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were anchored off the estuary and unable to enter owing to the presence of ice. The pilot reported a number of merchant ships iced up in the reconnaissance area but he did not locate the reported warships. A second reconnaissance on the same day encountered adverse weather conditions but was able to give partial confirmation of the report of the earlier air reconnaissance. A third aircraft was sent to look for these enemy vessels off Heligoland on the 15th February, but the pilot was unable to reach his objective because of very severe weather conditions.
Fighter Command.
30. 449 patrols, involving 1,168 aircraft, were despatched during the week. Most of these patrols were in connection with the protection of shipping.
Special Fighter Patrols were detailed to investigate unidentified aircraft plotted off the East Coast on the 8th, 10th, 11th and 12th February, but no interceptions were made. On the 13th, enemy aircraft were plotted at 1700 hours approaching the Thames Estuary from the direction of the Dutch Coast and at 1730 hours a section of Spitfires intercepted one Heinkel 111 off Margate, flying at 20,000 feet. After an engagement in which it appears that the Heinkel was damaged, the enemy aircraft escaped, taking advantage of cloud and the fading light.
31. During the German Air Force attacks on our East Coast shipping referred to in paragraph 3, our fighters sighted enemy aircraft on five occasions and four interceptions were made. One Heinkel was brought down on land near North Berwick, one is known to have come down in the North Sea and a third is believed to have been damaged.
Coastal Command.
32. 153 patrols and searches were flown during the week, and 51 convoys were provided with air escort.
33. Three enemy submarines were sighted and two of them were attacked. No definite results can be claimed, although on the 10th February oil and bubbles were observed on the surface after a submarine had been bombed approximately 100 miles north-west of Cape Wrath. Special flying boat searches have been made for German ships reported to be conveying war materials to Murmansk, and for German merchantmen homeward bound from Vigo.
34. A Hudson aircraft located three enemy destroyers 35 miles south of Horn Reefs on the 9th February. The destroyers opened heavy anti-aircraft fire on the aircraft, which attacked the rearmost ship with bombs. No direct hits were obtained. The Hudson shadowed the destroyer until attacked by eight Messerschmitt 109 fighters, which caused some damage to our aircraft. The enemy aircraft kept out of range of the Hudson's rear guns, and thus enabled it to escape into clouds and complete its patrol.
On the same day another Hudson bombed an enemy minesweeper off Heligoland, but did not secure a direct hit. A third Hudson patrolling near Horn Reefs encountered a single Messerschmitt 110 fighter which avoided action with our aircraft.
35. Enemy aircraft were sighted by our Coastal Command patrols at various times during the week. On the 9th February a Blenheim sighted a Heinkel flying low and evidently about to attack a trawler. The Heinkel immediately climbed for the protection of the clouds and escaped. On the next day two Hudsons intercepted a Heinkel off Duncansby Head, in the neighbourhood of both the inward and outward bound Scandinavian convoys. After an exchange of fire the enemy aircraft jettisoned its bombs and hastily climbed into the clouds, apparently in a damaged condition. There were a few bullet holes in both of our aircraft and one of the wireless operators was slightly wounded.
36. Several floating mines have been located by our aircraft during the week and on two occasions they were destroyed by surface craft in the vicinity. 37. On the 12th February an aircraft located a ship's boat 30 miles north- east of Girdleness and directed two mine-sweepers to it. Ten men were rescued. Three lifeboats and their crews were seen by another aircraft 20 miles north-east of Muckle Flugga and the crews were picked up by a merchant ship directed to the spot by the aircraft.
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