Saturday 7 December 1940

Boeing 314 Clipper NC 18606 lands at Waitemata Harbour, Auckland, December 7, 1940. © Whites Aviation / Alexander Turnbull Library Image WA-00412-G via P. Sheehan Collection - 1950-095.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italians on 7 December 1940 continue retreating on the southern and middle sectors of the line. Most of the action takes place in the air, where the RAF bombers based near Athens raid Italian shipping and the ports of Durazzo and Salona.

European Air Operations: Apparently due to rough weather, the Luftwaffe bombers stay on the ground today, giving England its first full day without any air raids since 7 August 1940. When the weather is sketchy, both sides make different evaluations of whether to mount missions. However, Luftwaffe fighter-bombers and torpedo bombers are operational during the day. After dark, RAF Bomber Command decides to go and sends bombers against Düsseldorf.

RAF No. 263 Squadron is equipped with the new Westland Whirlwind twin-engine fighter. It has a good range and will be used on convoy duties.

In a carefully scripted series of photos released to the propaganda outlets, the German police on 7 December 1940 stage a raid. The man in front has been apprehended and forced, under interrogation, to reveal the hiding place of his comrades in a Lublin cellar (Ang, Federal Archive).

Battle of the Atlantic: The weather remains rough. Many ships stay in port, while those that venture out are at increased risk of sustaining damage or grounding.

British 1827 ton freighter Lormont, operating as a guard ship and fitted with deck guns, collides with Royal Navy 213 ton minesweeping trawler Cortina near the mouth of the Humber, likely in part due to the weather. Both ships sink

Dutch 2489 ton freighter Stolwijk, part of Convoy SC 13, runs aground in County Donegal, Ireland and is lost. There are 10 deaths and 18 survivors. This loss is directly attributable to the weather, as the storms damage her rudder. She breaks up on the rocks off Tory Island. The Irish lifeboat crew earns medals from the Netherlands and the British for their heroic rescue of the crew.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Sabre attempts to rescue the crew of the Stolwijk during the storm and sustains heavy damage to her superstructure. She must put into Derry for repairs.

Canadian 1747 ton freighter Watkins F. Nisbet runs aground and is lost in the Bristol Channel. The date on this is unclear, it may have run aground on the 6th and then been written off today. The stern section is salvaged.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Sabre is damaged by the weather while returning from escort duties and puts in at Belfast for repairs.

Destroyer HMS Broadway is damaged in a collision at Scapa Flow, likely in part due to the weather, and sails to the Humber for repairs.

U-99 (Kplt. Otto Kretschmer), on its 7th patrol out of Lorient, sights Convoy OB 252 southwest of Ireland and torpedoes and sinks 5237-ton Dutch collier Farmsum. There are 12 deaths in the sinking, 4 crewmen perish of exposure in the lifeboats, and 15 survive. The weather is bitter, and the survivors all have severe frostbite when picked up by HMS Ambuscade.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Sunfish torpedoes and damages 1715-ton Norwegian tanker Dixie in the North Sea.

The Luftwaffe attacks the Humber area and damages 827-ton British freighter Yewarch.

Royal Navy 219-ton minesweeping trawler Capricornus hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary near the Nore Light Vessel.

German raider Admiral Hipper departs from Kiel to enter the North Atlantic as Operation Nordseetour.

German battleship Bismarck enters the Kiel Canal.

U-66 refuels and restocks at sea from German supply ship Nordmark, enabling it to prolong its voyage.

Four Royal Navy minelayers operate east of Iceland, laying minefield SN 10A.

Convoy FN 353 departs from Southend, Convoy FN 354 remains in port, Convoys SLS 58 and SL 58 departs from Freetown.

German troops roust Jewish men living in a cellar in Lublin on 7 December 1940 (Ang, Federal Archives).

Battle of the Mediterranean: General O'Connor's 50,000 men involved in the Operation Compass raid complete their march from Mersa Matruh to the front lines. The plan is to attack the Italians from the rear. Included in the force are 275 tanks, held further back. The Italian reconnaissance planes do not spot the advancing British forces, which are supplied by depots deposited in the front lines well in advance. The British troops, who think they are on an exercise, finally are told that they are going to be involved in a major offensive. The Western Desert Force includes the 7th Armoured Division, 4th Indian Division, and the 16th Infantry Brigade. Selby force (Brigadier A.R. Selby) prepares dummy tanks to confuse Italian reconnaissance.

As part of the preparation for Operation Compass, RAF Wellington bombers based on Malta raid the Castel Benito airfield in Libya. They destroy 29 Italian planes.

The Royal Navy also is involved in Operation Compass. Monitor HMS Terror, gunboat HMS Ladybird, and minesweeper HMS Bagshot form Force A from Alexandria and head for positions off the Italian bases in Egypt. They bombard Sidi Barrani.

German police escorting Lublin Jewish men away to an unknown fate, 7 December 1940 (Ang, Federal Archive).

Battle of the Pacific: British 10,923-ton freighter Hertford runs into a mine and is damaged in the Spencer Gulf off Kangaroo Island in the vicinity of Adelaide. These are mines laid in November by German raider Pinguin.

German raiders Komet and Orion are operating off Nauru west of the Gilbert Islands. The weather is poor, preventing their plan to bombard the phosphate operations on the island. However, during the evening, Komet, disguised as Japanese freighter Manyo Maru, encounters and sinks 5264-ton Norwegian freighter Vinni about 10 km south of the island. The disguise, incidentally, works perfectly, and although the Komet is spotted from the shore, it is believed to be a harmless Japanese freighter. Everybody on board the Vinni is taken aboard the Komet.

German/Italian Relations: Following his interview with German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop on 6 December, Italian Ambassador Dino Alfieri meets with Adolf Hitler. Alfieri is there to plead for German assistance with the campaign in Albania, and perhaps diplomatic overtures by Germany to end the conflict. Hitler agrees to authorize fifty transport planes for use by the Italians in moving troops across the Ionian Sea. He also urges Mussolini to implement harsh measures, including courts-martial and executions to get his men to fight.

Italian Military: Mussolini continues his purge of the top leadership of the Italian military, dismissing General Cesare de Vecchi, Governor of Dodecanese Islands, and replacing him with General Ettore Bastico.

The USS Paducah, a training ship of the Duluth, Minnesota Naval Militia. It arrives in Brooklyn, New York on 7 December 1940 as its new homeport. She often sails to the Chesapeake Bay to train Naval Armed Guard Gunners until 1945.

German/Spanish Relations: Admiral Canaris, head of the German military intelligence service Abwehr, meets with Franco in Madrid. Canaris conveys Hitler's desire that Franco declare war on Great Britain in January and allow passage of Wehrmacht troops from France. Franco demurs, giving his standard reply that Spain is not prepared for war. He has an extensive laundry list of items that he would require in advance, particularly grain, before entering the war.

British Military: The prototype Fairey Barracuda has its first flight. It is intended to replace the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore biplanes. The test flight goes well, but the plane as currently equipped is underpowered and suffers from a poor rate of climb.

The 100th Beaufighter is completed at  Filton, South Gloucestershire, England.

Canadian Homefront: The Ottawa Rough Riders defeat the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers, 12-5, in the second of the two-game series for the 28th Grey Cup of Canadian football.

American Homefront: The American Federation of Labor (AFL) estimates that there are 8.13 million unemployed workers in the United States.

Future History: Gerald Michael Cheevers is born in St. Catharines, Ontario. At the age of 16, Cheeves joins the St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey Association, then in 1965 is drafted by the Boston Bruins. He goes on to become their starting goaltender, winning two Stanley Cup championships and set a record of 32 undefeated consecutive games in 1972 that still stands. Gerry Cheevers retires in 1980, later becomes the Bruins' coach, then becomes a broadcaster.

Santa Claus and an artillery piece in Columbus, Georgia, outside of Fort Benning. December 1940. Marion Post Wolcott/LC-USF34-056550 via Library of Congress.

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020

Friday 6 December 1940

Bomb damage in Southampton, 6 December 1940. Firemen still are fighting the fires caused by incendiary bombs during a massive two-day Luftwaffe attack a week earlier.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek advance continues on 6 December 1940. They consolidate their hold on Saranda, a port with special significance to Mussolini because it has acquired the nickname Porto Edda after his daughter. In the Pindos Mountains, the Greeks advance toward Klisura, and in Macedonia, the Greeks move toward Elbasan.

European Air Operations: The weather restricts flying operations. The Luftwaffe bombs Bristol, which is its latest target for successive raids, and London. The RAF bombs various airfields and ports in northwest Europe.

Battle of the Atlantic: The weather remains rough in the North Atlantic and the English Channel. This mangles convoy schedules and damages/sinks numerous smaller ships.

British 347-ton freighter Accomac has its boiler explode - perhaps due to stress fighting the weather - and drifts ashore at Pickie, Bangor, Northern Ireland. The ship is a total loss, but apparently, everybody survives.

Free French 2147-ton collier Mousse le Moyec runs aground and is wrecked at Harland Point, Devon.

Norwegian 1374-ton freighter Nyland is sailing with Convoy EN 35 off Iona, the Inner Hebrides when it runs aground at West Rock and is wrecked. All 20 onboard (including three Canadians) perish. The Nyland was en route to join Convoy OB 255 out of Liverpool. The ship simply disappears - a tug sent to tow it off the shore found nothing. Two weeks later, some wreckage bearing her name is found at Torran Rocks.

British coaster South Coaster encounters severe weather in Bristol Channel and is abandoned by its crew. The ten men are picked up by the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and the ship sinks. A ship with the same name sinks on 13 December 1943 at Pole Sands, but that is a different wreck.

Submarine HMS Unbeaten bangs up against depot ship HMS Titania in the Clyde due to the rough weather and takes damage. It proceeds to Barrow for repair.

Minesweeper HMS Salamander suffers serious damage in the rough seas and proceeds to Grimsby for repairs.

U-43 (Kptlt. Wolfgang Lüth), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient under its new captain, torpedoes and sinks 1902 ton Norwegian 1902-ton freighter Skrim west of Ireland. The U-boat has to pursue the freighter for almost four hours and then misses with its first torpedo. A second shot 20 minutes later, however, sends the freighter to the bottom in barely a minute. This sinking is partly attributable to the rough weather as well since the Skrim had lost contact with Convoy OB 252 two days before. Due to the conditions and loss of all crew, it is a historical assumption that this victim is the Skrim. All 34 onboard perish.

British 554-ton freighter Supremity hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary. There is one death.

German 218-ton trawler Jupiter runs aground near Lodsbjerg, Jutland, likely due in part to the weather. It later is salvaged, repaired and returned to service after the war. The Jupiter had been requisitioned for Operation Sealion, but those ships had been dispersed and returned to normal duties pursuant to Hitler's orders.

Convoy FN 352 departs from Southend, Convoys FS 354 and FS 355 depart from Methil (some convoys have been delayed due to the weather), and Convoy HX 94 departs from Halifax.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMAS Bathurst (Lieut-Commander A. V. Bunyan, DSC, RD; RANR(S)) is commissioned.

Corvette HMCS Spikenard (K 198) is commissioned.

US submarine Flying Fish is laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine.

U-166 is laid down in Bremen.

U-166 will be commanded by Oberleutnant Hans-Günther Kuhlmann.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British put in place final preparations for Operation Compass, the offensive against the advanced Italian lines in Egypt. The British march 25,000 troops 35 miles forward from their encampments near Mersa Matruh toward the front lines, hidden as best they can near their jump-off points. They still have about 35 miles to go. The plan is for a 5-day raid through a 15-mile gap between Italian encampments.

The British Tommies are not told that they are on the verge of an offensive; this is "Training Exercise No. 2." The units are British 7th Armoured Division, British 16th Infantry Brigade, and Indian 4th Infantry Division. Together, they comprise the Western Desert Force under the command of General Richard O'Connor).

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regulus hits a mine and sinks off Taranto, Italy sometime around this date. All 55 onboard perish.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Triton torpedoes and damages 6040-ton Italian freighter Olimpia. The Olimpia is escorted by two Italian torpedo boats, the Altair and the Andromeda, but they fail to locate the Triton.

Battle of the Pacific: German raiders Komet and Orion, operating in tandem, come upon 4413 ton British/Australian phosphate freighter Triona northeast of the Solomon Islands near the island of Nauru (west of the Gilberts group). The Germans are very interested in Nauru due to its phosphate production and are planning to attack it, and coming across the Triona is purely coincidental to that objective. Accounts vary about what happened next: either the freighter is sunk after a long chase, killing three or four (native) crewmen with gunfire, or the ship is captured and then sunk. It is possible that the ship is captured after a chase and either quickly scuttled or sinks from its battle damaged. In any event, the Triona does not last very long. There are 68 survivors, including 6 female passengers and a child.

Holocaust: In one of the ironies of history, Adolf Hitler's cousin Aloisia Veit is gassed (carbon monoxide) to death on or about this date in Austria. This is pursuant to the euthanasia program that Adolf Hitler himself had authorized in late 1939. Aloisia was diagnosed with "schizophrenic mental instability, helplessness, depression, distraction, hallucinations, and delusions." Assuming that the doctors' notes can be believed, the woman actually was mentally ill, and she spent much of her time chained to her bed. She is related to Hitler via his father's Schicklgruber family - that branch of the family apparently had a deep history of mental illness. This information was uncovered by David Irving ("Hitler's War"), American historian Timothy Ryback in the period 1990-2005, and using papers recovered after the war by a US Army private, Eric Hamm. It is unknown what, if anything, Hitler knows about this, but all German media is forbidden to mention the word "Schicklgruber" - though that is a favorite word in the Allied press.

Indochina: The Japanese step in and attempt to resolve the simmering Thai/Vichy French border war. They sign a "non-aggression pact" with the Thais (supposedly at the Thai government's request) and basically impose a settlement. The Thais get several disputed territories, including Lao Sayaboury, the Cambodian provinces of Battambang and Siem Riep (Phibunsongkhram province), and the part of Champassak on the west bank. The US, meanwhile, looks askance at the Thai invasion and halts exports of 16 aircraft to Thailand, re-routing them to their own forces in the Philippines. The US also considers further sanctions based in part on the growing perception that Thailand and Japan basically are now de facto allies, which is not the case.

American Homefront: MGM's "Go West," starring the Marx Brothers, premieres. It features "The Woodpecker Song" by Harold Adamson and Eldo di Lazzaro.

Madam Marie will tell your fortune near where soldiers live outside Fort Benning, Georgia. December 1940. Marion Post Wolcott/LC-USF34-056485 via Library of Congress.

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020

Wednesday 4 December 1940

A DC-3 being prepared for shipment to England, 4 December 1940. The RAF designation for DC-3s is Dakota, and they are often used for transport throughout the war (Smithsonian).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks continue to advance on 4 December 1940, and Mussolini has had enough. He fires Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who has been Chief of Staff (Capo di Stato Maggiore Generale) since 1925, who "resigns." He is replaced by Ugo Cavallero, who in turn is replaced as Deputy Chief of the Supreme General Staff by General Alfredo Guzzoni. Mussolini also fires the governor of the Italian Dodecanese, Cesare Maria De Vecchi, and Admiral Cavagnari either today or within a few days.

In Albania, the Greek 2nd Division completes the capture of Suhë Pass, and the 8th Division captures Kakavia Pass when the Italians withdraw during the night. The 8th Division has taken 1500 Italians prisoner and captured numerous artillery pieces and 30 tanks, which the Italians have found ineffective in the steep terrain.

Greek II Army Corps captures Përmet ten miles across the border in southern Albania, while the Italians abandon Argyrokastro in southwest Albania. Greek III Corps is now in full possession of the Kamia Mountain. The advances mean that the Greeks now occupy a continuous line from the port of Saranda to Pogradec on Ohrid Lake.

The Greeks are advancing on the left side of the line, but they still lag the more advanced troops on the right side. By order of Commander-in-chief Papagos, those troops on the right are waiting for the rest of the Greek forces in the south to catch up. While their advance appears to be going quickly, the weather is foul and the Greek troops are on foot grinding through the snow and slush. They are advancing steadily, but slowly. The choice by the Italians to invade at the onset of winter is now working in their favor - but in a way that wasn't part of the plan.

The RAF based near Athens is in action over Albania, claiming eight victories.

European Air Operations: During the day, the Germans raid Dover. After dark, the Luftwaffe sends 62 bombers against Birmingham, England. They drop 77 tons of high explosives and 184 incendiary bombs. London also receives some attention.

RAF Bomber Command attacks Antwerp, Calais, Turin, and targets around Dusseldorf.

The reality of US Army life: metal shelters for soldiers and construction workers in Columbus, Georgia near Fort Benning. The tin shacks went for $10 per month - or, you could rent a tent space for $2 per week. December 1940. (Source: Marion Post Wolcott/LC-USF34-056461 via Library of Congress).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-37 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen) torpedoes and sinks 1513-ton Swedish freighter Daphne southwest of Gibraltar. There are 18 deaths. The Daphne is a straggler from Convoy OG-46.

U-52 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann) claims to have torpedoed and sunk a freighter in the Northwest Approaches off Ireland, but it is unclear what, if any, ship it sank. Most accounts discount this claim, Möhlmann may have sunk a derelict already claimed by another means.

Royal Navy 1927-ton freighter HMS Empire Seaman is sunk intentionally as a blockship at Scapa Flow, East Weddel Sound. Some accounts place this sinking on 30 June 1940.

Belgian 145-ton fishing trawler Helene hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. That area has been recently mined.

Norwegian 2669-ton iron ore freighter Skogheim runs aground near Songvår Lighthouse, Søgne, Vest-Agder whilst on a voyage from Kirkenes to Emden and is a total write-off. Everybody aboard survives. The ship is later salvaged.

Convoy OB 254 departs from Liverpool, Convoy Fn 350 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 353 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 351 is detained in port, Convoy BS 10 departs from Suez.

U-552 (Kplt. Erich Topp), a Type VIIC boat, is commissioned. Topp is the former commander of U-57, which sank following a collision with a Norwegian vessel on 3 September 1940. He already has six victims under his belt in U-57. We shall be hearing quite a bit more about Topp and U-552.

US destroyer USS Eberle (Lt. Commander Edward R. Gardner, Jr.) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Compass, the projected British attack on Italian positions in Egypt, is only days away. British Major General Richard O'Connor, Commander of the Western Desert Army, who prefers to lead from the front (unlike many British Generals), transfers his headquarters to an advance location where he can better supervise the offensive. Leading from the front is a two-edged sword: it provides certain benefits such as inspiring the troops, but it also exposes the commander to danger.

At Malta, Royal Navy submarine HMS Upright (Lt J E Brooks RN) arrives. It is the first of three U class submarines assigned to Malta. The commander notes that the sub is not fit for long patrols due to the inability to carry sufficient provisions, and the long trip from Gibraltar, which included a patrol off Palermo, Sicily, taxed the crew.

The Germans begin their penetration into the Mediterranean by instituting Fliegerkorps X at Taormina, Sicily.

Battle of the Pacific: Captured Norwegian freighter Ole Jacob arrives safely in Kobe, Japan. This ship was captured by raider Pinguin and carries extremely sensitive documents from the British War Cabinet that were taken from sunk freighter Automedon. Some historians believe that these documents are critical to the Japanese decision to attack the British and Americans in December 1941. The prize crew hands the Top Secret documents (which the British have no idea have been captured) to the German ambassador, who gives one copy to the Japanese government and sends another by courier to Berlin via the Trans-Siberian Railroad. This has been an exceedingly competently handled operation by the Germans - they sank the Automedon before it could get off any messages, have the British crew safely secured, and briskly got the information to a safe haven. In the long run, though, the information will prove to be a double-edged sword for the Axis.

Italian/German Relations: Mussolini is in the midst of a crisis of confidence about his troops' situation in Albania. He orders his Ambassador to Germany, Dino Alfieri (who generally has little to do because Hitler and Mussolini usually communicate through each other or their foreign ministers), to meet with Hitler and plead for assistance there.

New England skiers, 4 December 1940.

Anglo/Turkish Relations: Turkey joins Spain and other neutral countries in wringing concessions from both sides as they play a very dangerous game in strategic areas. The British sign a trade agreement with Turkey calculated to keep that country from drifting toward the Axis. Hitler, meanwhile, always has his eye on Turkey because it controls the Dardanelles, and his focus will become only sharper the closer his forces draw to it - and past it.

Romania: The Antonescu government begins to regain control of the country after the recent re-burial of the founder of the Iron Guard, which inspired massive unrest.

German Military: Adolf Hitler meets with Abwehr boss Admiral Canaris. They discuss the prospects for Operation Felix, the subjugation of Gibraltar. Any attack, they conclude, requires Spanish cooperation and perhaps assistance.

US Military: F4F-3 Wildcats enter service with VF-41. They still have some problems with a poor cockpit layout, as pilots can easily confuse the flap settings with the fuel valve. The F4F already serves with the RAF in England as the Martlet due to previous purchases by the Anglo-French Purchasing Board before the fall of France..

US Navy Grumman F4F-3/3A Wildcats based on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, 1941.

US Government: Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (retired), the Governor of Puerto Rico, resigns. He has been offered the vacant post of Ambassador to France.

British Government: The Admiralty releases figures showing that shipping losses for the month ending 24 November were 323,157 tons.

Winston Churchill, as usual, sides with the Admiralty against the RAF in a dispute over control of the U-boat war.

British Homefront: The supply situation in England isn't getting any better, but Minister of Food Lord Woolton announces that the inmates', er, population's rations of sugar and tea will be increased - temporarily - by four and two ounces, respectively for Christmas.

American Homefront: At 17:48, a new twin-engine DC-3A of United Air Lines crashes while landing at Midway Airport, Chicago. The plane is on a standard flight from LaGuardia Airport (still called New York Municipal Airport and/or LaGuardia Field), which has only been in operation for a year. The FAA determines that the plane stalled during its approach because the pilot chose the wrong runway, one that was too short for his aircraft and thus required him to throttle back the plane's speed until it passed the stall point. Seven passengers and all three crew perish. LaGuardia, incidentally, remains a very tough airport for landings.

Future History: Gary Gilmore is born in McCarney, Texas. He will go on to become one of the most notorious murderers in American history, gaining notoriety for (successfully) demanding the death penalty. His execution in 1977 will mark the return of the death penalty (under new guidelines) in the US for the first time in a decade, a practice that continues.

Singer Freddy Cannon is born in Revere, Massachusetts. His hits will include "Tallahassee Lassie," "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans," and "Palisades Park." Cannon continues to perform and occasionally still puts out records.

Workers put the finishing touches on some cars in Detroit, 4 December 1940.

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020