Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours:

  • Blenheim – 40
  • Spitfire – 211
  • Hurricane – 403
  • Defiant – 13
  • Gladiator – 8
  • Total – 675

This day represented the last major daylight assault by the Luftwaffe in the Battle but the honours went to the RAF. Notably 602 City of Glasgow Squadron managed to shoot down 8 Me109s in almost as many minutes. Unsurprisingly the enemy aircraft turned around and flew for home but this only further exposed them to another attack in which they lost 4 aircraft.

Meanwhile, enemy aircraft attacked Portsmouth and Southampton. However, the Italians put in a further appearance by attacking Ramsgate. The final tally that day was 19 enemy aircraft destroyed for a loss of 7 RAF aircraft.

Coventry, Portsmouth, Dover and London were the main targets for this night’s raids.

Cyril Shoesmith, 14 years old, Bexhill on Sea – Diary – Tuesday 29 October
At 4.05pm another raid began. Many planes were heard and about 5 o’clock we saw a plane dive and drop 2 bombs. Not long after this we saw about thirty planes at a great height. And then three low two-engine planes flying singly. They were fired at by the Lewis guns and were believed to be Dornier bombers or Messerschmitt 2 engine fighters. Fighters were seen in pursuit. The raid ended at 5.30, but the night raid came some time later.

Reported Casualties (RAF Campaign Diary 29th October 1940):

*  Enemy: 27 confirmed, 8 probable, 10 damaged
*  Own: 7 aircraft with two pilots killed. Of these, 2 aircraft were destroyed and one pilot killed by bombs when taking off from North Weald aerodrome.