Search for shipping off Scottish and east coasts.

Night: Targets attacked in south-west. Minelaying.

Weather: Dull with occasional rain.

Enemy Action by Day

Operations on 17 July 1940 unfolded under generally dull conditions, with low cloud and intermittent rain across much of Britain and the Channel. These conditions restricted early Luftwaffe reconnaissance activity, but as the weather improved later in the day, sporadic air operations resumed, primarily involving lone aircraft targeting shipping and coastal objectives rather than coordinated attacks. The day marked the first full operational period following Hitler’s issuance of Directive No. 16, ordering preparations for Operation Seelöwe, though no decisive progress toward air superiority was achieved.

The directive outlined plans for a surprise invasion crossing on a broad front from Ramsgate to west of the Isle of Wight, contingent upon the defeat of the Royal Air Force and the securing of mine-free channels, coastal artillery dominance, and the neutralisation of British naval forces. Despite this strategic backdrop, Luftwaffe activity on 17 July remained limited and exploratory in character.

07:27–08:42 Hours: Aircraft Lost off the Scottish Coast

Between 07:27 and 08:42 hours, three Spitfires of No. 603 Squadron patrolled off the Scottish coast. Flying Officer C.D. “Charlie” Peel, flying Spitfire K9916, failed to return. No combat was reported, and his aircraft is believed to have suffered engine failure. Peel was posted missing and presumed killed.

11:30–12:38 Hours: Fighting off Cherbourg and near Kenley

A Blenheim of No. 59 Squadron, R3694/TR-E, failed to return from a reconnaissance sortie to Cherbourg. At 11:30 hours, Leutnant Hans-Folkert Rosenboom of III./JG 27 claimed a Blenheim destroyed off Cherbourg, his fourth aerial victory. Pilot Officer A.K. Jackson and Sergeants R.V. Kingshott and J.A. Hunter were all killed. The body of the aircraft’s gunner was subsequently washed ashore on the French coast.

Shortly before midday, a reconnaissance Dornier Do 17 ventured inland and was intercepted near Kenley by two Hurricanes of No. 615 Squadron and a Spitfire. Sub-Lieutenant (A) John H.C. Sykes, RNVR, of No. 64 Squadron, flying Spitfire L1065, attacked the Dornier and claimed it damaged before it escaped into cloud.

13:22–14:20 Hours: Sussex Coast and Calais–Boulogne

Between 13:22 and 14:20 hours, twelve Spitfires of No. 64 Squadron were surprised by approximately twelve Bf 109s. Flying Officer D.M. “Donald” Taylor, leading a section in Spitfire P9507, was attacked and wounded before force-landing near Hailsham. He was subsequently admitted to Eastbourne Hospital.

The attacking fighter was flown by Leutnant Helmut Wick of 3./JG 2. Wick had been flying with Leutnant Fiby but became separated from him in cloud. On emerging, he sighted Taylor’s Spitfire and attacked, recording his fifteenth combat claim.

At 13:45 hours, three Blenheims of No. 236 Squadron conducted a fighter sweep between Calais and Boulogne. Three Ju 87s were sighted; two escaped, while the third was pursued by all three Blenheims. The Stuka released its bombs when first attacked and was last observed flying at sea level with its rear gunner apparently dead or wounded.

Fifteen minutes later, two further Blenheims of No. 236 Squadron departed on another patrol over the same area. Flight Lieutenant R.W. “Bob” Denison, flying Blenheim L8684, attacked one of three Ju 88s encountered and fired several bursts into it. Denison believed that the damaged aircraft would have difficulty reaching its base and claimed it probably destroyed.

A Ju 88 of I./KG 51 failed to return from operations and may have been Denison’s opponent. Oberleutnant Hans-Dietrich Rechenberg, Gefreiter Rudolf Bank, Gefreiter Horst Herold and Flieger Hermann Müller were all killed. The available evidence does not conclusively establish that this was the aircraft attacked by Denison.

15:30–16:00 Hours: St Catherine’s Point and Exeter

At approximately 15:30 hours, six Hurricanes of No. 145 Squadron, led by Squadron Leader J.R.A. “John” Peel, intercepted a lone Heinkel He 111P of Stab/KG 27 near St Catherine’s Point. The bomber was misidentified as a Ju 88 in the poor visibility and attacked by all six Hurricanes. Squadron Leader Peel, flying Hurricane P3163, and the other pilots claimed the aircraft damaged.

The Heinkel failed to return. Its pilot, Oberfeldwebel Hermann Schulze, and the remaining members of the crew—Oberleutnant Walter Buss, Unteroffizier Hans Goltz, Oberfeldwebel Ernst Möller and Gefreiter Kurt Frinzel—were killed. Also aboard was the 44-year-old Geschwaderkommodore of KG 27, Oberst Bernhard Georgi, who was among those lost.

A second He 111 of II./KG 27 force-landed at Le Blanc during an operational flight. Its crew escaped injury.

At approximately 16:00 hours, Lysander L6870 of the School of Army Co-operation was conducting a photographic sortie near Exeter when it was intercepted by three Hurricanes believed to have belonged to No. 213 Squadron. Pilot Officer B.S.T. Brookes, the photographer and gunner, delayed firing the recognition colours of the day. When he eventually discharged them, the flares could not be seen by the Hurricane pilots because of the intense sunlight.

Believing the Lysander to be a German reconnaissance aircraft, one of the Hurricane pilots opened fire, mortally wounding Brookes and damaging the aircraft. With the Lysander almost uncontrollable, Pilot Officer R.F. “Bob” Philo carried out a high-speed crash-landing. A subsequent Court of Inquiry established that the photographic sortie had inadvertently entered a prohibited area, although Philo had been unaware of the restriction.

Shipping Attacks and Minelaying

German aircraft continued to attack shipping around the British coast. The 554-ton Estonian steamer Leola was bombed and sunk, with two members of her Estonian crew killed. The available evidence does not securely identify the attacking aircraft or establish the precise time of the attack.

During the night of 16–17 July, the 2nd S-Boat Flotilla sailed from Boulogne on a minelaying operation against the Thames convoy routes. Rough seas prevented the flotilla from mining the inner route, but sixteen mines were laid in the southern section of the outer convoy route before the boats returned to Boulogne.

The 9. Fliegerdivision also conducted aerial minelaying operations off Thameshaven, Portishead, Swansea, Fowey and Plymouth.

Training Accident near Sealand

Elsewhere, Pilot Officer John Ashton, a Canadian who had previously flown operationally in France, was killed when the Master in which he was flying collided with an Oxford near Sealand. Sergeant Donald Griffiths, a prospective fighter pilot flying with Ashton, was also killed. Both men were attached to No. 5 Flying Training School. The occupants of the Oxford survived.

Strategic Assessment

Despite the formal initiation of invasion preparations under Directive No. 16, Luftwaffe activity on 17 July 1940 remained limited in scale and effect. Operations were characterised by scattered reconnaissance, harassment of shipping, fighter sweeps, and minelaying rather than concentrated offensive action. The day reflected a continued probing phase, with no measurable degradation of RAF Fighter Command and no decisive shift toward air superiority over southern Britain.

Enemy Action by Night

Enemy activity increased slightly after nightfall. At 22:32 hours, nine separate raids were plotted over the Channel, many initially heading towards Cherbourg before veering north into the Bristol Channel region. By 00:26 hours, additional formations crossed the South-West coastline. Bombs were dropped on Port Talbot, near Swansea, and in the vicinity of Radstock. No deaths were reported, and the extent of damage remains unclear.

Minelaying is strongly suspected in the Bristol Channel and off the Plymouth coast, based on radar tracks and subsequent naval alerts.

Between 22:00 and 02:35 hours, nineteen additional raids were tracked off the East Coast. Of these, at least seven were likely engaged in minelaying operations, none reaching farther north than The Wash. Several aircraft crossed the coast and dropped bombs near Queenborough, Felixstowe, Harwich, Chatham, Barking, and Gillingham. While the attacks were widely dispersed, they caused only minor structural damage and no confirmed casualties.

German Losses:
Airmen: 15 | Aircraft: 4

British Losses:
Airmen: 1 | Aircraft: 2

Spitfire K9916, No. 603 Squadron. Aircraft lost.
F/O C.D. Peel. Certified as missing. Failed to return from an operational flight.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/PeelCD.htm

Photo Descriptions

1. Heinkel He 111 bombers in formation. The He 111H was the mainstay of the German bomber force in 1940, with approximately 500 aircraft serving in seventeen Kampfgruppen during the Battle of Britain. © IWM (MH 6547)
2. This photograph was issued by the Germans with a press release on 17 July 1940. The caption read: “The British even shot at the Red Cross! The Red Crosses on the fuselage and wings can be seen from a large distance. Despite this the British again shot a German rescue seaplane while trying to rescue British crew-members who made an emergency landing at (sic) high seas.”