Date: 30 July 1940
- Weather: Unsettled, with drizzle and low cloud.
- Day: Raids on convoys off Orfordness, Clacton and Harwich.
- Night: South Wales and midlands.
Enemy action by day
Activity in general was on a restricted scale, owing to weather conditions. Our fighters made two successful interceptions, shooting down a He111 off Montrose and a Me110 off Southwold.
South and West
Attacks were reported on convoys off Orfordness, Clacton and Harwich. No. 85 Squadron shot down one Me110, 10 miles east of Southwold at 1532 hours.
North
Five raids were plotted during the course of the day between Flamborough Head and the Orkneys, one of which was reported to be a meteorological flight. Another of these raids was identified as a He111 and was shot down by No. 603 Squadron off Montrose at 1212 hours.
France
The usual Calais-Boulogne-Cherbourg enemy patrols were maintained and there were several hostile flights in the direction of the Varne Light Vessel. There were no interceptions.
By night
Enemy activity was on a much reduced scale, no doubt owing to the weather.
In the early part of the evening, a raid was plotted over Surrey. A balloon barrage was attacked and bombs were dropped at Esher, Chessington, Woldingham, Tolworth and Merstham.
Later, raids originating in the Baie de la Seine, and Cherbourg were plotted in the Plymouth area making for Devon and Dorset coasts and thence inland to South Wales and the Midlands. One or two isolated plots travelled as far north as Colwyn Bay.
Bombs were dropped at Heysham (five miles south of Lancaster) from a raid plotted as coming in from the west. Other reports of bombs were received from Barry Docks and near Cwm Bargoed, where a railway track was damaged.
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Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 30 July 1940
- Blenheim - 74
- Spitfire - 232
- Hurricane - 333
- Defiant - 23
- Gladiator - 8 (1 Flight only)
- Total – 662
Casualties:
- Enemy: Fighters - nil; Bombers - 2 confirmed.
- Own: Nil.
Patrols:
- 185 patrols despatched involving 724 aircraft.
Balloons:
- Flying 1443. Casualties 44.
Aerodromes:
- Abbotsinch, Sherburn, Hartlepool and Exeter are unserviceable during the hours of darkness.
Organisation:
- No changes.
Air Intelligence Reports
- None.
Home Security Reports
- 30th/31st July 1940.
- General Summary
- During the early hours of 30th July, bombs were dropped in South Wales, South-Western England, Hull and Norwich, and during the night of 30th/31st July bombs were again dropped in South Wales and in Surrey.
- Detailed Summary
- At 0010 hours on 30th July, bombs were dropped on Hull causing some damage to shops.
- St Athan aerodrome was bombed early in the morning of 30th July, the married men's quarters demolished and other buildings damaged. No casualties have been reported.
- Twelve HE bombs were dropped on Norwich at 0600 hours on 30th July. A bus station was hit and buses destroyed and damaged. Houses and a water main were also damaged and some casualties were caused.
- After the Norwich raid, no bombs were reported all the day of 30th July until 2212 hours, when bombs were dropped at Esher and Farleigh in Surrey, but no damage has been reported.
- During the night of 30th/31st July, Barry Docks were bombed, no damage has been reported; bombs were also reported to have been dropped at Cwm Bargoed (Glamorgan) where damage was done to the railway track.