July 1940

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Bloody Wednesday in Olkusz, Poland

July 31, 2010 in 1940, July 1940 by Editor

Jewish men from the Polish city of Olkusz are forced to lie face down in the City Square.

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Day 22 – July 31st 1940

July 31, 2010 in 74 Squadron, July 1940 by Tony Rudd

Weather: fair everywhere.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

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Week 3 Summary: Trouble with the Enemy’s Seaplanes

July 30, 2010 in July 1940, Weekly Summaries by Tony Rudd

Bomber Command attacks German airfields

July 30, 2010 in 1940, July 1940, bombing by Editor

Amiens Airport being bombed by 82 Squadron on 30 July 1940 - with bombs in mid air. the Germans were rapidly lengthening the concrete runway. The interpretation report estimated that 650 metres was serviceable and this was being extended to 1000 metres. The large number of bomb craters illustrate how difficult it was to put airfields out of operations

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Day 21 – July 30th 1940

July 30, 2010 in 266 Squadron, July 1940 by Tony Rudd

Weather: unsettled with poor visibility.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

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Hitler plans the invasion of Russia

July 30, 2010 in 1940, Hitler, July 1940 by Editor

Colonel Warliment, pictured in 1939, was one of a very small group of officers who learnt that Hitler wanted to attack Russia in 1940

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Day 20 – July 29th 1940

July 29, 2010 in 17 Squadron, July 1940 by Tony Rudd

Weather: fair.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

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Day 19 – July 28th 1940

July 28, 2010 in 266 Squadron, July 1940 by Tony Rudd

Weather: fair but cloudy in the evening.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

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Day 18 – July 27th 1940

July 27, 2010 in 266 Squadron, July 1940 by Tony Rudd

Weather mixed: cloudy with some rain.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

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Air power changes everything

July 26, 2010 in 1940, July 1940 by Editor

Sir Alan Brooke, Chief in Command, Home Forces centre, studies a map with Montgomery, left.

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Day 17 – July 26th 1940

July 26, 2010 in July 1940, Wissler Diary by Tony Rudd

Weather: heavy cloud and poor visibility.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

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Convoy attacked off Dover

July 26, 2010 in 1940, July 1940, destroyers by Editor

HMS Boreas, bombed and seriously damaged on the 25th July 1940. Image by former crew member Edward Walace

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Air attacks on Britain have decreased

July 26, 2010 in 1940, July 1940 by Editor

The destroyer HMS Beagle escaped serious damage when she was bombed off Dover on the 19th July

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Day 16 – July 25th 1940

July 25, 2010 in 54 Squadron, 74 Squadron, July 1940, Wissler Diary by Tony Rudd

Weather: fine day.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

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French liner Meknes torpedoed

July 24, 2010 in 1940, July 1940 by Editor

The 6000 ton French liner 'Meknes', sunk while repatriating French troops.

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Day 15 – July 24th 1940

July 24, 2010 in 54 Squadron, July 1940 by Tony Rudd

Weather: cloudy with rain over much of the Channel.

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

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Morale steady, criticism of the Government

July 24, 2010 in 1940, July 1940 by Editor

Lord Halifax, British Foreign Minister with Hermann Goring, pictured in October 1937 during negotiations in Germany.

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Week 2 Summary: The Problems of the First Phase

July 23, 2010 in July 1940, Weekly Summaries by Tony Rudd

For the RAF, fighting the Kanalkampf wasn’t what Fighter Command had really prepared for. The expectation had been that the enemy would be flying over the coast and trying to penetrate the mainland. The radar had been deployed so that enemy aircraft could be intercepted as they crossed the coast. The same applied to the Observer Corps, who were to detect their passage over land. But in this first phase of the Battle, enemy aircraft were being intercepted over the sea so that the convoys of coastal ships could be defended. The RAF hadn’t invested in Air Sea Rescue Services, but the Germans had. This meant that when one of our pilots got shot up by an enemy fighter and had to bail out he was at serious risk of falling into the sea and drowning. Whereas, a German pilot in the same predicament would have been provided with, for example, a solid block of dye which, when chucked into the sea, would spread a large stain of vivid colour visible for miles, enabling the downed pilot to be found.

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Diary Extract from Wissler, 23 July 1940

July 23, 2010 in July 1940, Wissler Diary by Tony Rudd

23 July 1940

We went over to Martlesham and did a hell of a lot of flying. Two patrols one of 1.05hrs and one of 1.45hrs, at about 7pm we were told to take off for Debden, but having got half way home we were recalled and brought to readiness again. Eventually we were released at 9.15 and arrived to make a dusk landing. I shall sleep very well tonight, given half the chance.

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Day 14 – July 23rd 1940

July 23, 2010 in July 1940, Wissler Diary by Tony Rudd

Weather: another day of mixed weather in the Channel.

A relatively quiet but successful day. 2 enemy aircraft were shot down in combat over convoys but this was without loss to the RAF.

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