Very little activity.
Weather: Fog in France, the Straits and south-east England.
Enemy Action by Day
Operations on 16 July 1940 were heavily constrained by persistent fog over northern France, the Straits of Dover, and south-east England. The poor visibility delayed and restricted Luftwaffe activity for much of the day, resulting in one of the quieter periods since the opening of the Battle of Britain. Air operations were largely limited to reconnaissance, scattered shipping probes, and isolated engagements rather than coordinated offensive action.
The day was nonetheless momentous at the strategic level, as Hitler issued Directive No. 16, formally ordering preparations for the invasion of Britain under the code name Seelöwe. The contrast between this sweeping declaration and the day’s restricted aerial activity was pronounced.
06:15–06:50 Hours: Blenheims Lost near Bruges
Early in the morning, Luftwaffe fighters intercepted Blenheims of No. 18 Squadron operating over the Continent. At 06:15 hours, Feldwebel Georg Kiening of 6./JG 54 claimed one Blenheim destroyed, while a second was claimed by another pilot of I./JG 54 near Bruges at 06:50 hours.
Blenheim P6933 crashed into the sea off Bruges, killing Sergeant Anthony St John Bunker, Sergeant P.R. Harris and Sergeant J.F. Hatch. The second aircraft, Blenheim L9251, force-landed after returning to Britain. Pilot Officer A.B. Jones was slightly injured.
A Do 17Z of Stab/KG 2 was also damaged in combat during the day and crash-landed at St-Inglevert. Its crew escaped unhurt.
15:24–16:46 Hours: He 111 Shot Down north-east of Fraserburgh
Between 15:24 and 16:46 hours, Red Section of No. 603 Squadron—Flying Officer I.S. Ritchie and Pilot Officers J.S. Morton and D. Stewart-Clark—intercepted Heinkel He 111H-3 1H+KT of 9./KG 26 between ten and twenty miles north-east of Fraserburgh and brought it down in the North Sea.
Unteroffizier Karl Liedtke and Gefreiter Walter Heimbach were killed. The pilot, Oberleutnant Gerhard Lorenz, and Unteroffizier Heinz Beer survived and were rescued by an RAF launch before being taken prisoner. One of the attacking Spitfires was damaged by return fire but returned safely to base.
16:40–18:04 Hours: Raid on Lee-on-Solent
Fog over northern France and south-east England delayed Luftwaffe operations in the south until mid-afternoon. When conditions improved, Ju 88 bombers of 6./KG 54 attacked Lee-on-Solent, destroying a Royal Navy DH86 aircraft on the ground.
Seven Hurricanes of No. 601 Squadron intercepted the German bombers off the Needles. A section from B Flight, led by Flight Lieutenant T.E. Hubbard and including Flying Officer W.H. Rhodes-Moorhouse and Pilot Officer T. Grier, claimed two Ju 88s destroyed.
Only one German bomber was confirmed lost. Ju 88 B3+GP of 6./KG 54 crashed into the Solent off St Catherine’s Point. Gefreiter Otto Marb and Obergefreiter Herbert Vetter were killed, while the pilot, Feldwebel Rudolf Forteman, and Gefreiter Herbert Augustin survived in the aircraft’s dinghy and were taken prisoner.
Rhodes-Moorhouse remained over the survivors and flew repeatedly between their dinghy and a nearby tug, guiding the vessel towards them until they were rescued.
19:50–20:30 Hours: Hudsons Engage Dornier Flying Boats
At 19:50 hours, a Hudson of No. 233 Squadron attacked Do 18G K6+CK of 2./Küstenfliegergruppe 406 approximately seventy miles north-west of Kinnaird’s Head. The damaged flying boat caught fire on the sea and began taxiing eastwards.
At dawn the following morning, the crew—Unteroffizier Steinbach, Feldwebel Walter Staack and Unteroffiziere Harnisch and Mallasch—were rescued by Do 18 K6+EK, commanded by Leutnant zur See Heintze, and returned to Stavanger. The damaged K6+CK was subsequently scuttled by gunfire.
Approximately forty minutes after the first engagement, Hudson QX-R of No. 224 Squadron attacked Do 18G K6+AK about one hundred miles south-west of Stavanger. The German aircraft sustained damage to its elevators and starboard tail strut but returned safely. Leutnant zur See Max Nouvel and the remainder of his crew were unhurt.
Army Co-operation Command Losses
Army Co-operation Command lost two Lysanders during coastal reconnaissance operations in the poor weather. Lysander N1205 of No. 4 Squadron flew into high ground near East Barnby, north of Whitby, killing Flying Officer J. Kershaw and Sergeant J.H. Fletcher.
Lysander R2301 came down near Scarborough following engine failure and overturned. Its pilot, Pilot Officer H.J. Anderson, survived with minor injuries.
S-boat Sweep in the Channel
German naval activity during the night of 15–16 July was similarly affected by the weather. A sweep by S-boats in the Channel produced no results. One torpedo fired at a patrol vessel missed its target, and further activity was curtailed by the poor conditions.
Strategic Assessment
Despite the formal issuance of Directive No. 16 and the declaration of intent to prepare for the invasion of Britain, air operations on 16 July 1940 were dominated by weather limitations rather than strategic momentum. Luftwaffe activity remained fragmented and opportunistic, consisting primarily of reconnaissance flights, limited bomber raids, and fighter engagements over the Channel and North Sea.
RAF losses were sustained largely through isolated encounters and operational accidents rather than sustained pressure. The day closed without any meaningful degradation of Fighter Command, underscoring the gap between German strategic ambition and the practical realities of air operations during this early phase of the battle.
Enemy Action by Night
Fog continued into the night, further limiting Luftwaffe operations. Nevertheless, several red warnings were issued across northern cities, including Dundee, Middlesbrough, Hull, and Grimsby. Between 23:00 and 02:00 hours, a small number of raids were plotted over Duncansby Head, Aberdeen, and along the coastline between Newcastle and the Humber.
The majority of these aircraft appeared to be engaged in minelaying operations, with several paths indicating deliberate loitering over coastal waters. One aircraft was initially misidentified as friendly after transmitting a correct signal over the Humber, but later analysis confirmed it was hostile after it turned back east towards Germany.
Reports also suggested that magnetic mines may have been dropped near Silloth at 01:27 hours. In Orkney, aircraft were heard overhead around 23:56 hours, but no bombs were dropped.
Hitler’s Directive No. 16: The Invasion of Britain
While the skies over Britain remained relatively quiet, a pivotal development was unfolding on the German side. On 16 July 1940, Adolf Hitler issued Directive No. 16, formally ordering preparations for an invasion of Great Britain. Codenamed Operation Seelöwe (Sea Lion), the directive called for a surprise crossing and wide-front landing between Ramsgate and the Isle of Wight, contingent upon neutralising the RAF and securing air superiority.
Confident that the invasion would succeed, Hitler appointed Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch as the intended Military Commander-in-Chief of occupied Britain.
The Luftwaffe was required to reduce the RAF to the point that it could no longer offer significant opposition to the invasion. German forces were also instructed to clear mines from the proposed sea routes, protect the crossing from British naval intervention and use coastal artillery to dominate the Channel. Preparations were to be completed by the middle of August.
Oberst Beppo Schmid’s intelligence assessment, Studie Blau, submitted on the same day, downplayed British radar and Fighter Command’s defensive capabilities—an underestimation that would soon prove to be one of the great miscalculations of the campaign.
German Losses:
Airmen: 4 | Aircraft: 4
British Losses:
Airmen: 1 | Aircraft: 1
Hurricane P2995, No. 249 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
Sgt A.D.W. Main killed. Engine cut out during take off from base airfield.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/MainADW.htm
Photo Descriptions
- Rearming a No. 601 Squadron Hawker Hurricane at RAF Tangmere, 1940.
- A formation of Junkers Ju 88A-1 bombers.