Monday 2 December 1940

The President of North American Aviation, Inc., Dutch Kindelberger, visits an empty 75-acre alfalfa small airport and adjacent empty field beside the Missouri River, in the Fairfax industrial district of St. Louis. He approves the site, and this plant was constructed there within 13 months. It wound up producing 6,608 B-25 bombers.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek commander-in-chief, Alexandros Papagos, and Crown Prince Paul visit the front on the right-wing of the line on 2 December 1940. The commanders at the front, Lieutenant-General Ioannis Pitsikas of the Western Macedonian Army Section (TSDM) and Lieutenant-General Georgios Tsolakoglou (III Army Corps) urge an immediate attack into the Klisura Pass to take advantage of Italian disarray. However, Papagos decides to wait for I and II Corps to advance further and create a more even front. This forces III Corps, which has advanced the furthest, to cease its attacks for the time being, while the units on the left catch up. The other Greek troops are advancing slowly; Greek I Corps is in Sucha Pass, while Greek II Corps in the central sector begins attacking again.

There is a report that 5,000 Italian troops have surrendered in northern Albania. The RAF bombs Salona.

On the Italian side, Mussolini is losing his nerve and thinking about seeking an armistice - he only began the invasion a month ago! -via German mediation. His rationale for continuing is that the Greeks have little war industry, and their supplies only come from the British. He is very upset with his military leaders, however, and considering sacking them.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe switches from Southampton to Bristol as its main target, sending 120 bombers against it. For the past month, the Germans have concentrated on a succession of moderate-sized cities to hammer two or more times in a row - Coventry, Birmingham, Southampton included. London still receives attention, but the Luftwaffe high command apparently has decided that there is more impact by destroying a single smaller city than gradually demolishing London.

RAF Coastal Command attacks Axis shipping off Norway, while RAF Bomber Command bombs the U-boat pens at Lorient.

U-37 in drydock in Lorient, France, 1940 (Mannewitz, Federal Archive).

Battle of the Atlantic: Busy day in the Atlantic.

Convoy HX 90 is attracting the attention of every U-boat in the vicinity. Spotted by U-101 about 926 km south of Iceland on 1 December, the convoy is in the "gap" between full escort from Canada and from Great Britain (poor weather has delayed the UK escort). U-101 continues to shadow the convoy, but just after midnight today U-47 joins, followed by others.

Making the day even more interesting is that HX 90 is not the only convoy attacked. Convoy OB 251 is nearby (relatively speaking). Some U-boats attack it instead, and there are some transfers between the two convoys of escorts from OB 251 to HX 90. U-99 attacks ships in both convoys. Due to all the different attacks, the night is a confused jumble, but one thing is certain: it is a bad night for the British. U-37 makes an independent attack on Convoy OG 46, sinking two ships.

There also is an Italian submarine Argo (pennant number AO) in the vicinity, but it misses the party. Basically, today is a U-boat bonanza in the mid-Atlantic. Everything is coordinated by U-Boat Command (BdU), in the person of Rear Admiral Karl Dönitz in Paris.

Just to summarize, below are the submarines attacking today and early on the 3rd.

U-Boats which make up the HX 90 wolfpack:

• U-101 (Kptlt. Ernst Mengersen)
• U-47 (Kptlt. Gunther Prien)
• U-95 (Kptlt. Gerd Schreiber)
• U-52 (Kptlt. Otto Salman)
• U-94 (Kptlt. Herbert Kuppisch)

U-boat attacking OB 251:

• U-99 (Kptlt. Otto Kretschmer)
• U-43 (Kptlt. Wolfgang Lüth)

U-boat attacking Convoy OG 46:

• U-37 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen)

Prien in U-47 is in his element, with a relatively clean slate to work with - few escorts and the convoy not dispersed. He quickly launches his standard surface attack from within the convoy shortly after his arrival. He sinks one ship and damages two others. However, an escort reacts and forces U-99 to discontinue its attack. U-95 then shows up and attacks one of the ships that Prien had damaged, but it does not sink.

U-99, on its way to attack HX 90, encounters an Armed Merchant Cruiser, HMS Forfar, which is guarding OB 251 and pumps five torpedoes into it, sinking it. U-43 also attacks OB 251 and sinks two ships, surviving a ramming attempt.

The ships sunk and damaged:

• Ville D'Arlon (Belgian, 7555 tons, sunk by U-47)
• Kavak (UK, 2782 tons, U-101)
• Lady Glanely (UK, 5497 tons, U-101)
• Conch (UK, 8376 tons, damaged by U-47)
• Dunsley  (UK, damaged by U-47)
• Conch (damaged by U-95)
• HMS Forfar (UK, 16,402 tons, sunk by U-99)
• Tasso (UK, 1,586 tons, sunk by U-52)
• Goodleigh (UK, 5448 tons, sunk by U-52)
• Stirlingshire (UK, 6022 tons, sunk by U-94)
• Wilhelmina (UK, 6725 tons, sunk by U-94)
• Victoria City (UK, 4739 tons, sunk by U-140)
• Conch (finally sunk by U-99)
• Pacific President (UK, 7113 tons, sunk by U-43)
• Victor Ross (UK, 12,247 tons, sunk by U-43)

Samnanger (Norwegian, sunk by U-99)

• W. Hendrik (UK, 4360 tons, sunk by Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft)
• Gwalia (Swedish, 1258 tons, sunk by U-37)
• Jeanne M. (UK, 2465 tons, sunk by U-37)

Deaths (some ships had no casualties):

• HMS Forfar: 172 dead, including Captain Norman Cyril Hardy
• Goodleigh: one crewman dead, 37 survivors
• Kavak: 25 crewmen dead, 16 survivors
• Lady Glanely: 33 dead, no survivors
• Ville d'Arlon: 56 dead, no survivors
• Tasso: 5 dead, 27 survivors
• Wilhelmina: 5 dead, 34 survivors
• Victoria City: 43 dead, no survivors
• Pacific President: 51 dead, no survivors 
• Victor Ross: 44 dead, no survivors
• Samnanger: 30 dead, no survivors
• Galia: 16 dead, 6 survivors
• Jeanne M: 7 dead, 19 survivors

The damage may be greater because German and Allied records of this encounter differ in terms of ships damaged. In all, HX 90 loses eleven ships of 73,495 tons (including the freighter Appalachee sunk by U-101 on the 1st), while OB 251 loses four (including the AMC). The HX 90 escorts spend four hours depth-charging the attackers, but the U-boats escape unscathed.

Elsewhere, 483-ton British coaster Jolly Girls hits a mine and sinks off Newcastle upon Tyne. Everybody survives.

The Luftwaffe (Heinkel HE 115 seaplanes of KGr 406) sinks 276-ton British trawler Kilgerran Castle in the Northwest Approaches.

The Kriegsmarine lays mines off of Dover.

Convoy FN 348 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 253 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Tynedale (L 90, Lt. Commander Hugo E. F. Tweedie) and minesweeping trawler HMS Ophelia (T 05, Captain S. Bennett) are commissioned.

U-99 in drydock.

Battle of the Mediterranean: RAF bombers attack Naples, Catania, and Augusta. In North Africa, they attack the airfield at Benina and Italian communications and various targets in Italian Somaliland.

A Board of Inquiry begins at Gibraltar over Admiral James Somerville's decision to disengage his cruisers at the Battle of Cape Spartivento. The incident involved a damaged cruiser and other forces facing Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto. It was a minor Italian victory. The court is led by Admiral of the Fleet William Boyle, Earl of Cork and Orrery.

Anglo/Spanish Relations: The British sign a financial agreement with Spain that essentially is a care package. Franco is engaged in a delicate dance between the Allies and Axis in which he is attempting to stay out of the conflict but receive anything that he can from both sides. Around this time, Hitler drafts a letter to Franco requesting the right of transit for German troops to attack Gibraltar, but Franco replies that he wants to wait until Great Britain "was on the point of collapse."

A Tom Brigance design, as shown in Harper's Bazaar, photographed by Hungarian émigré Martin Munkácsi.

British Military: Great War RAF legend Air Marshal Sir High Trenchard declines Prime Minister Winston Churchill's offer of a staff position and continues to serve in an unofficial capacity.

Japanese Military: Several promotions and command changes. Crown Prince Yi Un becomes a lieutenant general in the Japanese Army, while Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma becomes commander of the Taiwan Army. Colonel Seiichi Miyamoto becomes the commanding officer of the Japanese Unit 516 chemical weapons research unit based in Qiqihar, Nenjiang Province, China, replacing Colonel Oyanazu Masao.

US Military: Henry "Hap" Arnold becomes a permanent Brigadier General. Arnold, the head of the Air Board, is not a Roosevelt favorite because, in Roosevelt's own words, Arnold does not "play ball." However, Arnold is a huge impetus behind the elevation in the status of the US Army Air Corps and Roosevelt needs him.

US Government: President Roosevelt and crony Harry Hopkins depart from Washington by train to Miami, where they will conduct a tour of the Caribbean on the cruiser USS Tuscaloosa.

Life Magazine (cover "Free Balloonist"), 2 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

Monday 19 August 1940

Junkers Ju 87 Stukas in action, 19 August 1940.

Battle of Britain: The fickle finger of fate once again intrudes with a return of poor flying weather on 19 August 1940. Overall, at this stage of the battle, rainy and cloudy weather favors the British, as they are furiously repairing airfields and sorting out units for better defense against the rabid Luftwaffe attacks. The German aircrew along the French coast, on the other hand, get to reflect all day upon all the fine pilots, friends and leaders lost recently in a futile attempt to achieve a big fat nothing which has no lasting effect.

The Luftwaffe sends two large forces of fighters totaling about 100 planes over Dungeness and north of Dover. This is a classic "Freie Jagd," or unrestricted, mission. The RAF doesn't fear fighters without bombers and remains on the ground. Even random strafing missions on airfields such as RAF Manson, Lympne, and Hawkinge don't bring a response. A small formation of Junkers Ju 88s off Sussex does send fighters of RAF No. 602 Squadron up, and both sides lose a plane, with the bombers running for home.

There are some missions that produce results. Junkers Ju 88s hit Pembroke Dock in South Wales, setting 8 oil tanks at Llanreath ablaze. A portion of this attack hits RAF Bilbury, damaging a couple of Spitfires. Otherwise, there are just lone raiders on fields such as Worthy Down, Harwell, Coltishall, Honington and Shrivenham. These raids do kill people on the ground and destroy some aircraft on the ground (three Wellingtons at Harwell), but they are more nuisance attacks than strategic efforts.

During the night, the specially equipped Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111s of KGr 100 (a special group of 26 Heinkels, 12 typically operational) based at Meucon near Vannes in Brittany attacks the Bristol area and the aircraft factory at Filton. This attack does produce some effective destruction of the large plant. The planes are helped with their navigation by the X-Verfahren radio beams, an advancement on the Knickebein system under development since 1936. At this point, the British are not yet even aware of this particular system (though they know all about the less sophisticated Knickebein system).

RAF Bomber Command continues its raids on airfields throughout northwestern Europe. It also hits Kiel and continues reaching further into Germany proper, bombing the Zschornewitz electrical plant outside Leipzig. There is another lengthy (almost three hours) false air raid alert in Berlin, for only about the fifth time of the war. The alert is probably due to the relative nearness of the Leipzig attack and the uncertainty of where it is actually headed. Both sides, it should be pointed out, are still attempting (sometimes unsuccessfully) to limit their attacks to military targets of one form or another. However, mistakes do happen...

The Luftwaffe damages British freighter Waldinge off of Milford Haven.

Overall, the day's losses are usually given as 5-10 for the Luftwaffe and 2-5 for the RAF, but as usual, these figures don't include planes destroyed on the ground (by both sides). Overall, the day is pretty much a wash, with both sides taking the usual infrastructure damage.

A Heinkel He 111 of Kampfgruppe 100 based at a private, top-secret airfield surrounded by woodlands near Vannes, France, autumn 1940. These medium bombers are equipped to use special equipment for navigational purposes.

German Military: Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering has another meeting at Carinhall. He is not happy, but then, all his recently lost pilots don't have even that luxury.

He officially suspends operations by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas in StG Staffeln in the interior of Great Britain. He keeps two Staffeln along the Kanalfront for "special situations" and withdraws the rest. The Stukas have produced good bombing results, but the losses are becoming insufferable: 57 lost since 8 August alone. Every bomber in the Luftwaffe is supposed to have dive-bombing capabilities, but the Stukas are the best that the Germans have for pinpoint attacks that are essential for taking out targets such as radar stations. Since Goering doesn't think the radar stations are worthwhile targets, they aren't really needed until the actual invasion anyway. Wolfram von Richthofen takes his VIII Fliegerkorps back to the Pas de Calais.

The limitations of the twin-engine Bf 110 Zerstörers also are addressed. The Bf 110s are beloved by Goering and the high command of the OKL, and in fact, they are quite capable planes. However, the Battle of Britain is proving that planes with rear gunners such as the Stukas and the Bf 110s are no match for top single-seat fighters like the Spitfire and Hurricane. Goering ordains that Bf 109s escort the Bf 110s. He also orders that escorts in general fly as close escorts, "tied" to the bombers rather than engaging in free-wheeling "Freie Jagds" favored by the fighter pilots. To encourage the fighter pilots to accept this change, Goering orders that they should become friends with the bomber crews and always escort the same bombers.

Neither the Junkers Ju 87 nor the Bf 110 is in any way "inferior" or "obsolete." In fact, both are used to the very end of the war with great success. The issue is their use against cutting edge fighters rather than missions better suited for their capabilities. Both planes develop new missions - the Stuka as a Soviet tank killer, the Bf 110 as a night fighter - that add to their legends.

Goering's changes, on the whole, reflect at least an acceptance of the facts, even if they aren't necessarily the most effective solutions (tying fighter and bomber formations together throughout campaigns is particularly problematic). As is so common in the German regime, though, these fairly reasonable tactical changes aren't the only thing he does: there must be some cathartic bloodletting as well. Luftwaffe formation commanders begin getting the ax. JG 52 is the first to feel the pain, with Major Merhart von Bernegg, replaced by Major Hanns Trübenbach as Kommodore. If there is one thing that you can count on with Hermann, it is finding a handy scapegoat or two.

Battle of the Atlantic: There are several U-boats operating in the same area off of northwest Ireland. This group is a proto-wolfpack which has great success.

U-48 (Korvettenkapitän Hans Rudolf Rösing) sinks 7900-ton Belgian passenger ship Ville de Gand right around midnight on 18/19 August (I also have this on the 18th). There are 38 survivors and 15 perish (accounts vary).

U-101 (Kapitänleutnant Fritz Frauenheim) torpedoes and sinks 4576-ton British freighter Ampleforth in the same area near Ireland at 01:54. There are 29 survivors and 9 crew perish.

U-A (Kplt. Hans Cohausz) torpedoes 4295-ton British freighter Hungarian Kelet in the same area at 10:00. There are 68 survivors and 6 perish. The Hungarian Kelet had rescued crew from the Clan Macphee which sank on 16 August, and of the 41 survivors taken aboard from the Clan MacPhee, all six deaths during this sinking were from the Clan Macphee (leaving 35 total survivors from that ship). This is actually a fairly common occurrence, survivors are often taken aboard ships that themselves are torpedoed later, and survivors for some reason usually seem to be in greater jeopardy than usual during the subsequent sinking. (This would make a good Twilight Zone episode when it's your time, it's your time....).

The British Fleet Air Arm bombs Kriegsmarine transports at Haugesund, Norway, causing damage to one.

There are two separate unsuccessful attacks by Italian submarines where they are operating off the Azores. The Malaspina misses a tanker, and the Barbarigo attacks the British freighter Aguila but also misses.

British submarine HMS Cachalot lays mines off of Penmarch in field FD 24.

Convoy FN 257 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 145 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 257 departs from the Tyne, Convoy OG 41 departs from Liverpool.

U-104 is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF attacks Derna Harbour, oil storage tanks at Bir el Gobi, and the airfield at El Gubbi.

There are two air raids on Malta during the day, but the Italian aircraft stay offshore. A few more Blenheim bombers arrive for offensive missions.

The Malta Fighter Plane Fund announces that it has reached its target of £6000 (Spitfires actually cost a bit more than that), so it launches a second drive for another plane. Contributions are seen as highly patriotic, and many people with titles and all that are eager to contribute to show they are "in it to win it."

Postal rates to Malta are raised to limit the amount of mail being sent by air.

HMAS Hobart participating in the evacuation from British Somaliland.

British Somaliland: With the British having evacuated on the 19th, the Italians cautiously occupy Berbera today. HMAS Hobart remains around in the harbor during the day to give the Italians a proper rousing welcome and blow up various items that couldn't be removed to Aden. The Italians have lost roughly 2000 men during the campaign (estimates vary) and the British only 38 dead and 222 other casualties, but the campaign is a huge British embarrassment and a black eye to British prestige despite a competently fought campaign under the circumstances.

Losing to the Italians is particularly galling to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who has been openly and caustically belittling their fighting ability for years. The campaign took only 16 days. Churchill now nurses a grudge against Middle East Commander General Wavell, one of the most highly respected General in the world. Hitler is jubilant, sending Mussolini a message that it is "a great victory in East Africa, a foretaste of British ruin to come at home."

German/Spanish Relations: Abwehr chief Admiral Canaris is back in Madrid seeing if he can get Spanish support for projected Operation Felix, the invasion of Gibraltar.

Front view of the first North American B-25 Mitchell, 40-2165.

US Military: The prototype North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber makes its maiden flight.

Submarine USS R-5, a 1919 submarine decommissioned in 1932, is recommissioned in order to patrol off the Bay of Panama and protect the Canal Zone.

Estonia: The Soviets seize two Estonian submarines (Kalev and Lembit) and some other ships. "Seize" may be too harsh a word, since Estonia is now an SSR and technically part of the Soviet Union. As the Soviets see it, the USSR is merely "seizing" its own assets, or one might say just "transferring" them. However, much of the local population doesn't quite see it that way.

China: Zero fighters (A6M2) have been operational with the 12th Rengo Kōkūtai since July, but they have been used only for training so far. Today, in their first combat mission, a dozen of them (Model 11) escort 54 G3M2 Type 96 "Nell" bombers over Chungking. The Chinese are still using ancient biplane fighters in the defense which are no match for the cutting edge Zeros.

British Homefront: The Children's Overseas Reception Board begins evacuating children to Australia. Heretofore, evacuations were usually to more rural areas of England where parents could visit on the weekends (and also some to Canada), so this is a bit of a wrenching change for many.

American Homefront: The Gallup organization publishes a poll showing that Americans approve of the destroyer-for-bases deal by a 62-38% margin.

Future History: Jill Arlyn Oppenheim is born in Los Angeles, California. Jill becomes a child actress, appearing on the radio as early as 1946 and on television in "A Christmas Carol" in 1949. At some point, her mother changes Jill's last name to something more distinctive, and as Jill St. John she becomes a top Hollywood actress, a Bond girl and marries Robert Wagner. She remains active in the film industry as of this writing.


August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020