Battle of Britain
Day 2
Weather - Southeast and Channel overcast. Showers and thunderstorms with bright intervals elsewhere.
Combat - Between 0600hrs and 0900hrs small raids are reported. Along the East coast they are met by a single Hurricane (flown by Sqn. Ldr. Douglas Bader) of No: 242 Squadron off Cromer, Hurricanes of No: 85 Squadron off Harwich and Spitfires of No: 66 Squadron off Great Yarmouth. Along the South coast Hurricanes of No: 501 Squadron and Spitfires of No: 609 Squadron are scrambled.
1100hrs and the bad weather subsides enabling a large raid, of 50 plus Ju-87's from SG2 and SG77 and Me-110's from ZG76, to attack Portland and a convoy off the coast. Hurricanes of No: 601 Squadron, scrambling from Tangmere and Spitfires of No: 609 Squadron from Warmwell, meet the raiders.
Later that day, 1745hrs, No: 601 Squadron is involved again with Hurricanes of No: 145 Squadron, when a raid, consisting of He-111's of KG55 and Me-110's of ZG76, attack and bomb Portsmouth.
After 2100hrs raids are reported and bombs are dropped in South Wales, Somerset, Bristol, Portland, Dorchester, Plymouth, Hull, Ipswich, Harrogate, Doncaster, Colchester and Harwich areas.
R.A.F. Losses: 8 aircraft damaged or destroyed, 3 pilots killed or missing and 1 wounded.
Luftwaffe Losses: 25 aircraft damaged or destroyed, 28 pilots and aircrew killed or missing and 10 wounded.
NOTE: Losses include non-combat patrols and accidents.
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]Battle of the Atlantic
U-34 sinks the Norwegian steamer Janna (2197t), a straggler from convoy HX-54, 115 miles west southwest of Cape Clear. All 25 of the crew are rescued.
[ | ]Britain, Home Front
Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, appeals for aluminum pots and pans, 'to build Spitfires'. Vast quantities are collected but the value of the campaign is negligible.
[ | ]Channel Islands
A British Commando force is beaten badly in an attack on Guernsey.
[ | ]Diplomatic Relations
Rumania announces its withdrawal from the League of Nations, a meaningless gesture but one which appeases the vocal Nazi minority and Germany.
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France, Politics
Pres Lebrun resigns and Pétain forms a new government. His first decree shows his new style and pretensions. It begins 'Nous, Philippe Pétain'.
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| ]German Raiders
The German armed merchant cruiser Atlantis sinks the British steamer City of Baghdad (7506t) in the Indian Ocean with the loss of 2 crewmen. 81 of the crew are made prisoners of war.
[ | ]Germany, Planning
Grand Adm Erich Raeder tries to persuade Hitler not to attack Britain from the sea, that is, not to give orders for carrying out Operation Sealion. In Raeder's opinion the invasion of Britain should be attempted only as a last resort. The Luftwaffe assures Gen Franz Halder, chief of the German army General Staff, that it can eliminate the RAF within a month or less.
[ | ]Mediterranean
The Italian submarine Tarantini sinks the Panamanian tanker Beme (3039t) near Haifa. The entire crew are rescued.
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