A foggy morning which cleared by the afternoon. At 1230hrs twelve Spitfires taxied out to patrol Dunkirk but only eleven took off as Flt Lt Barran in L1083 struck a contractor’s wagon which took off his starboard wing tip! Some time later Plt Off Blayney returned with engine trouble, so only ten aircraft began the first patrol at 1400hrs acting as top cover at 20,000 feet. There was confused fighting with several enemy formations during which 609 shot down several, however, Flt Lt Persse-Joynt did not return to Northolt with the others; he’d last been seen diving on enemy bombers but was not seen again after that. Posted as Missing.
The second patrol of the day was at 1900hrs with only nine aircraft and they quickly found the Germans by following the anti-aircraft bursts in the sky, all nine engaged. Led by the American, Fg Off ‘Hack’ Russell, 609 swept into a formation of Heinkels and had a brief period of good shooting before the fighter escort, at least twenty Messerschmitt 109s, intervened. Fg Off Gilbert was shot down and killed. Sgt Bennett also went down but managed to ditch and was plucked from the sea off Dover, wounded and burned.
Todays score was four Heinkels, two 109s and two Dorniers confirmed destroyed and a further three claimed as probably destroyed. But at what a cost…. two pilots lost and one out of action (Sgt Bennett would recover from his injuries and return to the Squadron, only to be lost in 1941). But this was just a foretaste of what was to come.