August 9th, 1940 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Battle of Britain:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - aluminium works at Ludwigshaven.
77 Sqn. Nine
aircraft. Seven bombed primary.
78 Sqn. Five
aircraft. Four bombed primary, one bombed an alternative. One damaged by Flak. One
fighter seen but no attack.
RAF Fighter Command: Weather, cloud and rain. Luftwaffe attacked east coast shipping and Dover balloons.
Heavy raids on Bournemouth and Salisbury, and a mine is dropped on South Shields, Tyneside.
Bombs fall for the first time on Birkenhead, Cheshire.
KG 26 attack
Wearmouth, Northumberland, dropping 14 bombs over shipbuilding and railway facilities and
injuring 73 people. Sunderland's shipyards also came under attack before 79 Squadron shot
the offender down.
By dawn in total 190 HEs had fallen in 24 hours, killing 7 and injuring 100.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 5; RAF 4.
London: Britain promises Japan that it will pull out of Shanghai and northern China; its
manpower is needed elsewhere.
Corvette HMS Erica commissioned.
GERMANY: The 'New British Broadcasting Station' (NBBS) propaganda radio announces that German
parachutists would descend on Britain wearing some of the 100,000 British uniforms
captured in France or else dressed as miners.
U-703 is laid down.
CHINA: The British withdraw their forces from Shanghai.
CANADA: Minesweeper
HMCS Cowichan launched North Vancouver,
British Columbia.
Corvette HMCS Saskatoon laid down
Montreal, Province of Quebec.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-30 sinks SS Canton.