Sunday 28 July 1940

Hitler greets Monsignor Tiso at Berchtesgaden, 28 July 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather on 28 July 1940 remains overcast but good enough for most operations. Air Marshal Dowding shifts his Fighter Command Squadrons closer to the Channel to face the increased Luftwaffe pressure from Albert Kesselring's Luftflotte 2. The RAF has had a better loss ratio since the beginning of the air battle, but it is being worn down by the constant Luftwaffe attacks and the strain of having to defend the Channel convoys. The larger strategic question of who will establish control over the Channel and the potential invasion beaches remains open.

The Luftwaffe gets an early start that doesn't turn out well. At 05:00, the pilot of a Junkers Ju 88 of 3,/KG51 becomes disoriented and crash-lands at Bexhill, Sussex. At 05:25, Junkers Ju 88s cross the coast near Plymouth, losing one plane.

The Luftwaffe makes a more successful attack on Glasgow an hour later, bombing the Hillingdon district and causing casualties. An hour after that, at 07:30, another Junkers Ju 88 goes down while attacking shipping at Porthcawl. These piecemeal attacks are proving problematic for the attacking forces.

Around noontime, the real battle begins. Forty fighters of JG 26 and 51 assemble over Calais and cross over towards Dover, escorting 60 Heinkel He 111s. RAF Nos. 41, 74, 111 and 257 Squadrons rise to intercept. Hurricanes attacked the bombers, and Spitfires the fighters. The bombers immediately turn back to France as part of a pre-planned strategy, while the fighters mix it up. Losses are even, both sides losing five fighters.

Newcastle is bombed heavily during the day by 25 bombers, killing several female civilians.

The Luftwaffe steps up its attacks after dark, with intense minelaying in the Thames estuary. Small raids take place across southern England. Shortly before midnight, Heinkel He 111s of III,/KG55 bomb the Rolls Royce plant at Crewe in Cheshire, and also bomb Kent and Sussex. Later at night, the Sealand airfield, south Wales, railway tracks at Neath, and areas near Swansea are bombed.

The Luftwaffe continues shifting units toward England. III,/JG2 moves from Frankfurt-Rebstock to Evreux-West, and III,/JG77 leaves Berlin-Tempelhof for Wyk auf Föhr in the Frisian Islands.

The Royal Navy destroyers based at Dover are withdrawn to Portsmouth. This reduces convoy defense, antiaircraft defense at Dover, and also creates an opening for a possible invasion.

Overall, it is a mediocre day for the Luftwaffe, which is estimated to have lost around a dozen planes. However, driving the destroyers away from Dover is a major strategic victory - if it is followed up. Otherwise, it is a pointless and ephemeral victory, like gaining "control" over airspace that nobody else needs anyway.
Major Werner Mölders, the new Kommodore of JG 51, gains his twenty-sixth victory by shooting down a Spitfire. However, he takes a bullet to the leg, however, and with great difficulty manages to get back to base in Wissant, France.

A legend later grew that British pilot Adolph "Sailor" Malan, a British war hero from South Africa, was the one who wounded Werner Mölders. Malan claimed credit for the incident, but another Luftwaffe pilot who observed the incident thought another British pilot, a Lt. Webster, did the deed. There is no binding proof of who did what, but the odds are that Mölders probably was tangling with RAF No. 41 Squadron, not Malan who headed No. 74 Squadron.

As a general matter, and this applies to both sides, there often is a tendency to assign credit for celebrity shoot-downs to a popular pilot in order to create a propaganda "hero." Just as often, the celebrity victim may have been shot down by some no-name anti-aircraft gunner, a stray bullet, or some completely unknowable cause (see the Red Baron during World War I, for instance). Myth-building is common on both sides. In any event, in this incident, Mölders brought his Bf 109 back to base, so there was no victory, and Mölders returned to action after a month of convalescence.

Spitfire Mk I EB-O is inspected at RAF Manston, after F/O Anthony DJ "Tony" Lovell of No 41 Squadron RAF crashed the aircraft on landing on 28 July 1940. In combat off Dover, the 20-year-old pilot was attacked by a Bf 109 reportedly flown by Maj Werner Mölders of JG51. Lovell nursed the fighter back to base despite being wounded in the thigh, after which he was admitted to Margate Hospital. Mölders himself also was wounded in the leg during the battle.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command continues its strategic campaign against industrial targets, including Cherbourg oil installations, numerous airfields all along the coast, and the like.

Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Thor encounters a British armed merchant cruiser, HMS Alcantara, off southern Brazil near Trindade island. A battle quickly breaks out. It is a fairly evenly matched encounter. Thor hits the British ship with three shells and severely damages the Alcantara, forcing it to make port in Rio de Janeiro with 9 casualties. Thor takes two shells and also needs repairs.

U-99 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer) torpedoes and sinks large 13,212-ton British freighter Auckland Star about 80 miles west of Ireland. All 47 crew survive by sailing their lifeboats to shore.

The Luftwaffe finds and sinks British freighter Orlock Head in the North Sea.

Norwegian freighter Argo hits a mine and sinks. The mine was laid by French submarine Rubis.

Italian submarines leave the Mediterranean for the first time and begin operating off the Azores.

Convoy OA 191 departs from Methil, Convoy SL 41F departs from Freetown.

Acting South African Flight Lieutenant Adolph "Sailor" Malan.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Free French pilots operate with the RAF in Egypt and carry out reconnaissance over Diredawa, Abyssinia. The Italians carry out scattered bombing raids without much success.

Royal Navy cruisers HMS Neptune and Sydney intercept Italian tanker Ermioni near the Dodecanese Islands and sink it.

At Malta, Italian fighters jump a Short Sunderland flying boat that carries out reconnaissance over Sicily (it spots five flying boats at Augusta) and drops some bombs without causing any damage. The Italians quickly get fighters in the air which use the explosive ammunition previously identified from downed Regia Aeronautica planes, which may violate international law. The Sunderland sustains heavy damage and several of the crew are wounded, but it shoots down one or two of the attackers and returns to base under continued attack, barely making it.

There is only one air raid alert on Malta, shortly before noontime. Heavy anti-aircraft fire drives the bombers off before they drop their bombs, and the Italians lose one plane.

War Crimes: Pursuant to an Air Ministry directive of 14 July 1940, Hurricanes of RAF No. 111 Squadron find and down a Heinkel He 59 air rescue plane in the middle of the Channel off Boulogne. Later, the same Squadron shoots down another Heinkel He 59 nearby and strafes a third which is trying to rescue the crew of the first.

Incidents like this tend not to be mentioned in the history books touting the glorious, heroic RAF defense of England. However, pilots on both sides know exactly what is going on and vengeance is usually meted out at some point, if not immediately. The British rationale is that any German rescue plane near the British coastline is engaging in aerial reconnaissance and thus a fair target, but planes obviously trying to rescue downed pilots also are shot down indiscriminately. Hitler issues a statement calling the RAF pilots downing rescue planes "cold-blooded murders," which is not far from the truth even though the pilots are acting "under orders." There are many such murderers during wartime, it is a part of this war and any war.

Hotel Diner, 41 Federal Street, July 28, 1949, Worcester Massachusetts. Photograph by George Cocaine.

German/Vichy France Relations: At 05:00, the Germans in occupied France close rail lines to Vichy France without warning. The choke point is Moulins. The reason given is invasion fears - by the British.

German/Slovak Relations: At Berchtesgaden, Hitler meets with President (Monsignor) Jozef Tiso, Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka and Hlinka Guard leader Alexander Mach of the Slovak Republic in his continuing series of discussions with Germany's eastern neighbors. This is a pattern that continues throughout the war: Hitler will meet with his most important ally - Italy or Finland or whoever it is - and then hold subsequent meetings with other, lesser powers. It is an easy way to see who is at the top of his pecking order - and who is at the bottom.

Hitler broadly hints to the Slovak leaders that they have little choice if they wish to remain free. "Slovakia should adhere loyally and unequivocally to the German cause in her domestic politics," he says. The Slovaks agree to set up a German-style state that represses Jewish people.

Soviet/Afghanistan Relations: The two nations sign a commercial trade agreement.

US/Brazilian Relations: To promote inter-American relations, the US grants Brazil a $20 million loan that likely will never be repaid. Foreign Affairs Minister Osvaldo Aranha, a former Ambassador to the US, notes that "We should erect a statue to Hitler - he made the USA finally notice us." Aranha typically represents Brazil at pan-American conferences such as the recent Havana Conference and is a strong proponent of pan-Americanism.

German Government: Discussions take place within the German army about the plans for Operation Sea Lion, which is considered unrealistic as proposed by the Kriegsmarine.

Denmark: Art Nouveau artist Gerda Wegener passes away.

China: Japanese bombers make 100 sorties against Chungking, Chiang Kai-shek's capital, losing one bomber.

Throngs fill Jones Beach on July 28,1940. At that time this section was called East Beach, but that tower later became the Robert Moses Water Tower and this section of the beach itself the Robert Moses State Park. (Credit: New York State Parks, Recreation).

July 1940

July 1, 1940: Vichy France
July 2, 1940: Arandora Star
July 3, 1940: Operation Catapult at Mers El Kébir
July 4, 1940: Romania In Crisis
July 5, 1940: The Five Freedoms
July 6, 1940: Hitler's High Point
July 7 1940: Dakar And Ringo
July 8, 1940: Tea Rationing in England
July 9, 1940: Battle of Calabria
July 10, 1940: Battle of Britain Begins
July 11, 1940: "Nous, Philippe Petain"
July 12, 1940: Enter Laval
July 13, 1940: German Surface Raiders Attack!
July 14, 1940: Bastille/Mourning Day
July 15, 1940: Tallest Man Dies
July 16, 1940: Plans for Sea Lion
July 17, 1940: Burma Road Closed
July 18, 1940: FDR Runs Again
July 19, 1940: Last Appeal To Reason
July 20, 1940: First Night Fighter Victory
July 21, 1940: Soviets Absorb Baltic States
July 22, 1940: First RAF Night Fighter Victory
July 23, 1940: Invasion False Alarm
July 24, 1940: The Meknés Incident
July 25, 1940: Black Thursday for RAF
July 26, 1940: Capture The Duke?
July 27, 1940: What's Up, Doc?
July 28, 1940: Destroyers Pulled From Dover
July 29, 1940: Barbarossa On The Burner
July 30, 1940: Hitler Delays Sealion
July 31, 1940: Bloody Wednesday of Olkusz

2020

Tuesday 21 May 1940

A German patrol in the silent streets of Luxembourg, potato mashers, pistols and rifles at the ready. 21 May 1940.

Western Front: A small force of British and French tanks counterattacks Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division in front of Arras on 21 May 1940. It is one of the very few counterattacks by the Allies.

Major-General Harold Franklyn commands tank forces in the Arras area of the British 5th Infantry Division, the 50 Infantry Division and the French 3rd Light Mechanized Division. The Allied high commands have not formulated a coordinated plan to pinch off the German spearhead, so he essentially is acting on his own despite large nearby French armored forces, including some of the SOMUA S35 heavy tanks that had proven superior at the Battle of Hannut. Franklyn's mission is muddled: he is not told of a clear objective, just to attack. In the event, he assumes that his mission is to relieve Arras, not re-establish vital communications to the south with France.

Franklyn sends in 74 Matilda tanks and 14 light tanks, keeping the strong French tanks for flank protection. He achieves surprise. The British Matilda tanks stand up quite well to standard German antitank guns. Radio communication is poor, and the tanks are not adequately supported in a modern combined-arms fashion. The British make some early gains. Rommel's 7th Panzer Division is vulnerable because he has sent units ahead, bypassing Arras - and leaving his center weak. If there is one weakness of Rommel's style of leadership, this is it.

As is often the case with unexpectedly powerful enemy tanks, the Germans always have an ace in their pocket with their 88 mm (3.46 in) FlaK guns and 105 mm (4.1 in) field guns). While not particularly mobile, they are devastating when used over open sights against nearby ground targets - at great risk to the guns' crews, of course. In addition, Rommel's penchant for stringing out his forces - which so panics his tradition-minded superiors - pays massive dividends. Rommel is able to recall an advanced panzer regiment which returns and takes the advancing British in a devastating flank attack.

The British tanks falter, then retreat, harassed by the Luftwaffe all the way. The British lose 60 of their 88 tanks, while Rommel only loses 89 killed, 110 wounded and 173 missing. It is a huge tactical defensive victory for the Wehrmacht. However, the attack greatly impresses the German OKW high command - and particularly Hitler. It might have made some real impact if coordinated with de Gaulle's abortive attack from the south on 19 May.

The Battle of Arras has long-lasting effects. One theory of German tank development is that this encounter at Arras so impresses Hitler with the superiority of heavily armored British tanks that he puts in place the design program that ultimately leads to the Panzer VI Tiger Tank of 1942. The battle also is when the Allies begin to speak of "German 88s" with respect. The failure of the attack makes the senior British leadership - if not the French - even leerier about the BEF's prospects on the Continent. Finally, the ferocity of the attack is giving the top brass second thoughts about pressing home the attack against the quickly contracting First Army Group as it bellies up beside the sea.

To the southwest, General Guderian's panzers consolidate their hold on the Somme. The 1st Panzer, 2nd Panzer, and 10th Panzer Divisions take bridgeheads across the river. These will be quite handy when the time comes to head south.

The Germans besiege Maubeuge, west of Dinant on the River Sambre. The French Ninth Army, having lost its commander General Giraud when captured by German troops, is in a state of collapse.

French Commander-in-chief Weygand is continuing to "assess the situation." He goes to Ypres to meet with King Leopold, General Gaston Billotte, commander of the 1st Army Group, and General John Vereker Lord Gort, commander of the BEF. Billotte is depressed and pessimistic, and Gort misses the meeting entirely. After the meeting, Billotte - who has Weygand's plan in his head for a coordinated attack against Rommel's panzers from north and south - gets in a major car accident, leaving him in a coma and near death. Gort's Chief of Staff, not one to mince words, observes caustically, "With all respect, he's no loss to us in this emergency" - which is a bit unfair because Billotte was the key to the counterattack, which now does not take place. General Blanchard, heretofore in charge of French 1st Army, takes over as Cinc of 1st Army Group.

The gun camera still from Spitfire Mk I ZP-A records the first victory of acting F/L Adolph G "Sailor" Malan of No 74 Squadron RAF over Dunkirk on the early evening of 21 May 1940. Breaking out of the cloud at 17,000 ft, the 30-year-old South African leader of A Flight nearly rams a Heinkel He 111 before firing from 150 yds whilst in a banking turn. With debris and smoke issuing from the starboard engine and a wheel dropped, the claim still was categorized as unconfirmed.

European Air Operations: The RAF is in full battle mode. It attacks the German ground troops during the day and sends 124 bombers total (sources vary) to take out road and rail targets at night in Namur, Dinant, and Aachen, as well as the German troops outside Arras.

The RAF completes its evacuation from Belgium. Air cover over the BEF henceforth will originate from either France or England. This is not optimal for the gun-carrying infantry still trying to hold tenuous lines that keep shifting back toward the coast.

First victory of "Sailor" Malan of RAF No. 74 Squadron.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe catches French destroyer L’Adroit off Dunkirk and bombs and sinks it. They also sink - perhaps inadvertently - British hospital ship Maid of Kent off Dieppe, along with British ship Hubbastone at Dieppe.

British ship Firth Fisher hits a mine and sinks off Boulogne.

The British commission corvette HMS Hibiscus (K 24) (Lt. Commander Reginald Phillips).

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Orion rounds Cape Horn into the Pacific.

Norway: The German 2nd Mountain Division continues advancing past Mo i Rana toward Bodo and takes up positions on the north shore of the Rombaksfiord. Colonel Gubbins plans to mount a defense at Storjord, 20 miles (32 km) south of Rognan - if he can get the Scots Guards under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Byrnand Trappes-Lomax to stop their retreat.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier Furious sends off 18 Gladiators of No. 263 Squadron and 18 Hurricanes of 46 Squadron to man a base at Bardufoss north of Narvik. Luftwaffe dominance of the northern Norway skies is becoming a problem, perhaps a decisive one. It is easy to question priorities since British fighters are being withdrawn from the decisive Western Front at the same time as they are being sent to the sideshow in northern Norway. This is just another indication of the tremendous strategic importance placed on the Swedish iron ores which flow through northern Norway at Narvik.

War Crimes: There are many anecdotal reports of Luftwaffe fighters and Stukas strafing refugees on the roads. Doing so would both block the roads and sow terror about the chilling new aerial weapons of the Luftwaffe - the Stukas have had air horns installed specifically to enhance the terror effect. These types of incidents are extremely difficult to prove, and they may not necessarily be intentional war crimes. However... intentionally targeting civilians in such a manner most definitely is a war crime.

German Military: Hitler and Raeder hold a conference. Raeder has radical ideas about naval strategy - he was the architect of the invasion of Norway, Operation Weserubung - and now he has another idea: invade Great Britain. This is the first record of anyone even broaching this topic in a serious manner. Hitler agrees with the proposal but also tells Commander-in-chief Brauchitsch and his chief of staff Halder that he wants to do a deal with Great Britain.

Soviet Military: General Alexander Vasilevsky becomes 1st Deputy Head of Operations Directorate of the Stavka.

USS Military: The submarine USS Trout is launched.

Gibraltar: Non-essential personnel being evacuated to England. Nobody knows Francisco Franco's intentions, and Gibraltar would be indefensible if Spain joins the Axis.
French Government: While the Generals as a group are almost moribund with pessimism, French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud is full of vigor despite the "disaster," telling the Senate:

France cannot die! …. if I were told tomorrow that only a miracle could save France, I should reply: I believe in miracles because I believe in France!

His ultimate conclusion is that the problem facing the nation stems from failure to understand the recent evolution of military doctrine - something that Brigadier General Charles de Gaulle has become known for.

United States Government: President Roosevelt sends a secret executive order to FBI Director Edgar Hoover: wiretap foreign agent suspects. This includes members of foreign embassies and consulates. This is a highly controversial decision that is of dubious legality - especially with the US not at war with anyone.

Dutch Homefront: The influence of the German occupation already is being felt. Radio broadcaster AVRO dismisses its Jewish employees.

American Homefront: While the Germans and the Allies are locked in their brutal beat-down in Belgium and France, US journalists are able to provide stateside readers with accounts from both sides. Journalist William Shirer, for instance, is one of several US newspapermen accompanying the Wehrmacht on its glory ride. He notes rather tonelessly that "Our Wehrmacht officer guide is very complimentary to the French." It is not safe to report from the front, as the journalists are as exposed as anyone to air attacks.

Future History: Tony Sheridan is born in Norwich, Norfolk, England. He becomes famous as a singer after he collaborates with an unknown group known as The Beat Brothers in 1961. They release a single ("My Bonnie") that makes it to No. 5 on the German chart. This is not when he becomes famous as a result of the collaboration, but rather after The Beat Brothers change their name to The Beatles.

One of the RAF pilots evacuating from Belgium on 21 May 1940 is P/O Keith T Lofts (right). He had flown out with No 615 Squadron RAF from RAF Croydon to Merville on 15 November 1939, and today he returns with them from Moorsele to RAF Kenley. The 22-year-old pilot claimed 3 enemy aircraft damaged operating over France/Belgium, but the details have been lost. He later shares a He 111 with S/L Joseph R "Joe" Kayll on 22 June, the bomber coming down west of Rouen.

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2020

Wednesday 6 September 1939

German troops advancing on Krakow (Falk, Federal Archive).

International Relations: On 6 September 1939, South Africa, part of the British Commonwealth, declares war on Germany. Spain declares neutrality. Australia begins calling up troops, 10,000 so far.

European Air Operations: The first RAF pilot (Pilot Officer Montague Hulton-Harrop) dies during the conflict. Tragically, it is a friendly fire incident along the east coast and becomes known as the Battle of Barking Creek. This involves the mistaken interception and shooting down of two British Hurricanes by 74 Squadron operating out of Hornchurch Airfield. Only one of the pilots dies. The Luftwaffe, in fact, does make a reconnaissance flight along the coast and then turns back, but that is not the cause of the mistaken alarm.

The disastrous incident is the result of inexperience. There were almost 200 RAF fighters in the air and no enemy. The two British victims were operating together away from the main formation. There was a court-martial and the papers remain sealed to this day, but the 74 Squadron pilots who shot down the British planes were exonerated. The commander of 56 Squadron operating out of North Weald Airfield in Essex, who had over-reacted to the report of an enemy sighting and was the commander of the dead man, however, was replaced.

There also are unconfirmed reports of a Luftwaffe raid towards Paris that is turned back by French fighters.

Western Front: French troops make s small advance toward Saarbrücken. There is contact all along a 125-mile span heading south from Luxembourg.

Battle of Poland: The Germans under General Wilhelm von List's 14th Army take Krakow. Other German forces take Różan. Elsewhere, after several days of fighting, the German SVI Army Corps takes Góry Borowskie and Rozprza. Col. Ludwik Czyżewski of the Polish 2nd Legions' Infantry Regiment, who has been reinforced by some light tanks, orders a retreat toward Dłutów. Fighting is fierce because the axis of the German attack is toward the key cities of Radomsko, Piotrków Trybunalski and Bełchatów. The XVI Panzer Corps (1st and 4th Panzer Divisions) of the German 10th Army resumes its advance after taking Piotrkow.

The Germans are pushing the Poles back in most places. The Polish high command issues an order for a general retreat to the Narew-Vistula-Sun rivers.

Battle of the Atlantic: Norddeutscher Lloyd cargo ship SS Minden, 4301 tons, is loaded in Brazil and leaves port for a journey back to Germany. This is a mysterious departure with questions that still linger. There is a theory - unproven but assumed by many to be true - that the Minden is loaded with up to four tons of gold. The story is that officials from Banco Germanico, a subsidiary of German Dresdner Bank, assist with loading special crates on the ship that contain this German gold. The ship's route is planned to take it just south of Iceland and then around Great Britain, then down through Norwegian coastal waters, to avoid the Royal Navy (see 24 September 1939).

Polish Government: The Polish government leaves Warsaw for Lublin.

British Government: The Armed Forces Act combines all British military forces into the British Army.

Future History: The Battle of Barking Creek (the name given to the 6 September 1939 air battle because that was used generically by British comics as a kind of synonym for military blunders) involved Adolph "Sailor" Malan, a South African. He was the leader of 'A' Flight of 74 Squadron. Malan allegedly gave the order to engage the British victims. One of the men who opened fire was Flying Officer Vincent 'Paddy' Byrne, the other was Pilot Officer John Freeborn,. Helping to defend the pilots at the court-martial was Roger Bushell. Everyone was exonerated.

Bushell and Byrne later wound up incarcerated together at Stalag Luft III and helped to mastermind "The Great Escape." Bushell, portrayed as the mastermind of the entire operation in the 1963 film, was murdered during that escape. Byrne, however, was repatriated in 1944 and subsequently given a ground position.

Malan became an excellent pilot, getting 27 kills and rising to be a Group Captain. He received the Distinguished Service Order and bar and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he worked against the Apartheid regime.

Freeborn, who was found to have mistakenly killed the British pilot, rose to become a Wing Commander. He ultimately flew more operational hours than any other British pilot during the Battle of Britain and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. Freeborn passed away on 28 August 2010, regretting the incident to his dying day.

Sailor Malan.

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

2019