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

Monday 18 March 1940

Hitler and Mussolini.

European Air Operations: KG 26 sends bombers over the North Sea on 18 March 1940, looking for targets. They find the Dutch trawler Protinus just off the Dutch coast, near Ijmuiden and bomb and strafe it. The Captain and first mate perish, and the remaining 10 crew abandon ship. They spend 6 days in the lifeboat, during which time two more crew perish, before being spotted by the British submarine HMS Unity.

A German plane crash-lands on the Danish Lolland Island. They are arrested after asking a farmer for food and interned.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler and Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass station on the Austrian/Italian border, their first meeting since Munich. They confer in Mussolini's railway car parked in front of the frontier station for 2.5 hours.

Hitler makes it plain that he is ready to move in the West. Mussolini demurs on a request to join the war now, and suggests that Hitler wait a few months so that Italy can prepare itself, but Hitler refused to alter his plans. Mussolini promises to declare war on France "at the right time." Count Ciano confides to his diary that "The meeting is cordial, but a monologue. Hitler talks all the time, but is less agitated than usual."

Hitler, Mussolini, and Ciano meet at the Brenner Pass, where the Italian dictator agrees to join Germany's war against France and Britain (AP photo).

Battle of the Atlantic: Convoy OA 112 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 112 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 22 forms off Gibraltar, Convoy HX 28 departs from Halifax.

Royal Navy: Destroyer HMS Highlander (Commander William A. Dallmeyer) is commissioned.

British Government: Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir John Simon reports that the recent offering of 3% war bonds had been oversubscribed.

Former Prime Minister David Lloyd George, who knows all the major plays on both sides, takes a cynical attitude toward the current government: "Always too late. Too late for Czechoslovakia, for Poland, now for Finland. We never save them."

US Government: Sumner Welles meets the Pope. Pope Pius XII tells him that Italian public opinion is overwhelmingly against joining the war. However, he adds that if Italy were to join, there would be no rebellions for some time.

Norway: the Norwegian government lodges an official protest in Berlin regarding the recent German air attacks on Norwegian freighter Lysaker.

French Homefront: The French newspapers sharply question Prime Minister Daladier's failure to help Finland sufficiently before it capitulated.

British Homefront: Wartime austerity is wearing off, and women's fashions become elaborate and showy to match the improving mood. In London, a woman is fined £75 for "hoarding" after buying 140 weeks' ration of sugar. She drives away from court in a Rolls-Royce.

Pan Am Boeing S-307 Clipper Flying Cloud on March 18, 1940.

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

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