Sunday 11 August 1940

Spitfires during the Battle of Britain.

Battle of Britain: The German meteorologists predict fine weather in the coming days, so the prospects for Adlerangriff improve. Reichsmarschall Goering has a start date of 13 August, which now looks likely to occur.

The heightened pace of the aerial battle that began on 8 August resumes on 11 August 1940. One can view today as the climax of the "Kanalkampf," the preliminary softening up of British defenses. Today has the highest losses for both sides to date. High losses are worse for the RAF than for the Luftwaffe, since the Germans start out with a huge advantage in aircraft. The Luftwaffe has roughly:

• 700 Bf 109s;
• 160 Bf 110s;
• 250 Stuka Ju 87 dive-bombers;
• 800 Heinkel He 111s, Dornier Do 17s, Junkers Ju 88s, and other medium bombers.

Against this, the RAF has roughly 650 Hurricanes and Spitfires.

The numbers are only part of the story. The Luftwaffe has not had to scrimp on training and has veteran pilots who cut their teeth during the Spanish Civil War. The British have had to shorten their pilot training programs in order to keep up with losses.

The Luftwaffe begins to implement Reichsmarschall Goering's change in focus from shipping to airfields and factory targets. At around 08:30, a large fighter-bomber force ignores the ships in the Channel and bombs Dover instead. RAF Nos. 64 and 74 Squadrons intercept the force of about 60 Bf 109s and 110s, but not before the Germans bomb the town heavily. The barrage balloons over the town turn into a liability, as they fall on the town in flames and start larger fires.

A little later, another, larger Luftwaffe bombing raid heads in from the south from the Cherbourg area. This one is not fighter-bombers, but rather mainly Junkers Ju 88s and Heinkel He 111s escorted by Bf 109s and 110s. This is a huge aerial armada of about 170s planes. The RAF this time is on the ball and gets RAF Nos. 145, 152, 213, 238, 601 and 609 Squadrons in the air as the bombers approach. Massive dogfights take place off the coast, but the mass of bombers continues heading for its target of Portland Harbour and Weymouth. This raid causes extensive damage, including to trawler HMS Hertfordshire which is in drydock.

In addition, the Luftwaffe damages the destroyer HMS Windsor in the Thames Estuary, destroyers HMS Scimitar and Skate at Portland Harbour, and destroyer HMS Esk at Harwich. In addition, British trawler HMS Edwardian is damaged off Kent (3 dead, 3 other casualties), British freighter Kirnwood is damaged, and British tanker Oil Trader is damaged by the Luftwaffe off Shipwash Light Vessel.

Overall, it is estimated that the Luftwaffe loses 38 aircraft today:

• 2 Heinkel He 59s
• 2 Ju 87 Stukas
• 6 Junkers Ju 88s
• 3 Dornier Do 17Zs
• 10 Bf 110s
• 15 Bf 109s

There also are numerous heavily damaged planes that barely make it back to France, around 15 planes. JG 2 is decimated, losing over half a dozen fighters, but the elite formations such as JG 26 do relatively better. The British continue shooting down Heinkel He 59 rescue planes, too, which is of dubious legality.

As for the RAF, it also takes massive losses. Its losses are estimated at around 30 planes, but they are almost all Hurricane and Spitfire fighters. Thus, as usual, there are different ways to analyze the day's losses. Based purely on fighter losses, the Luftwaffe comes off slightly better or at least even, but the German bomber losses are not inconsequential.

RAF Bomber Command continues its raids on oil installations, airfields and factories at Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Wanne Eickel, Cherbourg, Dusseldorf, Hamm, and Soest.

Overall, it is possible to see today's vicious actions as a step forward for the Luftwaffe in its plan to grind down the RAF. It is a good set-up for the true start of Adlerangriff. Simply reciting plane losses that appear to slightly favor the RAF completely ignores the massive damage being inflicted on British shipping and shore installations and the increasingly over-strained condition of the British defenses. It also overlooks the dozens of scarce pilots lost today. While it is normal to lose new pilots on their first missions, when you lose this many at once, you also lose very experienced men.

One final point: one of Stalin's aphorisms is that "Quantity is its own quality." When hundreds of planes are in action at once, any slight qualitative advantage by the RAF is nullified (and it is very unclear who actually has such an advantage). There are many hushed-up reports of "friendly fire" incidents where new, inexperienced RAF pilots shoot down other RAF planes through sheer confusion and accident as they navigate the melee. Massive air battles with no clear winner tend to fulfill the Luftwaffe's goals.

P/O Leonard W Stevens (right) was one of 3 pilots from No 17 Squadron RAF who had their Hawker Hurricanes shot down or badly damaged by ZG2 on 11 August 1940, operating from RAF Debden. Hurricane Mk I YB-J was the replacement aircraft that he received after claiming 2 Bf 110 fighters probably destroyed during the day. Note the winged Popeye with a screwdriver on the port side beneath the cockpit.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-38 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Liebe) torpedoes and sinks 4966-ton British freighter Llanfair in the Western Approaches about 125 miles west of Ireland at 15:19. There are 30 survivors and 3 crew perish. Llanfair is a straggler from Convoy SL 41, and stragglers are easy prey.

In the South Atlantic near Capetown, passenger ship Ceramic collides with freighter Testbank. Both ships make it back to port with major damage.

The British conduct minelaying in the North Sea.

Convoys OA 197 and MT 137 depart from Methil, Convoy OB 197 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 249 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 249 departs from the Tyne, Convoy HG 41 (45 ships) departs from Gibraltar headed for Liverpool, Convoys SL 43 and SLF 43 depart from Freetown, Convoy BS 2A departs from Suez bound for Aden.

Operation Fish, the transfer of gold from England to Canada, continues. Battleship HMS Revenge leaves the Clyde with £14.5 million pounds in gold destined for Halifax and then the Bank of Ottawa. The convoy, which includes half a dozen freighters and four destroyers, is designated Convoy ZA.

Battle of the Mediterranean: It is quiet again on Malta, the first quiet Sunday in some time. Governor Dobbie has been urged to build more air raid shelters, so he requests large quantities of cement, reinforcing timber and the like from Middle East Command.

U-38 after a successful mission.

British Somaliland: The Battle of the Tug Argan Gap begins with probing Italian attacks against entrenched British positions defending Berbera. British Major General Reade Godwin-Austen arrives in Berbera to take command of the British forces.

Of the six hills occupied by the British that overlook the main coastal road, the Italians capture one defended by the 3rd Battalion of the 15th Punjab Regiment. Attacks on two other hills are stopped with great difficulty.

British Government: General Wavell, commander of British forces in the Middle East, is successful in convincing the British War Cabinet and Prime Minister Winston Churchill to send 150 tanks, 48 anti-tank guns, 48 field guns, and 20 Bofors anti-aircraft guns to Cairo. This is a highly risky move, since the threat of invasion still hangs over London, and it effectively halves the armored forces in England.

Soviet/German Relations: The Baltic states now have been absorbed into the Soviet Union as Soviet Socialist Republics. Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov thus asks the Germans to withdraw their ambassadors to those defunct nations. As is his practice, he gives the Germans a deadline, 1 September. The Germans, meanwhile, are planning their own demands on the Soviet Union for Spring 1941.

Swiss/German Relations: The nations sign a new trade deal.

The 165-foot long Presidential yacht USS Potomac. Launched in 1934, it remains a tourist attraction in the 21st Century.

US Government: President Roosevelt completes his inspection of the Boston Navy Yard aboard Presidential yacht Potomac.

Argentina: Arnulf Fuhrmann, a German leader, is arrested.

Albania: A revolt centered in the northern Miriditi district continues to spread, with the Italian occupation forces engaging in ruthless pacification practices such as burning villages.

China: The Japanese bomb Chungking, the Nationalist Chinese capital. A handful of Chinese flying I-15 fighters cross above the Japanese formation and drop time-delayed parachute bombs. This causes mass confusion among the bombers and disperses the attack, but major damage still is caused to the city.

Holocaust: Confiscation of Jewish property in Paris and surrounding areas shifts into high gear with Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg ("ERR"), a "special" formation of the NSDAP Office of Foreign Affairs to steal paintings, sculptures and "decadent" art. In point of fact, under German law this is not theft, because such works are now considered "ownerless" and their Jewish owners "stateless."

American Homefront: Hurricane season is in full swing. Following on the hurricane that struck Texas, another one hits the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, killing about 50 people in all.

A Polikarpov I-15 fighter.

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 28 July 1940

Hitler greets Monsignor Tiso at Berchtesgaden, 28 July 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather on 28 July 1940 remains overcast but good enough for most operations. Air Marshal Dowding shifts his Fighter Command Squadrons closer to the Channel to face the increased Luftwaffe pressure from Albert Kesselring's Luftflotte 2. The RAF has had a better loss ratio since the beginning of the air battle, but it is being worn down by the constant Luftwaffe attacks and the strain of having to defend the Channel convoys. The larger strategic question of who will establish control over the Channel and the potential invasion beaches remains open.

The Luftwaffe gets an early start that doesn't turn out well. At 05:00, the pilot of a Junkers Ju 88 of 3,/KG51 becomes disoriented and crash-lands at Bexhill, Sussex. At 05:25, Junkers Ju 88s cross the coast near Plymouth, losing one plane.

The Luftwaffe makes a more successful attack on Glasgow an hour later, bombing the Hillingdon district and causing casualties. An hour after that, at 07:30, another Junkers Ju 88 goes down while attacking shipping at Porthcawl. These piecemeal attacks are proving problematic for the attacking forces.

Around noontime, the real battle begins. Forty fighters of JG 26 and 51 assemble over Calais and cross over towards Dover, escorting 60 Heinkel He 111s. RAF Nos. 41, 74, 111 and 257 Squadrons rise to intercept. Hurricanes attacked the bombers, and Spitfires the fighters. The bombers immediately turn back to France as part of a pre-planned strategy, while the fighters mix it up. Losses are even, both sides losing five fighters.

Newcastle is bombed heavily during the day by 25 bombers, killing several female civilians.

The Luftwaffe steps up its attacks after dark, with intense minelaying in the Thames estuary. Small raids take place across southern England. Shortly before midnight, Heinkel He 111s of III,/KG55 bomb the Rolls Royce plant at Crewe in Cheshire, and also bomb Kent and Sussex. Later at night, the Sealand airfield, south Wales, railway tracks at Neath, and areas near Swansea are bombed.

The Luftwaffe continues shifting units toward England. III,/JG2 moves from Frankfurt-Rebstock to Evreux-West, and III,/JG77 leaves Berlin-Tempelhof for Wyk auf Föhr in the Frisian Islands.

The Royal Navy destroyers based at Dover are withdrawn to Portsmouth. This reduces convoy defense, antiaircraft defense at Dover, and also creates an opening for a possible invasion.

Overall, it is a mediocre day for the Luftwaffe, which is estimated to have lost around a dozen planes. However, driving the destroyers away from Dover is a major strategic victory - if it is followed up. Otherwise, it is a pointless and ephemeral victory, like gaining "control" over airspace that nobody else needs anyway.
Major Werner Mölders, the new Kommodore of JG 51, gains his twenty-sixth victory by shooting down a Spitfire. However, he takes a bullet to the leg, however, and with great difficulty manages to get back to base in Wissant, France.

A legend later grew that British pilot Adolph "Sailor" Malan, a British war hero from South Africa, was the one who wounded Werner Mölders. Malan claimed credit for the incident, but another Luftwaffe pilot who observed the incident thought another British pilot, a Lt. Webster, did the deed. There is no binding proof of who did what, but the odds are that Mölders probably was tangling with RAF No. 41 Squadron, not Malan who headed No. 74 Squadron.

As a general matter, and this applies to both sides, there often is a tendency to assign credit for celebrity shoot-downs to a popular pilot in order to create a propaganda "hero." Just as often, the celebrity victim may have been shot down by some no-name anti-aircraft gunner, a stray bullet, or some completely unknowable cause (see the Red Baron during World War I, for instance). Myth-building is common on both sides. In any event, in this incident, Mölders brought his Bf 109 back to base, so there was no victory, and Mölders returned to action after a month of convalescence.

Spitfire Mk I EB-O is inspected at RAF Manston, after F/O Anthony DJ "Tony" Lovell of No 41 Squadron RAF crashed the aircraft on landing on 28 July 1940. In combat off Dover, the 20-year-old pilot was attacked by a Bf 109 reportedly flown by Maj Werner Mölders of JG51. Lovell nursed the fighter back to base despite being wounded in the thigh, after which he was admitted to Margate Hospital. Mölders himself also was wounded in the leg during the battle.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command continues its strategic campaign against industrial targets, including Cherbourg oil installations, numerous airfields all along the coast, and the like.

Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Thor encounters a British armed merchant cruiser, HMS Alcantara, off southern Brazil near Trindade island. A battle quickly breaks out. It is a fairly evenly matched encounter. Thor hits the British ship with three shells and severely damages the Alcantara, forcing it to make port in Rio de Janeiro with 9 casualties. Thor takes two shells and also needs repairs.

U-99 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer) torpedoes and sinks large 13,212-ton British freighter Auckland Star about 80 miles west of Ireland. All 47 crew survive by sailing their lifeboats to shore.

The Luftwaffe finds and sinks British freighter Orlock Head in the North Sea.

Norwegian freighter Argo hits a mine and sinks. The mine was laid by French submarine Rubis.

Italian submarines leave the Mediterranean for the first time and begin operating off the Azores.

Convoy OA 191 departs from Methil, Convoy SL 41F departs from Freetown.

Acting South African Flight Lieutenant Adolph "Sailor" Malan.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Free French pilots operate with the RAF in Egypt and carry out reconnaissance over Diredawa, Abyssinia. The Italians carry out scattered bombing raids without much success.

Royal Navy cruisers HMS Neptune and Sydney intercept Italian tanker Ermioni near the Dodecanese Islands and sink it.

At Malta, Italian fighters jump a Short Sunderland flying boat that carries out reconnaissance over Sicily (it spots five flying boats at Augusta) and drops some bombs without causing any damage. The Italians quickly get fighters in the air which use the explosive ammunition previously identified from downed Regia Aeronautica planes, which may violate international law. The Sunderland sustains heavy damage and several of the crew are wounded, but it shoots down one or two of the attackers and returns to base under continued attack, barely making it.

There is only one air raid alert on Malta, shortly before noontime. Heavy anti-aircraft fire drives the bombers off before they drop their bombs, and the Italians lose one plane.

War Crimes: Pursuant to an Air Ministry directive of 14 July 1940, Hurricanes of RAF No. 111 Squadron find and down a Heinkel He 59 air rescue plane in the middle of the Channel off Boulogne. Later, the same Squadron shoots down another Heinkel He 59 nearby and strafes a third which is trying to rescue the crew of the first.

Incidents like this tend not to be mentioned in the history books touting the glorious, heroic RAF defense of England. However, pilots on both sides know exactly what is going on and vengeance is usually meted out at some point, if not immediately. The British rationale is that any German rescue plane near the British coastline is engaging in aerial reconnaissance and thus a fair target, but planes obviously trying to rescue downed pilots also are shot down indiscriminately. Hitler issues a statement calling the RAF pilots downing rescue planes "cold-blooded murders," which is not far from the truth even though the pilots are acting "under orders." There are many such murderers during wartime, it is a part of this war and any war.

Hotel Diner, 41 Federal Street, July 28, 1949, Worcester Massachusetts. Photograph by George Cocaine.

German/Vichy France Relations: At 05:00, the Germans in occupied France close rail lines to Vichy France without warning. The choke point is Moulins. The reason given is invasion fears - by the British.

German/Slovak Relations: At Berchtesgaden, Hitler meets with President (Monsignor) Jozef Tiso, Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka and Hlinka Guard leader Alexander Mach of the Slovak Republic in his continuing series of discussions with Germany's eastern neighbors. This is a pattern that continues throughout the war: Hitler will meet with his most important ally - Italy or Finland or whoever it is - and then hold subsequent meetings with other, lesser powers. It is an easy way to see who is at the top of his pecking order - and who is at the bottom.

Hitler broadly hints to the Slovak leaders that they have little choice if they wish to remain free. "Slovakia should adhere loyally and unequivocally to the German cause in her domestic politics," he says. The Slovaks agree to set up a German-style state that represses Jewish people.

Soviet/Afghanistan Relations: The two nations sign a commercial trade agreement.

US/Brazilian Relations: To promote inter-American relations, the US grants Brazil a $20 million loan that likely will never be repaid. Foreign Affairs Minister Osvaldo Aranha, a former Ambassador to the US, notes that "We should erect a statue to Hitler - he made the USA finally notice us." Aranha typically represents Brazil at pan-American conferences such as the recent Havana Conference and is a strong proponent of pan-Americanism.

German Government: Discussions take place within the German army about the plans for Operation Sea Lion, which is considered unrealistic as proposed by the Kriegsmarine.

Denmark: Art Nouveau artist Gerda Wegener passes away.

China: Japanese bombers make 100 sorties against Chungking, Chiang Kai-shek's capital, losing one bomber.

Throngs fill Jones Beach on July 28,1940. At that time this section was called East Beach, but that tower later became the Robert Moses Water Tower and this section of the beach itself the Robert Moses State Park. (Credit: New York State Parks, Recreation).

July 1940

July 1, 1940: Vichy France
July 2, 1940: Arandora Star
July 3, 1940: Operation Catapult at Mers El Kébir
July 4, 1940: Romania In Crisis
July 5, 1940: The Five Freedoms
July 6, 1940: Hitler's High Point
July 7 1940: Dakar And Ringo
July 8, 1940: Tea Rationing in England
July 9, 1940: Battle of Calabria
July 10, 1940: Battle of Britain Begins
July 11, 1940: "Nous, Philippe Petain"
July 12, 1940: Enter Laval
July 13, 1940: German Surface Raiders Attack!
July 14, 1940: Bastille/Mourning Day
July 15, 1940: Tallest Man Dies
July 16, 1940: Plans for Sea Lion
July 17, 1940: Burma Road Closed
July 18, 1940: FDR Runs Again
July 19, 1940: Last Appeal To Reason
July 20, 1940: First Night Fighter Victory
July 21, 1940: Soviets Absorb Baltic States
July 22, 1940: First RAF Night Fighter Victory
July 23, 1940: Invasion False Alarm
July 24, 1940: The Meknés Incident
July 25, 1940: Black Thursday for RAF
July 26, 1940: Capture The Duke?
July 27, 1940: What's Up, Doc?
July 28, 1940: Destroyers Pulled From Dover
July 29, 1940: Barbarossa On The Burner
July 30, 1940: Hitler Delays Sealion
July 31, 1940: Bloody Wednesday of Olkusz

2020