| Day: Fairly quiet until late afternoon, when heavy raid
crosses Dorset coast. Flying very high, with massed fighter protection,
the raid (200-plus aircraft) bombs several western areas from Weymouth
to Scilly Isles and across to Bristol and Pembroke. Warmwell airfield badly
damaged. A later raid (approximately 100 aircraft) cuts across Dover and
the Thames Estuary but is routed by No
17 Squadron - No 87 Squadron
and No 609 Squadron from 11 Group
Fighter Command squadrons.
Night: Main night raids are on Birmingham, Coventry, Reading and many southern towns; others strike South Wales and Scotland, with surprise attacks on several Scottish airfields. Berlin was raided by Bomber Command at night as reprisal for attack on London. Losses: Luftwaffe 20: Fighter Command 16 Weather: Fair at first, becoming cloudy later. |