Hitler issued his directive for a landing in England, stating that his aim was to “eliminate the English motherland as a base from which war against Germany can be continued”

Bad weather, including fog, hampered German operations. Casualties suffered by the Luftwaffe included a Junkers Ju 88 shot down off The Needles on the Isle of Wight by Flight Lieutenant Willie Rhodes-Moorhouse, commanding B Flight of No 601 Squadron. In 1915 his father had earned a posthumous Victoria Cross, the first VC awarded to an airman.