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.

South-Eastern Channel and East Coast

Early reconnaissance patrols were impeded by poor visibility. Once conditions improved, shipping was again engaged by mostly lone Luftwaffe aircraft operating along the coast. Several of these were intercepted by RAF standing patrols. Shortly before midday, a Dornier Do 17 ventured inland and was intercepted near Kenley by two Hurricanes and a Spitfire. Although damaged during the engagement, the aircraft evaded destruction by escaping into cloud.

Sub-Lieutenant (A) John Sykes of No. 64 Squadron scrambled independently to investigate a suspected hostile aircraft later identified as a reconnaissance Do 17. He succeeded in inflicting damage before the aircraft again escaped under cloud cover.

During the afternoon, another section of No. 64 Squadron was surprised by a formation of approximately twelve Bf 109s. Flying Officer Donald Taylor’s Spitfire was hit, forcing him to crash-land near Hailsham. He was admitted to Eastbourne Hospital with serious wounds. The attacking fighter was flown by Leutnant Helmut Wick of 3./JG 2, who had become separated from his wingman in cloud before sighting and engaging the Spitfire. This victory was recorded as Wick’s fifteenth combat claim.

Coastal Command and Fighter Sweeps

A Blenheim of No. 59 Squadron failed to return from a reconnaissance sortie to Cherbourg. It was later established as the fourth confirmed victim of Leutnant Hans-Folkert Rosenboom of III./JG 27, who claimed a Blenheim shot down off Cherbourg at 11:30 hours. The body of the aircraft’s gunner was subsequently washed ashore on the French coast.

At 13:45 hours, three Blenheims of No. 236 Squadron carried out a 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.

At 14:10 hours, two further Blenheims from No. 236 Squadron undertook a patrol over the same area. Flight Lieutenant Bob Denison attacked one of three Ju 88s encountered and reported that the aircraft would likely have experienced difficulty returning to base. One Ju 88 of I./KG 51 failed to return and may have been the result of this engagement.

South-Western Channel and South-West Coast

At approximately 15:30 hours, a flight of Hurricanes from No. 145 Squadron, led by Squadron Leader John Peel, intercepted a lone Heinkel He 111 near St Catherine’s Point. The aircraft, operating from Stab/KG 27 and misidentified during the engagement as a Ju 88 due to poor visibility, was attacked by all six Hurricanes and claimed as damaged. In reality, the Heinkel failed to return to base, and all six crew members were killed, including Oberst Bernhard Georgi, the Geschwaderkommodore.

Later in the afternoon, near Exeter, a Lysander of the School of Army Co-operation was conducting a photographic sortie when it was challenged by Hurricanes believed to be from No. 213 Squadron. Due to intense sunlight, the Lysander’s recognition flares were not seen, and one Hurricane pilot opened fire, mortally wounding the observer. The pilot carried out a high-speed crash-landing. A subsequent Court of Inquiry determined that the flight had inadvertently entered a prohibited area.

Naval and Mine-Laying Operations

According to German naval records, the 2nd S-Boat Flotilla sailed during the night of 16–17 July to lay mines in the Thames convoy routes. Rough seas prevented mining of the inner route, but sixteen mines were successfully laid in the southern section of the outer convoy route before the flotilla returned to Boulogne.

In addition, the 9. Flieger-Division conducted aerial mine-laying operations off Thameshaven, Portishead, Swansea, Fowey, and Plymouth.

Operational Losses and Accidents

No. 603 Squadron lost a pilot during the day when Flying Officer Charlie Peel failed to return from an operational sortie. There is no record of combat, and the loss is believed to have resulted from engine failure. Elsewhere, Pilot Officer John Ashton was killed in a flying accident following a mid-air collision during training duties, along with another airman; the occupants of the second aircraft survived.

Summary

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 mine-laying 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: 1

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.”