North American Aviation XP-51 41-038 at NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, right profile. This plane arrives at Langley Field on 29 December 1941 for flight testing. (NASA).
Eastern Front: As German Lieutenant General Hans Graf von Sponeck, commander of 42nd Army Corps, prepares to finish off the tenuous Red Army landings on the Kerch Peninsula on 29 December 1941, the Soviets spoil his plans. Units of the Soviet 44th Army arrives at Feodosia (Feodosiya) on the south coast of the Crimea at around 05:00. There are few German troops in the town and the landings are virtually unhindered. Nearby Germany artillery units score some hits on Soviet cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz and Luftwaffe attacks sink a minesweeper and patrol boat, but the Red Army units secure the port by 07:30 and begin receiving artillery and vehicles. Sponeck quickly calls off the attacks near Kerch and instead redirects Romanian 8th Cavalry Brigade and 4th Mountain Brigade to contain the dangerous new threat in Feodosiya.
General Douglas MacArthur on the cover of Time magazine, 29 December 1941. Covers such as this are quite rare and valuable if in good condition.
Sponeck realizes that his troops far to the east of Feodosiya are now in great danger. He requests permission from 11th Army Commander General der Infanterie Erich von Manstein to withdraw the 46th Infantry Division - the only full division under his command - west beyond Feodosiya to avoid encirclement. Manstein refuses and orders Sponeck to counterattack with every available unit. Manstein also orders the 170th Infantry Division and part of the 73rd Infantry Division to the area to help in the counterattack. In a very rare act of open defiance to direct orders within the Wehrmacht, Sponeck shuts down communications with the 11th Army at 08:30, and orders the 46th Infantry Division west.
On 29 December 1941, USS Swordfish, shown, becomes the last of eight U.S. submarines based in Manila Bay to depart for Australia. From this point on, U.S. submarines only return as blockade runners. Swordfish returns twice in February 1942 to evacuate Philippine President Quezon and other VIPs.
Sponeck's order unquestionably saves the German troops but also eliminates any possibility of preserving the German position east of Feodosiya. This order eventually leads to Sponeck's court-martial and disgrace. General Manstein now beings a long, slow process of assembling troops on a north-south line on the Crimea, essentially abandoning the Kerch Peninsula for the time being until a large-scale counterattack can be prepared. In Feodosiya, the returning Red Army soldiers are later accused by the Germans of committing atrocities against any German soldiers, including wounded left behind in hospitals, who fall into their hands. This includes beating and mutilating German soldiers and throwing wounded men from hospital windows, then pouring cold water on them to freeze them to death. A dozen German soldiers hide out in cellars and other places of concealment awaiting rescue, and they later testify to this alleged activity by Red Army troops in Feodosiya.
Further north around Moscow, the Germans also are in trouble. Army Group Center commander Field Marshal Guenther von Kluge feels hamstrung by Hitler's "no retreat" order. Kluge calls Hitler - not something that is ever done lightly, even by field marshals - and requests permission to order a general withdrawal. Kluge proposes to take the Fourth Army line due west of Moscow back about 10-15 miles. This, he says, will free three divisions for use shoring up the line further south at Yukhnov and Sukhinichi. Somewhat surprisingly, Hitler agrees after some back and forth, but limits the withdrawal to troops stationed at Kaluga. Kluge, who probably has accomplished more than he expected, sends the news to the local army generals. They, meanwhile, are somewhat bemused by this order because Kaluga already has been lost.
Battle of the Pacific: In the Philippines, the Japanese anticipate the US endgame in Luzon and bomb Corregidor for the first time. US General George Parker continues moving supplies as fast as possible out of Manila, now an open city but still under US control, to the Bataan Peninsula. Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur hopes to create a redoubt for an indefinite length of time. However, there are few if any usable airfields in Bataan suitable for large forces. Japanese bombers raid Mariveles and damage converted submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9), wrecking her propeller shaft and starting fires. All US submarines now have left Manila Bay. Major General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General Far East Air Force, leaves the Philippines and arrives in Darwin, Australia. The new local commander of US Army Air Force units is Colonel Harold H. George. All he has left are units at Del Monte Field on Mindanao. These, however, are able to accomplish little, so George has little to do. Colonel (later General) George, incidentally, eventually becomes the namesake of George AFB, formerly Victorville AFB, California, which is about 74 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
The Winnipeg Free Press for 29 December 1941 announces the arrival of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
In Borneo, the Japanese continue to advance from Kuching and take Singkawang. The British and Dutch troops in the area continue to retreat toward the Dutch airfield at Kotawaringin near Sampit and Pangkalanbun.
US/Chinese Relations: US Ambassador to China Clarence Gauss sends a telegram to Secretary of State Cordell Hull on December 29, 1941, which references the Tulsa Incident. This is a misunderstanding that has arisen in Rangoon, Burma about the ownership of US Lend-Lease supplies destined for China. Local British officials have impounded these shipments from US freighter Tulsa on the theory that they need the supplies to try to hold Burma. Gauss notes that this has "aroused deep resentment on the part of Chiang against both America and Britain." Gauss suggests that "everything possible should be done by the British to make amends for their action" and that "it should be made known to Chiang that the matter has come to the attention of the President who confirms" that the supplies are for China, not the local British commanders. This is a seemingly minor diplomatic incident that has an outsized influence on future diplomatic relations between the three powers in Asia.
North American Aviation XP-51 41-038 in the collection of the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (EAA AirVenture Museum).
US Military: The first North American Aviation XP-51 fighter prototype, Air Corps serial number 41-038, arrives at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Langley Field, Hampton, Virginia, for flight testing. The RAF has placed an order for the plane, and this is the fourth production Royal Air Force Mustang Mk.I, RAF serial AG348 (North American serial number 73-3101). Testing of this plane lasts for a year, until 2 November 1942, and leads to the design of a new aileron. The engine is a liquid-cooled, supercharged 1,710.60-cubic-inch-displacement (28.032 liters) Allison Engineering Company V-1710-F3R (V-1710-39) single overhead cam 60° V-12 engine, with a compression ratio of 6.65:1 and a single-stage, single-speed supercharger. The XP-51, after much development and use of a new engine, becomes the legendary P-51 Mustang.
"U.S. Aerial Gunner" is the cover photo and story of the 29 December 1941 Life magazine.
American Homefront: World War I ace and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Eddie Rickenbacker cancels the 1942 Indianapolis 500 due to the war situation.
Local authorities in California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington order all German, Italian and Japanese aliens to surrender contraband. Contraband is defined to include any weapons, binoculars, cameras, and short-wave radios.
A tourist snapshot of Freiburg im Breisgau showing the tram on Kaiserstraße. This was taken on 29 December 1941 by Italian embassy official Ugo Proietti. His photos show undamaged cities that wouldn't be like this for much longer (Federal Archive Bild 212-340).
Life Magazine, "Defense Issue," featuring General George S. Patton, Jr. on the cover. July 7, 1941.
Eastern Front: Stalin continues tinkering with his command apparatus on 7 July 1941. While he can be brutal with even his closest associates, he also tends to favor the same small group of cronies during times of crisis. He appoints Kliment Voroshilov commander of the Northwestern Direction (equivalent to a German Army Group, it controls several fronts). He also takes Semyon Timoshenko's titles of Stavka Chairman and Defense Commissar and sends him to command the Central and Western Fronts. Semyon Budyonny (Budenny), an old cavalryman whose only discernible talent is making Stalin laugh when they are getting drunk, is sent to command the Southern Front. Notable from his absence in these appointments is Georgy Zhukov, who remains Stalin's top troubleshooter. The Soviet Union now has military commands that directly mirror the three German army groups.
In the Far North sector, Operation Arctic Fox - the attack toward the Murmansk railway - is going well for the Germans again. With the assistance of a flank attack by Finnish 6th Division, the German regular 169th Division and the SS-Infantry Kampfgruppe Nord, supplemented by some members of 163rd Infantry Division brought up from southern Finland, hammer back the Soviet 14th Army. The Soviets are making a stand in Salla, but the momentum again is with the Axis troops.
Operation Platinum Fox, further north, is going worse for the Germans. The 3rd Mountain Division has established a small bridgehead on the Litsa River, but the Army of Norway commander General Dietl is unable to expand it. Dietl requests more troops to resume the advance, but OKW refuses.
Soviet POWs being processed, July 7, 1941 (AP Photo).
In the Army Group North sector, the German 4th Panzer Group (Hoepner) captures Pskov. The Germans continue beating off a Soviet counterattack at a bridgehead at Ostrov.
In the Army Group Center sector, the German 20th Panzer Division crosses the Western Dvina River (Daugava River). This poses a threat to the rear of the Soviet Polotsk Fortified Region. In addition, the 20th Motorized Division crosses the Ulla River.
The panzer divisions are still carrying the advance, but they are wearing down. The 10th Panzer Division reports that it is at 80% of its establishment, but the 3rd and 18th Panzer Divisions are down to 35%. Other units report readiness levels in between those levels.
In Army Group South, the German 13th Panzer Division takes Berdychiv in the Zhytomyr Oblast. The SS quickly follows the troops and establishes a Jewish ghetto for the 20-40,000 Jews there. While Field Marshal Rundstedt's troops are quickly approaching Kyiv, the Soviets are massing troops there to deny Hitler a quick prestige victory.
Newsweek, 7 July 1941.
Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: Having established two bridgeheads across the Damour River, the Australian 7th Division begins to exploit them. Before dawn, one Australian bridgehead (the 2/3rd Battalion and the 2/5th Battalion, along with two companies of the 2/14th Battalion) moves north toward El Boum. The other bridgehead (the remainder of the 2/14th) mounts a flank attack on Damour from the east. The attack from the first bridgehead continues forward toward the critical coast road north of Damour, whose capture would compel the surrender of Vichy French forces in the town.
Everyone on both sides understands that the fall of Damour would decide the war because nothing else stands between the Australians and Beirut. General Henri Dentz, the Vichy French commander, keeping a very close eye on the battle to see if he can continue his unexpectedly vigorous defense of the Levant.
Offshore, Royal Navy motor torpedo boat MTB 68 embarks on a daring raid into Beirut Harbor. It drops depth charges next to two merchant ships.
Wing-walker Sergeant James Allen Ward of No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron. He is standing in the cockpit of his Vickers Wellington Mark IC, L7818 ‘AA-V’, at Feltwell, Norfolk.
European Air Operations: The RAF sends 20 planes on coastal sweeps during the day. This includes a mid-day attack on a German coastal convoy between Ijmuiden and Den Haag. They report scoring hits on two ships, but there is no confirmation. The RAF loses five planes. The RAF also sends Circus missions to Hazebrouck, Choques, and Albert.
After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks Cologne with 114 Wellington bombers. It also sends 72 aircraft to attack Osnabruck, 40 aircraft to attack Monchengladbach and 49 aircraft to attack Münster.
After dark, the Luftwaffe attacks Southampton.
Royal New Zealand Air Force Sgt. James Allen Ward wins the Victoria Cross. Ward becomes the first New Zealander to win the decoration, and he really earns it. He is on a bombing run to Muenster in a Wellington of RAF No. 75 Squadron when a Bf-110 (shot down by the rear gunner) hits an engine and it catches fire. This threatens the plane, and the crew cannot put it out using fire extinguishers. Tethered with a rope, co-pilot Ward crawls out on the wing in mid-flight and somehow puts out the fire by stomping on it. Getting command of his own aircraft due to his heroism, Allen is KIA on his second mission. As he later recalls:
The wind kept lifting me off the wing. Once it slapped me back on to the fuselage again, but I managed to hang on. The slipstream from the engine made things worse. It was like being in a terrific gale, only much worse than any gale I’ve ever known in my life.
The pilot manages to get the plane back to England and crash-land on a runway.
Luftwaffe ace Joseph "Pips" Priller files claims for two Spitfires. They are his 32nd and 33rd victories.
Battle of the Baltic: German three-masted schooner Luise Bermann hits a mine and sinks off Kolberg.
German 193-ton fishing vessel Neuenfelde hits a mine and sinks near Kolberg.
Soviet minesweeper Petrozavodsk sinks off Kronstadt, perhaps due to a mine.
Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy submarine HMS Sealion sinks 39-ton French fishing trawler Gustav Jeanne and 120-ton French fishing trawler Gustav Eugene off Ushant (Ouessant, Finistère) in the Bay of Biscay.
The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 9918-ton Norwegian tanker Ferncourt off St. Davids, Wales. There are two deaths. The Ferncourt makes it to Milford Haven and docks at Swansea.
Royal Navy 115-ton hired drifter Lord St. Vincent hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary near the North East Gunfleet Buoy. There are two deaths resulting from the sinking.
Illustrating the dangers of pilots operating off of CAM ships, a Fulmar of RAF No. 804 Squadron crashes in Kerran Hill, near Southend, Kintyre after being launched to investigate an aircraft sighting. There are two deaths.
Convoy OB-344 departs from Liverpool.
Royal Navy corvette HMS Campion (Lt. Commander Arthur Johnson) is commissioned.
U-337 is laid down.
Hamburg’s Jungfernstieg at midday on Monday, July 7, 1941. On the right is the entrance to the Jungfernstieg stop on the "Hochbahn" (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archives, Bild 212-228).
Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian light cruisers, accompanied by a numerous destroyer screen, lay mines in the Sicilian Channel.
The Italians send a stream of nuisance raids to Malta. One bomber overflies the island and then returns from the south to drop its bombs - whether by plan or simply getting lost is unknown, but it gets away.
General Archibald Wavell, former British Middle East Commander, departs from Cairo. He is flying to Habbaniya, Iraq and then to India to take up his new role as Commander-in-Chief, India. Claude Auchinleck now has Wavell's old job, the two have switched positions.
The RAF sends a fighter sweep over Bardia.
Žikica Jovanović Španac as a student at the Valjevo Gymnasium. He is considered a national hero in Serbia.
Partisans: An uprising breaks out in the Bela Crkva, Serbia. Known as the Uprising in Serbia, it begins when communist Žikica Jovanović Španac shows up with over a dozen associates and makes a speech during the traditional Ivanjdan midsummer village fair. Španac then shoots and kills two local gendarmes for emphasis and escapes into the nearby hills.
An uprising has been planned by monarchist Yugoslav Army Colonel Dragoljub Mihailović, but this incident is independent of his forces. Mihailović and his followers only reluctantly join the revolt later in the summer. The communists chose western Serbia as the beginning point because of its mountainous terrain and dense forests. Serbia also, unlike Croatia, has a history of supporting England. Word spreads quickly throughout the region of the uprising.
Another uprising in Yugoslavia, this one in eastern Herzegovina, is suppressed. This uprising began on 23 June 1941and has simmered ever since. Today, the uprising finally is suppressed and the Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) regains control of all key points.
Propaganda: The Germans begin a campaign against communists in France and Belgium.
The US Marines entering Reykjavik Harbor, 7 July 1941. This is from the quarterdeck of battleship USS New York (BB-34) looking astern. Visible are the Alabama (BB-33), USS Brooklyn (CL-40) and Nashville (CL-43). Directly to the right is 3-inch gun, and to the left is a quick-release life ring (US National Archive).
US/Icelandic Relations: U.S. Marines (1st Marine Brigade, Provisional) of new Task Force 19 under Brig. General J. Marston land at Reykjavik in six transport ships under heavy escort. They are there to replace British troops who are needed elsewhere. The marines, with no help from local labor, immediately begin unloading the transports and setting up their camps.
President Roosevelt sends a message to Congress announcing the occupation. While it may seem obvious after the fact that the US would want to occupy Iceland during World War II, the US is at peace and it is a big deal to just get up and send troops to a foreign country. Roosevelt notes:
The United States cannot permit the occupation by Germany of strategic outposts in the Atlantic to be used as air or naval bases for eventual attack against the Western Hemisphere. We have no desire to see any change in the present sovereignty of those regions. Assurance that such outposts in our defense frontier remain in friendly hands is the very foundation of our national security and of the national security of every one of the independent nations of the new world.
The Icelandic government under Prime Minister Herman Jonasson has given grudging support and basically accepts occupation by a foreign power as inevitable under the circumstances. The US explicitly recognized Icelandic sovereignty and promises to evacuate once the war is over.
In conjunction with this move, the United States extends its security zone east to cover Iceland. From this point forward, the United States assumes responsibility for protecting all convoys containing US ships until they are past Iceland.
The Hamburg Gänsemarkt, 7 July 1941 (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archives, Bild 212-227).
Anglo/Soviet Relations: Former Soviet People's Commissar for the Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union Maxim Litvinov (who was replaced on 3 May 1939 because he was Jewish and Stalin didn't want to offend Hitler) makes a radio broadcast to England from Moscow. Speaking in English, Litvinov urges cooperation between Great Britain and the USSR. This is exactly what Winston Churchill wishes as well. Stalin, however, doesn't just want vague expressions of solidarity - he wants concrete agreements that will tie the Allies together.
US/Chinese Relations: Clare Chennault completes a supply mission to the United States and returns to China from San Francisco. While most passages across the Pacific are by ocean liner, Chennault has no time for that and instead uses the Clipper service.
German Military: Jürgen Stroop joins the German 3rd SS Division Totenkopf in the infantry regiment.
Fifth Panzer Division, still in the Balkans from Operation Marita, is told to prepare to move to the Eastern Front. While many historians like to claim that the German Balkans campaign delayed Operation Barbarossa, the reality is that the units there actually served as the Wehrmacht's main (and practically only) reserve early in the war. In general, having reserve units is considered a good thing in military circles, but this is one of the few times during the war against the USSR that Germany actually has a substantial reserve it can draw upon. The USSR, on the other hand, almost always has a large reserve.
North American Aviation’s prototype fighter, NA-73X, NX19998, at Mines Field, Los Angeles, California. (North American Aviation).
US Military: The US Marines organize the First Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW) at Quantico, Virginia. It is formed from Headquarters Squadron and Marine Air Group 1 (MAG-1).
The US Army Air Force (USAAF) orders 150 North American Aviation NA-73 fighters. These use Allison V-1710-39 liquid-cooled engines and have four .303 (7.7 mm) machine guns. This aircraft was designed at the request of Great Britain. The USAAF calls them Apaches, but this name later is replaced by Mustang. The planes are given the official designation P-51.
The US occupies Trinidad and British Guiana, relieving British forces there for other missions.
TIME Magazine Cover: Yosuke Matsuoka -- July 7, 1941 (Ernest Hamlin Baker).
Japanese Military: General Seishiro Itagaki becomes commanding officer of the Japanese Chosen Army in occupied Korea, relieving Kotaro Nakamura.
Vichy French Military: The French create the Legion of French Volunteers against Bolshevism ("Legion des Volontaires Francais contre le Bolchevisme").
British Government: The War Cabinet continues debating how to defend the Far East. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden prefers an aggressive stance, which would include renouncing the trade treaty with Japan and beefing up the British military presence in Malaya and Dutch Timor and Ambon. However, Winston Churchill prefers to remain low-key in the Pacific Theater for the time being.
Greek Government: Greek King George arrives in South Africa with his family aboard a Royal Navy warship.
Soldiers from the 51st separate motorcycle battalion of the 22nd Tank Corps of the 38th Army of the Southwestern Front of the Red Army. This is during July 1941 before the Battle of Uman.
Philippines: Rectifying a massive error from earlier in the summer, the US Army Air Force delivers enough Prestone antifreeze to make the P-40B fighters already delivered flyable.
China: Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Nationalist government of China, decides to mark the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War (which some people believe is the real start of World War II). He sends a lengthy message to friendly nations in which he summarizes the world situation and his own country's predicament. Among other things, Chiang notices the connection between the wars brewing on opposite sides of the world, writing:
the war in the Far East is no longer to be viewed as merely a conflict between two nations, for the European and Asiatic Wars have now become closely interrelated. Scarcely a single country remains unaffected because this predatory group of powers excludes no country from the scope of its design to dominate the world by force.
Chiang makes a far-sighted prediction:
It is my privilege to declare that the Chinese people in condemning the Japanese are not only with unity of purpose of putting an end to Japanese aggression but also are thinking of contributing to a new world order of the future, to the civilization and prosperity of mankind.
It is a heady time: leaders on both sides of the conflict are dreaming of their own New World Orders that they will establish after the war. However, only one vision can come true, and imposing yours requires winning the war at hand.
Holocaust: The Germans require Jews in Lithuania to wear Yellow Stars of David badges. Killings of Jews continues in Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania.
American Homefront: There is a major anti-war protest in New York City. Protestors carry large signs saying "Arm Britain and Prolong the War," "Stay out of Europe's War"; "Hitler has not attacked us, why attack Hitler?" "Stay out of South America, of Europe, of War"; "Lend-Lease Lose-Lives"; "Hitler has not attacked us, why attack Hitler?"; "Why Not Peace with Hitler?"; "Europe for Europeans. America for Americans"; "The Only Fight Worth Fighting is the Fight for Peace"; "Fight the Draft, Conscription in Tyranny"; "No Loans to England. No Arms to Anyone"; "American Union for Organization Against War"; "The Army and Navy are Hotbeds for Fascism"; "Protest Any Extension for Army Service" and similar slogans.
North American Aviation’s prototype fighter, NA-73X, NX19998, at Mines Field, Los Angeles, California. (North American Aviation).
Battle of Britain: The weather continues to offer acceptable flying conditions today, so operations on both sides again are busy.
The day begins with the usual reconnaissance flights. Around 10:30 on 26 October 1940, a fighter-bomber (Jabo) sweep accomplishes little, though the Luftwaffe pilots down a Spitfire of 4,/JG53 near Biggin Hill. There also is an exchange of losses off the coast.
A little later, a large formation heads across from Boulogne. Per recent policy, there are patrolling Hurricanes who intercept. A massive dogfight erupts which extends all the way across the Channel. A pair of Hurricanes of No. 229 Squadron attack a Heinkel He 59 rescue plane - standing orders for the RAF - and are both shot down by Bf 109s. One of the pilots becomes a POW, a relative rarity for RAF fighter pilots at this stage of the war, the other perishes.
During the noon hour, Jabos raid Kent and Sussex. Once again, there is a major dogfight. The RAF takes the worst of this encounter, but there are only a few planes lost altogether.
After that, there are primarily only small raids and RAF Fighter Command does not bother with them. There is one major action over Kent in which JG 26 tangles with RAF No. 605 Squadron (Hurricanes) and No. 222 Squadron (Spitfires). Adolf Galland of JG26 claims his 46th victory, a handful behind leader Werner Molders.
Toward dusk at 18:00, a small raid on RAF Wick by two Heinkel He 111s kills three and wounds a dozen other civilians. It causes moderate damage to the airfield and demolishes several nearby houses. The raid is a bit unusual because the Heinkels pretend to be RAF planes, flashing proper recognition signals. Among other damage, a Hudson plane is destroyed and two others damaged.
At 18:30, a somewhat similar raid by a pair of Heinkels is made on RAF Lossiemouth. They destroy one Blenheim and damage two others. There are two dead and a dozen wounded. The planes fly so low that one of the Heinkels is destroyed by its own stick of bombs.
After dark, the weather takes a turn for the worse, but both sides continue operations. The fledgling RAF night fighter service has a bad night when two Hurricanes of RAF No. 151 Squadron crash for unknown reasons shortly after taking off.
London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, and the Midlands take the brunt of the night attacks. While the raid on London is considered one of the longest of the Battle of Britain, the attack on Birmingham is particularly notable and effective. Bombs hit the center of the city and destroy a large area of important buildings. Several factories are completely flattened, and an unexploded bomb comes to rest on one of the station platforms at New Street (LMS). Large fires break out at Saffron Hill but are brought under control after maximum effort.
In London, mass transit is in trouble. The subway station at Victoria Station, St. Pancras, is demolished along with nearby portions of Victoria Station itself. More and more provincial buses are in town to replace buses lost in bomb craters and the like. Numerous other stations, such as Balham, are completely out of service. The underground is vital to the functioning of the city, but "lucky hits" slowly are making it difficult to use.
The Luftwaffe also continues its mining operations in the Thames Estuary. Mines have taken an increasing toll on smaller ships, though larger vessels have been lucky recently.
Overall, it is a fairly normal day in terms of losses. The Luftwaffe loses about 10 planes and the RAF roughly half as many.
A Swordfish from RAF No. 821 Squadron on a training flight crashes into Quendale Bay in the Shetlands, killing the three men on board.
RAF ace James Lacey scores a victory, shooting down a Bf 109.
European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command launches a heavy raid on Berlin. It also attacks the ports of Hamburg, Cuxhaven, Flushing, Antwerp, and Bremen. Other targets include oil installations at Stettin, Leuna, and Cologne and various rail lines and airfields in northwest Europe.
Coastal Command attacks a power plant at Brest.
RAF Beauforts attack shipping in Sognefjord (Norway's largest fjord). They bomb and sinks 763-ton Norwegian freighter H.J. Kyvig. Five crew perish. Some sources place this incident on the 28th.
Empress of Britain (in naval gray) on fire and listing after being bombed. If you look closely, you can see the lifeboats being lowered.
Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy troopship (Canadian Pacific line) Empress of Britain, a 42,348-ton liner, is about 70 miles northwest of Aran Island, Ireland off the west coast and nearing its destination of Liverpool when it is spotted at about 09:20 by a German Focke-Wulf Fw 200C Condor long-range bomber of I./.KG 40, commanded by Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope. The Empress of Britain is a fast, modern liner, but fortunately, it only has few passengers on board for its size. Jope strafes the liner and drops two 250 kg bombs on it. The bombs start a fire, and the bulk of those on board (416 crew, 2 gunners, 205 passengers) quickly abandon ship and are picked up by nearby destroyers and trawlers.
The Luftwaffe meanwhile sends reconnaissance planes to review the Empress of Britain's situation and they conclude that because the passengers are abandoning ship and it is on fire, that it is sinking. The ship, however, is only disabled and listing but not sinking. As the day ends, the Royal Navy makes plans to tow the Empress of Britain to port. There are 25 crew and 20 passengers who die in the attack and all subsequent events.
The Empress of Britain is the largest Allied liner hit during the war. Liners, being fast, are difficult to attack. The bombing is big news in Germany. Berlin radio strongly implies that the liner has been sunk, but the Kriegsmarine vectors in U-boats just to make sure.
Elsewhere, U-28 (Kptlt. Günter Kuhnke) torpedoes 539-ton British banana boat Matina about 250 miles northwest of Ireland and west of the Outer Hebrides. The 69-man crew abandons ship and are seen in the lifeboats, but disappear without a trace. The torpedo disables but does not sink the vessel despite U-28 pumping 15 shells from its deck gun into it; the derelict remains afloat until the 29th when U-31 (Kplt. Wilfried Prellberg) sinks it. This is the final success for venerable VIIA U-28 on its sixth and last war patrol; after this, she completes her duties without incident and returns to Germany. For the remainder of her service (until it sinks in 1944), U-28 is used as a training boat. Kuhnke's next command will be U-125.
British 8053 ton tanker Dosinia hits a mine and sinks in Liverpool Bay near Southport, Lancashire. Everybody aboard survives.
Royal Navy 8053 ton destroyer HMS Delhi stops Vichy French freighter Albi off Western Africa. The crew of the Albi scuttles it.
Belgian freighter Katanga hits a mine in the River Mersey near the Bar Lightship and is damaged.
Swedish 6549 ton tanker Strombus hits a mine near Mumbles Light and sinks. Everybody aboard survives.
Swedish 9583 tanker Pegasus also hits a mine a couple of kilometers south of Bar Light Vessel, Mersey and is damaged.
Norwegian 6549 ton whale factory ship hits a mine in the Bristol Channel off Swansea and sinks. All 40 crew aboard survive.
Destroyer HMS Sikh hits a tug at Rosyth and suffers minor damage.
Convoy FN 320 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 320 departs from Methil.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Thunderbolt (N 25, Lt. Cecil B. Crouch) is commissioned.
Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope (center) after he bombs the Empress of Britain.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The Malta government long ago made hoarding illegal, but that hasn't stopped anyone. Police now are authorized to search houses for stockpiles. Petrol and silver are in short supply - both being hoarded - and buses only run a few hours a day. Nobody really knows where everything is heading, the German rapprochement with Romania, a key trading partner of Malta which heretofore has supplied much of its fuel, has created numerous problems on the island. Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Atlantis, operating in the eastern Indian Ocean, transfers 216 POWs to captured Yugoslavian freighter Durmitor. The freighter then is sent toward Italian Somaliland with insufficient provisions for a large number of people on board. It is not a happy trip.
German Government: Adolf Hitler spends the entire day in Munich, his original power base, as he prepares for his meeting with Benito Mussolini in Florence on the 28th. Hitler, in fact, still maintains an apartment there (and will throughout the war). He stays in Munich until 18:00 on the 27th when his train heads south.
Commonwealth Relations: To coordinate Far Eastern defenses, representatives of Britain, Australia, and New Zealand meet in Singapore.
Soviet/Romanian Relations: Continuing its high-handed and predatory behavior to its neighbors, the Soviet Union occupies islands in the Danube Delta, contending that they are part of Bessarabia - which the USSR already has occupied. Italian/Greek Relations: Italy has been making aggressive moves against Greece in recent years as part of an ancient rivalry that stretches back to the dawn of time. Today, Italy lodges a diplomatic protest against Greece alleging incursions across the Albanian border due to "anti-Italian bigotry." Italian forces in Albania are preparing for the invasion of Greece still scheduled for 28 October 1940.
Three Italian bombs attack Greek territory even though the countries are not yet at war.
German Military: Hubert Lanz, Chief of Staff for XVIII Corps, takes over command of the 1st Mountain Division. This division had been earmarked for Operation Felix, the capture of Gibraltar, but that mission essentially has been scrubbed due to Spain's unwillingness to join the war effort on the Axis side. The 1. Gebirgs-Division soon will head east, along with many other army units. Lanz is an interesting figure during the war, a stout, relentless soldier who leads many successful operations but also a covert opponent of the Hitler regime. That said, he certainly is no saint and is implicated in war crimes.
Vance Breese in the cockpit of the NA-73X after the first five-minute test flight, 26 October 1940. (North American Aviation).
US Military: Prototype NA-73X of the North American P-51 Mustang has its first flight, only 102 after the order was first placed. An all-aluminum design, test pilot Vance Breese reports that the plane handles during a five-minute flight well despite a heavy fuel load. It is heavily armed, with two .50 caliber Browning machine guns in the fuselage and four .30 inch Browning machine guns in the wings. Even fitted out with armament and everything else, the plane is 56 km/hour faster than the Spitfire V. The Allison engine, however, does not do well at altitude and soon shows other issues.
The US Marine Corps forms a Marine Parachute Detachment at the naval air station at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
A program for the Indiana-Northwestern game, 26 October 1940.
China: Japanese aircraft raid Loiwing (Leiyun), China. They cause extensive damage to the CAMCO factory which assembles CW-21 fighters from kits.
In the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, Japanese army troops at Lungching and Pinghsiang are cut off and begin retreating to French Indochina.
British Homefront: The British government realizes some basic things about the homefront:
Many citizens love fish and chips;
Potatoes are one food item that people can grow at home fairly easily and thus are in fairly plentiful supply.
The daily fish catch is sufficient for present needs.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Food begins subsidizing the consumption of fish and chips.
American Homefront: US Secretary of State Cordell Hull makes a radio broadcast about the necessity of a strong defense. He states:
To have peace, we must have security. To have security, we must be strong … Essential to effective national defense are constant and skilful use of political and economic measures, possession of' military weapons, and continuous exercise of wisdom and of high moral qualities. We must have planes and tanks and ships and guns. We must have trained men. We must hold to the ideal of a world in which the rights of all nations are respected and each respects the rights of all; in which principles of law and order and justice and fair dealing prevail. Above all, we must be a united people - united in purpose, and in effort to create impregnable defense … Thus can we maintain our inheritance.
A game program for the 26 October 1940 football game between the Eagles and the Dodgers at Shibe Park.
The 26 June 1940 Los Angeles Times headline notes that the "Air war rages over Britain."
Battle of the Atlantic: U-29 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart) stops 5,252 ton Greek freighter Dimitris off Cape Finisterre, Spain at 15:30. Captain Schuhart disembarks the crew and then sinks the freighter with gunfire.
U-UA (Kapitänleutnant Hans Cohausz) sinks 3,828-ton Norwegian freighter "Crux" about 300 miles west of Cape Vincent, Portugal at 02:28. All 30 onboard survive. The Crux had been sailing with Convoy OG-34 but had separated from that convoy.
German raider Widder captures Norwegian freighter Krossfonn and sends it to France with a prize crew.
The Admiralty extends the blockade to include France.
RMS Queen Mary, in use as a troopship, sets sail for the Middle East with 5,000 troops aboard.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian vessel Loasso hits a mine and sinks. The mine was laid by the British submarine HMS Rorqual.
European Air Operations: The RAF makes daylight raids on German oil installations with 13 bombers, and during the night attacks seaplane bases at Texel and Heider and airfields in Holland and Germany.
Italian raids on Malta continue. The raids come from both Libya and Sicily for the first time. The British air raid warning system fails to give alerts due to overnight storms which topple a radar mast, leading to 37 civilian deaths.
The Luftwaffe's night raids against Great Britain continue. KG 27 sends about 100 aircraft against northern England and southern Scotland. In addition, about three Heinkel 111s attack the docks at Avonmouth and Portishead. Some others attack the train station at Bristol. The Luftwaffe loses one bomber.
The Luftwaffe is withdrawing many of its fighter units to their home bases in Germany for rest and refit. JG 26 returns to its home bases on the Rhine, but before it does, it loses ace Lt. Otto-Heinrich Hillecke of II./JG 26 in a dogfight.
A major Luftwaffe conference is held at The Hague to discuss the new strategies necessary for a war against England. In attendance are: Generalfeldmarschall Göring, Generalluftzeugmeister Ernst Udet, General Albert Kesselring, Chief of Personnel General Kastner, General Bruno Lörner and ZG 1 Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Wolfgang Falck. Goering instructs Falck to set up a Nachtjagdgeschwader (NJG) force, initial formation designated NJG 1, which will have two groups: one of Bf 110s, and the other of Bf 109s. Falck chooses Macki Steinhoff to lead the second group.
Barricades on the A23 near Brighton, Sussex. 26 June 1940.
Western Front: German occupation troops reach the Spanish border near Irum.
Hitler concludes his visit to his old World War I battlefields.
Soviet/Romanian Relations: Soviet Union Foreign Minister Molotov demands 17,000 square km of Romanian territory in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Romania appeals to Hitler, who does not want any trouble at this time with the Soviets and encourages King Carol to give in.
German/Italian Relations: Hitler messages Mussolini and encourages him to occupy the Suez Canal.
Maj General Nishihara (left) is ready to take off from Haneda airport with three other officers on June 26, 1940, to verify that the colonial authorities of French Indochina are enforcing the blockade of weapons.
French Government: The turmoil within the French government continues, as Charles Corbin, the French Ambassador to the Court of St. James, resigns. He has been closely associated with Charles de Gaulle and the fleeting idea of an "indissoluble union" between Great Britain and France. The French government remains at Bordeaux.
De Gaulle, meanwhile, creates the French Volunteer Legion in England and sets up a center for armaments and scientific research.
British Military: Sir Alan Brooke, fresh off his command of the BEF, is named to command the Southern Command.
Turkey: The country reiterates its non-belligerency. Both sides are frantically trying to woo it.
Iran: Ali Mansur becomes the new Prime Minister.
China: At the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army occupies Mingchiang without opposition. This gives it control over the border with French Indochina, along which the Japanese have long suspected the French of supplying arms to China. The French already have pledged to discontinue any such shipments.
Soviet Homefront: A 7-day work week is instituted. No worker may quit a job without authorization. Being more than 20 minutes late to work becomes a criminal offense which will result in a 25% pay cut. These draconian measures are somewhat curious, as the USSR is not at war with anybody. The official justification is to ward off "capitalist aggression." However, the only somewhat-capitalist country nearby of any power happens to be Germany, supposedly an ally.
A pillbox on the promenade at Worthing, England, 26 June 1940.
British Homefront: The meat ration is cut.
The London Times takes umbrage at the continued humiliation of Her Majesty's Armed Forces by the Germans. It sniffs at the "refined cruelty to UK prisoners at Malines. All helmets are replaced by top hats, bowlers, bonnets, berets to make the POWs appear clownish."
French Homefront: It is the day of national mourning proclaimed by the government on the 25th.
German Homefront: It is the first day of national celebration, with bell-tolling and flag-waving. The government distributes free beer and roast meat on Berlin street corners by order of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. However, Goebbels rejects a proposal by Labour Minister Robert Ley to provide prostitutes for free.
American Homefront: The British firm Rolls Royce gives Packard Motor Car Company the license to build its engines for the P-51 Mustang fighter.
Life returns somewhat to normal in Amsterdam. 26 June 1940.
