Göring's 30 June order had delegated responsibility of attacking shipping to Bruno Loerzer's Fliegerkorps II (Air Corps II) and Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's Fliegerkorps VIII (Air Corps VIII) since they contained most of the Ju 87 Stuka units and Loerzer appointed Geschwaderkommodore Johannes Fink, the commander of KG 2 as Kanalkampfführer (Channel Battle Leader).
JG 51 (Theo Osterkamp) was based at Wissant, close to KG 2 and until other Jagdgeschwader could be brought to action JG 51 was the Jagdwaffe spearhead over England and had been carrying out fighter sweeps over Kent but bomber escort deprived the fighters of freedom of action.
Fink devised a compromise in which the Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstörergeschwader (Destroyer Wings) flew close escort and the Bf 109s roamed, to engage British fighters at a tactical advantage.
A Do 17 of 4.(F)/121 was sent out to reconnoitre the Channel in thick cloud and rain, accompanied by a Staffel of Bf 109s from I./JG 51 and 74 Squadron scrambled six Spitfires to intercept, which damaged the Do 17 for two Spitfires damaged by the Bf 109s.

Eight convoys were at sea and the German formation had time to report the composition and heading of a large convoy (Convoy Bread) before being intercepted.
The convoy was sailing in ballast from the Thames Estuary and rounded the North Foreland at 10:00.
Fink alerted KG 2, with III./ZG 26 as close escort and JG 51 as high cover.
While the operation was being prepared, a Staffel of Bf 109s on a sweep over Dover shot down a 610 Squadron Spitfire without loss.
Park sent up a patrol over Convoy Bread from 32 Squadron at 13:15 GMT and at 13:30, when it was clear the Germans were mounting a stronger raid, dispatched 56 Squadron, 111 Squadron and 74 Squadron.
Twenty minutes later the formations met over the convoy, about 26 Do 17s from I./KG 2, all three Staffeln of I./ZG 26 Bf 110s and two Staffeln of I./Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3, which had just arrived in France).
Mistaking the Bf 110s for Do 17s, the leader of 32 Squadron reported 60 bombers and called for reinforcements; Park had already ordered three more squadrons into action.

A dog-fight between around 100 aircraft broke out; it was difficult for the RAF fighters to co-ordinate attacks, since the radio was full of chatter between pilots and the Bf 109s frustrated British attacks on the bombers.
No 111 Squadron made head-on attacks into the Do 17s and a Hurricane collided with a bomber, the body of Pilot Officer Higgs later being washed ashore in the Netherlands.
The Do 17, flown Staffelkapitän (Squadron Leader) Hauptmann Krieger, also crashed with the loss of two crew. (
Higgs may have been hit by Walter Oesau of III./JG 51 and lost control before the collision.)
The interception managed to disrupt the bombing and only a 700 GRT sloop was sunk by the 150 bombs dropped.
Six 64 Squadron Spitfires arrived and harassed the Germans all the way back to the French coast.
A Bf 110 was shot down by 64 Squadron and another by 56 Squadron, a Do 17 was shot down by 111 and 66 squadron aircraft and two more were shot down by 32 Squadron.
A Bf 109 of 2./JG 3 and one from II./JG 51 were shot down and two were damaged, one pilot being rescued by a He 59 and a Hurricane from 111 Squadron was damaged.

In other attacks, Luftwaffe bombers sank the British tanker Tascalusa (6,499 GRT) in Falmouth Harbour.
The Greek steamer Mari Chandris (5,840 GRT) from convoy HG 33, which had been towed to Falmouth in June after a collision, was set on fire by Tascalusa, the crew of the Greek steamer being rescued. (
Tascalusa was refloated on 29 August and beached at Mylor Flats for scrapping.)
The British steamer Waterloo (1,905 GRT) was sunk by Ju 88s and the crew rescued.
The Dutch steamer Bill S (466 GRT), from convoy CW 3 was badly damaged and sank 6.7 mi (10.8 km) off Dungeness, all the crew surviving.
The British tanker Chancellor (7,085 GRT), from convoy OA 170, was damaged by an aircraft off Falmouth and the Dutch salvage tug Zwarte Zee was sunk by bomb splinters from near-misses.
Göring's 30 June order had delegated responsibility of attacking shipping to Bruno Loerzer's Fliegerkorps II (Air Corps II) and Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's Fliegerkorps VIII (Air Corps VIII) since they contained most of the Ju 87 Stuka units and Loerzer appointed Geschwaderkommodore Johannes Fink, the commander of KG 2 as Kanalkampfführer (Channel Battle Leader). JG 51 (Theo Osterkamp) was based at Wissant, close to KG 2 and until other Jagdgeschwader could be brought to action JG 51 was the Jagdwaffe spearhead over England and had been carrying out fighter sweeps over Kent but bomber escort deprived the fighters of freedom of action. Fink devised a compromise in which the Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstörergeschwader (Destroyer Wings) flew close escort and the Bf 109s roamed, to engage British fighters at a tactical advantage. A Do 17 of 4.(F)/121 was sent out to reconnoitre the Channel in thick cloud and rain, accompanied by a Staffel of Bf 109s from I./JG 51 and 74 Squadron scrambled six Spitfires to intercept, which damaged the Do 17 for two Spitfires damaged by the Bf 109s.
Eight convoys were at sea and the German formation had time to report the composition and heading of a large convoy (Convoy Bread) before being intercepted. The convoy was sailing in ballast from the Thames Estuary and rounded the North Foreland at 10:00. Fink alerted KG 2, with III./ZG 26 as close escort and JG 51 as high cover. While the operation was being prepared, a Staffel of Bf 109s on a sweep over Dover shot down a 610 Squadron Spitfire without loss. Park sent up a patrol over Convoy Bread from 32 Squadron at 13:15 GMT and at 13:30, when it was clear the Germans were mounting a stronger raid, dispatched 56 Squadron, 111 Squadron and 74 Squadron. Twenty minutes later the formations met over the convoy, about 26 Do 17s from I./KG 2, all three Staffeln of I./ZG 26 Bf 110s and two Staffeln of I./Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3, which had just arrived in France). Mistaking the Bf 110s for Do 17s, the leader of 32 Squadron reported 60 bombers and called for reinforcements; Park had already ordered three more squadrons into action.
A dog-fight between around 100 aircraft broke out; it was difficult for the RAF fighters to co-ordinate attacks, since the radio was full of chatter between pilots and the Bf 109s frustrated British attacks on the bombers. No 111 Squadron made head-on attacks into the Do 17s and a Hurricane collided with a bomber, the body of Pilot Officer Higgs later being washed ashore in the Netherlands. The Do 17, flown Staffelkapitän (Squadron Leader) Hauptmann Krieger, also crashed with the loss of two crew. (Higgs may have been hit by Walter Oesau of III./JG 51 and lost control before the collision.) The interception managed to disrupt the bombing and only a 700 GRT sloop was sunk by the 150 bombs dropped. Six 64 Squadron Spitfires arrived and harassed the Germans all the way back to the French coast. A Bf 110 was shot down by 64 Squadron and another by 56 Squadron, a Do 17 was shot down by 111 and 66 squadron aircraft and two more were shot down by 32 Squadron. A Bf 109 of 2./JG 3 and one from II./JG 51 were shot down and two were damaged, one pilot being rescued by a He 59 and a Hurricane from 111 Squadron was damaged.
In other attacks, Luftwaffe bombers sank the British tanker Tascalusa (6,499 GRT) in Falmouth Harbour. The Greek steamer Mari Chandris (5,840 GRT) from convoy HG 33, which had been towed to Falmouth in June after a collision, was set on fire by Tascalusa, the crew of the Greek steamer being rescued. (Tascalusa was refloated on 29 August and beached at Mylor Flats for scrapping.) The British steamer Waterloo (1,905 GRT) was sunk by Ju 88s and the crew rescued. The Dutch steamer Bill S (466 GRT), from convoy CW 3 was badly damaged and sank 6.7 mi (10.8 km) off Dungeness, all the crew surviving. The British tanker Chancellor (7,085 GRT), from convoy OA 170, was damaged by an aircraft off Falmouth and the Dutch salvage tug Zwarte Zee was sunk by bomb splinters from near-misses.
Kanalkampf