Footage of No. 64 Squadron Spitfires and No. 615 (County of Surrey) Squadron Hurricanes operating from RAF Kenley, 1940. Source: British Pathé
1940
27
Jul
28
Jul
Sunday 28 July 1940
Shipping attacked off Dover and south coast ports. Night: Minelaying from Thames Estuary to Humber. Scattered raiders over England and Wales. Weather: Fine early. Fair for the rest of the day, clouding over in the evening. Main Activity: At 1335 hours, a large raid was detected crossing the Dover Straits. Twenty-four Spitfires of Nos. 74 […]
29
Jul
Monday 29 July 1940
Convoy off Dover raided. Night: Activity on a reduced scale over land. Weather: Fair all over Britain. Thames Estuary and Dover hazy. Main Activity: At 0734 hours, a large formation comprising forty-eight Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers from IV/LG 1, II/StG 1, and II/StG 3, escorted by eighty Bf 109s from JG 51 and III/JG 26, […]
29
Jul
Nazi Bombers Beaten Off
Newsreel footage “Nazi Bombers Beaten Off”, 29 July 1940. Source: British Pathé
30
Jul
Tuesday 30 July 1940
Raids on convoys off Orfordness, Clacton and Harwich. Night: South Wales and midlands. Weather: Unsettled, with drizzle and low cloud. Main Activity: At 1212 hours, three Spitfires from No. 603 Squadron shot down an He 111 of 8./KG 26 south-west of Montrose. Two of the Spitfires were damaged by return fire but were able to […]
31
Jul
Wednesday 31 July 1940
Widespread attacks on shipping in south, south-east and south-west coastal waters. Dover balloon barrage. Night: South Wales and Thames raided. Weather: Fair all over the country with temperatures slightly above average. Channel and Straits hazy. Main Activity: Shortly before 0730 hours, three Hurricanes from No. 111 Squadron intercepted and damaged a Ju 88 from III/KG […]
01
Aug
Thursday 1 August 1940
East and south coast shipping attacked. Night: South Wales and midlands targets. Minelaying in Thames Estuary and north-east coast Scottish coast. Weather: Fair in most districts with Straits and Channel overcast. Low cloud dispersing during the day. Warmer. On this day, Hitler issued Directive No. 17 ordering the Luftwaffe ‘to overpower the English Air Force […]
02
Aug
Friday 2 August 1940
Shipping attacked in Channel and east coast. Night: South Wales and the Midlands. Weather: Mainly fine in the north but cloudy in the east. Channel cloudy. Drizzle in Dover Straits. Main Activity: Around 0000 hours, a convoy was attacked by two He 115 seaplanes south of Aberdeen. One of the aircraft struck the lifeboat davit […]
03
Aug
Saturday 3 August 1940
Mainly shipping reconnaissance in Channel. Night: South Wales, with some raids continuing to Liverpool, Crewe and Bradford areas. Weather: Mainly dull with bright patches. Cloud base 4,000ft. Visibility two to five miles. Main Activity: No major Luftwaffe operations due to dull weather. German LossesAirmen: 11 | Aircraft: 6 British LossesAirmen: 0 | Aircraft: 0 Photo […]
04
Aug
Sunday 4 August 1940
Reconnaissance along the south coast and Bristol Channel. Night: Little activity. Weather: Fair to fine early. Cloudy with bright intervals at midday, clearing in the evening. Main Activity: No major Luftwaffe operations due to cloudy weather. German LossesAirmen: 2 | Aircraft: 2 British LossesAirmen: 1 | Aircraft: 1 Spitfire N3271, No. 616 Squadron. Aircraft destroyed.Sgt […]