Shipping reconnaissance and attacks on two Channel convoys. Night: Increased activity particularly in the Midlands, north and west. Some minelaying. Weather: Cloudy and squally. Main Activity: At 0900 hours the convoy ‘Totem’ was passing through the Straits of Dover and reported being under air attack. Investigation showed that it was in fact being shelled by […]
1940
22
Aug
23
Aug
Friday 23 August 1940
Single raids in the south and reconnaissance flights. Night: Main attacks in South Wales. Weather: Showers with bright intervals. Cloudy in Straits, Channel and Thames Estuary. Main Activity: Low cloud and rain continued throughout this Friday, limiting operations once again to guerrilla warfare by single, or occasionally flights of two or three machines. Outer London, […]
24
Aug
Saturday 24 August 1940
Airfield attacks in south-east; Manston evacuated. Heavy raid on Portsmouth. Night: Heavier attacks over wide area. Minelaying. Weather: Fine and clear in the south, drizzle in the north. Main Activity: The early part of the Saturday morning was cloudless and fine and the controllers in 11 Group watched anxiously for the inevitable signs of a […]
25
Aug
Sunday 25 August 1940
Slight activity in the morning, main raids by Luftflotte 3 in the south-west during the afternoon. Night: Continued widespread attacks with the main concentration in the Midlands. Weather: Early morning fair but remainder of day cloudy. Main Activity: For most of the morning and afternoon of Wednesday the Luftwaffe rested, although the Channel was filled […]
26
Aug
Monday 26 August 1940
Dover, Folkestone and airfields in Kent and Essex attacked. Lesser raids in the Solent. Night: Widespread raids, Industrial areas and airfields the main targets. Weather: Mainly cloudy but dry. Brighter in the south. Main Activity: This was another day of widespread activity in the course of which the Luftwaffe delivered three main attacks: (a) on […]
27
Aug
Tuesday 27 August 1940
Reconnaissance mainly in the Portsmouth – Southampton area. Night: Widespread attacks on industry and airfields from Lincolnshire to Portsmouth. Weather: Rain in central and eastern England. Some cloud in the Channel and haze over Dover Straits. Main Activity: The Tuesday morning dawned dull and hazy, but no Luftflotte 2 major raids developed. The main effort […]
28
Aug
Wednesday 28 August 1940
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. Main Activity: Once more the Luftwaffe divided its main efforts into three phases. The first began at 0830 […]
29
Aug
Thursday 29 August 1940
Quiet in the morning, airfield attacks in the south and south-east later in the day. Night: Further attack on Liverpool with diversionary raids in the Midlands. Weather: Showers and bright intervals. Cloud in the Channel and Straits. Main Activity: After the feverish activity of the previous night, the Thursday morning was dull but peaceful. Little […]
30
Aug
Friday 30 August 1940
Dummy raids on shipping then heavy attacks on south-eastern airfields. Luton attacked. Night: Third raid on Liverpool. Single raids over wide area. Weather: Fair. Main Activity: The day began with a renewal of shipping raids, this time in the Thames Estuary, designed to act as feints for the main assault which was picked up by […]
31
Aug
Saturday 31 August 1940
Fighter Command suffers its heaviest losses. Airfields in the south and south-east raided. Night: Liverpool once again the main target with lesser attacks covering the north-east coast to Plymouth. Weather: Mainly fair with haze over the Thames Estuary and Dover Straits. Main Activity: The odds were weighted even more heavily against Fighter Command on this […]