September 10th, 1940 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
Daylight operations included lone armed reconnaissance flights, convoy attacks off East
Anglia, bombing of coastal towns including Great Yarmouth and Hastings and raids on West
Malling and Woolwich.
In the late afternoon a build-up is reported over France and about 300 aircraft began crossing between Dover and the North Foreland at 16:55, six were reported to be four-engined bombers with strong fighter escort. They swung west to stream across south London, about 30 entering the IAZ and a small diversion heading towards Salisbury. Opposing them were 24 RAF fighter squadrons.
The weather is generally cloudy with some rain. During the day, small scale attacks on Portsmouth, Tangmere, Poling and West Malling. Only isolated aircraft appeared in the London area also scattered raids along the South Coast and over Kent. Reconnaissance flights over Convoys. In the East, there is one early morning reconnaissance of Humber and Digby and out over Yarmouth. Two reconnaissances of convoys off Norfolk and Lincolnshire, of which one crossed the coast near Mablethorpe. Two raids, of which one identified as a Ju 88 along Norfolk Coast, Yarmouth to Harwich, and a further raid reported to have attacked Yarmouth. Cloud conditions prevented fighter contact. At 1550 hours, one aircraft flew West, North of Thames Estuary, crossed London from North to South and then out over Sheppey. In the South, there is one early raid penetrated inland near Tangmere. Fighters failed to intercept. Two raids just inland near Hastings and Shoreham during the morning. At 1230 hours one Dornier crossed the coast near Hastings, penetrated to Central London, and flew out East near Clacton. At 1715 hours six small raids coming in between Beachy Head and Dungeness approached London area. Fighters intercepted and two enemy aircraft are destroyed and one probable. The remainder flew out by the same route to Dieppe, France, area. Between 1740-1835 hours, there are small raids via Poole to Middle Wallop where track faded.
During the night, there are main attacks against London with some lesser raids on Merseyside and South Wales. Between 1700-1800 hours some raids originating from Cherbourg, France, appeared to attack Poling, Tangmere and Portsmouth, but only two penetrated inland to any extent. Luftwaffe activity commenced with an attack of about 12 raids, coming from Cherbourg via St Catherine's Point and Selsey to Hampshire, some of which penetrated to London area. This wave is all dispersed by 2200 hours. A further wave of six raids came from the Somme, France, area crossing the coast between Dungeness and Beachy Head, over Kent and Sussex up to London area. There is a lull in hostile activity between 2200 and 2230 hours, at which time raids again came in between Selsey and Dungeness. Between 2100 and 0100 hours, it is estimated that 80 raids crossed the South Coast. German raids gradually ceased to come in over the South Coast, but by 0100 hours a stream of about 30 raids started to come in from the Dutch Islands up the Thames Estuary into the London area, thence out over the South Coast. By 0430 the last of these raids left the cost by the North Foreland and the whole country is then clear. In the West several raids entered between the Needles and Portland, proceeding to South Wales, Western Midlands and Liverpool. One raid reached Liverpool area flying East from the Irish Sea and a further raid came in near Whitby and flew West as far as Kendal, then out East over Hartlepool. Minelaying is suspected in the Mersey, South of the Isle of Man, Harwich, Portsmouth area and Thames Estuary.
Today, RAF Fighter Command claims 2-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; the RAF lost one Spitfire but the pilot is safe.
London: Buckingham Palace is slightly damaged by a German bomb.
The British War Cabinet instructs RAF bombers over Germany not to return home with their bombs if they failed to locate their original targets. Instead, they were to drop their bombs "anywhere" if unable to reach their targets. This order was given in light of the destruction and terror inflicted on Londoners during the last two nights by a succession of Luftwaffe bombing raids.
GERMANY:
Daily Keynote from the Reich Press Chief:
The British air raids on Berlin and Hamburg should be played up, magnifying all the
details as much as possible, in such a way as to further validate our retaliatory measures
in the eyes of the world. Furthermore material from the last few months should be
exploited more than it has been so far, to make plain the justification of our measures.
U-105
commissioned.
ALBANIA: During the next 10 days, the Italians will increase their forces in Albania by 40,000 men in preparation for their invasion of Greece.
NORTH AFRICA:
RAF
Hurricanes Mk Is of "A" Flight,
No. 274 Squadron (the first to operate in Africa) based at Amiyra, score their first victories
when two Italian SM 79 Sparvieros (Sparrowhawks) are destroyed.