Three-phase attack on airfields in Kent, Essex and Suffolk.
Night: First major attack on Liverpool (150 bombers). Further harassing attacks over London, the Midlands and north-east coast.
Weather: Fine and fair but cold. Cloud in Dover Straits.
Enemy Action by Day
Throughout the day, the Luftwaffe mounted a sustained effort to cripple RAF No. 11 Group’s southern airfields, launching four major attacks across the southeast. The morning’s first major strike began just after 09:00, as tightly escorted bomber formations of He 111s from II. and III./KG 53 and Do 17s of I./KG 3 crossed the Kent coast near Sandwich. Escorted by Bf 109s from I. and III./JG 51, the bombers targeted the airfields at Eastchurch and Rochford.
RAF Fighter Command scrambled several squadrons – No. 79 Squadron (Biggin Hill), No. 85 Squadron (Croydon), No. 615 Squadron (Kenley), and the increasingly outmatched No.264 Squadron (Hornchurch), flying Defiants from their satellite station at Manston. Though RAF fighters inflicted losses on the German formations, they were unable to prevent serious damage to Eastchurch. Two Battles were destroyed on the ground and another two damaged. Rochford, too, was struck, with damage to buildings though the airfield remained operational. In the skies above, RAF losses included eight fighters and six pilots, while the Luftwaffe lost at least five aircraft. Among the captured was Arthur Dau of JG 51, a seven-victory ace brought down in the engagement. Meanwhile, Major Werner Mölders of JG 51 added two more kills – bringing his tally to twenty-nine – while three of 264 Squadron’s Defiants were lost in action.
Around midday, a second wave attacked Rochford once more. Do 17s from I./KG 2 caused limited damage. Spitfires from 54 Squadron, flying at altitude, swept down upon the escorting fighters. Flt. Lt. Al Deere claimed a Bf 109, Flt. Lt. George Gribble another, and Sqn. Ldr. Leathart brought down a Dornier. Gribble’s pursuit was so aggressive that he returned with tree branches lodged in his airframe—his fire even killing a cow during a low-level burst. Deere was forced to bail out. On the ground at Rochford, a Do 17 of 6./KG 3 was shot down during its bombing run by Hurricanes of No. 1 Squadron.
A third raid in the afternoon was a high-altitude fighter sweep involving seven Gruppen of Bf 109s from JG 2, JG 3, JG 26, JG 27, JG 51, JG 54, and Epr.Gr 210. This resulted in fierce fighter-versus-fighter engagements with no bomber presence. The costly combat saw sixteen aircraft lost between both sides. Air Vice Marshal Park later reprimanded his controllers, urging them not to waste resources in battles with no strategic gain. The Luftwaffe’s losses included Oblt. Hans-Theodor Griesebach (JG 2), who was listed as missing, and Experte Georg Beyer (JG 26), shot down and captured. Hans-Herbert Landry (JG 3), with five victories, was also downed and taken prisoner.
By 19:00, a final formation of around sixty enemy aircraft crossed into Kent, repeating the morning’s flight paths. Interception was limited, with one confirmed German loss.
In all, RAF fighters accounted for twenty-seven enemy aircraft, with another destroyed by anti-aircraft fire. Fighter Command suffered twenty aircraft lost, with nine pilots and three air gunners killed or missing.
Enemy Action by Night
Darkness brought a new level of severity as the Luftwaffe mounted its first major air raid on Liverpool. Over 160 bombers – including He 111s of KG 27 and Ju 88s from LG 1 and KGr 806 – struck targets in the port city. The attack’s accuracy was poor, but significant damage occurred in the broader region. At Avonmouth near Bristol, bombs hit the Shell Mex installations and the National Smelting Company. In Coventry, shops and residential buildings were damaged, while in Altrincham a 50,000-gallon oil tank caught fire. Meanwhile, Do 17s of KGr 606 bombed the Bristol area, and additional raiders targeted cities throughout the Midlands.
Beginning at 20:50, waves of bombers crossed the coast between Beachy Head and Selsey Bill, making for Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Sheffield, Manchester, and South Yorkshire. London came under near-continuous warning and bombardment for an unprecedented seven hours. While activity was lighter over the Bristol Channel, several raids extended as far as Sealand, which received particular attention.
Minelaying was suspected in multiple coastal zones, including the Wash, Thames Estuary, East Anglia, Shoreham, Lyme Bay, and Liverpool Bay.
Notable Incidents and Movements
While visiting Dover Castle during the afternoon, Prime Minister Winston Churchill personally witnessed an air battle unfold overhead. According to a War Office spokesperson, Churchill watched intently as RAF fighters clashed with German bombers. Later, en route to Ramsgate, he halted to view the wreck of a downed aircraft. Though warned of the danger, he approached the burning debris and, upon learning it was German, expressed relief.
Elsewhere, an unusual prize fell into British hands. A German Gotha Go 145 communication aircraft, lost and disoriented on a cross-country flight from Cherbourg to Strasbourg, mistakenly landed on a racecourse in southern England. It was swiftly captured and later integrated into the RAF’s No. 1426 Captured Enemy Aircraft Flight (“Rafwaffe”) for evaluation.
Germany
That night, British bombers struck Berlin for the second time, this time inflicting real casualties. Ten civilians were killed and twenty-nine injured—shattering Hermann Göring’s earlier boast that “no enemy aircraft would ever fly over the Reich capital.”
German Losses:
Airmen: 46 | Aircraft: 32
British Losses:
Airmen: 10 | Aircraft: 15
Defiant N1574, No. 264 Squadron
P/O D. Whitley killed.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Whitley.htm
Sgt. R.C. Turner killed.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/TurnerRC.htm
Shot down by Bf 109 during combat.
Defiant L7026, No. 264 Squadron
P/O P.L. Kenner killed.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Kenner.htm
P/O C.E. Johnson killed.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/JohnsonCE.htm
Shot down by Bf 109 during combat.
Defiant L7021, No. 264 Squadron
F/L R.C.V. Ash killed. Shot down by Bf 109 and crashed in flames. Pilot baled out unhurt.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Ash.htm
Spitfire R6751, No. 603 Squadron
F/L J.L.G. Cunningham listed as missing. Failed to return to base. Possibly shot down into sea.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/CunninghamJLG.htm
Spitfire L1046, No. 603 Squadron
P/O D.K. MacDonald listed as missing. Failed to return to base. Possibly shot down into sea.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/MacDonaldDK.htm
Spitfire P9511, No. 610 Squadron
P/O K.H. Cox killed. Shot down by Bf 109 and crashed into a house in village outside Dover.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/CoxKH.htm
Spitfire N3105, No. 603 Squadron
P/O N.J.V. Benson killed. Shot down by Bf 109 and crashed in flames.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/BensonNJV.htm
Photo Descriptions
- Boulton Paul Defiant Mk Is of No. 264 Squadron RAF based at Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire, August 1940. The squadron was withdrawn from the front line on 28 August 1940 after the loss of 11 aircraft (including L7026 PS-V and N1535 PS-A), five pilots, and nine air gunners. The Defiant was never committed to daylight operations within range of enemy fighters again.
- Winston Churchill viewing activity in the Channel from an observation post at Dover Castle during his tour of defences, 28 August 1940. Enemy air attacks were in progress at the time, and two German bombers were seen to crash into the sea. © IWM (H 3499)
- The wreckage of Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 (Werk Nr.941) of 2 Staffel./Jagdgeschwader 3 shot down near Dover on 28 August 1940. The pilot, Leutnant Hans-Herbert Landry, bailed out immediately after the aircraft was attacked by a Spitfire and the engine caught fire.
- Winston Churchill and his entourage walk away from the crash-site of Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 (Werk Nr.941) of 2 Staffel./Jagdgeschwader 3 on Church Farm at Church Whitfield near Dover, 28 August 1940. Churchill was travelling between Dover and Ramsgate at the time, touring invasion defences, when the German aircraft was shot down. He ordered his car to halt and walked over to view the wreckage, much to the consternation of his personal bodyguard, Inspector W H Thompson (seen here on the right), as German aircraft were still in the vicinity. © IWM (H 3512)
- Oberfeldwebel Artur Dau of 7 Staffel./Jagdgeschwader 51 is quizzed by PC Hills, with left to right Home Guard Jack Wood, ARP Warden Cyril Souton and local farmer J Wood. Dau was shot down over Hougham in Kent possibly by S/L Peter Townsend of No. 85 Squadron on 28 August 1940. © IWM (KY 10266)