Posted on 10/08/2010 6:05:59 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Plus a special guest map from Michael Korda’s, “With Wings Like Eagles,” showing the air defenses of England and Wales, August 1940.
Gordon W. Prange, At Dawn We Slept
Michael Korda, With Wings Like Eagles: The Untold Story of the Battle of Britain
* Matthews’ Arrivederci, Roma opus
Date: 8th October 1940
Enemy action by day
There were four main attacks during the morning, of which two penetrated to London and two operated in Kent.
In the afternoon small raids by single aircraft attacked towns on the East Sussex Coast.
It is believed that all the attacks in force were made by Me109s.
Reconnaissances were chiefly carried out in the afternoon and evening and were most active in East Anglia; a few were, however, made in Somerset, Dorset, Kent and East Sussex throughout the day and four convoys were shadowed.
Enemy patrols in the Straits of Dover appear to have been less active than usual.
Weather conditions between 1230 and 1600 hours confined our fighters of No 11 Group to operating from only two aerodromes.
Reports so far received indicate that our fighters destroyed four enemy plus 2 probable plus 3 damaged. We have lost four aircraft and four pilots.
Main Attacks
At 0833 hours 50+ enemy aircraft crossed the coast near Dungeness and, flying in close formation, attacked London at 0850 hours. They then split into small sections and flew out, being met by a raid of 100+ which reached the South London - Biggin Hill - Kenley area by 0915 hours. This was followed by a smaller raid of 10+ which flew 10 miles inland from Beachy Head and out at Dungeness.
11 Squadrons were despatched to intercept these raids.
30+ aircraft crossed the coast at Lympne at 1025 hours and after reaching the Hornchurch area left by Folkestone at 1058 hours.
A raid of 30+ from Cap Gris Nez came in at Lympne at 1115 hours and penetrated to South and East London.
At 1225 hours two raids of 20+ each flew inland from Folkestone to the Kenley - Biggin Hill area and out again.
Small attacks on the East Sussex Coast
Isolated attacks were reported on Bexhill, Eastbourne (twice) Hastings and Fairlight between 1300 and 1830 hours.
Reconnaissances
Kent and Sussex
At 1040 hours two aircraft flew from Beachy Head to Biggin Hill and Dungeness, another circled Rye, and one coming inland at Eastbourne flew to Biggin Hill and Kenley.
Between 1300 and 1700 hours reconnaissances were made of Hastings, Biggin Hill, Beachy Head, Dungeness, Deal, Faversham, Selsey Bill and the North Foreland.
Dorset and Somerset
Reconnaissances of Portland and Dorset were made at 1030 hours; of Portland, Start Point, between 1300 hours and 1500 hours. One of these turned back on interception.
East Anglia
Between 1300 and 1500 hours enemy aircraft reconnoitred Lowestoft (twice) Yarmouth and Harwich. Two of these raids turned back on interception.
There was increased activity in the North Sea and off the East Anglian Coast between 1500 and 1700 hours.
Convoys
Two convoys were reconnoitred in the Thames Estuary at about 1640 hours and one off Dover at 0650 hours. The latter was fired at from Cap Gris Nez between 0800 and 0900 hours and there was also considerable air activity in the Straits at this time.
At 0919 hours three naval units are reported to have been dive-bombed off South Foreland.
A convoy reported that it was being shadowed at 1550 hours.
Night Operations - 8th / 9th October 1940
1900 Hours to 2100 Hours
Following on reconnaissances during the early evening, hostile night activity commenced from Cherbourg. These sorties, rather unusually, took the form of a concentration of about 20 enemy aircraft on a wide front between Portland and Southampton which penetrated just inland to the Portsmouth - Southampton area. Other raids entered the country from the areas Le Havre; Dieppe and the Dutch Islands, the majority having the London area as their objective, while a few were operating in East Anglia and towards Liverpool. Approximately 100 enemy raids entered during this period.
Minelaying was suspected off the North East Coast between Hartlepool and St Abb's Head and between Flamborough Head and Humber.
2100 Hours to 2300 Hours
Enemy aircraft activity was maintained during the early portion of this period but later showed a distinct slackening. The areas covered were practically identical with earlier ones, many of the outgoing aircraft homing to Cherbourg.
Minelaying was apparently continued off the North East Coast.
2300 Hours to 0100 Hours 9.10.40
Raids continued intermittently during this period although activity was somewhat reduced during the latter part, London being the objective almost exclusively.
Minelaying had apparently ceased.
0100 Hours to 0300 Hours
Activity was intensified and still confined to the London area. The enemy appeared to enter from the Le Touquet area and the majority were plotted homing via the Estuary to Ostend. Later, a few were tracked as far North as Peterborough, via London, and returned on reciprocal tracks, while a single enemy reached the Church Fenton area from the West, circled for some time and flew out to sea over the Humber.
0300 Hours to 0600 Hours
Although London continued to be the main objective, a feature of this period was a succession of raiders entering over the Essex Coast from the Dutch Isles and penetrating into East Anglia and the Eastern Midlands. This influx was maintained and increased in strength while the rest of the country, including London was clear.
________________________________________
Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 8th October 1940
Casualties:
| Enemy Losses | ||
| By Fighters | ||
| Destroyed | Probable | Damaged |
| 1 Me109 | 2 Me109 | 1 Me109 |
| 2 Ju88 | 2 Ju88 | |
| 1 Do17 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 3 |
| By Anti-Aircraft | ||
| 1 Me109 | ||
| 1 He111 | ||
| 2 | Nil | Nil |
Patrols:
Balloons:
Serviceability of Aerodromes:
Organisation:
Home Security Reports
onwar.com doesn’t want to let me see October 8.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/08.htm
October 8th, 1939
UNITED KINGDOM: The anti-U-boat mine barrage in the Strait of Dover is completed and sinks U-12 today.
AF: During a patrol flight over the North Sea, a Lockheed Hudson of 224 Squadron of RAF Leuchars (N7217 flown by F./Lt. A. Womersley) destroys a Dornier Do. 18 flying-boat during a patrol over Jutland. This is the first RAF aircraft operating from the UK to shoot down an enemy aircraft.
Naval: Battlecruiser Gneisenau and other ships of the German Navy sortie off Norway to draw the Home Fleet within U-boat and aircraft range. capital ships Hood, Nelson, Repulse, Rodney and Royal Oak, together with the carrier Furious, cruisers and destroyers sail for various positions, but there is no contact.
FRANCE: 15.00 hrs two French airmen named Villey and Casenobe each shoot down an enemy plane, during a combat between 5 Curtiss Hawks of 4 Sqn. 2nd Fighter Group (the “Red Devil Squadron”) and 4 Bf 109’s. The first French air kills of the war.
GERMANY: Western Poland is annexed to Germany, and the land partitioned into five. Two new Reichsgau are formed: Reichsgau Danzig West Prussia, under the command of Albert Forster Reichsgau Wartheland, under the command of Arthur Greiser The remaining three partitions constituted of surplus lebensraum, two of which were added to the already existing Reichsgau of Silesia and East Prussia. The third remaining partition in Eastern German-occupied Poland was named the General Government and placed under the command of Hans Frank. (Jason Leech)
U-47 under command of Günther Prien set out from Kiel on the soon to be famous attack on the British Fleet at Scapa Flow. (Dave Shirlaw)
FINLAND: Voluntary evacuations from municipalities near the Soviet border begin. Some 50 000 people leave their homes. (Mikko Härmeinen)
U.S.S.R.: “Reich Germans” are resettled from the Baltic States to what the Nazis call their racial home. This was agreed to previously in the Soviet-German Agreement.
U.S.A.: Baseball.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The USCG cutter USCGC Campbell joins the U.S. passenger liner SS Iroquois because of the warnings received about an attack on her (see 4 October). Later, the USN destroyers USS Davis (DD-395) and USS Benham (DD-397) also join and the four ships proceed to New York City. (Jack McKillop)
The Graf Spee sinks the British freighter NEWTON BEACH. (Navynews)
U-37 sank SS Vistula. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 404 October 8, 1940
Battle of Britain Day 91. Luftwaffe reverts to fighter-only flights (along with a handful of medium bombers), mounting 4 raids of 30-160 bomb-carrying Bf109s into Kent and towards London. RAF intercepts these formations as early as possible to minimize damage to the intended targets. The Messerschmitt pilots tend to drop their bombs quickly wherever they are challenged, knowing that the bomb-load makes them less maneuverable and more vulnerable to the RAF fighters. However, Government offices in Whitehall (Paymaster General’s Office, Ministry of Agriculture and Great Scotland Yard) and Charing Cross Railway Station are bombed. 1 Bf109 and 3 German bombers are shot down but RAF has a bad day losing 4 fighters (all 4 pilots killed). London, East Anglia, East Midlands, Portsmouth and Southampton are bombed overnight. Serious fires develop in London, at the wharves and warehouses of Bermondsey and LEP transport in Chiswick.
At 9.31 PM, U-58 hits British SS Confield with 2 torpedoes 88 miles west of Barra Head, Outer Hebrides, Scotland (1 killed, 36 crew take to the lifeboats) but Confield remains afloat. The next day, 5 survivors are picked up by sloop HMS Weston (which shells and sinks Confield) and 31 survivors are picked up by corvette HMS Periwinkle. In the Bay of Biscay, British submarine HMS Trident and U-31 exchange gunfire; Trident hits U-31 with the deck gun, causing some minor damage, but misses with torpedoes.
British Mediterranean Fleet leaves Alexandria, Egypt, to escort a supply convoy to Malta though the dangerous waters South of Italy. Battleships HMS Warspite, Valiant, Malaya & Ramillies, aircraft carriers HMS Eagle & Illustrious, 6 cruisers, 6 anti-aircraft cruisers & 16 destroyers escort 4 British steamers, covered by 6 submarines.
350 miles Northeast of Natal, Brazil, German armed merchant cruiser Thor shells empty British refrigeration steamer Natia which stops after a chase (2 killed, 83 crew abandon ship in lifeboats and are taken prisoner). Natia stays afloat on the empty refrigerated chambers but is finally sunk with a torpedo and 35 150mm shells. Thor now has 368 prisoners on board, outnumbering the crew. http://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/thor.html
8 more old US Navy destroyers are transferred to Royal Navy for escort duty under the destroyers for bases deal brokered between Churchill and Roosevelt.
I’m a little confused. This is the second post referring to a sinking by the GRAF SPEE. But she was scuttled in 1939. How can she be sinking ships in 1940? Ditto Prien’s sailing for Scpa Flow. That op also took place in 1939. What’s up?
Did I do that yesterday, too? I will check. The site puts the same date from each year one after the other. I copied the wrong date for 10/8. Thanks for the catch.
October 8th, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM:
Battle of Britain: Attack on Rootes’ works at Speke, Liverpool.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 14; RAF, 4.
Westminster: Churchill reports that civilian deaths from air raids, at one time reaching 6,000 a week, have halved.
“On that particular Thursday night 180 persons were killed in London as a result of 251 tons of bombs. That is to say, it took one ton of bombs to kill three-quarters of a person.
Statisticians may amuse themselves by calculating that after making allowance for the law of diminishing returns, through the same house being struck twice or three times over, it would take ten years at the present rate for half the houses of London to be demolished. After that, of course, progress would be much slower.”
USS Aulick (DD-258), commissioned as HMS Burnham (H-82), and USS Branch (DD-197), commissioned as HMS Beverley (H-64), USS Hunt (DD-194), commissioned as HMS Broadway (H-90), USS Laub (DD-263), USS McLanahan (DD-264), commissioned as HMS Bradford (H-72), commissioned as HMS Burwell (H-94), USS Satterlee (DD-190), commissioned as HMS Belmont (H-46), and USS Edwards (DD-265), commissioned as HMS Buxton (H-96), as part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. (Ron Babuka)
GERMANY: U-107 commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: Baseball
* The motion picture “The Long Voyage Home” is released today. Directed by John Ford, this war drama, based on four short Eugene O’Neill plays, stars John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, Mildred Natwick and Arthur Shields. The plot involves the crew of the freighter SS Glencairn as the ship sails across the Atlantic in the early days of World War II. The film is nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture (it loses to “Rebecca”) and five technical awards.
* The motion picture “Too Many Girls” is released today. Directed by George Abbott, this musical comedy featuring music by Rogers and Hart stars Lucille Ball, Richard Carlson, Ann Miller, Frances Langford in addition to Eddie Bracken and Desi Arnez in their film debuts; appearing in uncredited roles are Iron Eyes Cody, Jay Silverheels and Van Johnson (also making his film debut). The plot has four men being hired to protect a footloose woman (Ball) at Pottawatomie College in Stopgap, New Mexico. Lucy and Desi met while making the film and were married on 30 November 1940. (Jack McKillop)
The government advises US citizens in the Far East to leave.
Richardson again travels to Washington to protest basing of his fleet at Pearl Harbor. Meets with Roosevelt and argues volubly with him over this. (Marc Small)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-31 was attacked by the British submarine Trident. First the submarine fired 4 torpedoes, all of which missed U-31. When the British sub began to fire its gun, U-31 crash-dived. The Trident followed up with some explosive charges, but without result. This was the third time that U-31 was attacked by an enemy submarine during this patrol. The commander wrote sardonically in the war diary - “Main task of this patrol was to play the target ship for British submarines”.
U-58 sank SS Confield in Convoy HX-76. (Dave Shirlaw)
In fact, Roosevelt was hugely tolerant of dissent and even threats to resign over disagreements.
So Richardson's statements here would not have particularly upset FDR.
Richardson's real problem with Roosevelt was that Richardson suspected the truth, and could not go along with it.
And that truth is seen in their discussion: as Richardson said and FDR denied -- the US Naval force at Pearl Harbor was not strong enough to deter the Japanese.
Both Richardson and FDR well knew: a military force not strong enough to deter attack was actually a provocation for attack on it.
Roosevelt needed a commander-patsy willing to sit and wait on a Japanese attack, and Richardson was not willing to be it.
FDR would have to find someone else to be his patsy.
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