Scattered raids in the morning. Kent and Essex airfields attacked during the afternoon.
Night: Very little activity. One or two raids in the south-west.
Weather: Generally cloudy, rain spreading from the north. Channel mainly fine.
Enemy Action by Day
The weather on Tuesday, 20 August 1940, was largely overcast across Britain, with rain moving down from the north. The English Channel, however, remained mostly clear, allowing limited Luftwaffe operations. Following the intense fighting of previous days, Luftwaffe activity was significantly reduced, constrained by both operational fatigue and deteriorating weather. While most air raids were isolated and small in scale, Fighter Command remained alert and ready.
At approximately 11:00 hours, Bf 110 fighter-bombers of Erprobungsgruppe 210, operating from Calais-Marck, launched a sharp strike against a coastal convoy off Aldeburgh before turning inland to bomb the Southwold battery. As the formation moved westward, it targeted Martlesham Heath, a key airfield in Suffolk. Spitfires from No. 66 Squadron, based at Martlesham, were scrambled to intercept. In the running battle, several Bf 110s were damaged, but the airfield sustained only light damage.
Shortly after 13:45 hours, Dornier Do 17s on a northward patrol were engaged over the North Sea by Hurricanes of No. 242 Squadron, commanded by Squadron Leader Douglas Bader. During the combat, Midshipman P.J. Patterson, RNVR, flying Hurricane P2976, was shot down—likely by return fire from the bombers. His aircraft entered a vertical dive and crashed into the sea off Winterton, Norfolk. Patterson was reported missing and presumed killed.
14:10 Hours: Focke-Wulf Condor Crashes in Ireland
At 14:10 hours, a Luftwaffe Fw 200 Condor of I./KG 40 crashed into Mount Brandon on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, after suffering anti-aircraft damage. The aircraft had taken off from Abbeville on a reconnaissance mission over Ireland. All crew members survived and became the first German airmen interned by Irish authorities. The incident became a local curiosity, and remnants of the crash are preserved in nearby Cloghane.
Thames Estuary and Kent
The first major engagement of the afternoon developed around 14:30 hours, when a formation of Do 17s from KG 2, escorted by Bf 109s of JG 51, crossed the Kent coast between Dover and Manston. Their presumed target was RAF Eastchurch, heavily damaged in raids earlier in the month. Hurricanes from No. 615 Squadron and Spitfires of No. 65 Squadron intercepted the formation as it passed over the Isle of Sheppey. In the ensuing dogfight, Leutnant Heinz Bär of 1./JG 51 claimed his fifth aerial victory, shooting down a Spitfire and earning his ace status. Despite the heavy escort, no confirmed bomb strikes were recorded on Eastchurch.
Shortly after, at 15:30 hours, twelve Bf 109s carried out a low-level bombing and strafing attack on Manston airfield, a familiar Luftwaffe target. The raid was met with a coordinated defensive response involving Blenheims of No. 600 Squadron, acting in a night-fighter role, as well as local anti-aircraft batteries. While damage to the airfield was limited to a hangar and some outbuildings, one Blenheim sustained minor damage but remained serviceable.
Spitfires of No. 65 Squadron were again airborne during this raid. In a related encounter, Pilot Officer K.G. Hart, flying Spitfire R6818, was hit by cannon fire from one of the attacking Messerschmitts. Hart managed to nurse his damaged aircraft to Foulness Island, where he executed a forced landing without injury.
South Coast and West Country
Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft remained active along the southern coastline, with several sighted over the Isle of Wight, Weymouth, and the Bristol Channel. The Llanreath oil storage depot at Pembroke Dock, still burning from the devastating raid on 19 August, was targeted again by a lone bomber. Though no hits were reported, the renewed attack added pressure to overstretched local fire crews and defences. During the response, a Blenheim of No. 236 Squadron, part of Coastal Command, was mistakenly struck by friendly anti-aircraft fire but returned to base safely.
Later in the afternoon, a single German bomber launched attacks on Neath and Port Talbot. At 18:40 hours, a lone Ju 88 launched a torpedo attack against a coastal merchant vessel off the coast of Anglesey. The attack failed, and no damage was reported. However, this marked a rare use of aerial torpedoes in daylight over British waters during the campaign.
Yorkshire Coast
At 19:10 hours, No. 302 (Polish) Squadron, newly declared operational at RAF Leconfield, flew its first combat sortie. Green Section of “B” Flight engaged a Ju 88 en route to RAF Thornaby, catching it at low altitude between Hull and Spurn Point. The bomber was successfully shot down into the sea six miles southwest of Withernsea, and all four crewmen were captured alive after being rescued from the water.
Shortly afterward, Hurricanes from No. 257 Squadron engaged another German bomber formation off the Suffolk coast, successfully shooting down a Dornier Do 17. This brought the confirmed tally of enemy aircraft destroyed during the day to at least fourteen.
Enemy Action by Night
As cloud cover thickened during the evening, enemy air activity diminished sharply. A handful of aircraft were plotted off the southwest coast, and one managed to penetrate inland north of Portland. Bombing was light and scattered. Reports from Devon, Dorset, Worcestershire, and Suffolk mentioned a few incendiaries, but no significant damage was recorded.
Earlier in the night, the airfield at Driffield, still reeling from earlier attacks, was bombed again at 22:45 hours. Four bombs were dropped, one landing inside a hangar and severely damaging two Whitleys. Other bombs created large craters on the airfield but caused no further disruption.
Churchill’s Address to Parliament
While the RAF was in action, Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood before Parliament to deliver one of his most famous speeches. Reflecting the nation’s admiration for Fighter Command’s daily sacrifice, he declared:
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
This line—later immortalised in British memory—came to symbolise the Battle of Britain and the resolve of a nation facing overwhelming odds. Among the pilots, the speech was met with pride and a sense of grim humour. As P/O Michael Constable-Maxwell quipped:
“He must be thinking of our liquor bills.”
German Losses:
Airmen: 11 | Aircraft: 8
British Losses:
Airmen: 1 | Aircraft: 2
Hurricane P2976, No. 242 Squadron
Mid. (FAA) P J Patterson missing. Crashed into sea during combat action.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/PattersonPJ.htm
Photo Descriptions
- 4.5-inch gun crew take post at Clapham Common in London, 20 August 1940.