With the Battle of Britain in its early stages, on the morning of Wednesday 10th July 1940, a convoy of slow-moving cargo ships heading along the south coast came under attack from a formidable force of Dornier Do17 bombers, escorted by five squadrons of fighters.  RAF Fighter Command scrambled several squadrons to meet the oncoming force in an effort to protect the shi[s, and a massive dogfight involving more than a hundred planes developed in the region of Dover.  Ripping into oncoming bombers, the RAF fighters attacked head-on - a hazardous tactic requiring great courage, but highly effective in unnerving bomber crews, causing the to swerve out of formation and abandon their target.  Head-on collisions were not uncommon.  The great battle raged well into the afternoon, and by evening the insurgents had been driven back to their bases in France to lick their wounds.  Only one direct hit was scored by the enemy, when a 700 ton sloop was sunk.  The Luftwaffe lost nineteen aircraft, and although the RAF had seven aircraft damaged, it lost only one pilot that day.