http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/aug40/f17aug40.htm
Royal Navy bombards Italian bases
Saturday, August 17, 1940 www.onwar.com
In the Mediterranean... Admiral Cunningham leads three battleships and several other vessels of the British Mediterranean Fleet to bombard the Italian positions at Bardia and Fort Capuzzo. Air attacks on the ships are beaten off.
Over Germany... The RAF sends a raid against the armament works at Leuna. Although at this stage of the war the RAF intends to hit only military targets, it cannot achieve the necessary accuracy in night bombing.
In Greece... Following recently increased tension with Italy, the Greek armed forces are partially mobilized with a call-up in some districts. Among the provocations is the sinking of the Greek cruiser Helle by an Italian submarine.
Over Britain... There are no major German attacks even though the weather is reasonably good. In response to pleas from Dowding the Air Ministry agrees to give Fighter Command some extra pilots from other RAF branches and to shorten the training period for new pilots even though this has obvious disadvantages.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/17.htm
August 17th, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - aircraft factory at Augsburg.
102 Sqn. Five aircraft. One returned early, three bombed primary and one FTR.
RAF Fighter Command: A day of reduced activity limited to single aircraft seeking coastal shipping.
Around 17:00 a photo-reconnaissance aircraft lingered at 35,000 feet over London, before another flying even higher surveyed the Thames and its Estuary.
During night attacks homes are destroyed in Aberavon, Wales. Bombs also fell south-west of Coventry and a dozen on Liverpool.
Pilot Officer R.A. Rhodes and Sgt. Gregory operating a Mersey Blue Line patrol from Ternhill in a Blenheim 1 fighter L6741 of 29 Sqn shot down a night raider which they located by the lights in its rear position. Killed in the encounter was KG 53’s Gruppenkommandeur.
Churchill spends the afternoon watching the progress of the battle in the “ops room” of No. 11 Group at Uxbridge, near London. He could hardly contain his excitement as he followed the progress of the battles. The gallantry of the RAF against constant attack from the Luftwaffe made a deep impression on him. Later, driving home, he said: “Don’t speak to me; I have never been so moved.”
London: The Reuters News Agency reported:
For the first time in the war German aircraft have bombed the suburbs of London, but the actual city of London neither saw enemy aircraft, nor heard the roar of their engines nor of anti-aircraft fire. Londoners are going quietly about their work. In the evening the usual crowds are to be seen outside theatre and cinemas, and the parks are packed with strollers who will be very surprised to read in the morning papers what the Germans say about the great air battles over London. The first German report that London’s port district had been “very badly damaged,” provoked some mirth here; while the later German reports that their planes “danced” over London, that gigantic fires were raging on both sides of the Thames, and that a curtain of smoke lay across the whole of London, gave Londoners much amusement. When the air alert was sounded for the second time in 24 hours on Friday afternoon, at an hour when there was busy traffic on the streets, the majority of passers-by entered the air-raid shelters in complete composure.
Lt Edward Womersley (1917-55), Royal Engineers, dug 17 feet to an unexploded bomb and removed a new type of fuse for which he had no instructions. (Empire Gallantry Medal)
Corvette HMS Coreopsis commissioned. Submarine HMS Utmost commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY: The Luftwaffe removes Stukas from its attacking force, as they have proved too vulnerable.
Daily Keynote from the Reich Press Chief:
The Minister [of Propaganda, Goebbels] reckons that sooner or later the English will give up their present tactic of trivialising [the German air raids] and substitute a new tactic: playing the fiddle of humanitarian sentiment in order to “awaken the world’s conscience,” for which they will trot out murdered women, pregnant women, old people etc., for inspection. To meet this predictable eventuality, Herr Fritsche and Herr Bohmer [of the Ministry of Propaganda] should have material ready to hand, pictures of the children killed in Freiburg and so on ...
The German government announces a “total blockade” of the British Isles and states that all ships will be sunk without warning. (Jack McKillop)
Corvette Kreizis commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
GREECE: Greek reserve forces are called up in some districts. This demonstrates the recent increased tensions. The Greek cruiser Helle was sunk by an Italian submarine recently.
LIBYA: The Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet lead by Admiral Cunningham bombards Italian positions at Bardia and Fort Capuzzo.
(Mark Horan adds): In an effort to provide air cover for the bombardment operation, HMS Eagle dispatched the three Sea Gladiators of her 813 Fight Flight to Sidi Barrani where they joined RAF Gladiator’s of 112 Squadron in flying CAP throughout the day. In the afternoon, the expected attacks by Regia Aeronautica appeared. The patrols of Gladiators broke up several attacks, with 813 Fighter Flight’s Cdr. C. L. Keighley-Peach, Lt. L. K. Keith, and Lt. A. N. Young claiming two of 8 claims overall.
Tragically, 11 days later Young would be killed as killed when his 824 Squadron Swordfish crashed at Dekheila. The Mediterranean fleet sustained no damage.
Meanwhile, with Commonwealth’s recent gains in Libya, the Royal Navy begins laying plans to send several of HMS Eagle’s Swordfish aircraft to the Bardia area to operate against Italian supply lanes in the Gulf of Bomba.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Cobalt launched Port Arthur, Ontario. (Dave Shirlaw)