Monday 19 August 1940

Junkers Ju 87 Stukas in action, 19 August 1940.

Battle of Britain: The fickle finger of fate once again intrudes with a return of poor flying weather on 19 August 1940. Overall, at this stage of the battle, rainy and cloudy weather favors the British, as they are furiously repairing airfields and sorting out units for better defense against the rabid Luftwaffe attacks. The German aircrew along the French coast, on the other hand, get to reflect all day upon all the fine pilots, friends and leaders lost recently in a futile attempt to achieve a big fat nothing which has no lasting effect.

The Luftwaffe sends two large forces of fighters totaling about 100 planes over Dungeness and north of Dover. This is a classic "Freie Jagd," or unrestricted, mission. The RAF doesn't fear fighters without bombers and remains on the ground. Even random strafing missions on airfields such as RAF Manson, Lympne, and Hawkinge don't bring a response. A small formation of Junkers Ju 88s off Sussex does send fighters of RAF No. 602 Squadron up, and both sides lose a plane, with the bombers running for home.

There are some missions that produce results. Junkers Ju 88s hit Pembroke Dock in South Wales, setting 8 oil tanks at Llanreath ablaze. A portion of this attack hits RAF Bilbury, damaging a couple of Spitfires. Otherwise, there are just lone raiders on fields such as Worthy Down, Harwell, Coltishall, Honington and Shrivenham. These raids do kill people on the ground and destroy some aircraft on the ground (three Wellingtons at Harwell), but they are more nuisance attacks than strategic efforts.

During the night, the specially equipped Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111s of KGr 100 (a special group of 26 Heinkels, 12 typically operational) based at Meucon near Vannes in Brittany attacks the Bristol area and the aircraft factory at Filton. This attack does produce some effective destruction of the large plant. The planes are helped with their navigation by the X-Verfahren radio beams, an advancement on the Knickebein system under development since 1936. At this point, the British are not yet even aware of this particular system (though they know all about the less sophisticated Knickebein system).

RAF Bomber Command continues its raids on airfields throughout northwestern Europe. It also hits Kiel and continues reaching further into Germany proper, bombing the Zschornewitz electrical plant outside Leipzig. There is another lengthy (almost three hours) false air raid alert in Berlin, for only about the fifth time of the war. The alert is probably due to the relative nearness of the Leipzig attack and the uncertainty of where it is actually headed. Both sides, it should be pointed out, are still attempting (sometimes unsuccessfully) to limit their attacks to military targets of one form or another. However, mistakes do happen...

The Luftwaffe damages British freighter Waldinge off of Milford Haven.

Overall, the day's losses are usually given as 5-10 for the Luftwaffe and 2-5 for the RAF, but as usual, these figures don't include planes destroyed on the ground (by both sides). Overall, the day is pretty much a wash, with both sides taking the usual infrastructure damage.

A Heinkel He 111 of Kampfgruppe 100 based at a private, top-secret airfield surrounded by woodlands near Vannes, France, autumn 1940. These medium bombers are equipped to use special equipment for navigational purposes.

German Military: Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering has another meeting at Carinhall. He is not happy, but then, all his recently lost pilots don't have even that luxury.

He officially suspends operations by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas in StG Staffeln in the interior of Great Britain. He keeps two Staffeln along the Kanalfront for "special situations" and withdraws the rest. The Stukas have produced good bombing results, but the losses are becoming insufferable: 57 lost since 8 August alone. Every bomber in the Luftwaffe is supposed to have dive-bombing capabilities, but the Stukas are the best that the Germans have for pinpoint attacks that are essential for taking out targets such as radar stations. Since Goering doesn't think the radar stations are worthwhile targets, they aren't really needed until the actual invasion anyway. Wolfram von Richthofen takes his VIII Fliegerkorps back to the Pas de Calais.

The limitations of the twin-engine Bf 110 Zerstörers also are addressed. The Bf 110s are beloved by Goering and the high command of the OKL, and in fact, they are quite capable planes. However, the Battle of Britain is proving that planes with rear gunners such as the Stukas and the Bf 110s are no match for top single-seat fighters like the Spitfire and Hurricane. Goering ordains that Bf 109s escort the Bf 110s. He also orders that escorts in general fly as close escorts, "tied" to the bombers rather than engaging in free-wheeling "Freie Jagds" favored by the fighter pilots. To encourage the fighter pilots to accept this change, Goering orders that they should become friends with the bomber crews and always escort the same bombers.

Neither the Junkers Ju 87 nor the Bf 110 is in any way "inferior" or "obsolete." In fact, both are used to the very end of the war with great success. The issue is their use against cutting edge fighters rather than missions better suited for their capabilities. Both planes develop new missions - the Stuka as a Soviet tank killer, the Bf 110 as a night fighter - that add to their legends.

Goering's changes, on the whole, reflect at least an acceptance of the facts, even if they aren't necessarily the most effective solutions (tying fighter and bomber formations together throughout campaigns is particularly problematic). As is so common in the German regime, though, these fairly reasonable tactical changes aren't the only thing he does: there must be some cathartic bloodletting as well. Luftwaffe formation commanders begin getting the ax. JG 52 is the first to feel the pain, with Major Merhart von Bernegg, replaced by Major Hanns Trübenbach as Kommodore. If there is one thing that you can count on with Hermann, it is finding a handy scapegoat or two.

Battle of the Atlantic: There are several U-boats operating in the same area off of northwest Ireland. This group is a proto-wolfpack which has great success.

U-48 (Korvettenkapitän Hans Rudolf Rösing) sinks 7900-ton Belgian passenger ship Ville de Gand right around midnight on 18/19 August (I also have this on the 18th). There are 38 survivors and 15 perish (accounts vary).

U-101 (Kapitänleutnant Fritz Frauenheim) torpedoes and sinks 4576-ton British freighter Ampleforth in the same area near Ireland at 01:54. There are 29 survivors and 9 crew perish.

U-A (Kplt. Hans Cohausz) torpedoes 4295-ton British freighter Hungarian Kelet in the same area at 10:00. There are 68 survivors and 6 perish. The Hungarian Kelet had rescued crew from the Clan Macphee which sank on 16 August, and of the 41 survivors taken aboard from the Clan MacPhee, all six deaths during this sinking were from the Clan Macphee (leaving 35 total survivors from that ship). This is actually a fairly common occurrence, survivors are often taken aboard ships that themselves are torpedoed later, and survivors for some reason usually seem to be in greater jeopardy than usual during the subsequent sinking. (This would make a good Twilight Zone episode when it's your time, it's your time....).

The British Fleet Air Arm bombs Kriegsmarine transports at Haugesund, Norway, causing damage to one.

There are two separate unsuccessful attacks by Italian submarines where they are operating off the Azores. The Malaspina misses a tanker, and the Barbarigo attacks the British freighter Aguila but also misses.

British submarine HMS Cachalot lays mines off of Penmarch in field FD 24.

Convoy FN 257 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 145 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 257 departs from the Tyne, Convoy OG 41 departs from Liverpool.

U-104 is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF attacks Derna Harbour, oil storage tanks at Bir el Gobi, and the airfield at El Gubbi.

There are two air raids on Malta during the day, but the Italian aircraft stay offshore. A few more Blenheim bombers arrive for offensive missions.

The Malta Fighter Plane Fund announces that it has reached its target of £6000 (Spitfires actually cost a bit more than that), so it launches a second drive for another plane. Contributions are seen as highly patriotic, and many people with titles and all that are eager to contribute to show they are "in it to win it."

Postal rates to Malta are raised to limit the amount of mail being sent by air.

HMAS Hobart participating in the evacuation from British Somaliland.

British Somaliland: With the British having evacuated on the 19th, the Italians cautiously occupy Berbera today. HMAS Hobart remains around in the harbor during the day to give the Italians a proper rousing welcome and blow up various items that couldn't be removed to Aden. The Italians have lost roughly 2000 men during the campaign (estimates vary) and the British only 38 dead and 222 other casualties, but the campaign is a huge British embarrassment and a black eye to British prestige despite a competently fought campaign under the circumstances.

Losing to the Italians is particularly galling to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who has been openly and caustically belittling their fighting ability for years. The campaign took only 16 days. Churchill now nurses a grudge against Middle East Commander General Wavell, one of the most highly respected General in the world. Hitler is jubilant, sending Mussolini a message that it is "a great victory in East Africa, a foretaste of British ruin to come at home."

German/Spanish Relations: Abwehr chief Admiral Canaris is back in Madrid seeing if he can get Spanish support for projected Operation Felix, the invasion of Gibraltar.

Front view of the first North American B-25 Mitchell, 40-2165.

US Military: The prototype North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber makes its maiden flight.

Submarine USS R-5, a 1919 submarine decommissioned in 1932, is recommissioned in order to patrol off the Bay of Panama and protect the Canal Zone.

Estonia: The Soviets seize two Estonian submarines (Kalev and Lembit) and some other ships. "Seize" may be too harsh a word, since Estonia is now an SSR and technically part of the Soviet Union. As the Soviets see it, the USSR is merely "seizing" its own assets, or one might say just "transferring" them. However, much of the local population doesn't quite see it that way.

China: Zero fighters (A6M2) have been operational with the 12th Rengo Kōkūtai since July, but they have been used only for training so far. Today, in their first combat mission, a dozen of them (Model 11) escort 54 G3M2 Type 96 "Nell" bombers over Chungking. The Chinese are still using ancient biplane fighters in the defense which are no match for the cutting edge Zeros.

British Homefront: The Children's Overseas Reception Board begins evacuating children to Australia. Heretofore, evacuations were usually to more rural areas of England where parents could visit on the weekends (and also some to Canada), so this is a bit of a wrenching change for many.

American Homefront: The Gallup organization publishes a poll showing that Americans approve of the destroyer-for-bases deal by a 62-38% margin.

Future History: Jill Arlyn Oppenheim is born in Los Angeles, California. Jill becomes a child actress, appearing on the radio as early as 1946 and on television in "A Christmas Carol" in 1949. At some point, her mother changes Jill's last name to something more distinctive, and as Jill St. John she becomes a top Hollywood actress, a Bond girl and marries Robert Wagner. She remains active in the film industry as of this writing.


August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020

Sunday 18 August 1940

Dornier Do 17 bombers coming in at wavetop level to avoid radar detection. This is the group that gets wiped out at RAF Kenley by arriving there first.

Battle of Britain: After a day of rest, the air battle returns full-bore today, 18 August 1940. The outcome, though, follows the norm of the past month: the RAF loses far fewer planes than the Luftwaffe but has its substance slowly eroded as the Germans pound its airfields, radar stations and factories. This is known as "The Hardest Day" due to the fact that more aircraft are lost today than on any other day of the Battle of Britain.

The day begins poorly for the Luftwaffe when it loses a Junkers Ju 88 during the night and then a reconnaissance Bf 110 of LG 2 over RAF Manston. The latter presages that the main effort of the day is aimed at RAF airfields, which took a huge beating on 15 August.

KG 26 and KG 76 attack RAF Kenley first at around noon - three hours behind schedule due to fears about the weather. It is a highly coordinated attack, with a lot of moving parts. Twenty Bf 109s of JG 51 serve as escorts. Wave after wave of different groups of bombers - first Junkers Ju 88s, then Dornier Do 17s, then another group of Dorniers flying in at tree-top level. The plan is to string out the defense and overwhelm it. Everything is planned out precisely, with different waves of bombers planned to come in at five or ten-minute intervals. On paper, it is an ideal plan.

Another attack at around the same time is made on RAF Biggin Hill by KG 1, escorted by JG 54. In addition, it is planned that a "Freie Jagd" (target of opportunity patrol) by the elite JG 26 and JG 3 would also be in the area.

Things start going wrong due to heavy cloud cover. The bombers and the escorts have difficulty finding each other, and also the winds are against certain formations. The result is that the bombing attacks turn into a mish-mash of Luftwaffe bombers appearing over the targets at random. In fact, a group of Dorniers without escort reach the target first.

RAF No. 111 Squadron gets over Kenley airfield early, and the British anti-aircraft guns are ready for action, with plenty of radar warning due to the swarms of Luftwaffe planes approaching from all directions. In addition, the RAF uses the "cable bombs," which are cables shot into the air and which hang in the air from parachutes over the targets. It is not a very effective weapon, but it does snag a bomber or two.

The result is the wholesale slaughter of the first batch of Dornier bombers over Kenley. They were supposed to be the last to arrive after the defenses already have been disrupted and came the whole way at wavetop/treetop level to avoid detection. Instead, the defenses are fresh and waiting for them. Those bombers that don't get shot down or snagged by cables are badly damaged and either crash in the Channel or make it back to France as total wrecks. Only one bomber from this formation makes it home. Kenley, however, is badly damaged, including the hospital there, and is only partially operational after the attack. Biggin Hill, though, escapes without too much damage. The other airfields are soon operational.

Junkers Ju 87 Stuka on the way down. Unteroffizer August Dann and Unteroffizer Erich Kohl perish.

The rest of the day is a sequence of chaotic, confusing actions over various RAF airfields. RAF Gosport, Ford, and Thorney Island receive attention, the radar station at Poling is attacked at 14:00, Portsmouth is hit, and RAF Manston gets strafed. Basically, the entire coordinated attack breaks down, and it is "every formation for itself." One Bf 110 pilot only survives after being badly damaged by spiraling in trailing smoke to appear like a write-off, then pulling out at the last second and scooting for France. It is that kind of day, men fighting desperately for their lives and pulling out all their tricks just to stay alive.

The Luftwaffe loses 17 Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers during the day (out of 109 committed to action). Ten are lost just in the Thorney Island raid. It is the single worst day for the Stuka force during the war, at least to this point. Six others are badly damaged for an overall attrition rate of over 20%. After this, the Stukas basically are withdrawn from the battle, though they remain available at the Pas de Calais for targeted strikes, particularly against naval targets and to support Operation Sea Lion (the invasion of Great Britain that never takes place). Looking ahead, the Stukas are withdrawn completely only when Sea Lion is finally canceled in September 1940.

The Luftwaffe damages British dredge ship Lyster at Liverpool.

Sgt. Bruce Hancock, an RAF pilot, uses his unarmed training plane to ram a Luftwaffe bomber and perishes.

The day's losses are usually touted as 60-75 losses for the Luftwaffe and 30-40 for the RAF. This, however, does not count numerous aircraft (one estimate is 29, including half a dozen fighters) destroyed on RAF airfields, so things are not quite as bad for the Luftwaffe as it might appear based on the aerial combat losses. One can with confidence say that air losses for the day were heavy for both sides and favored the RAF by roughly 2-1, while planes actually destroyed were about even.

However, the numbers also understate the problems caused for the Luftwaffe. The numbers do not come close to reflecting the chaos and the damage suffered. GruppenKommandeur Hptm. Herbert Meisel of I,/StG 77 is killed,  Lt. Walter Blume of 7./JG 26 (14 victories) becomes a POW, Oblt. Helmut Teidmann of 2./JG 3 (7 victories) becomes a POW, Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 51 Hptm. Horst Tietzen is killed - the list of very talented and successful pilots lost is long. When that many top pilots are lost, something is going seriously wrong. Fortunately for Adolf Galland, he is at Carinhall receiving a decoration and misses the "fun," but the losses are absolutely crippling for several formations.

The RAF also loses a dozen pilots, and that is not trivial. Most of their men, however, can parachute to safety and be back with their Squadrons by suppertime. The Germans shot down over England are gone for good, and there are scads of them. It is fair to say that neither side really knows how the other is holding up, so the day puts everyone on edge.

The RAF also makes some attacks of its own. RAF Coastal Command attacks Boulogne, and Bomber Command raids the Italian aircraft works at Milan and Turin again. Other attacks are made against Luftwaffe airfields at Freiburg and Habsheim, and industrial targets at Waldshut and Bad Rheinfelden are bombed.

Due to heavy losses, JG 52 is pulled from the Channel and transferred back to Jever to fly defensive missions against RAF Bomber Command. In addition, Ju 87 Stukas finally are withdrawn from attacks inland.

RAF Kenley under attack. The photo is taken from a Luftwaffe bomber. 18 August 1940.

German Government: The summer is wearing on, and Operation Sea Lion is no nearer to having its preconditions fulfilled. It is not, however, the Luftwaffe's fault, for it is fighting its heart out with inadequate equipment and delusional commanders. The problem is the Kriegsmarine. It continues to reveal just how unprepared it is for a cross-Channel expedition of any kind, which is a bit of a farce because the navy was the service pushing the idea of an invasion hardest in the first place. While Wilhelm Keitel can issue fatuous orders about "compromise" between the army and navy conceptions of an invasion, reality intrudes. The army can insist all it wants on inserting an entire army group on the English shores at once, but everything ultimately boils down to the Kriegsmarine and what it can actually do. There is only one conclusion to be drawn as the high command reviews the facts: the Kriegsmarine simply does not have the ships pretty much regardless of what the Luftwaffe does from now on.

There is scapegoating everywhere in the German high command. Hermann Goering blames "local commanders," Admiral Raeder blames the Luftwaffe, the Army blames the Kriegsmarine, and Hitler apparently doesn't even really want to invade anyway. One thing is for certain, things have to improve fast or the entire military strategy against Great Britain is bankrupt.

German pilots are given their objectives before taking to the skies in their Stukas, 18 August 1940. Notice how solemn the pilots look. (Credit: Corbis).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-48 (K.Kapt. Hans-Rudolf Rösing) torpedoes and sinks 7,590-ton Belgian freighter Ville de Gand (some sources place the sinking on the 19th).

Armed merchant cruiser Circassia eludes an attack by an unknown U-boat, then counterattacks without success (but claims it sank the U-boat). Nobody has been able to identify the U-boat.

Cruiser HMS Delhi stops Spanish freighter Ciudad de Seville and Portuguese freighter Joao Belo. It sends the former to Freetown and interns six Germans on the latter.

Convoys OA 201 and MT 144 depart from Methil, Convoy FN 256 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 256 departs the Tyne, Convoy OB 200 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 44 departs from Freetown, BS 3 departs from Suez.

Battle of the Mediterranean: At Malta, there are no raids. Three Blenheim bombers fly in for operations.

A Spitfire at Biggin Hill on or about 18 August 1940.

British Somaliland: The Black Watch rear guard boards the transports at Berbera in the early morning hours and completes the evacuation. Skeleton forces remain in Berbera throughout the day, with the Italians advancing hesitantly, but it basically is an open city. Local Somali troops choose to stay and retain their weapons, but they are not defending the city.

The Italians do not press their attacks to disrupt the evacuation, even though they easily could. Perhaps this is because of typical Italian military timidity. There is lingering suspicion, though, that the Italians hold back because of peace talks being conducted in the Vatican between Italy and Great Britain which Italy does not want to hinder. This is a highly controversial topic. In any event, such talks (if they occur) ultimately lead nowhere, so there is nothing to point to as firm evidence. However, if one takes the absolute longest view, the Italian forbearance at Berbera may make things easier for them when it truly is time to get out of the war.

Three Australian sailors from HMAS Hobart, which remains in the harbor, are captured at one of the previous blocking positions outside of Berbera around this date and become the first Australian POWs of World War II.

Blenheim bombers of RAF No. 11 Squadron based in Aden bomb the road near Laferug, losing a bomber to little purpose. RAF No. 223 based on Perim Island at the same time also raids Addis Ababa in Abyssinia, destroying some hangars, the Duke of Aosta's personal airplane, an SM.79 bomber, an SM.75 bomber, and three Ca.133 planes in addition to damaging several other planes.

The campaign is a decided British defeat, and Prime Minister Churchill (who has strong views about the Italian military) is furious at everyone involved. As a media event, it is overwhelmed by the climax of the Battle of Britain and thus receives scant attention in the Allied media. However, British prestige in the Middle East and throughout the Arab World, first earned by Lawrence of Arabia during World War I, is shattered.

For Italy, today may be the highpoint of their military involvement in World War II, an unalloyed victory with no downside and insignificant losses. Once they occupy Berbera, they quickly begin converting it into a submarine base.

German/Finnish Relations: Finland remains solidly neutral, but German negotiators propose a trade of German military equipment for Norwegian raw materials such as nickel, along with transit of German troops through the country (which could only be for one obvious purpose...). The Finns, still smarting from the Winter War and all of the territory lost to the Soviet Union, give the proposal serious consideration.

US Military: The keel is laid down on battleship USS Columbia in Camden, New Jersey.

American Homefront: The German-American Bund and the KKK hold an anti-war rally in Camp Nordland, New Jersey, which attracts the attention of protesters.

The founder of the Chrysler Corporation, Walter Chrysler, passes away.

L1851 was one of a few fabric wing Hurricanes with 1 (F) Squadron RCAF. On August 18, 1940, the day after the Squadron became operational, Flight Lieutenant V. B.Corbett ran into a fuel browser with YO-U during a scramble at 14:30 hours at RAF Hornchurch, as shown. (Photo courtesy of the Canada Department of National Defence/Library and Archives of Canada.)

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020

Wednesday 14 August 1940

	In this colorized photo, 11-year-old cousins Wendy Atherton and Cathie Jones stand with Heinkel He 111P-2 of 8./KG27 near their home at Border House Farm near Chester in Cheshire, August 14, 1940. The German plane had been targeting RAF Sealand along with two other planes and was shot down (along with the other two planes) by Spitfires from RAF Hawarden after bombing the airfield.

Battle of Britain: The fickle weather once again turns against the Germans on 14 August 1940, with clouds and rain. This gives the British a chance to repair some of the damage wrought to airfields and radar stations in recent days before another massive Luftwaffe onslaught.

Operations do not even begin until noontime when Bf 110 Zerstörers of Epr.Gr 210 attack RAF Manston. Despite the absence of RAF fighter cover (above the low-hanging clouds dealing with the German escort), the British anti-aircraft fire is deadly and downs several of the attackers. The attack accomplishes little, only damaging some Blenheim bombers and destroying some hangars. Emblematic of the Luftwaffe problems is a collision between two of the Bf 110s over the airbase which kills three of the four men in them.

Another raid at the same time takes place further north, where approximately 300 Luftwaffe planes cross the coast near Dover and split off into multiple groups with different targets. One detachment sinks the Gate Light Vessel, another attacks Hawkinge. JG 26, Adolf Galland's unit, once again demonstrates that it is an elite formation by protecting the Stukas competently and allowing only one to be shot down.

Another major raid occurs at 17:07 when medium bombers attack RAF Middle Wallop, RAF Andover and the railway at Southampton. These attacks are reasonably effective, with hangars destroyed at Middle Wallop and radio equipment destroyed at Andover.

There are other, smaller raids of less consequence that still result in losses. British sloop HMS Kingfisher and tug Carbon are damaged in Portland Harbour. Once again, the Luftwaffe attacks the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton and nearby industrial targets. Other raids target various railway and air installations, such as Whitchurch airfield and the station at Westons Mare. A major air battle develops over Dover during the afternoon, with JG 51 aces Hauptman Walter Oesau and Oblt. Josef "Pips" Priller getting victories.

Oberst Alois Stöckl, Gruppenkommandeur of KG 55, is killed in his Heinkel He 111 near Wallop and replaced by Oblt. Hans Körte.

After dark, the Luftwaffe sends over a few lone raiders, but nothing major develops. The score for the day once again is lopsided, with most accounts giving the losses as about 20 for the Luftwaffe and around 5 for the RAF. Accounts vary widely, especially on the Luftwaffe side.

The British newspapers are full of glorious feats of derring-do by the British military which have only a slight semblance to reality. It is all about "smashing" Italian attacks and wild estimates of Luftwaffe losses, not so much about crumbling British defenses in British Somaliland and RAF bombing raids with catastrophic losses.

European Air Operations: There is an unusual air raid alert in Berlin around midnight, only the fourth of the war, but it appears to be a false alarm. The British in fact raid oil installations, airfields and railway targets at Bordeaux, Cologne, and other typical targets in northwestern Europe.

Western Front: The final informal Royal Navy evacuations from southern France, which have been continuing clandestinely at Mediterranean ports since June, conclude. This terminates Operation Ariel. It is estimated that 191,870 people have been evacuated in Operation Ariel, which excludes the other two major evacuations, Operations Dynamo and Cycle.

German Government: The debate and confusion about Operation Sea Lion continues within the German high command. Admiral Raeder yesterday told Hitler that the Kriegsmarine cannot protect and supply any landings on a broad front. Today, army Commander-in-chief Field Marshal Heinrich Alfred Hermann Walther von Brauchitsch, who is the projected leader of the operation, has his say. Von Brauchitsch proposes just the opposite of what Raeder suggested was feasible, namely, landings on a broad front with multiple landing sites (similar to what the Allies later did on 6 June 1944). This makes perfectly good sense from an army perspective, stretching out the British defenses and creating multiple opportunities for success. However, it makes no sense whatsoever from a naval perspective because the Kriegsmarine simply doesn't have the ships to supply and defend multiple beachheads.

This illustrates that none of the branches of the Wehrmacht have the slightest understanding of what the others need and are capable of delivering. The confusion is exacerbated by the fact that there is little communication between the German army, navy and air force and even less cooperation (the Luftwaffe, for instance, absolutely blocks the creation of a separate marine air force as an infringement on its own powers). Hitler is fine with all of this - part of his managerial style is to create warring fiefdoms within the German state, with himself as the only one who has all the information and the ability to coordinate solutions - the ultimate arbiter. It is a variant on the Shakespearean "I want around me men who are fat" dictum from "Julius Caesar," and it enables him to maintain absolute power within the Reich (Hitler also follows the dictum to the letter with portly crony Hermann Goering).

The larger planning flaw is that nobody has anticipated being placed in this situation so quickly, with France vanquished and England the next step. The Germans are not used to or comfortable with planning major strategic naval operations - something they had difficulty with during the First World War, too. Wehrmacht staff planning is concentrated in the Heer (army) because Germany by tradition is primarily a land power (not necessarily by choice in 1940, but the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles had eviscerated the navy). The naval staff and resources are simply inadequate for the job. In essence, the Germans have no idea what they are doing regarding a cross-channel invasion, and they are building castles in the sand with their vapid plans that are pure abstractions without any grounding in experience or reality. It is little wonder that Hitler is casting about for new victims in other directions that he can ravage on good old reliable terra firma.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-59 (Kptl. Joachim Matz) torpedoes and sinks 2,339-ton British rice freighter Betty about 25 miles north of Ireland at 20:34. There are 4 survivors and 30 crew perish in the night.

British destroyers HMS Malcolm and Verity, accompanied by three torpedo boats, attack a German convoy of six Kriegsmarine armed trawlers and three S-boats off of Texel Island, Holland. The German lose a trawler and one of their own S-boats and also suffer damage to other ships.

The Kriegsmarine conducts minelaying in the North Sea.

Battle of the Mediterranean: British submarine HMS Rorqual sinks Italian freighter Leopard.

In Malta, there are no enemy air raids. Governor-General Dobbie complains to the War Office that he has insufficient men to man his anti-aircraft artillery and requests reinforcements. The War Office, for its part, inquires about two celebrity Italian pilots, General Cagna and Prince Pallavicini, who apparently were KIA.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Orion is operating off of Nouméa, New Caledonia. It launches its Arado Ar 196 floatplane, but the plane has mechanical issues and lands far away. The Orion eventually finds and recovers it, restoring the raider's "eyes."

British Somaliland: Major General Godwin-Austen watches the Italians side-stepping his defenses along the coast road to Berbera. With the enemy almost in a position to cut the vital road, he bows to the inevitable. He requests permission to evacuate not just from that position, but from the country altogether. General Wavell of Middle East Command does not return an immediate decision.

Evacuations from Berbera, the capital of the British government, commence. The British and Australian warships take off 5700 troops and 1500 "non-essentials" (civilians and wounded) across the gulf to Aden.

Sir Henry in 1940.

Applied Science: Sir Henry Thomas Tizard leaves Great Britain on a disguised ocean liner (some sources say he flew) ahead of the rest of his team (popularly known as the "Tizard Mission," officially the British Technical and Scientific Mission) headed for Ottawa, Canada. Whether or not he has with him the famous "box of secrets" (including plans for the Supercharger, Gyroscopic gunsights, and the Cavity Magnetron, among other things) as stated by many sources is unclear and probably false; some reliable sources state that the box came across with the rest of his team on a later date.

The RAF supposedly is trying to use wire nets called "spaghetti shells" to drop on Luftwaffe planes and destroy them, but this idea does not go very far.

Terrorists: One of the German preoccupations is inciting a revolt by the Irish against the British as a distraction, and perhaps even converting them into a military ally. To this end, they send IRA Chief of Staff Sean Russell to Ireland aboard a U-boat, where it is hoped he will coordinate an uprising. Today, however, he perishes unexpectedly of a perforated ulcer aboard the U-boat and is buried at sea.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt and his advisors continue wrangling over the proposed destroyers-for-bases deal with Great Britain. The destroyers will all be Clemson-class and Wickes-class destroyers built circa 1917-1922, manned solely by British seamen. The US Navy already is coordinating with the Royal Navy for their transfer, though nothing is official yet.

USS Pope (DD 225), a typical Clemson-class destroyer which served in the Far East during World War II.

US Military: The US military always maintains military plans that seem arcane and improbable - for instance, plans for the invasion of Canada always are locked away in the files - and they go by the designation "Rainbow." Today, President Roosevelt reviews and approves "Rainbow 4," a comprehensive plan to defend the Americas by using every armed man in the United States, including the National Guard, the Reserves, and everyone who can be drafted.

Rainbow 4 assumes the fall of France (already done) and of the UK (still prospective) and a combined German/Italian/Japanese offensive. The initial US response would be to occupy British, French, Dutch and Danish possessions in the Western Hemisphere while trying to avoid conflict in the Pacific. The US fleet would be concentrated in the Caribbean, and the US army would protect only North America and the most northern parts of South America.

Outside the realm of planning and in actual reality, destroyers USS Wake and Wainwright continue their "Show the flag" operation in South America and depart Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for Bahia, Brazil.

Admiral Hart makes it to Shanghai aboard the submarine USS Porpoise and transfers his flag to yacht USS Isabel.

Luxembourg: German Chief of the Civil Administration Gustav Simon bans all opposition parties, rips up the nation's constitution, and makes German the only authorized language. Even the term "Grand Duchy" is prohibited in official documents. Simon is setting a precedent for future occupations, where the occupying military authorities are relatively benign (save for Einsatzgruppen and the like), but the follow-up civil administrations enact draconian and punitive laws which quickly stoke local anger.

British Homefront: As the day dawns, local citizens in Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and southern Scotland awaken to find large numbers of parachutes on the ground with cryptic military messages and German equipment attached. There also is a report from Creswell Farm of enemy parachutists, which proves false.

This all results from a German propaganda effort to sow confusion and dissension among the British populace by air-dropping items in the British rear which have the appearance of being related to an actual invasion - though to what end is a bit unclear, as there is no follow-up. If you make a feint, but don't use that diversion to actually attack anywhere... what's the point? It also may be counter-productive in the long run, making you look like all talk and no action. For a day or two, though, the operation does create massive fear and even panic among the locals.

German flying magazine Flugsport, 14 August 1940.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020

Friday 9 August 1940

Adolf Galland points out a target during a pre-sortie briefing (Einsatzbesprechung). The man second, from the right of the photo, is Oblt. Gerhard Schöpfel, Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 26. August 1940.

Battle of Britain: After a couple of fairly sunny days, the weather on 9 August 1940 turns nasty again, with clouds and heavy rain. Still, some operations continued. Operation Eagle (Adlerangriff) remains on standby alert for better weather.

A lone raider bombs the Sunderland shipyard at 11:40. RAF No.79 Squadron intercepts and shoots it down shortly thereafter. While lone bombing runs sound benign, they can be quite deadly: this one kills four people and injures 78. The bomber causes extensive damage not only to the shipyard but also to a railway bridge, a hotel, and several houses.

Another lone raider attacks Flamborough Head and also is shot down, this time by effective anti-aircraft fire.

A lone raider bombs Erdington, beginning the "Birmingham Blitz."

Liverpool districts Prenton and Wirral are bombed for the first time.

A pair of Bf 109s, apparently with bored pilots looking for a thrill, strafe Dover Harbour late in the afternoon. Nothing comes of it, and the fighters are shooed away by the RAF.

The RAF's recent spate of accidents and miscues, almost certainly due in large part to the strains of the conflict, continues. A Hurricane of RAF No. 605 Squadron has some sort of engine trouble and crashes off Dunbar, killing pilot Sgt. R. Ritchie. Later, a Blenheim bomber of RAF No. 600 Squadron is operating near the coast when British Flak units open up on it as well as a nearby Bf 109, sending it down. The two crew both survive, and 8,/JG 2 takes credit for the "kill."

During the night, the Luftwaffe (KG 26) attacks Northumberland port and railway facilities, causing 73 casualties. Another attack on Filton Airfield near Brighton around midnight involves some leaflet dropping as well as bombs.

The Luftwaffe has begun using Guernsey Island airfield in the Channel Islands, so RAF Bomber Command raids Guernsey airfield. It is the first raid on the Channel Islands since the Luftwaffe raid at the end of June, and it sets airfield buildings ablaze but does not interfere with operations. Friederich Schumacher becomes the new German administrator of the islands.

RAF raids take place on Poulmic (Brest), Flushing oil works, Ludwigshafen and Cologne.

Overall, it is a fairly uneventful day, which is probably quite welcome to both sides after the wild events of 8 August. Both sides lose 4 or 5 planes.

Adolf Galland's Bf 109 during August 1940. If you look closely, you can see 22 victory marks on the rudder.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-30 (Kapitänleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp) sinks 5779-ton Swedish freighter Canton around 70 miles west of Ireland at 20:32. Half of the 32-man crew perish. Canton is an "independent" without escort, and they are the easiest targets once spotted.

Convoys OA 196 and MT 135 depart from Methil, Convoy FN 247 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 247 departs from the Tyne.

British corvette HMS Erica (K 50, Lt. Commander William C. Riley) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: There are no air raid alerts on Malta during the day. Governor-General Dobbie reports that ammunition stocks are running low and that supply estimates must be raised by 50% from pre-war estimates. He needs ammunition, and fast.

The RAF raids Tobruk.

British Somaliland: Italian fighters raid Berbera. South African Air Force planes bomb Italian positions at Neghelli airfield in Abyssinia. Italian land forces are approaching the British positions around Berbera cautiously.

Romanian/Bulgarian Relations: Bowing to German pressure, Romania agrees to cede Southern Dobruja (Dobrogea de sud) to Bulgaria, with the 100,000 population to be re-located within Romania. The official agreement is not yet signed.

A Heinkel He 111 over the English Channel during the Battle of Britain.

Anglo/US Relations: Recent comments by Ambassador to Belgium/Luxembourg John Cudahy have irked both the US and British governments. Cudahy has been complaining about the food shortages developing amongst the civilian populations of the Low Countries due to the British blockade. German soldiers have been going to private residences and requisitioning food stocks, exacerbating the problems for the local population.

Cudahy has strongly hinted that humanitarian assistance should be allowed through the blockade. The British take special umbrage to this. No doubt due to British complaints, Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles reads a formal statement to a press event which states that Cudahy's comments "are not to be construed as representing the views of this government" and that the incident:

illustrates once again the importance which must be attributed by American representatives abroad to the Department's instructions to refrain at this critical time from making public statements other than those made in accordance with instructions of the Department of State.

Interestingly, the statement does not say that Cudahy is wrong or mistaken, just that he has spoken out of turn. What Cudahy has said in fact is true, but it not "politically correct."

German Military: The first directive for the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, now code-named "Otto," is issued. Colonel-General Alfred Jodl issues the Aufbau Ost ("Reconstruction East") directive which requires preliminary infrastructure improvements in the eastern section of Germany and occupied Poland to facilitate an invasion of the Soviet Union.

US Military: US heavy cruisers USS Wichita and Quincy make port at Pernambuco, Brazil during their "Show the Flag" mission to Latin America. Meanwhile, destroyers USS Wake and Wainwright depart Santos, Brazil for Rio de Janeiro, and gunboat USS Erie leaves the Panama Canal Zone for Ecuador on the same mission.

Bill Donovan briefs President Roosevelt and US Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox on his findings in Europe.

Holocaust: A special income tax surcharge of 15% is imposed on Polish citizens living in the Reich for the costs of the German occupation of Poland.

Free France: Charles de Gaulle announces that he has the support of French in New Hebrides.

Albania: There is a local rebellion in the north of Italian-occupied Albania. Troops are sent to "pacify" the region by burning down villages.

China: The British decide to pull back around Shanghai and Tientsin province to avoid further tensions with Japan. The troops are "needed elsewhere."

British Homefront: German radio, which is widely listened to in Great Britain (broadcasting in perfect English), continues to stoke fear and panic. They announce, for instance, that swarms of parachutists are standing by to drop in England wearing British uniforms.

German troops stage a victory parade on Jersey, 9 August 1940, watched by a British bobby. While this may appear ostentatious and dull, in fact, the Germans loved giving parades and marching band concerts to islanders who, banned from using the radio, had few entertainment outlets. The Germans found that such events helped islander morale, and they staged them throughout the war. The issue of collaboration remains a very sensitive topic to this day on the Channel Islands; it is fair to say that relations are correct, if not cordial.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020

Thursday 8 August 1940

If you ever wondered what one of those "crash-landed" planes looks like, here is one. After being shot up off Swanage on 8 August 1940, Sgt Denis N Robinson of No 152 Squadron RAF makes a crash-landing in a field near Wareham. The 22-year-old pilot is unhurt but Spitfire Mk I UM-N is a write-off.

Battle of Britain: Luftwaffe attacks pick up noticeably on 8 August 1940. There is reasonably good flying weather, though there are low clouds (2000 ft, 700 meters) over the Channel. Rather than 10 July 1940, today feels like the true start of what is known as the Battle of Britain. Adolf Galland later notes that the intent is to overwhelm the RAF fighter defense and, after drawing them up for combat, destroy them. Everything else is secondary.

Pursuant to Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering's directive of the 6th, the focus of attacks is supposed to be the RAF and its infrastructure. The implicit assumption is that the easy pickings in the Channel have been eliminated. However, today shows that the best-laid plans sometimes go awry, as shipping is first on the agenda.

The attacks on the 20-ship (plus 9 escorts) convoy (codename "Peewit" by the RAF and "CW9" by the Royal Navy) spotted by German Freyda radar at Wissant and sentries on Cape Gris Nez late on the 7th take place throughout the day. German radio has said that the Channel is closed to British convoys, and the Wehrmacht intends to make good on that statement. The British, on the other hand, intend to prove the Germans wrong and reassert their control over the waters just beyond their own coastline. This sets the stage for a classic battle in which both sides are trying to prove themselves "right" and make a larger point about dominance. Naturally, the sailors on the ships of both sides have nothing to say about this.

Squadron Leader Harold A "Jimmy" Fenton is hit by the fire of a He 59, damaging an oil line of his Hurricane Mk I VK-A and sending him down. He is saved by trawler HMS Bassett. The 31-year-old CO had been out looking for another pilot of No. 238 Squadron downed that day. It is a rare case of one rescue plane shooting down another (though his Hurricane is not marked as such). The British have been shooting down rescue planes routinely, accusing them of scouting for the Luftwaffe.

Kriegsmarine E-boats and S-boats head out before dawn on the 8th, scattering the convoy moving south which they learned about around dusk on the 7th. There is mass mayhem, with two colliers colliding (only one of them sinks) and the "convoy" reduced to fleeing refugees seeking to save their skins. For once, the scatter strategy works, minimizing ship losses. The E-boats sink two or three ships (Fife and Holme) at a cost of one of their own boats.

An odd circumstance occurs which is of huge portent. The Luftwaffe is slow to react because Luftlotten 2 and 3 disagree over whose zone of operations the ships lie within. As they argue about it, the ships sail on. This is a perpetual problem within the Wehrmacht, both in Luftwaffe settings and also the army (Heer), and everybody notices it but nobody ever solves it.

Generalmajor Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen of Fliegerkorps VIII, Luftflotte 3 finally cuts the knot and sends his Stukas in after several hours' wait at about 09:00. Escorted by fighters of I,/JG27 and III,/JG26, they sink 2 ships (SS Conquerdale and SS Empire Crusader) and damage 7 others. The Stukas are hampered by barrage balloons and low cloud cover. The RAF defends with six squadrons from Nos. 10 and 11 Groups.

There are Luftwaffe fighter sweeps by JGs 3, 26, 51, 53 and 54 in the southeast as well. RAF Nos. 41, 64 and 610 Squadrons rise to meet them. The RAF loses four Spitfires and three pilots. The Luftwaffe loses one plane, but five others are either badly damaged or complete write-offs when they make it back to France.

The second attack on the Peewit convoy, which by now has made it almost to the Isle of Wight, occurs at 12:48. There are almost 60 Stukas (StG 2, StG 3 and StG 77), escorted by 30 Bf 109s (JG 27) and 20 Bf 110s (LG 1). The RAF counters with over fifty fighters from Squadron Nos. 43, 145, 238, 257 and 609 (Spitfires). The Luftwaffe loses three Stukas, with four more damaged, three Bf 109s with one damaged, and a Bf 110 with three more damaged. The Stukas sink four more ships and inflict damage on seven others.

Von Richthofen is determined to teach the British a lesson about thumbing their noses at him, so he sends a third wave of attackers against the (largely meaningless) Peewit convoy at 15:00. This is the largest effort of all, with 87 Stukas escorted by 68 Bf 109s of II,/JG 27 and some Bf 110s. The RAF Groups No. 10 and 11 meet them again with seven squadrons. The carnage is everywhere, on the sea, in the RAF, and in the Luftwaffe.

There are various ways of looking at the day's events. Altogether, it is estimated, that the RAF downs 31 Luftwaffe aircraft to 19 of its own planes. However, the Luftwaffe only lose 9 fighters, with another 8 damaged. The RAF lose 19 planes, of which 18 are fighters and the other a Blenheim bomber. In terms of fighter operations, it is not a bad day for the Luftwaffe. More significantly, the RAF loses 16 pilots permanently and several others to wounds, and pilots are a major bottleneck for fighter defense. As such, the day's balance tends to favor the Luftwaffe.

On the other hand, the Stukas are mauled throughout the day. While they are absolutely phenomenal at the precision bombing of ships, they also are proving themselves to be phenomenally easy targets for RAF fighters. This is not a cause for concern by the Luftwaffe - yet - because the fighter pilots are full of stories about their own successes which tend to exaggerate the reality of the situation. The Stuka losses, though, are becoming painful and are there to see when the planes (don't) return.

A Heinkel He 59 rescue plane. These were put to good use on 8 August 1940, and one even gets an aerial victory against a Hurricane.

Some major decisions flow from today's events.

• The Admiralty suspends collier convoys. Only four of the original 20 ships reach their destination of Swanage, Dorset, with six others damaged and making any port that they can. Future coal shipments can and will be made by rail, which in fact was a superior alternative all along.
• Based on all sorts of assumptions about the progress of the battle that are highly sketchy - such as that the RAF is running low on fighters, which is not the case - the Luftwaffe high command issues the order for Operation Adlerangriff, the full-out assault on the RAF, to begin on the next convenient day of good flying weather.

After dark, the Luftwaffe sends Heinkel He 111s of I,/KG 55 against their usual target of the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton and II,/KG 55 against Bristol proper. Heinkels of II,/KG 27 also raid the Bristol area, trying to knock out searchlights in the area.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command raids Amsterdam-Schiphol and Valkenburg in Holland, losing a bomber. After dark, they attack the usual targets in northwestern Europe, including the port of Hamburg, electrical facilities at Cologne, and train infrastructure at Hamm and Soest. They lose a bomber in these raids as well.

The Luftwaffe continues moving its units to forward bases along the Channel. III,/JG3 moves to a converted football field at Desvres.

A shot-up Heinkel which took massive damage but still made it in for a level landing in France, August 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-37 (Kapitänleutnant Victor Oehrn) torpedoes and sinks 5380-ton British freighter Upwey Grange about 200 miles west of Ireland at 01:14. There are 36 deaths when one of the lifeboats disappears.

German raider Widder disembarks the 34-man crew of 5,850-ton Dutch collier Oostplein and sinks the ship.

British tanker Lucerna that was torpedoed and badly damaged by U-99 (Otto Kretschmer) on 2 August 1940, limps into Greenock, Scotland.

The Luftwaffe lays mines in the Thames estuary and near ports in the south of England.

Convoy OB 195 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 64 departs from Halifax.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF and Italian Regia Aeronautica have been sparring lightly over the Libyan/Egyptian desert, and today a major battle develops. The Italians lose 7 planes and the RAF 2 Gloster Gladiator biplanes.

The second British submarine carrying spares to Malta for the new Hurricanes, HMS Proteus, arrives at Grand Harbour. HMS Pandora, which also brought in supplies, departed on the 7th. Together, this supply mission is called Operation Tube. The Proteus has a mishap when it accidentally rams a small freighter, the Andromeda, whilst shifting its berth. Andromeda sinks.

The Italians once again buzz Malta during the afternoon with half a dozen aircraft, but nothing comes of it. The War Office promises to send supplies on 7000 tons of shipping space that has opened up for it, with the government of Malta to pay for civilian goods so as to ensure secrecy.

British Somaliland: The British, having given up the key ports to the west, set up a defensive perimeter on six hills overlooking the road into Berbera. They use their recent reinforcements of the 1/2nd Punjab Regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the Scottish Black Watch to man these key positions. The Italian troops advance toward this position, which guards the British stronghold at Tug Argan pass.

The Regia Aeronautica begins attacks on British vessels in the Gulf of Aden, but has little success, and also on British positions at Berbera. The Fleet Air Arm operating from Australian cruiser HMAS Hobart, meanwhile, counters with attacks on Italian headquarters in Zeila. RAF aircraft retreat to bases in Aden.

North Africa: Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano meets with Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, the new commander of Italian operations in North Africa. Ciano is upset that his father-in-law's (Mussolini's) invasion date for Egypt has come and gone. Graziani responds that the Italian forces in Libya are unprepared for operations.

German Military: Adolf Hitler is gradually interposing himself on staff decisions relating to the planning of the attack on the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). He tells General Keitel to issue the Aufbau Ost directive calling for the mobilization of troops in eastern Germany and also tells General Jodl's deputy Walter Warlimont to ascertain Soviet troop positions. All of this attention underscores how serious Hitler is about the attack. He does not spend nearly as much time effort on Operation Sealion, the invasion of Great Britain.

Air Vice-Marshal Sir Keith Park: "It's too quiet." In Germany, he is known as "the Defender of London". [© IWM (CM 3513)]

British Military: The British War Cabinet is pleased with the progress of the air battle to date. However, Air Vice Marshall Keith Park, in charge of Fighter Command, is not so sure that this will last, stating:

It's too quiet; at least I've managed to re-establish my airfields, but the blighters are up to something.

Military pay is never very good, even in (or perhaps especially during) times of war. The average British Army Private receives 17 shilling and 6 pence a month. Today they receive an increase of 6 pence per day.

Japanese Military: The Japanese launch the Yamato at Kure Naval Arsenal. It is known only as "Battleship No. 1" at this point and is capable of fielding the largest naval guns in the world.

Vichy France: Pierre Laval orders the arrest of Georges Mandel in Morocco. This is done by General Charles Nogues. He is taken to the Château de Chazeron, where all of the former French leaders are being held. This is of particular interest to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who does not really like Charles de Gaulle and would prefer Mandel as the leader of the Free French.

Mandel was one of the few in the French government who wished to carry on the fight against the Germans from North Africa. Mandel also happens to be Jewish. He had the opportunity to flee with de Gaulle but refused because he felt it would look bad for a Jew to run.

President Roosevelt with Fala, 8 August 1940 in Pine Plains, New York, perhaps there to beat the summer heat (it is about 25 miles from the Roosevelt resident at Hyde Park). The doll beside him s a handmade shaker doll made by Mary Garrettson of Rhinebeck, NY. (Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library).

Romania: The Romanian government imposes new employment and education rules which are racially biased. This is an obvious attempt by the regime to ingratiate itself with the Germans.

India: It is well known that the Nationalist leaders led by Mahatma Gandhi refuse to cooperate with war preparations without a guarantee of Indian independence. Viceroy of India Lord Linlithgow tries to cut a deal by offering nationalist leaders some constitutional reform now and re-examination of the independence question after the war. This would be done by assembling a Constituent Assembly composed of people from India's major ethnic groups to devise a new constitution. The British government goes along with this.

Burma: Nationalist leader Aung San escapes Burma and joins Japanese forces in China.

American Homefront: American factories are ramping up in response to huge new military orders. Airplane production hits 500 aircraft production per month, dwarfing that of the combatants.

"Boom Town" starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, and Hedy Lamarr premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Today's headlines in Brisbane.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020