Battle of Britain Day - Evening and Night Actions

Evening and Night Actions

There was one more noteworthy operation before the Germans ceased their attacks for the day. At 17:40, 20 aircraft from Erprobungsgruppe 210 took off. It was picked up just off the Cherbourg peninsula as it made its way across the central Channel to the Isle of Wight. By 17:50, it had reached St. Catherine's Point. Nos. 213 and 602 Squadrons were patrolling nearby at Tangmere, where they were kept for the duration of the raid. No. 607 Squadron, also from Tangmere, was flying to the airfield over Southampton at 15,000 ft (4,600 m) and No. 609 Squadron was on its way from Middle Wallop to patrol Portsmouth. At 18:00, by which time the German operation was virtually over, the British dispositions were completed when No. 238 Squadron took off from Middle Wallop to patrol the airfield.

The German target was the Spitfire factory at Woolston. They arrived near it at 17:55. The Southampton guns engaged them for the entire time over the target. When the Germans retired, RAF fighters appeared. Fortunately, the Germans missed the factory. They did manage to rupture a number of gas and water mains while damaging nearby residential areas. There was slight damage done to the shipbuilding yard in Southampton Harbour. According to German records, 10–11 t (11–12 short tons) of bombs were dropped. Had they succeeded in hitting the Spitfire factory, they could have seriously impacted British fighter production. As it was, nine civilians were killed, 10 seriously injured, and 23 slightly injured in the attack.

The make up of the formation is unclear. An eye-witness, air enthusiast Alexander McKee, 22, was drinking tea at a cafe in Stoneham when the attack began:

....I went outside on hearing enemy planes. I counted them aloud. Ten. They dived straight on Southampton, without any preliminaries, through a barrage of gunfire, one after the other. Alfred saw a bomb released, then handed the glasses (Binoculars) to me. The aircraft had twin-rudders, and might have been Dorniers or Jaguars . The dives were fast but shallow, and they pulled out of them at about 2,000 feet. It was not a dive-bombing attack proper. Soldiers passing made inane remarks about 'nothing could live in that barrage', although the Germans were living in it, too. The barrage was quite good, but none of the Huns were brought down....Very quickly and efficiently the Germans re-formed and disappeared into the cloud. I have never seen a better bit of flying than those Nazi pilots put up - they got into formation like a well-drilled team, in the teeth of guns.

Nos. 607 and 609 Squadrons engaged the Germans south-west of The Needles. The British reported 30-40 Bf 110s with 15 Do 17s in support. The tonnage of bombs dropped suggested there were fewer bombers than claimed. The RAF fighters claimed four Do 17s. The fact remains that the Germans penetrated the airspace without interception and came very close to inflicting critical damage to the Spitfire factory. The radar had done its job and alerted No. 11 and 10 Group 20 minutes before the bombs started to fall. The fault lay either with the No. 10 or 11 Group controllers who were late in ordering their Squadrons to scramble.

More interceptions took place in the evening. The interception of two separate He 111s near London at 19:00 signalled the last engagement of daylight. It is likely they were on reconnaissance missions to assess the damage done in the attacks. The interception was made by No. 66 Squadron RAF. One of the He 111s was chased out to sea and was last seen flying on one engine. It was likely to have belonged to I./Kampfgeschwader 1 (KG 1), which reported one He 111 destroyed upon crash landing back in France after combat.

Small groups of German bombers attempted to attack London in the afternoon, causing little damage. II./Kampfgeschwader 4 (KG 4) had one He 111 crash land near Eindhoven after combat with the crew unhurt. The bomber was 30 percent damaged. 6 Staffel Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30) lost one Junkers Ju 88 to fighters when it crashed in France and another force landed after combat. I. and II./Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51) lost one Ju 88 each and another damaged. In the lost Ju 88s, all crews were reported missing.

Kampfgeschwader 27 (KG 27) bombed Liverpool during the night at 10:48. Widespread damage was caused in the city and neighbouring Birkenhead, but only nine casualties were inflicted. Elsewhere damage was reported at Eastbourne, Worthing, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Avonmouth, Manchester, Warrington, Bootle and Preston. RAF night fighters flew 64 sorties and intercepted two bombers. Neither the fighters or ground defences claimed any successes.