German aircraft attacked the Allied convoys in the English Channel, sinking or damaging only 5 ships despite the large number of aircraft sent. German bombers also attacked RAF airfield at Manston in Kent in southern England, United Kingdom and a destroyer in Swanage Harbor, Dorset, causing little damage. BBC reporter Charles Gardner provided the first eyewitness radio report of the Battle of Britain as he watched German aircraft attacking a convoy in the English Channel. Meanwhile, the British Royal Air Force leadership directed its pilots to ignore German aircraft with Red Cross markings, as such aircraft were suspected of conducting military reconnaissance missions in the English Channel.
