Bf 110 Attack on Manston 15 August 1940

[Peter Cook]

Manston airfield was attacked on 12 and 14th of August, but there are also accounts by several authors of an attack at approximately midday on 15 August by Bf 110s, usually reported as coming from II./ZG 76. According to Mason's Battle Over Britain, there were 16 casualties among groundcrew and two Spitfires of 66 Squadron were destroyed on the ground. This account, with slight variations, is repeated in more recent Battle of Britain histories by Bungay, Bishop, Bergström, and Parry. Some sources have identified Erprobungsgruppe 210 as the Bf 110 unit, but is there any evidence that Manston was in fact attacked on this date? I can't find any records for the two 66 Squadron Spitfires that were reported as destroyed on the ground.