Quiet morning and afternoon.

Night: London, Coventry and Liverpool attacked.

Weather: Widespread fog in the south, clearing to rain later.

Enemy Action by Day

A slow and cautious start to operations characterised much of the daylight hours, as foul weather grounded most aircraft and complicated coordination across RAF stations. Morning activity was limited to a handful of reconnaissance flights off the South and East Coasts, and sporadic shelling of Dover between 07:50 and 09:04 hours. Two convoys off Dover and one in the Thames Estuary were also subjected to air attack, though none were seriously harmed. One Dornier penetrated inland near Manston, flying low beneath the cloud base. At 10:25 hours, a small raid on Eastbourne resulted in the dropping of high-explosive and anti-personnel bombs. Two people were killed, sixteen injured, and several houses destroyed.

As visibility improved after midday, enemy air operations increased. At 14:25 hours, a formation of approximately thirty Bf 109s crossed the coast at Dungeness and circled over Redhill and Kenley. These aircraft were intercepted by Spitfires of No. 74 Squadron from Biggin Hill and Hurricanes of No. 605 Squadron from Croydon. During the ensuing combat, Pilot Officer J. A. Milne, a Canadian flying with No. 605 Squadron, was seriously wounded. He managed to crash-land his Hurricane near Dorking but suffered a broken hip.

Around the same time, further German formations were gathering over the Channel. At 15:30 hours, three smaller raids approached the North Foreland and Hornchurch area, one of which was intercepted by Hurricanes of No. 249 Squadron from North Weald. These operations appeared to target convoys and draw RAF fighters into battle. Uxbridge HQ diverted two additional squadrons to provide cover for the convoy “Fruit,” then under threat off Dover.

At 16:15 hours, another wave of raids commenced. One group of eighteen aircraft crossed again at Dungeness, while additional formations—totalling more than sixty aircraft—remained over mid-Channel. Those that made landfall pressed toward Hornchurch before swinging southward over Biggin Hill and exiting the coast near Folkestone and Dungeness by 16:55 hours. A significant interception followed.

RAF fighters scrambled to confront the threat included Hurricanes of Nos. 46, 257, 501, and 605 Squadrons, and Spitfires of Nos. 66, 74, 92, and 222 Squadrons. The German escort comprised elements of Jagdgeschwader 26, led by Major Adolf Galland, and Jagdgeschwader 51 under Major Werner Mölders. The latter was in formidable form, claiming three Hurricanes in this engagement alone—his tally rising to fifty victories.

Among those lost were Pilot Officer N. B. Heywood of No. 257 Squadron, killed when his Hurricane was hit by anti-aircraft fire during a running fight over Folkestone. His aircraft crashed south of Lydd. Moments later, Sergeant R. H. B. Fraser, also of No. 257, was shot down and killed near the same area. Sergeant J. P. Morrison of No. 46 Squadron was brought down near Dungeness and also perished. Mölders claimed credit for all three. Not all of the Luftwaffe escaped unscathed—Fw. Heinrich Arp of 2./JG 26 was shot down in return. His aircraft disintegrated in mid-air, scattering wreckage along the coast near Dungeness.

Elsewhere, a Ju 88 flying at treetop height and masquerading as a Blenheim attempted to strafe the airfield at Old Sarum. Spitfires of No. 609 Squadron, scrambled from Warmwell, intercepted and destroyed the bomber near Lymington following a dramatic low-level pursuit. The rear gunner’s desperate smoke signals did little to deter the RAF pilots. The aircraft exploded upon impact.

In all, British fighters accounted for three enemy aircraft destroyed and one damaged during the day. Six RAF aircraft were lost, with four pilots killed. Many sorties were hampered by poor visibility, which complicated both control room plotting and aerial interception.

Enemy Action by Night

Although reduced in intensity compared to previous nights, German night operations resumed shortly after dusk. The first raiders crossed the coast at 18:30 hours, and by 19:00 hours, forty tracks had been plotted, approaching from France and the Low Countries. Some bombers turned back before reaching the coast, but most pressed on toward London and the Midlands.

Liverpool again found itself under attack when Dornier 17s of Kampfgruppe 606 bombed the city around 20:35 hours. Coventry also suffered renewed damage: the raids commenced at 19:58 hours and persisted until nearly 22:00 hours. Fires broke out at Armstrong Siddeley, Morris Bodies, Smith Molesworth, the GEC complex, LMS Goods Yard, and across several residential districts. The Queen’s Hotel, St Mary’s Hall, and a public shelter sustained direct hits, and numerous people were trapped. Fortunately, most were rescued alive. Though bomb damage disrupted operations at several factories, including Riley’s and Daimler, quick removal of unexploded ordnance allowed production to resume within days.

London suffered another harrowing evening. High explosives fell on Southwark, where a bomb struck the edge of an underground shelter in New Kent Road, killing three of the twenty-six people sheltering inside. In St Pancras, a 40-foot-wide crater was blasted at the junction of Eversholt Street and Phoenix Road. A water main rupture caused flooding into the Northern Line tunnels below.

Elsewhere, bombs dropped on Weymouth damaged the South National Bus Depot and several vehicles; Portland Harbour was also hit. In South Wales, raids resumed shortly before dawn. At around 05:15 hours, aircraft from Brittany traversed Devon and Somerset en route to Cardiff and Swansea.

By comparison with earlier raids, the scale of destruction was smaller, but the civilian toll continued to mount.

German Losses:
Airmen: 28 | Aircraft: 12

British Losses:
Airmen: 4 | Aircraft: 6

Hurricane R4074, No. 46 Squadron
Sgt. J.P. Morrison killed. Shot down in combat with enemy fighters over Dungeness.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/MorrisonJP.htm

Spitfire P7431, No. 74 Squadron
F/O P.C.B. St.John killed. Shot down in combat with Bf 109s.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/St.John.htm

Hurricane R4195, No. 257 Squadron
P/O N.B. Heywood killed. Hit by anti-aircraft fire whilst in combat with Bf 109s over Folkestone.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Heywood.htm

Hurricane V6851, No. 257 Squadron
Sgt. R.H.B. Fraser killed. Shot down in combat with Bf 109s over Folkestone.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Fraser.htm

Photo Descriptions

1. Sgt Stanley Andrew of No. 46 Squadron RAF watches ground staff inspecting the oxygen supply of Hurricane Mk I PO-H before a sortie from RAF Stapleford Tawney in October 1940. © IWM (HU 104479)
2. Holland House Library, London, after a German air raid on 22 October 1940.