fog and poor visibility, it passed Dover and reached Dungeness without air attack. As visibility improved during the evening, the convoy was detected by the German Freya radar installation at Wissant. Its position was relayed through naval command channels to Kapitänleutnant Carl-Heinz Birnbacher, commander of the 1st S-Boat Flotilla at Cherbourg.

At approximately 02:00 hours, the German S-boats S-20, S-21, S-25 and S-27 attacked the convoy south-west of Beachy Head. The steamer SS Holme Force was struck by two torpedoes and sank with the loss of six members of her thirteen-man crew. SS Fife Coast was also torpedoed and destroyed, killing five of her crew. Other vessels were damaged and the convoy scattered across several miles of sea.

In the darkness and confusion, the collier Rye collided with the coaster Ouse, which subsequently sank without loss of life. German aircraft also dropped flares and bombs over the convoy while the S-boats made repeated attacks.

At dawn, Blenheims of No. 59 Squadron were dispatched from Thorney Island to search for the withdrawing S-boats but returned without making contact. By first light, Peewit was widely dispersed, while its light naval escorts and auxiliary vessels were occupied with rescue operations.

05:41–09:55 Hours: First Air Attack

At 05:41 hours, an enemy reconnaissance aircraft located the leading ships off the Isle of Wight. The information was passed to Fliegerkorps VIII, commanded by Generalleutnant Wolfram von Richthofen, and preparations began for a concentrated assault on the convoy.

Von Richthofen issued a direct instruction regarding the convoy:

“This convoy must be wiped out!”

At approximately 08:40 hours, two raids comprising more than sixty aircraft approached Peewit. The attacking force consisted principally of Ju 87 dive-bombers, including aircraft of III./StG 1 led by Hauptmann Helmut Mahlke, protected by Bf 109s of I./JG 27.

Hurricanes of No. 145 Squadron intercepted the formation south of the Isle of Wight. Squadron Leader J.R.A. Peel led his pilots against the rear of the Stuka formation before the German fighter escort could intervene. During the ensuing battle, the squadron claimed eight Ju 87s and several Bf 109s destroyed, probably destroyed or damaged. Flight Lieutenant R.G. Dutton was credited with two Ju 87s probably destroyed, while Flight Lieutenant A.H. Boyd claimed two Bf 109s.

German records confirm that 9./StG 1 lost two Ju 87s and their crews, while two additional Stukas returned with wounded airmen. I./JG 27 lost three Bf 109s during the fighting. Leutnants Igor Zirkenbach and Karl-Heinz Bothfeld were killed, while a third pilot successfully baled out and was rescued.

No. 145 Squadron lost two Hurricanes. Pilot Officer Lionel A. Sears in P2955 and Sergeant Eric D. Baker in P3381 were last seen in combat south of the Isle of Wight at approximately 09:00 hours. Neither pilot returned.

The Stukas reached the shipping at approximately 09:10 hours. SS Coquetdale received several direct hits fifteen miles south-west of St Catherine’s Point. Her engine room flooded, the aft gun was destroyed and the port side was blown open before the vessel sank. The crew survived, although two men were wounded.

The 942-ton Dutch freighter SS Ajax was struck by two bombs and rapidly sank. Four members of her crew were killed and four wounded, while nineteen survivors were rescued.

The 1,400-ton steamer SS Balmaha was also repeatedly attacked and badly damaged. One of her naval gunners was wounded but remained at his post. Despite the damage, Balmaha remained afloat, rescued survivors from another vessel and later assisted the damaged coaster Scheldt towards port.

11:20–12:00 Hours: Fighting over Kent

At approximately 11:20 hours, German fighters of III./JG 26 and II. and III./JG 51 swept across the Dover and Manston areas. They encountered Spitfires of Nos. 41, 64, 65 and 610 Squadrons, producing a series of sharp engagements over eastern Kent and the Channel.

No. 65 Squadron was attacked while operating from Manston. Sergeant David I. Kirton was killed when Spitfire K9911 crashed in flames north of the airfield, while Flight Sergeant Norman T. Phillips was killed when K9905 crashed east of the Manston relay station. Pilot Officer R.G. Wigg returned to Manston in L1094 with combat damage.

No. 610 Squadron also suffered damage. Sergeant N.H.D. Ramsay landed Spitfire R6765 at Hawkinge with much of its fin shot away and wounds to his left leg. Sergeant W.J. Neville force-landed Spitfire L1045 near Wittersham after it was damaged by Bf 109s. Neville escaped injury and the aircraft was subsequently repaired.

At approximately 11:35 hours, Blenheim L8665, BQ-A, of No. 600 Squadron was intercepted during a local airborne-interception test flight and shot down in flames off Ramsgate. Flying Officer Dennis N. Grice managed to turn the burning aircraft away from the town before it crashed into the sea. Grice, Sergeant Francis J. Keast and Aircraftman First Class John B.W. Warren were killed. Oberleutnant Gerhard Schöpfel of 9./JG 26 was credited with the victory.

Shortly afterwards, Pilot Officer Peter F. Kennard-Davis of No. 64 Squadron was shot down during combat with Bf 109s between Deal and Dover. His burning Spitfire L1039 crashed near West Langdon at approximately 11:40 hours. Kennard-Davis baled out with severe burns but died in hospital two days later.

No. 64 Squadron claimed two Bf 109s destroyed, two probably destroyed and three damaged during the engagement. German losses were considerably lower: Oberleutnant Willi Öhm of 8./JG 26 was killed, while three other Bf 109s returned to France and made emergency landings after sustaining combat damage.

12:05–13:30 Hours: Second Air Attack

At 12:05 hours, radar detected two formations from the direction of Cherbourg comprising more than one hundred aircraft spread across a front approximately twenty miles wide. Nearly sixty Ju 87s of StG 2, StG 3 and StG 77 approached the convoy south of the Isle of Wight, escorted by Bf 110s of V./LG 1 and protected by approximately thirty Bf 109s of II. and III./JG 27.

Five Spitfires of No. 609 Squadron were among the first RAF fighters to reach the convoy. They found Bf 109s shooting down the protective barrage balloons while Ju 87s and Bf 110s attacked the burning and scattered ships below. Hurricanes of Nos. 145, 238, 257 and 601 Squadrons subsequently joined the fighting.

The RAF pilots submitted numerous claims against the German bombers and escorts. No. 609 Squadron claimed three Bf 110s and two Ju 87s, while the Hurricane squadrons claimed several additional Bf 109s and Bf 110s. These claims considerably exceeded the confirmed German losses.

Three Hurricanes of No. 257 Squadron were destroyed between approximately 12:20 and 13:00 hours. Flight Lieutenant Noel M. Hall was killed in P2981, while Sergeant Kenneth B. Smith in R4094 and Flying Officer Brian W.J. D’Arcy-Irvine in P3058 were posted missing.

No. 238 Squadron lost two Hurricanes during the main engagement. Flight Lieutenant Donald E. Turner baled out of P2947 approximately ten miles south of the Isle of Wight but was not recovered. Flying Officer Derek C. MacCaw was killed when P3617 crashed into the sea during fighting that began at approximately 12:35 hours.

After the squadron returned to refuel, Squadron Leader Harold A. Fenton took off alone in Hurricane P3823 at 13:20 hours to search for Turner and MacCaw. Unable to locate either pilot, he attacked a Heinkel He 59 rescue floatplane flying at sea level. Return fire severed an oil pipe and caused the Hurricane’s engine to seize. Fenton ditched approximately five miles south of the Isle of Wight and was rescued by the armed trawler HMS Basset with a head injury.

The dive-bombers inflicted extensive damage on the shipping. SS Surte, MV Scheldt and SS Omlandia were badly damaged, while SS Tres and SS Empire Crusader received direct hits. Captain Frederick Spencer of Empire Crusader and three members of his crew were killed; the burning vessel remained afloat until approximately 21:30 hours, when an explosion sent her to the bottom.

The barrage-balloon vessel HMS Borealis was also bombed and sank off St Catherine’s Point. Other escorts, including HMS Wilna, Kingston Chrysoberyl, Kingston Olivine, Cape Palliser, Stella Capella and Rion, suffered damage and casualties during the repeated attacks.

14:36 Hours: Fighting off Falmouth

At 14:36 hours, Spitfires of No. 234 Squadron intercepted a Ju 88 south of Falmouth. Pilot Officer E.B. Mortimer-Rose attacked the bomber in Spitfire R6985, which was struck twice in the port wing by return fire. Mortimer-Rose returned safely and the aircraft was repaired.

During the afternoon, three Blenheims of No. 235 Squadron patrolled between Le Havre and Trouville and were attacked by approximately fifteen Bf 110s. All three Blenheims survived. Sergeants A.D. Maconochie and T. Maslen, flying as gunners in aircraft piloted by Pilot Officer D. Wordsworth and Sergeant S. Hobbs, jointly claimed one Bf 110 destroyed in flames.

16:07–17:40 Hours: Final Air Attack

At 16:07 hours, nine Spitfires of No. 152 Squadron encountered Bf 109s of II./JG 53 south of Swanage. The squadron claimed two Messerschmitts destroyed, but two Spitfires were hit as the formation returned without ammunition.

Sergeant Denis N. Robinson force-landed Spitfire K9894 at Marsh Farm near Wareham after being wounded slightly in the leg. The aircraft ran into a concealed ditch and tipped onto its nose but was repairable. Pilot Officer Walter Beaumont brought Spitfire R6811 down at Spyway near Langton Matravers. Beaumont escaped injury, but the aircraft caught fire and was written off.

Shortly before 17:00 hours, eighty-two Ju 87s of StG 1 and StG 77 made the final major attack on the convoy between the Isle of Wight and Swanage. Bf 109s of II./JG 53 provided fighter cover, while aircraft of JG 27 and Bf 110s of 13.(Z)/LG 1 were also involved in the wider fighting. Hurricanes of Nos. 43 and 145 Squadrons, Spitfires of No. 152 Squadron and a section of Hurricanes from No. 213 Squadron opposed the raid.

No. 43 Squadron claimed three Ju 87s, three Bf 109s and one Bf 110 destroyed, together with several aircraft probably destroyed or damaged. The squadron lost two Hurricanes. Pilot Officer John Cruttenden was posted missing after Hurricane P3468 crashed into the sea, while Pilot Officer Johannes R.S. Oelofse was killed in Hurricane P3781.

Four more Hurricanes of No. 43 Squadron returned damaged. Flight Lieutenant Frank Carey and Pilot Officer C.A. Woods-Scawen were wounded, while Pilot Officer H.C. Upton force-landed P3267 on the Isle of Wight after its engine seized. Sergeant C.A.L. Hurry returned safely in the damaged P3466.

No. 145 Squadron claimed six Ju 87s and two Bf 109s during the final battle but lost three Hurricanes. Pilot Officer Ernest C.J. Wakeham in P2957, Flying Officer Lord Richard U.P. Kay-Shuttleworth in P3163 and Acting Sub-Lieutenant Francis A. Smith of the Fleet Air Arm in P3545 all failed to return.

At approximately 17:40 hours, Flight Lieutenant A.H. Boyd of No. 145 Squadron shot down the Ju 87 flown by Hauptmann Waldemar Plewig, commander of II./StG 77. Plewig baled out wounded and was rescued by a British vessel, but his gunner, Feldwebel Kurt Schauer, was killed.

Around the same time, Pilot Officer Peter L. Parrott brought down Ju 87B-1 W.Nr. 5600, S2+LM, of 4./StG 77. The aircraft force-landed west of St Lawrence Shute on the Isle of Wight. Unteroffizier Fritz Pittroff was captured, while his gunner, Unteroffizier Rudolf Schubert, was killed.

Despite the scale of the final air battle, no additional merchant vessels were immediately sunk during this phase.

Bomber Command Activity

During the day, No. 18 Squadron dispatched twelve individual Blenheim sorties against targets in the Netherlands. Blenheim L9472, WV-T, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire during an attack on Vlissingen airfield and crashed into the North Sea off the Zeeland coast. Sergeants Jack H. Saville and Victor R.T. Land were posted missing, while the body of Sergeant Frederick F. Parvin was subsequently recovered from the sea.

Another No. 18 Squadron Blenheim, R3663, was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire during an attack on Leeuwarden aerodrome. Most of the elevator control wires were severed, but Pilot Officer Arthur Hughes succeeded in returning at 19:48 hours with Sergeants Joseph H. Strong and John Hutchinson.

During the following night, Hampden L4053 of No. 83 Squadron was lost during a raid on Ludwigshafen. Flying Officer Ian M. Muir and Sergeants Walter Barber, John Leakey and Francis A. Stone survived and were taken prisoner.

Outcome

Repeated surface and air attacks had shattered Convoy CW9 as an organised formation. Of the twenty-three merchant vessels that began the passage, only four reached Poole or Portsmouth without first being sunk, disabled or diverted. Debris, burning oil and wreckage covered miles of the Channel while naval and civilian vessels continued searching for survivors.

Fighter Command lost thirteen Hurricanes and one Spitfire while defending Peewit, with five additional fighters damaged. Thirteen pilots were killed or posted missing and several others wounded. No. 145 Squadron suffered most heavily, losing five pilots during its morning and afternoon engagements.

The Luftwaffe lost eight Bf 109s, one Bf 110 and seven Ju 87s. Two additional Bf 109s, five Bf 110s and eleven Ju 87s were damaged, several of them so badly that they were subsequently written off.

The Luftwaffe achieved a tactical success against the convoy but at significant cost, particularly among the Ju 87 units, which again proved highly vulnerable when operating against determined fighter opposition. For German commanders, the scale of RAF resistance was misinterpreted as evidence that Fighter Command was nearing exhaustion. For the British, the losses demonstrated the growing imbalance between the limited strategic value of Channel convoys and the cost of defending them.

The fighting marked the culmination of the Kanalkampf and a brutal prelude to the next phase of the Battle of Britain, as German attention increasingly shifted from shipping to RAF airfields and infrastructure.

Enemy Action by Night

Following the daytime action, German raiders returned after dark. He 111s of I./KG 55 attacked the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton at approximately 20:30 hours. Later, aircraft of II./KG 27 continued bombing in the Bristol region at approximately 02:15 hours.

Small-scale minelaying raids were reported off Falmouth, Plymouth, Lyme Bay, the Bristol Channel, the Humber, the Thames Estuary and East Anglia. Bombs fell near Poole, Manchester and Birmingham, and in the Mersey and Barrow-in-Furness areas. Enemy aircraft also raided St Margaret’s Bay and areas around Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool and Catterick.

At 00:05 hours on 9 August, bombs struck St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe near Dover, damaging unoccupied homes and telephone lines. Magnetic mines were recovered in Northumberland and near Fairlight in East Sussex.

A Blenheim night fighter of No. 219 Squadron engaged a raider over the Humber without result.

Heinkel He 111 5J+SH of I./KG 4 was dispatched to lay mines off Belfast but became lost before reaching the target. Still carrying its mines and other munitions, the aircraft struck Cairnsmore of Fleet near Newton Stewart while attempting to return to its base. Leutnant Arthur Zeiss, Leutnant Walter Hajesch, Unteroffizier Wilhelm Mechsner and Unteroffizier Garnot von Türkheim were killed.

At approximately 23:48 hours, Blenheim L1448, YP-K, of No. 23 Squadron crashed near Peterborough shortly after taking off on a night patrol. Pilot Officer Charles F. Cardnell and Sergeant Cyril Stephens were killed.

German Losses:
Airmen: 30 | Aircraft: 24

British Losses:
Airmen: 20 | Aircraft: 21

Hurricane P2955, No. 145 Squadron. Crashed in Channel.
P/O L.A. Sears missing. Last seen in combat with Bf 109s, failed to return to base.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Sears.htm

Hurricane P3381, No. 145 Squadron. Crashed in Channel.
Sgt E.D. Baker missing. Last seen in combat with Bf 109s, failed to return to base.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/BakerED.htm

Spitfire K9911, No. 65 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
Sgt D.I. Kirton killed. Hit by gunfire from Bf 109 and crashed in flames near airfield.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Kirton.htm

Spitfire K9905, No. 65 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
F/Sgt N.T. Phillips killed. Shot down by Bf 109 and crashed in flames.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/PhillipsNT.htm

Blenheim L8665, No. 600 Squadron. Went down in flames off beach.
F/O D.N. Grice, Sgt F.D. Keast, and AC1 J.B.W. Warren. All killed after pilot avoided town and crashed into sea.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/GriceDN.htm
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Keast.htm
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/WarrenJBW.htm

Spitfire L1039, No. 64 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
P/O P.F. Kennard-Davies. Died of Injuries. Hit by enemy gunfire, baled out but sustained serious burns.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Kennard-Davis.htm

Hurricane R4094, No. 257 Squadron. Presumed crashed into Channel.
Sgt K.B. Smith missing. Failed to return to base after action over Channel protecting convoy “Peewit”.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/SmithKB.htm

Hurricane P2981, No. 257 Squadron. Crashed into Channel.
F/Lt N.M. Hall killed. Hit by gunfire from Bf 109, crashed into sea.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/HallNM.htm

Hurricane P3058, No. 257 Squadron. Presumed crashed into Channel.
F/O B.W.J D’Arcy-Irvine missing. Last seen in combat with Bf 109s over Channel, failed to return.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/DArcy-Irvine.htm

Hurricane P3823, No. 238 Squadron. Crashed in Channel.
F/L D.E Turner missing. Shot down while engaging enemy over convoy “Peewit”, failed to return to base.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/TurnerDE.htm

Hurricane P3617, No. 238 Squadron. Crashed into Channel.
F/O D.C. MacCaw killed. Shot down while engaging enemy over convoy “Peewit”, crashed into sea.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/MacCaw.htm

Hurricane P2957**, No. 145 Squadron. Crashed in Channel.
P/O E.C.J. Wakeham missing. Last seen in combat with Ju 87s and Bf110s, failed to return to base.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Wakeham.htm

Hurricane P3163, No. 145 Squadron. Crashed into Channel.
F/O Lord R.U.P Kay-Shuttleworth missing. Failed to return after combat over convoy “Peewit”.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Shuttleworth.htm

Hurricane P3545, No. 145 Squadron. Crashed into Channel.
S/Lt F.A. Smith missing. Shot down attacking Ju 87s but possibly hit by gunfire from Bf 109.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/SmithFA.htm

Hurricane P3781, No. 43 Squadron. Crashed into Channel.
P/O J. Cruttenden missing. Hit by enemy gunfire and crashed into the sea.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Cruttenden.htm

Hurricane P3468, No. 43 Squadron. Crashed into Channel.
P/O J.R.S. Oelofse killed. Hit by enemy gunfire and crashed into the sea.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Oelofse.htm

Photo Descriptions

1. A bomb being loaded onto a Junkers Ju 87 B-2 Stuka of 4./StG 77 at Bouchy, near Évrecy, August 1940.
2. Pilots and ground crew in discussion beside a Junkers Ju 87 B-2 Stuka of 4./StG 77 at Bouchy, near Évrecy, August 1940.
3. A Junkers Ju 87 B-2 Stuka of 4./StG 77 at Bouchy, near Évrecy, August 1940.
4. Close-up view of a Junkers Ju 87 B-2 Stuka of 4./StG 77 at Bouchy, near Évrecy, August 1940.
5. A Junkers Ju 87 B-2 Stuka (S2+AM) of 4./StG 77 taxiing at Bouchy, near Évrecy, August 1940.
6. SS Coquetdale, a merchant vessel lost off the Isle of Wight to Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers during the Luftwaffe’s assault of 8 August 1940.
7. Spitfire K9894 of No. 152 Squadron after Sgt. Denis Robinson crash-landed in a field near Wareham on 8 August 1940. He was shot down by Bf 109s of III./JG 53 off Swanage but chose not to bale out. The aircraft slid into an unseen ditch and tipped nose-down; bullet holes are visible in the right wing root. Robinson was unhurt, though the Spitfire was a total loss.
8. The first enemy aircraft to crash on the Isle of Wight in 1940, Ju 87B-1 S2+LM of 4./StG 77 shot down west of St Lawrence Shute around 17.40 hours on 8 August 1940, marking the first day of sustained attacks against Convoy “Peewit”. The dive bomber was hit by Hawker Hurricane Mk I SO-K flown by P/O Peter L Parrott of No. 145 Squadron when pulling out of its dive 100 ft from the sea. Finally coming to rest in a tree, it was recovered by a Queen Mary trailer to gather intelligence on the type.
9. A Heinkel He 111 of I./KG 4 that flew into a mountainside at Eastman’s Cairn in Cairnsmore-of-Fleet, Scotland, on 8 August 1940. Whilst RAF personnel and Intelligence Officers managed to reach the wreckage, it proved impossible to get it off the mountain and it remained there until at least the 1980s when it was lifted off by helicopter for museum display.

Please check out Andy Saunders’ excellent book on Convoy Peewit, available on Amazon below:

Convoy Peewit: The First Day of the Battle of Britain?
Andy Saunders
View on Amazon – UK
View on Amazon – US