25 July 1940 On 25 July 1940, at 07:00, Convoy CW.8 sails from Southend-on-Sea for Falmouth. The convoy naturally attracts German attention, and the RAF is to provide protection[1]. At 12:00, eleven Hawker Hurricanes take off for a patrol over Hawkinge. At the same time, the British ships are attacked by Ju.87s of IV./LG 1,…
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16 January 1941 Northern Front The day is marked by the loss of Bristol Blenheim Mk I L8456 of No. 8 (RAF) Squadron. The aircraft takes off from Aden at 16:20 to bomb Djidjiga aerodrome, where a Fiat CR.32 is reported damaged (though it may have been destroyed by L6648 operating over Djidjiga between 06:00…
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24 July 1940 Six aircraft of B Flight take off at 06:05 for a patrol over Dover and land at Hawkinge at approximately 07:50. The remainder of the Squadron joins them there at 12:00. Two further patrols are carried out between 12:40 and 14:00, again without notable incident. At 15:15, Red Section is ordered to…
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12 June 1940 Northern Front The British continued to target Italian airfields with a series of bombing raids. Between 11:00 and 16:45, No. 47 and 223 (RAF) Squadrons carried out no fewer than eighteen sorties. They were met by anti-aircraft defences and Fiat CR.42s of 412 Squadriglia over the airfields of Gura (Eritrea) and Asmara.…
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11 June1940 Northern Front The “Battle of the Airfields” began at 5.30 when eight Vickers Wellesleys of No.47 (RAF) Squadron took off from Erkowit (Sudan) to target the Italian airfield at Asmara (Eritrea). The raids were carried out at low altitude and took the enemy defences completely by surprise. However, the RAF suffered its…
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9 January 1941 Northern Front Three Bristol Blenheim Mk IVs, from No.14 (RAF) Squadron, take off at 07:05 for an armed reconnaissance of the Kassala sector. On the return flight, R3899 (Sergeant Leslie A.J. Patey) is badly damaged in a flight with two Fiat CR.42s. According to British documentation, one of the Italian fighters is…
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8 January 1941 Northern Front Christopher Shores reports that Italian air defence claims a British bomber destroyed over the sea during an attack on Massawa.[1] It is, however, difficult to square this claim with the events of the day. Thus No.14 (RAF) Squadron took a break during the day before moving on to other objectives…
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7 January 1941 Northern Front As on previous days, No.14 (RAF) Squadron returns to Massawa. Three Bristol Blenheim Mk IV take off at 14:35 to attack the local power station. In order to complicate the task of the anti-aircraft defence, the aircraft attack from different altitudes. The result is not very convincing as the bombers…
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6 January 1941 Northern Front As the day before, No.14 (RAF) Squadron returned to Massawa. The Blenheim Mk IV T1818 (Sergeant Roy G. Gilmore, Kenneth James Wilkie and Smith) took off at 12:00 for a photographic reconnaissance of the harbour and bombing of the Regia Aeronautica HQ. Although the first task is accomplished, the crew…
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5 January 1941 Northern Front No.14 (RAF) Squadron begins a series of attacks on Massawa, that will continue over the next few days. Flight Sergeant Patey took off at 07:05 in a Bristol Blenheim MkIV (T1868) for a photographic reconnaissance, which is in fact aimed at attracting Italian fighters. At the same time, six other…
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