Little activity
Night: Minelaying off east and south-east coasts.
Weather: Generally cloudy with fairly strong winds. Cloud ceiling 3,000 – 5,000 ft.
Enemy Action by Day
Luftwaffe operations on 6 August were again muted due to persistent cloud cover and moderate winds. The morning opened with a low-level bombing raid on RAF Llandow, a satellite airfield in South Wales. At approximately 05:40 hours, a single enemy aircraft dropped several bombs, damaging one hangar and two aircraft parked on the landing ground. Ground fog and poor visibility hindered any effective RAF response, and no casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, along the eastern seaboard, Luftwaffe reconnaissance flights probed British shipping routes. Nine raids by small formations or lone aircraft were plotted from Dungeness to Portland and mid-Channel, but most turned back without delivering attacks. Mist and low cloud ceilings allowed the enemy to evade interception in several instances.
Despite poor visibility, several RAF units engaged in defensive operations. At approximately 06:30 hours, Hurricanes of No. 85 Squadron intercepted and successfully destroyed a Dornier Do 17 from III./KG 3 east of Lowestoft. The aircraft had been shadowing a coastal convoy and relaying its position back to Luftwaffe command. The Dornier was downed by a section led by Sergeant Geoffrey Allard, marking the only confirmed aerial victory of the day.
Later in the day, No. 72 Squadron (Spitfires) engaged a Heinkel He 111 off Blyth in Northumberland. The bomber was forced to jettison its payload and escape out to sea, narrowly avoiding destruction.
Further inland, British radar tracked enemy raids forming over the Calais-Boulogne region during the late afternoon. Between 18:27 and 18:53 hours, seven formations were plotted flying various patrol patterns over the Straits of Dover, though no attacks developed. Four RAF squadrons were scrambled in response, but contact was not made, owing to persistent cloud cover.
One Ju 88 spotted by RAF patrols off Flamborough Head successfully evaded combat, using cloud for cover. Another raid ineffectually dropped bombs on shipping off Yarmouth, with no reported damage.
RAF Losses and Incidents
Although air combat was minimal, several aircraft accidents occurred. Pilot Officer P.W. Horton, a New Zealander with No. 234 Squadron, crash-landed his Spitfire P9366 at RAF St Eval following a night patrol. Horton survived the crash without serious injury.
Sergeant R.C.J. Staples of No. 72 Squadron also crash-landed after an uneventful patrol from Acklington at 12:40 hours; he was unhurt, but the aircraft was written off.
A Blenheim of No. 219 Squadron, based at Catterick, collided with high-tension cables during a searchlight cooperation flight and crashed into a river. Pilot Officer J.C. Carriere and Sergeant C. Beveridge sustained superficial injuries.
In another incident, three Spitfires of No. 616 Squadron, operating from Leconfield, returned damaged after engaging a Junkers Ju 88 20 miles northeast of Flamborough Head at 17:00 hours. The aircraft—flown by Squadron Leader M. Robinson, Sergeant M. Ridley, and Flying Officer R.O. Hellyer—were all repairable, and none of the pilots were injured.
Enemy Action by Night
Night activity remained limited. Luftwaffe minelayers operated primarily off East Anglia, the Thames Estuary, and the stretch between Beachy Head and the Isle of Wight. A small number of bombers crossed into British airspace, likely aiming to intercept RAF Bomber Command aircraft or to lay sea mines in coastal waters.
Twelve enemy aircraft flew west from the Cherbourg Peninsula, with several believed to have dropped mines off the Cornish coast and others operating in the Bristol Channel. One of the raids reached as far as Liverpool Bay before returning across the Channel.
Two separate incursions were tracked over North East Scotland from Norway, with both crossing inland near the Firth of Forth. Low haze and poor visibility in the southeast contributed to the ineffectiveness of RAF detection and interception efforts.
Göring’s Directive and Luftwaffe Reorganization
While operations over Britain remained light, a significant planning meeting took place at Karinhall, Göring’s private estate. The Luftwaffe high command gathered to formalize the strategic implementation of Hitler’s Directive No. 17, which called for the destruction of the RAF in preparation for Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of Britain.
Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Sperrle (Luftflotte 3) argued for a port-targeting strategy, while Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (Luftflotte 2) advocated a direct blow to London. Göring overruled both, insisting that Fighter Command and its infrastructure be neutralized first—a belief rooted in his conviction that the RAF was already nearing collapse.
With no start date yet set for Adlerangriff (“Eagle Attack”), the Luftwaffe maintained its Kanalkampf operations. However, unit movements indicated a clear buildup: several JG 54 Gruppen transferred from airfields in Holland and Germany to forward bases in the Pas de Calais, despite challenging runway conditions. Similarly, II./LG 1 saw a new commanding officer appointed—Hauptmann Heinz Cramer, replacing Major Kurt Dobratz.
German Losses:
Airmen: 9 | Aircraft: 6
British Losses:
Airmen: 1 | Aircraft: 6
Hurricane N2456, No. 17 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
P/O H.W.A Britton killed. Crashed after taking off from Debden and burnt out.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/BrittonHWA.htm
Photo Description
- Hawker Hurricane Mk I flown by Sgt G ‘Sammy’ Allard of No. 85 Squadron, July 1940. © IWM (HU 104492)