Battle of Britain

Day 1

Weather - Overcast with rain over most of Britain, clearing later with showers remaining in the southeast.

Combat - By British reckoning this is the first day of the battle. The main attacks concentrate on shipping. At 1100hrs a convoy is attacked off North Foreland by 1 Do-17 escorted by Me-109's. Spitfires of No: 74 Squadron scramble from Manston and engage the enemy aircraft. At the same time Spitfires of No: 610 Squadron are scrambled from Biggin Hill to intercept Me-109s over Dover. At 1330hrs about 120 enemy aircraft including Do-17's from KG2, Me-109's from JG51 and Me-110's from ZG26 have formed in the Calais area to attack the 'Bread' convoy between Dover and Dungeness. Hurricanes from No: 34, 56 and 111 Squadrons along with Spitfires of No: 74 and 64 Squadrons are scrambled.

Later in the day enemy raids take place along the West, South and East coasts with the largest being nearly 70 Ju-88 bombers attacking the ports of Falmouth and Swansea and the Pembrey Royal Ordnance Factory in South Wales. 36 people are killed. During the night, further raids are plotted with bombs dropped on Guisborough, Canewdon, Hertford, Isle of Grain, Isle of Mull (West Coast of Scotland), Colchester, Welwyn and Ely.

R.A.F. Losses: 8 aircraft damaged or destroyed and 2 pilots killed.

Luftwaffe Losses: 20 aircraft damaged or destroyed, 23 pilots and aircrew killed or missing and 10 wounded.

NOTE: Losses include non-combat patrols and accidents.

Large Formations of Ju-87s Intercepted South of Canterbury.

A Second Shot of the Ju-87s

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Battle of the Atlantic

• A British minefield, Orkneys-Iceland-Greenland is completed.
• 5 U-boats leave their new base at Bergen, Norway.
• U-34 sinks the Finnish steamer Petsamo (4596t) off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 4 crewmen. 34 survivors make landfall in the evening at Baltimore, Ireland.
• U-61 sinks the Dutch steamer Alwaki (4533t) from convoy OA-180 10 miles northeast of Cape Wrath. All 61 aboard survive.
• The British tanker Tascalusa (6499t) is sunk by German bombing in Falmouth Harbor.
• The British steamer Waterloo (1905t) is sunk by German bombing about 2 miles northeast of Smith's Knoll Buoy. The crew is rescued.

France, Politics

The Third Republic is ended and replaced by the Etat Français. By a vote of 569 to 80 with 17 abstentions, the French National Assembly at Vichy gives full powers to Marshal Pétain. Pierre Laval is the vice premier.

German Raiders

The German armed merchant cruiser Widder sinks the British steamer Davisan (6433t) in the Central Atlantic 450 miles north northeast of Guadalupe. The entire crew are made prisoners of war.

United States, Politics

Roosevelt again asks Congress to increase the US military budget, including funds for 15,000 new planes and a 1,200,000-man army. He outlines plans for an eventual 2,000,000-man force.