Daily Archive

Weather: intermittent rain

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

• Blenheim – 51
• Spitfire – 208
• Hurricane – 393
• Defiant – 18
• Gladiator – 8
• Total – 678

In the morning several aircraft attacked single buildings in London. The targets included Downing St, Whitehall and Buckingham Palace. Some aircraft reached further inland and were able to attack parts of Oxfordshire and Berkshire. In the afternoon single seater fighters were despatched by Luftflotte 2. They aimed for Biggin Hill but were turned back by Fighter Command. The RAF lost 1 aircraft and the Luftwaffe lost 4.
London was targeted that night. Clapham Junction and a school in West Ham, which was being used as a reception centre, were just two of the areas hit.

73 Squadron Unofficial War Diary – 13 September
Mrs Robinson, the CO’s better half, has got us adopted by a knitting circle…Mrs R also collected all our “smalls” and took them off to launder them.

PO D.H. Wissler Diary – 13 September
Bed at 10.30 thinking very hard of Mummy and Pop as I could see a hell of a barrage over town. God Damn and blast Hitler.

Reported Casualties (RAF Campaign Diary 13th September 1940):

*  Enemy: 3 confirmed, o probable, 3 damaged
*  Own: 1 Hurricane of which the pilot is safe.