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• British cruiser HMS Aurora, escorted by 3 destroyers, shelled German shipping and invasion barges in the harbor of Boulogne, France. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Battleship Bismarck fired 72 3.7cm and 65 2cm shells against raiding British aircraft without any hits. ww2dbase [Bismarck | CPC]
• British torpedo boats MTB-14, MTB-15 and MTB-17 sank a German ammunition ship off Ostend, Belgium. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German armed merchant cruiser Widder stopped Greek collier Antonios Chandris in the Central Atlantic. Captain Ruckteschell of Widder ordered the crew of 29 to abandon ship. The Greek ship would be sunk by demolition charges on the next day. ww2dbase [Widder | CPC]
• Adolf Galland was nearly shot down on the French coast by fellow pilot Ulrich Steinhilper in an episode of mis-identification. ww2dbase [Adolf Galland | CPC]

• The French broadcasting station Radio Normandie was taken over by the Germans and made to broadcast programs of Radio Paris, which was already under German control. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0915 hours for exercises, returning at 1355 hours. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | Napoli, Campania | CPC]
• Alpino Bagnolini arrived at Trapani, Sicilia, Italy at 1845 hours. ww2dbase [Alpino Bagnolini | Trapani, Sicilia | CPC]

• Comandante Faà di Bruno sighted a dark shadow on the starboard bow in the Mediterranean Sea shortly after midnight. At 0050 hours, the Italian submarine fired one torpedo from a bow tube, and a hit was heard after 3 minutes, but the hit could not be confirmed. ww2dbase [Comandante Faà di Bruno | CPC]

• At 1200 hours, 20 German bombers escorted by 30 Bf 109 fighters flew for London, England, United Kingdom, but the group was intercepted by British fighters; 3 German bombers and 1 German fighter were shot down at the cost of 4 British fighters. At 1930 hours, 30 German bombers dropped incendiary bombs on London, causing fires for the purpose of marking target zones for bombers that would arrive during the night. The night time raid saw bombs dropped on East End in London once more; 3 of the German night raiders were shot down by anti-aircraft guns. Meanwhile, the British War Cabinet was convinced that the German invasion of Britain would take place very soon. The warnings passed to local Home Forces commanders led to many church bells across England being rung as some commanders thought the invasion had already started; some of them went as far as blowing up bridges. Finally, on this day, the British government declared the National Day of Prayer. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | London, England | CPC]

8 Sep 1940 Interactive Map