Battle of Britain Day 83. With fair weather, Luftwaffe again mounts bombing daylight raids supported by large numbers of fighters. 4 raids consisting of 60-200 aircraft come in over Kent at 9AM, 10AM, 1 PM & 4 PM. They are intercepted and broken up but some get through to bomb London and RAF airfields. 2 raids of 100 aircraft fly across the Channel from the Cherbourg area to attack the South coast. Luftwaffe loses 14 bombers and 32 Messerschmitt fighters, while RAF loses 20 fighters (8 pilots killed). Since September 7, Luftwaffe has lost 433 aircraft compared to 242 RAF fighters lost. During the night, London, Liverpool and a number of other cities are bombed. RAF bombers conduct night raids on Berlin, invasion ports, airfields (5 British bombers lost). Since the beginning of September, British civilian casualties are 6,954 killed and 10,615 injured.
The minefield laid off Falmouth by German destroyers Eckholdt, Riedel, Lody, Galster, Ihn and Steinbrinck on September 28 claims 2 victims. British armed yacht HMY Sappho (29 killed) and minesweeping trawler HMT Comet (15 lost, 2 survivors) hit mines and sink.
British monitor HMS Erebus (a slow, lightly armored WWI-era ship, carrying 2 15-inch guns) fires 17 rounds at German gun emplacements near Calais from the middle of the Straits of Dover, escorted by destroyers HMS Vesper and Garth.
300 miles West of Ireland, U-37 sinks 2 British steamers; SS Samala carrying 1500 tons of bananas from Jamaica at 10.13 AM (all 65 crew members, 1 gunner and 2 passengers lost) and SS Heminge carrying 3300 tons of coal at 9.56 PM (1 killed, 24 crew members and 1 gunner 1 picked up by British merchant Clan Cumming and landed at Liverpool). http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/570.html
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