Convoys and shipping in the Channel attacked

Night: Nil.

Weather: Channel and Straits of Dover cloudy. Coastal and hill fog in western districts spreading east. Rain in most districts.

Enemy Action by Day

Shortly after midnight, a Heinkel He 111 was detected near North Berwick and engaged by Sergeant A. McDowell of No. 602 Squadron, flying Spitfire N3228. McDowell claimed the bomber destroyed near Dunbar at approximately 00:40 hours, although no corresponding German loss has been identified.

At approximately 03:00 hours, anti-aircraft gunners claimed a Dornier Do 17 destroyed over north-eastern England after seeing the aircraft dive away in flames. This claim also remains unconfirmed.

At 03:40 hours, Focke-Wulf Fw 200C F8+BH of 1./KG 40 ditched in the sea near Black Head, north-east of Belfast, during a minelaying sortie over Belfast Lough. The aircraft had experienced engine trouble and exhausted its fuel. Hauptmann Volkmar Zenker, Unteroffizier Heinz Hocker and Gefreiter Leo Hohmann were rescued by the anti-submarine trawler HMT Paynter and landed at Larne. Feldwebel Willi Andreas and Unteroffizier Rudolf Wagner drowned.

06:30 Hours: Raid on Glasgow

The day opened with an early Luftwaffe strike on Glasgow. At approximately 06:30 hours, a lone Heinkel He 111 approached the city at low altitude and released a mix of high-explosive and incendiary bombs over the Hillington Industrial Estate. The raid caused serious damage to a printing works and inflicted further harm on nearby sugar and oilcake processing facilities. Blast effects shattered windows in the vicinity, including at the Rolls-Royce factory.

Eighteen civilians were injured, one of them seriously. The attacking aircraft was reportedly intercepted during its withdrawal; one engine was disabled and the rear gunner killed. The bomber dived into cloud cover and disappeared—its ultimate fate unknown, though it was considered unlikely to have returned to base.

07:25–09:25 Hours: Fighting off Scotland

At approximately 07:25 hours, three Spitfires of No. 603 Squadron intercepted a Heinkel He 111 of 3./KG 26 about thirty-five miles east-north-east of Peterhead. The pilots claimed the bomber probably destroyed, but it succeeded in returning to its base on one engine. Unteroffizier Heinz Hauswald, Unteroffizier Werner Kunze and Unteroffizier Henry Westphalen were wounded.

Later that morning, three Hurricanes of No. 504 Squadron intercepted and damaged another Heinkel approximately ten miles east of Wick. The bomber escaped and no corresponding German loss was recorded.

08:00 Hours: Ju 88 Shot Down over the West Country

At approximately 08:00 hours, three Spitfires of No. 92 Squadron intercepted a Ju 88 of 3./LG 1 approaching Cardiff. Flight Lieutenant C.B.F. Kingcombe, Flight Lieutenant J.A. Paterson and Pilot Officer J.S. Bryson attacked the bomber and were joined by Pilot Officer R.P. Beamont of No. 87 Squadron, flying a Hurricane.

The damaged Ju 88 descended across the Bristol Channel before scraping the clifftop and crashing on Martinhoe Common near Lynton. The aircraft was Ju 88 L1+DL, commanded by Hauptmann Dieter von Maltitz. Feldwebel Paul Weilmaier was killed, while von Maltitz, Feldwebel Gerhard Pliefke and Unteroffizier Wilhelm Wachholz survived and were taken prisoner.

Other enemy formations were detected over Bournemouth and Portland but withdrew before attacking. Reconnaissance activity persisted across the Channel and along the eastern and southern coasts.

08:12–09:35 Hours: Interceptions off Dover and the Goodwin Sands

Shortly after 08:00 hours, six Spitfires of No. 54 Squadron intercepted Dornier Do 17s attempting to approach shipping off Dover. The Spitfires disrupted the attack before the bombers could inflict any damage, but two aircraft were struck by defensive fire. Spitfires P9389 and P9549 were damaged, with one forced to land away from Rochford. No. 54 Squadron submitted no claims.

At approximately the same time, Sub-Lieutenant F. Dawson-Paul of No. 64 Squadron, flying Spitfire L1035, engaged a Do 17 north-east of the Goodwin Sands. Dawson-Paul claimed the Dornier destroyed but sustained damage from its defensive fire. The German aircraft was probably a Do 17 of 5./KG 2, which returned to its base with the pilot and another crewman wounded.

11:25–13:30 Hours: The Battle of the Thames Estuary

Shortly before midday, a large German formation approached the Kent coast to attack shipping off Harwich and in the Thames Estuary. The attacking force comprised approximately eighteen Dornier Do 17s of I./KG 2 and bomb-carrying Bf 110s, protected by around forty Bf 109s from III./JG 26 and III./JG 51. Fighters of III./JG 52 also became involved as the battle developed.

No. 54 Squadron was scrambled from Rochford, with Flight Lieutenant Alan Deere leading Red Section. On sighting the size of the enemy formation at approximately 20,000 feet, Deere immediately requested reinforcements. Spitfires of Nos. 65 and 610 Squadrons were dispatched to join the battle.

What followed became known within No. 54 Squadron as the Battle of the Thames Estuary. Intense fighting developed over Margate, with Dorniers diving to low level and weaving among the rooftops of the seafront hotels. Spitfires and Messerschmitts clashed at close quarters, often below 1,000 feet. RAF formations were forced to split to meet the threat, leaving many pilots outnumbered. According to the squadron’s Operational Record Book, it was their fiercest action since Dunkirk.

No. 54 Squadron claimed six Bf 109s destroyed, eight probably destroyed and two damaged. Pilot Officer Colin Gray, Sergeant George Collett, Flight Lieutenant Alan Deere, Flying Officer Desmond McMullen and Pilot Officers Edward Coleman and Douglas Turley-George each claimed a Messerschmitt destroyed. Gray, McMullen and Turley-George also claimed one probable apiece, while Flight Lieutenant B.H. Way and Pilot Officer D.R. Gribble each claimed two probable victories. Flight Sergeant P.H. Tew claimed another probable, and Coleman and Pilot Officer H.K.F. Matthews each claimed a Bf 109 damaged.

Flying Officer John Allen, DFC, was killed after his Spitfire R6812 was attacked by Bf 109s off Margate. Although his failing engine briefly restarted and allowed him to turn towards RAF Manston, it stopped again as he crossed Cliftonville. The Spitfire stalled and crashed in flames near the Old Charles Inn.

Sergeant George Collett, flying Spitfire N3192, pursued a Bf 109 until his fuel was exhausted. He force-landed on Dunwich Beach and suffered minor injuries. Pilot Officer H.K.F. Matthews was also slightly wounded when his Spitfire R6710 was attacked by a Bf 109 of Stab III./JG 26, but he succeeded in returning with the aircraft badly damaged.

No. 65 Squadron entered the fighting shortly after midday. Squadron Leader H.C. Sawyer claimed a Bf 109 probably destroyed and three others damaged, while Flight Sergeants N.T. Phillips and R.R. MacPherson and Flying Officer J.B.H. Nicholas claimed four Dornier Do 17s damaged between them.

No. 610 Squadron fought two engagements south of Dover and north of Margate. Flight Lieutenants J. Ellis and E.B.B. Smith claimed Bf 109s destroyed during the first combat. After returning to the battle, Ellis claimed another Messerschmitt destroyed, while Sergeant P. Else and Pilot Officers S.C. Norris and F.T. Gardiner each claimed one probably destroyed.

During the first engagement, pilots of No. 610 Squadron also encountered three unfamiliar single-engined aircraft below them. Mistaking them for German-operated French Vought V-156 dive-bombers, the Spitfire pilots attacked. The aircraft were actually Blackburn Skuas from RNAS Worthy Down.

Sergeant H.H. Chandler attacked one of the Skuas at extremely close range, while Flight Lieutenant E.B.B. Smith and Sergeant C.A. Parsons attacked another. One Skua was brought down, injuring Sub-Lieutenant S. Devonald, RNVR, and a second was damaged and may also have been forced to land.

The Luftwaffe lost heavily during the fighting. Nine German fighters failed to return, including aircraft from JG 26 and III./JG 52. Leutnant Josef Schauff of 8./JG 26 was killed when his parachute failed after he baled out over Margate. His Bf 109E-4 crashed into Byron Avenue at approximately 13:05 hours, severing gas and water mains.

Oberleutnant Werner Bartels, Technical Officer of III./JG 26, was seriously wounded when Bf 109E-1 W.Nr. 6296 force-landed beside the Margate–Broadstairs railway line at Northdown at approximately 13:00 hours. Bartels was taken prisoner.

Hauptmann Erich Noack, Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 26, was severely wounded and killed when his damaged fighter crashed while approaching Marquise-East. III./JG 52 lost its Gruppenkommandeur, Hauptmann Wolfgang-Heinrich Freiherr von Houwald, together with Oberleutnant Herbert Fermer, Gefreiter Erich Frank and Staffelkapitän Oberleutnant Lothar Ehrlich.

The German fighter pilots claimed six Spitfires during the battle, considerably fewer than the RAF’s claims but still more than the British losses sustained. Major Adolf Galland of III./JG 26 claimed one Spitfire and later recalled:

“We were no longer in doubt that the RAF would prove a formidable opponent.”

No German Dornier was confirmed destroyed during the engagement. One Do 17 of 2./KG 2 returned damaged after a fighter attack, with Unteroffizier Otto Zarbuck and Unteroffizier Johannes Mischke wounded.

Attacks on Shipping off Dover and Harwich

While dogfights continued overhead, Bf 110s of 2./Erprobungsgruppe 210 attacked shipping off Dover and in the Thames Estuary. German crews claimed four steamers sunk from a convoy of six and a fifth vessel set on fire.

The armed trawlers Orofino, Fleming, Kingston Galena and Rodina were sunk. Fleming was lost in the Thames Estuary, while Kingston Galena and Rodina sank off Dover. Sixteen members of Kingston Galena’s crew were killed, including her skipper. Three members of Rodina’s crew were killed and five wounded.

One of the attacking Bf 110s was struck directly by anti-aircraft fire and crashed approximately twenty miles east of Harwich. Unteroffizier Paul Hermann and Unteroffizier Heinz Meinhardt of 2./Erprobungsgruppe 210 were killed.

15:03 Hours: Brooklands and Walton-on-Thames Bombed

At 15:03 hours, a Ju 88 approached Brooklands aerodrome posing as a friendly aircraft, mimicking the landing pattern of inbound RAF fighters. With its undercarriage lowered, it circled for seven minutes before releasing twelve bombs over the landing ground, the Vickers aircraft works, and the Wandsworth Gas Company installation at Walton-on-Thames. Six bombs fell near the gas works, causing minor damage and injuring four people.

The remainder landed on St George’s Hill and the aerodrome itself, though production was not disrupted. No RAF fighters intercepted the attacker.

17:21–19:50 Hours: Further Attacks off the Coast

At approximately 17:27 hours, three German bombers attacked shipping near Dover. Spitfires of No. 74 Squadron intercepted a Dornier Do 215 reconnaissance aircraft and claimed it probably destroyed, although no corresponding German loss has been identified.

At 18:18 hours, bombs were dropped at Great Yarmouth but failed to detonate. Two minutes later, seventeen small high-explosive bombs were dropped at Wherstead near Ipswich, causing no reported damage or casualties.

At 19:50 hours, another Luftwaffe aircraft was reported machine-gunning Royal Navy inshore patrols twenty miles south of Hastings. Inclement weather prevented fighter interception.

19:20 Hours: Spitfire Lost off Cromer

At 19:20 hours, Spitfire N3041 of No. 66 Squadron crashed into the sea approximately thirty miles north-east of Cromer while on patrol. The pilot, Sergeant A.D. Smith, was rescued unharmed.

Elsewhere, several reconnaissance sorties were detected in the Aberdeen area during the day, but no interceptions occurred.

Loss of HMS Narwhal

The Royal Navy submarine HMS Narwhal failed to return from a minelaying mission off Trondheim. Although initially believed to have struck a mine, she had been attacked and sunk by a Dornier Do 17 of 1./Küstenfliegergruppe 606 flown by Leutnant Karl Müller.

Operational Accidents

Pilot Officer J.R. Hamar, DFC, of No. 151 Squadron was killed during an abortive scramble from North Weald. Shortly after take-off, the unidentified aircraft that had prompted the scramble was confirmed as friendly and the Hurricanes were ordered to return. While flying Hurricane P3316 at approximately 120 mph and sixty feet above the ground, Hamar attempted a climbing turn, stalled and crashed inverted on the aerodrome.

Pilot Officer A.M. Cooper-Key of No. 46 Squadron was killed when Hurricane P2685 suffered engine failure during a training exercise. Cooper-Key reportedly attempted to avoid children playing in a park before the aircraft crashed against a railway embankment west of Peartree Station near Normanton.

A Spitfire of No. 74 Squadron was also damaged in a landing accident during the day.

Battle L5482 of No. 12 Operational Training Unit struck high-tension cables during a low-level navigation exercise and crashed near Oxford. The pilot, eighteen-year-old Midshipman Charles Mortimer, and his two crewmen were killed.

Enemy Action by Night

No major enemy activity was recorded during the night of 24/25 July. The only track of note was a suspected minelaying aircraft operating off Bamburgh. Poor weather appears to have curtailed wider Luftwaffe activity.

British Night Operations

Despite the poor weather, approximately twenty-four Whitleys and Hampdens were dispatched against targets in northern Germany and Belgium. Persistent cloud, fog and icing prevented the crews from locating their assigned objectives, and the raids achieved no identifiable results. All the aircraft returned safely.

German Losses:
Airmen: 23 | Aircraft: 15

British Losses:
Airmen: 3 | Aircraft: 5

Spitfire R6812, No. 54 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
F/O J. L. Allen killed. Engine damaged in combat with Bf 109, but losing height crashed near the Old Charles Inn at Cliftonville.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/AllenJL.htm

Hurricane P3316, No. 151 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
P/O J. R. Hamar killed. Aircraft stalled at 500 ft and crashed nose first on aerodrome.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Hamar.htm

Hurricane P2685, No. 46 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.
P/O A. M. Cooper-Key killed. Aircraft crashed during training exercise due to engine failure.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Cooper-Key.htm

Photo Descriptions

1. Supermarine Spitfire Mark Is of No. 610 Squadron based at Biggin Hill, flying in ‘vic’ formation, 24 July 1940. © IWM (CH 740)
2. The wreckage of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 flown by 21 year old Lt. Josef Schauff from 8./JG 26 which crashed into Byron Avenue, Margate on 24 July 1940. The pilot bailed out moments before, but he died in the grounds of the Royal School for Deaf Children.
3. Troops inspect a Messerschmitt Bf 109E-1 (W.Nr. 6296F) which crash-landed at Northdown in Kent, beside the Margate to Broadstairs railway line, having been shot down by Spitfires on 24 July 1940. It was flown by Oberleutnant Bartels, Technical Officer of Stab. III/JG 26, who was injured in the crash. © IWM (HU 69875)
4. An RAF officer inspects a Messerschmitt Bf 109E-1 (W.Nr. 6296F) which crash-landed at Northdown in Kent, beside the Margate to Broadstairs railway line, having been shot down by Spitfires on 24 July 1940. It was flown by Oberleutnant Bartels, Technical Officer of Stab. III/JG 26, who was injured in the crash. © IWM (HU 69876)
5. An RAF officer points to a bullet hole in the cockpit canopy of a Messerschmitt Bf 109E-1 (W.Nr. 6296F) which was shot down by Spitfires on 24 July 1940. It crash-landed at Northdown in Kent, beside the Margate to Broadstairs railway line. It was flown by Oberleutnant Bartels, Technical Officer of Stab. III/JG 26, who was injured in the crash. © IWM (HU 73422)
6. The wreckage of Hawker Hurricane Mk. I P2685, which crashed on 24 July 1940 after its engine failed. The pilot, P/O A M Cooper-Key of No. 46 Squadron, was killed. It is believed he tried to land in a park but when he spotted a group of young children playing he changed course and crashed on a railway embankment west of Peartree Station in Normanton near Derby.