This Day in the Battle of Britain

This will be neat!

Airframes said:

Great start Chris, and I've been looking forward to this ever since you first told me about it. It'll more than compliment the bits and pieces I'll be posting in the BoB thread in the Modelling Section - which I'm still trying to get together in a presentable fashion, without being too 'bulky' !
I should have some Bf110 profiles from the BoB, and other aircraft, if you need anything. I'll be posting the odd one or two of my own profiles in the other thread, so I'll liase with you, as already briefly discussed.
BTW, you've missed the top off the map, showing the more northern 13 Group airfields! Usworth and Catterick, although involved, were perhaps not so 'busy' as Acklington and Leuchars.

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Terry, I want you to add whatever you feel is worth it. This is by no means an end-all to everything (i.e. Stukas removed, etc.). I'll try my best but I know how perceptions can be. I'll try to post facts and everyone else can make up their mind. The map was difficult as there weren't many that I could find with the proper bases and the question is really at what period were these maps showing?

Heres another map showing radar ranges....

No problem Chris. As for the maps, I'm currently working on my own maps, and also hope to produce a satellite image 'map' showing the locations. The RAF airfields were generally the same throughout the Battle, but of course the Squadrons occupying them changed as they rotated. If I don't get the 'satellite map' completed, I'll post a map showing the locations etc, one each for RAF and Luftwaffe.

Can't wait to see that!

Some profiles showing basic aircraft formations during the battle.

..the official 70th anniversary commemoration takes place this Sunday (11 July) at the Battle of Britian memorial at Capel-le Ferne, Kent, in the presence of HRH Prince Michael of Kent.

Battle of Britain Memorial

Great stuff Chris.

If my calculations are right, its 10 July in England right now, so lets begin......

10 JULY 1940 Wednesday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: PHASE ONE
UNITED KINGDOM: First light on the 10th July 1940 revealed a typical dirty English Summers day with intermittent driving rain from the North West: 'Harry clampers' to the fighter pilots of 11 Group, many of whom drunk their early morning cup of tea or turned over in bed for a lie in. The first phase of what was soon to be known as the Battle of Britain commenced with the Luftwaffe conducting major attacks on Channel convoys. The bulk of the attacks were in the south where the Luftwaffe went on probing attacks on British shipping in the English Channel and in the outer Thames Estuary. Smaller raids, and a number of German reconnaissance aircraft were spotted along the east coast while other nuisance raids took place in the north. At first light, almost every day, the Germans had been sending out weather and recognisance flights to photograph the previous days targets, possible future targets and to report on the weather. Do 17s, Do 215s or Ju 88s were usually used for this task, which included attacks on convoys if conditions allowed. They took advantage of cloud cover wherever possible and were often difficult to pick out on the radar sets. During this phase, London remained unscathed. Most of these attacks in the Channel were on the merchant convoys bringing much needed coal, raw materials, machinery and foodstuffs to Britain. By sinking these merchant ships Germany would deny the British people of the various commodities required just for their sheer existence.

But at the same time, by attacking these channel convoys, it was hoped that the Luftwaffe would draw out the British fighters from their bases. This way the Luftwaffe could analyze the strength of the RAF and determine the speed and the efficiency that the RAF could deploy its squadrons. To achieve this the Luftwaffe assigned General Lörzer's II Fliegerkorps and General von Richthofen's VIII Fliegerkorps the task of securing air superiority over the English Channel and its convoys. A battlegroup consisting of KG 2, II./StG 1, IV(Stuka)./LG 1 and other units were concentrated into a shipping strike force under the Geschwaderkommodore of KG 2, Oberst Johannes Fink, who was given the title Kanalkampfführer or Leader of the Channel Battle. But the battlegroup wasn't up to strength to commence operations so only Channel convoys were targeted until sufficient planes and ammunition were gathered.

For the next two or three weeks, the Luftwaffe was quite content on attacking the convoys in the English Channel, some of the conflicts included just a couple of Ju 87s dive bombing individual or small convoys, others included using U-boats while some of the larger convoys were attacked by numbers of Do 17s backed up by German Artillery from the French coast. The skies over the Channel were a criss cross pattern of vapor trails, then suddenly a Ju 87 would come hurtling in a near vertical dive sometimes hotly pursued by a Spitfire or Hurricane. Depending where one was watching from, depended on the sky show to be seen, but the two areas that seemed to attract the most action was an area between the Isle of Wight and Weymouth, and the other was the in the vicinity of the Dover Straights which had now been given the name of "Hellfire Corner".

At 0815 hours a lone Dornier 17z of KG 3 on a recon mission at about 10,000 feet was intercepted by Spitfires from RAF No. 66 Sqd. P/O Charles Cooke led the section and as the Spitfires peeled off one by one, engines roaring, the crew of the Dornier spotted them and soon it was weaving and sliding in a desperate effort to evade the gunfire from the Spitfires. Oblt. Bott, who had taken off from Antwerp on the recce flight at dawn fought hard to survive, manoeuvring the aircraft to give his three gunners repeated opportunities to knock out the two attacking Spitfires, but the eight guns of the second aircraft soon overwhelmed the Dornier, killing Bott and his second in command, Lt. Schroeder. The gunners in the Dornier tried in vain in warding off the Spits but to no avail. The Spitfires continued to harass the bomber and in the melee P/O Cooke's windscreen was hit and a hole developed in the canopy letting in extremely cold air. Then one of the Spitfires came up from underneath, firing at the Dornier with all eight Browning's and went in close and the Dornier went into a banking glide bellowing smoke until it hit the sea between Yarmouth and Harwich.

At approximately 1100 hours the convoy "Bread" was sighted off Manston by one Dornier 17 escorted by ten Bf 109s. Immediately the German radio operator dispatched a message to Kanalfront HQ giving the location of the convoy, size and its present course. The Spitfires of RAF No. 74 Sqd were scrambled and located the Dornier and the Bf 109s - heading for the slower Dornier first, but not before the highly maneuverable 109s turned and got the Spitfires in their sights. Two of the Spitfires were hit, but not bad enough to put them out of action They kept their course and as they approached firing range of the Dornier, they opened fire. Immediately the front cockpit of the bomber exploded in smoke and flame. The Dornier went down low and the Spitfires weaved and turned and engaged in a dogfight with the Messerschmitt escort. The two Spitfires that were hit were forced to return to Hornchurch while the other four remained for a while. Only one Bf 109 was hit and received minor damage. The Germans were reinforced by another group of about twelve aircraft just as the Spitfires of RAF No. 610 Sqd arrived and the remaining four Spitfires of RAF No. 74 Sqd returned back to base. RAF No. 610 Sqd scored no 'kills' but managed to stop the 109s and they headed back towards the French coast. In this combat, RAF No. 74 Sqd had two of its Spitfires damaged over the Channel while one Spitfire of RAF No. 610 Sqd had to make a forced landing at Hawkinge after being hit during the same combat.

(10 July 1940 continued.....)
The transmission that the Dornier made at 1030 hours was received loud and clear back in France. At 1350 hours British radar picked up a strong signal that a German formation was coming across the French coast just west of Calais and heading in the general direction of Folkestone. This was the largest number of German bombers ever seen coming across the Channel at that time. The main force was twenty-six Do 17s of III./KG 2 spread in three groups, thirty Bf 110s of I./ZG 26 and twenty Bf 109s of III./JG 51. The 'scramble' order went out to Manston, Biggin Hill, Croydon, Hornchurch and Kenley from which the following squadrons were scrambled: RAF No. 56 Sqd, RAF No. 32 Sqd (Hurricanes), RAF No. 111 Sqd (Hurricanes), the Spitfires of RAF No.74 Sqd while Kenley sent out six Spitfires of RAF No.64 Sqd towards the closing stages of the battle. As a feint for the attack, a single Ju 88 of II./LG 1 was sent to Bristol but soon aborted the mission.

The Dorniers turned and headed for the convoy just as the British fighters arrived on the scene. The Spitfires of RAF No.74 Sqd and the Hurricanes of RAF No. 56 Sqd and RAF No. 32 Sqd engaged the Bf 109s and the Bf 110s while the Hurricanes of RAF No. 111 Sqd went straight in and attacked the Dorniers. The Bf 110s immediately formed a defensive circle and it was left up to the fighters of III./JG 51 to protect the bombers. Soon the throng of warplanes were joined by more fighters from II./JG 51, bringing a total of thirty British fighters engaged with seventy German aircraft. The skies off the coast at Folkestone became a maze of vapor trails snaking in all directions. It was a tough dogfight with neither side gaining the upper hand. Hptm. Hannes Trautloft of III./JG 51, remembered;

"Suddenly the sky was full of British fighters. Today we were going to be in for a rough time."

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Or as Lt. Bechtle, piloting a Dornier 17, witnessed,

"It was a magnificent dogfight! From a distance, the aircraft looked like bunches of grapes . . . !"

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As the dogfight continued, the Dornier formations started to break up as many of the British fighters began to harass them like dogs snapping at their tails. F/O Tom Higgs of RAF No. 111 Sqd took on a lone Dornier firing off numerous rounds towards the weaving bomber that was desperately trying to evade the pursuing Hurricane. But Higgs went in closer than his firing range, and with his thumb on the firing button clipped the Dornier with his wing before spinning seawards out of control with one wing missing. The Dornier also spun out of control. Both aircraft crashed into the Channel and a rescue launch that was soon on the scene picked up the pilot of the Dornier and another member of the crew, but there was no sign of the rest of the bomber's crew or of F/O Higgs.

One Bf 109 belly-landed outside Calais, damaged after the battle. Another Bf 109, that of Ofw. Arthur Dau of 7./JG 51 was lost in another collision, this time with a Hurricane of RAF No. 56 Squadron. A Bf 110 of III./ZG 26 was shot down and another damaged. Werner Kreipe of III./KG 2 described the attack on the convoy.

"The convoy had been sighted between Dover and Dungeness. Our briefing took only a few minutes, and within a half hour of being airborne we had sighted the coast of Kent. The Channel was bathed in brilliant sunshine . . . A light haze hung over the English coast, and there, far below us, was the convoy, like so many toy ships with wispy wakes fanning out behind. As soon as we were observed, the ships of the convoy dispersed, the merchantmen maneuvering violently and the escorting warships moving out at full speed. Anti-aircraft shells peppered the sky. Our fighters now appeared. We made our first bomb run, and fountains leapt up around the ships . . . By now the fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force had joined in, and the sky was a twisting, turning melee of fighters . . . My wing was in the air for three hours in all. We reported one heavy cruiser and four merchant ships sunk, one merchant ship damaged and eleven British fighters shot down or damaged. We had lost two bombers, two twin-engined fighters and three single-engined fighters during the course of this engagement."

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But despite JG 51's and Werner Kreipe of KG 2's claims, only one 700 ton ship was sunk from the convoy "Bread" with three Hurricanes damaged as well as four Spitfires, three Do 17s destroyed with one damaged on crash landing, three Bf 110s shot down and three Bf 109s shot down or damaged on crash landing. The rest of the ships in the convoy were not even attacked and continued their journey.

At 1530 hours sixty Ju 88 bombers from Luftflotte 3 were dispatched to attack the targets of Swansea in Wales and Falmouth in Devon. British 10 Group in the west at this stage had not been formed, so there really was no fighter protection in this part of England. But RAF No. 92 Sqd from Pembury were scrambled but were too late to avoid the bombing by the German bombers. An ammunitions factory was badly damaged at Swansea and Falmouth also suffered considerable damage. Shipping was also hit hard as was destruction to a power station. Thirty people were killed.

At 0515 hours, five HE [High Explosive] bombs fell on Martlesham Aerodrome. No damage was reported. At 0517 hours, two HE bombs (either 100 or 250lbs) fell on Honington Aerodrome one of which fell within 600 yards of the hangar and the other within 400 yards of the same hangar. The Dornier aircraft concerned was reported shot down by RAF No. 66 Sqd. At 0544 hours, seventeen bombs estimated between 50 and 100 lbs each, were dropped on West Raynham Aerodrome, causing minor damage to the plant and setting a hangar on fire. Three Ansons and one Gladiator were burnt out in the hangar. Three Battles and one Tutor were superficially damaged. At 0557 hours, about fourteen bombs fell in a cornfield 300 yards north-east of the Marham Aerodrome. Wires on the road nearby were cut. No damage was reported to the station.

Another dogfight over the Channel later at 1400 hours brought the total for the day to nine British fighters destroyed with three British fighters credited to Oblt. Walter Oesau, the Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 51. Also given credit for destroying Spitfires and Hurricanes for the day were Lt. Erich Hohagen and Lt. Heinz Tornow of 4./JG 51, Uffz. Otto Tange of 4./JG 51, Hptm. Horst Tietzen and Lt. Hans-Otto Lessing of 5./JG 51. Another Spitfire was also credited to Oblt. Josef Priller of 6./JG 51.

By the end of the day, in a view of things to come, the German's claim of seven aircraft lost along with those just mentioned, seemed heavy as compared to the relatively light losses of the RAF. But even with an actual total of fifteen aircraft lost, the Luftwaffe still believed it had begun to achieve its aim of bringing Fighter Command up to battle and destruction.

The Bf 110 crews of Hptm. Rubensdörffer's Epr.Gr 210 moved from Köln-Ostheim to the airbase at Denain with the airfield at Calais-Marck to be used as a forward airbase.

Chris that was just Brilliant!!! I really appreciate the time it took to put together.

Thanks again!

Nice work Chris. I'll chip in now and then, when I've got a few other things sorted.

Interesting read. First of many, I'm sure!

Good stuff Chris!

Ditto...Good stuff Chris......the Battle of Britain movie was on the box today too!

Nice work Chris, will be following this one closely.

11 JULY 1940 Thursday
UNITED KINGDOM:The morning of the 11th, was typical of what one could expect on an English summers day. Southern England was covered in exceptionally low cloud, and thick fog in many areas would have made flying impossible. In contrast to the events of the previous day, the next few days were very much similar to those of the days leading up to the 10th, that was, spasmodic attacks on coastal shipping in the Channel, recon flights along the English coast, and only a few occasions where the fighters went up and generally engaged air combat on a one-to-one basis. The weather was generally clearer in the west during the morning, and this is where the Germans had to decided to strike.

During the morning from 0600 hours to 0900 hours the Luftwaffe sent several single aircraft on raids to areas between Yarmouth and inland from Flamborough Head. The raids dropped bombs on numerous places including the Royal Engineer Headquarters at Melbourne in Derbyshire. A Do 17 was intercepted during these raids and shot down off Cromer along with a Hurricane from RAF No. 145 Squadron. The pilot, S/L Peter Townsend was picked up by merchant boat after bailing out. During the dawn period, British radar picked up a signal off the east coast near Walton-on-Naze. RAF No.66 Squadron sent out a flight to intercept and found it to be lone recon Do 17. Suffering from damage by the Spitfires, the German bomber lost height as it made its way out over the North Sea, but not before its gunfire hit one of the Spitfires off the coast south of Great Yarmouth.

Near 0800 hours, ten Stukas from IV (Stuka)./LG 1 escorted by twenty Bf 109s were sent to intercept a convoy steaming across Lyme Bay. Six Spitfires of RAF No.609 Sqd were vectored into the area where radar had picked out a blip in the region of Portland. What they found was the formation of Ju 87s. They were just ready to make the engagement when they were pounced on by three Staffeln of Bf 109s. RAF No.609 Sqd lost its Flight Commander, and another Spitfire was shot down. As the German formation crossed the Channel, it was met with six attacking Hurricanes from RAF No. 604 Sqd. with the result that one British fighter was immediately shot down. Reaching the convoy, the Stukas were bounced by another flight of Spitfires, three British fighters positioning themselves to intercept the Stukas while three covered their rear. The escorting Messerschmitts succeeded in breaking through the rear Spitfires and shot down two of the British fighters but no ships were sunk from the attack. One Stuka was lost and another badly damaged.

Between 0900 hours and 1100 hours four raids of single Luftwaffe aircraft flew to England, searching for shipping targets. One Do 17 was caught off Selsey Bill by fighters from RAF No. 601 Squadron and shot down. Another raid bombed Swansea and carried out a shipping reconnaissance of Milford Haven. A Do17 was intercepted by fighters and shot down off Cromer by S/L Douglas Bader of RAF No. 242 Sqn. One Hurricane was shot down during the combat but the pilot was reported safe.

But the first big raid of the day began shortly after 1100 hours when a flight of six Ju 87s from III./StG 2 joined with about thirty Bf 110s from 9./ZG 76 and came over the Cherbourg peninsula and set a course for Portland. The formation surprised a flight of six Hurricanes from RAF No. 601 Squadron near Poole (who were vectored to search for a single aircraft) who promptly turned and dove on the Stukas. Two Ju 87s were shot down before the escorting Bf 110s were able to intervene. Bf 110s also suffered the same fate when several more British squadrons were vectored into the battle. One was piloted by Oberlt Hans-Joachim Goering (nephew of Reichsmarschall Goering), the other by Lt Friedrich-Wolfgang Graf zu Castell. One Bf 110C crashed on Portland Verne, the other went into the sea off Portland. Neither crew survived. Another Bf 110 from 7./ZG 26 was also lost.The British claimed a total of eight Bf 110s shot down along with one He 111 and one Ju 88 destroyed by defending anti-aircraft fire. Five RAF pilots put in a claim for the demise of Staffelkapitean Oblt. Gerhard Kadow of 9./ZG 26 when he survived a crash landing near Wareham in Dorset. One Hurricane, with red and blue checked markings, was lost. The Stuka attack on Portland incurred slight damage, but with the arrival of the Hurricanes, the Stukas had to abort.

11 July 1940 continued....

The running dogfight exposed the inferiority of the escorting twin-engined fighters. Four Messerschmitts were shot down by pilots of RAF Nos. 238, 87 and the ever-present 601 Squadron throughout the day. The difficulties of the Zerstörer concept were explained by a pilot with V(Z)./LG 1;

"I would not say that the British fighters were superior to the Bf 110. Each possessed certain advantages and disadvantages. Under equal conditions much depended on the pilots. But I would like to make one thing clear: the nature of our missions places us at a grave disadvantage compared to the British. The fighter pilot's motto always has been: see and attack at once! But on our missions this applied only to the British. They could initiate their attacks from a safe altitude, where and when they wanted. On the other hand we as direct escorts were tied to our slower-flying bombers. We had to wait until the British attacked, usually in superior numbers. In order for us to have at least some measure of mutual protection in this disadvantageous situation we formed one or two vertically staggered defensive circles."

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The rest of the afternoon the Luftwaffe tried several attacks on convoys off Suffolk but RAF fighter patrols forced the bombers to scatter their bomb loads in the water and little damage was done.

The next major raid for the Luftwaffe was no surprise to the British as radar gave enough of a warning to scramble fighters. Twelve He 111s escorted by twelve Bf 110s crossed over the Isle of Wight and headed for Portland, again. Intercepted by Hurricanes from RAF No 601 Squadron again, the formation was turned back. Guided by accurate AA fire, two RAF squadrons intercepted the Germans and in the ensuing combat, No 601 Sqn shot down 4 He111s of KG 55 and 1 Bf 110's of ZG 76 for certain and 4 He111s probable. As a result of this engagement, a Bf 110 landed near Weymouth practically undamaged and the occupants arrested before they could destroy the aircraft.

At 1744 hours a flight of about fifty He 111s from 2./KG 55 raided Portsmouth Harbour. Fighters from RAF No. 145 Squadron attacked the bombers. The bombers were able to shoot down one RAF fighter but lost three Heinkels; one crashing in Sussex, one in the sea off of Sussex and another that crashed returning to the airfield at Villacoublay. RAF No. 145 Squadron lost a Hurricane during the combat but claimed one Bf 110 and three He 111s shot down. The AA at Portland shot down three enemy aircraft, one He111, 1 Ju88 confirmed and one unidentified enemy aircraft unconfirmed. Bombs fell on Portsmouth setting fire to the gas works and causing some casualties. British pilots reported that during this engagement, German bombers threw out various objects which appeared to be metal turnings, plates and wire, in great quantity.

In the afternoon a flight of British fighters came across a German He 59 seaplane with Red Cross markings escorted by twelve Bf 109s. Diving to the attack, a fierce battle raged between the British and German fighters. One Spitfire, flown by A. C. Deere of RAF No. 564 Squadron collided with a Bf 109 and his plane was damaged but he was unhurt. He was finally able to crash land about five miles outside of Manston. Two Spitfires were destroyed during the battle along with two Bf 109s as P/O J. L. Allen of RAF No. 54 Squadron finally forced the He 59 floatplane down on the Goodwin Sands.

After 2100 hours several raids penetrated into the West Country and bombs were dropped in South Wales, Somerset, Bristol, Portland, Dorchester and Plymouth areas. A few German raids also crossed the East coast and bombs were dropped in the Hull, Ipswich, Harrogate, Doncaster, Colchester and Harwich areas. No serious damage was reported. At 0100 hours, nine Ju 88s of I./KG 51 attacked oil tanks, searchlights and anti-aircraft gun placements at Bristol, Avonmouth and the Portishead docks. On the return flight, a Junkers crashed into the sea and another was lost crashing in France. Several bombs were reported to have exploded in mid-air before reaching the ground and their targets.

Losses: Luftwaffe - 11, Fighter Command - 4

WESTERN FRONT: The pilots and crews of II./JG 54 received a new Gruppenkommandeur when Hptm. Winterer was posted as commander of the Gruppe in place of Obstlt Richard Kraut.

The Bf 110s of the Zerstörergruppe V(Z)./LG 1 led by Hptm. Horst Liensberger moved from Alencon to three airfields around Caen, France.

Great read Chris, thanks !

12 JULY 1940 Friday
UNITED KINGDOM: Although the weather for the day was cloudy with morning fog over the Channel, coastal shipping continued to provide worthwhile targets for the Luftwaffe. Raids for the day were sporadic and understrength. Most of the action took place off the Essex and Suffolk coastline. He 111 and Do 17 bombers were targeting some of the merchant shipping along one of Britain's busy trade routes. The first action of the day consisted of a flight of twelve German aircraft attacking two convoys - "Agent" off North Foreland and "Booty" twelve miles off Orfordness - in the morning. A second formation of six aircraft followed the first flight. Six RAF fighter sections composed of RAF No. 85 Sqd, RAF No.151 Sqd, RAF No. 242 Sqd, RAF No. 264 Sqd and RAF No. 17 Sqd intercepted the formations and a battle ensued in the cloud and fog. The Hurricanes of RAF No. 85 Sqn (Martlesham Heath) were up early after enemy aircraft had been spotted off the coast near Harwich attacking the convoy codenamed "Booty". P/O John Bickerdyke a New Zealander shot down a bomber whilst protecting the convoy off Orford Ness. Combat just off the East Anglia coast lasted until almost midday with the Hurricanes having accounted for two He 111s. A Hurricane was shot down and another crash landed while the Luftwaffe lost six bombers.

Shortly after 0900 hours a He 111 formation was detected over the North Sea just off the coast near Aberdeen in Scotland where bombers dropped a number of bombs on a shipyard killing twenty-nine people and injuring 100. The German formation was intercepted by fighters from RAF No. 603 Sqd and lost a He 111 from 2./KG 26. Another RAF Hurricane was lost over the sea. RAF N. 151 Sqn F/O J.H.L.Allen a New Zealander was K.I.A. (killed in action) when he flew convoy patrol in Hurricane P3275. He ditched into the sea after combat with a Dornier Do 17 of II./KG 2 at 09:45hrs off Orford Ness. Aberdeen was raided again later by a single aircraft which dropped high explosive bombs. This raid caused twenty-six deaths and seventy-nine casualties and considerable damage to property, including the Hall Russell Co. Iron Works. Many IBs were dropped in region of Bridgehill near Consett. A cow was killed and a house was slightly damaged by fire.

Intermittent raids by the Luftwaffe continued all afternoon. At 1515 hours a Do 17 over Portland was attacked by Hurricanes from RAF No. 501 Sqd. The German bomber evaded destruction but sent a Hurricane crashing into the sea. RAF No. 501 Sqn PO Duncan A.Hewitt in Hurricane P3084, a Canadian, was shot down and killed while attacking a Dornier Do 17 off Portland at 15:45hrs.

A second raid on shipping took place off the Isle of Wight in the early afternoon. At 1555 hours the German bombers dropped their loads between the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth. One bomber, an He 111 from Stab./ KG 55, was attacked by six Hurricanes of RAF No. 43 Sqd as it retreated and crashed into the 'Horse and Jockey' pub in Hipley, northwest of Portsmouth Hampshire. The plane still carried a full load of bombs.

Five formations of Luftwaffe Ju 88 bombers raided Cornwall, Devon, Weymouth, Falmouth and St. Eval at about 1640 hours. Intercepted by RAF No. 243 Sqd over the St Eval airfield, one Ju 88 was attacked and seen to have black smoke bellow from its port engine. At nearly the same time several German aircraft reconnoitered the Thames Estuary and the Norfolk coast. At 1642 hours, a trawler off the Essex coast sent out a SOS as it was being attacked by a He111 of 4./KG 53 flown by Uffz Rudolf Franke. The aircraft was shot down and was a shared claim of F/Lt A. G "Sailor". Malan, P/O P. C. Fasken and Sgt E. A. Mould of RAF No. 74 Sqn.

During the night starting at 2240 hours and lasting until 0117 hours, several raids were carried out over the Portland area and the Scottish coast. Bombs were dropped on Billingham, Thornby, Cupar, Dunfermline and Helensburgh with very little damage caused.

Losses: Luftwaffe - 8, Fighter Command - 6

A Ju87 operating against shipping the in English Channel was seen to have an extra fuel tank under each wing. These tanks could increase the range of the Ju87 to 900 miles with corresponding reduction in its bomb load.

WESTERN FRONT: The crews of III./JG 3 led by Hptm. Walter Kienitz transferred from the airfield at Poix and Utrecht to new bases at Guines. Following the "Udet" Geschwader was Hptm. Hans-Heinrich Brustellin's I./JG 51 who left the airfields at Leeuwarden and also transferred to Guines.

Oberst Josef Kammhuber, formerly of KG 51, was released from his job as Officer with Special Duties of the RLM and C-in-C Luftwaffe and was posted as Geschwaderkommodore of the He 111 flying KG 1, replacing Oblt. Ernst Exss. The 'Hindenburg' Kampfgeschwader was based at Rosieres-en-Santerre at this time.