Date: 23 July 1940
- Weather: Slight haze in the Straits of Dover. Cloudy with occasional rain in other districts.
- Day: East coast shipping raided.
- Night: Minelaying from Dover to the Tyne and Forth Estuary.
Enemy action by day
Enemy activity appeared to have further decreased and those aircraft with few exceptions approaching the coast seemed to devote their attention to reconnaissance of shipping and to attacks when opposition was not immediately encountered but turned away when fighters were in the vicinity.
While patrolling a convoy off Yarmouth in the early morning, Hurricanes shot down a Ju86[?] and it is a probable casualty.
A 'help' message from a convoy some distance off Lowestoft was received at about 0809 hours but only one bomb is reported to have been dropped from a great height.
Later, a raid penetrating inland as far as Kenley dropped bombs during the flight. It at once retraced its track on the approach of fighters. At 1120 a force of six aircraft approached North Foreland and bombed trawlers. Two fighter squadrons intercepted without conclusive results. During the morning, various other aircraft were detected around the coast from the North of Scotland southwards. No contact was made by fighters.
During the afternoon activity was still further reduced but in a raid near Kinnaird's Head a Do215 was intercepted and is confirmed as having been shot down by Spitfires at 1540 hours.
At 1530 hours a raid of nine aircraft appeared without being tracked in RDF 50 miles east of Harwich. A naval vessel is reported to have been bombed. Another raid appeared inland near Yarmouth at 1640 hours and re-crossed the coast near Bawdsey after dropping bombs at Pulham Market. It evaded fighters in the clouds. Fighters were sent up to a raid which appeared inland over North Scotland after 1800 hours but the enemy aircraft escaped east at great speed.
France
Hostile tracks were plotted along the French coast and to mid-Channel but few approached nearer to our coasts.
By night
Enemy activity again was again at somewhat on a lesser scale and almost exclusively confined to coastal flights, presumably minelaying. The chief activity was along the east coast from Dover to the Tyne and Forth Estuary, with one or two raids as far north as Kinnaird's Head and considerably less concentration in the Thames Estuary and the South Coast.
It is reported that one He111 was shot down for certain at 0040 hours by a Spitfire near Dunbar. About eight raids visited the West Country picking out Falmouth, Plymouth and Bristol and four raids were lost going north off the Welsh Coast., but were picked up in the Liverpool area where anti-aircraft guns were in action and they claim one enemy aircraft (type unknown) unconfirmed.
At about 0043 hours a smoke screen about 100 yards long and thirty feet high was reported by the Observer Corps off Dover.
From information received during the late evening it would appear that attempts were being made to intercept our bombers, an attack upon one having been reported.
It was noticeable too that that throughout the night there were only two or three isolated raids which crossed the coast, one over Middlesborough proceeding south of Catterick and one over Cornwall and South Wales.
The only report of any bombs having been dropped is near Hartlepool.
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Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 23 July 1940
- Blenheim - 62
- Spitfire - 243
- Hurricane - 282
- Defiant - 12
- Total – 599
Casualties:
- Enemy: Fighters - 1 unconfirmed; Bombers - 2 confirmed.
- Own: Nil.
Patrols:
- 182 patrols despatched involving 495 aircraft.
Balloons:
- Flying - 1205 Casualties - 34.
Aerodromes:
- No changes.
Organisation:
- No. 43 Squadron (Hurricanes) has moved from Tangmere to Northolt.
- No. 1 Squadron (Hurricanes) has moved from Northolt to Tangmere
- No. 264 Squadron (Defiants) has moved from Duxford to Kirton in Lindsey.
- No. 141 Squadron (Defiants) have arrived at Prestwick and are non-operational.
Air Intelligence Reports
- Nil.
Home Security Reports
- Date
- General Summary
- Additional reports of districts affected by enemy bomb attacks early on July 23rd show that East Yorkshire, Berwickshire, Isle of Wight, Gloucestershire and the Swansea area were all visited, but very little damage was caused and casualties were slight.
- During the day and night of 23/24 July, enemy bombing activity was very slight, but some bombs were dropped in parts of Norfolk, Kent and West Sussex; apart from structural damage at Pulham (Norfolk), the effects were negligible.
- Detailed Summary
- Montrose aerodrome reports one HE bomb which fell in the landing ground at 0043 hours without causing damage or casualties.
- Eleven HE bombs were dropped near Ternhill Aerodrome at 0133 hours, the only damage caused being the partial blocking of a road for which repairs are now in hand. No casualties are reported.
- HE and IBs fell at Tetney near North Coates in the early morning, without causing damage or casualties.
- Bombs fell at Yarmouth and Brightstone (Isle of Wight) at 0045 hours causing slight damage to one house.
- The HE did considerable damage to six houses in Willerby (East Yorkshire) at 0122 hours, and a signal arm on the railway was wrecked. The track was undamaged and four slight casualties resulted.
- At 0838 bombs fell on the beach and inland at Worthing, and at 0935 whistling bombs were dropped in a field at Itching Field (Horsham). In neither of these incidents was there any damage.
- Air Ministry property at Pulham (Norfolk) suffered structural damage at 1648 hours when sixteen HE fell, but there were no casualties.
- There are unconfirmed reports of bombs at West Hartlepool at 0100 hours (24 July).