Wednesday 9 October 1940

Start of the workday, 9 October 1940.

Battle of Britain: Weather is poor on 9 October 1940, preventing major operations. As on the 8th, there are mostly small raids that don't accomplish much, with one major raid in the afternoon. There is a lot of damage, but by this time, bad as it is, the bombing is becoming almost routine.

Early in the morning, a bomber scores a strike on St. Paul's Cathedral. It damages the High Altar. Later in the morning, around 11:00, a moderate-sized raid of 20-30 planes reaches south London. The fighter-bombers (Jabos) fly high, as usual, and elude interception. Another raid of around 35 aircraft around the same time targets Gravesend, Hornchurch, and Canewdon. Other raids of about the same size hit Maidstone and Dover.

After lunch, at 13:00, some Heinkel He 111s attack a convoy of Land's End, but RAF No. 601 Squadron intercepts and shoots two of the bombers down. At 14:30, the day's main raid of about 175 aircraft crosses to hit East London. This formation includes Junkers Ju 88s and causes appreciable damage. Major dogfights break out over the Thames Estuary and points east. Damage is scattered, with many private residences taking damage.

Right before sunset, at 18:53, a Jabo attack on Solent Naval Air Station causes little damage. About half an hour later, the Luftwaffe attacks Yeovilton Naval Air Station, but the damage is slight. A little later, attacks are made on St Merryn Naval Air Station, which damages a Swordfish and a Proctor aircraft.

After dark, London is the main bomber target. The attacks begin around 19:00 and are of moderate intensity. Aside from London, the usual targets of Liverpool, Manchester, and Derby are hit. The Luftwaffe drops 386 tons of High Explosive bombs on London and 70,000 one kg bombs. The Luftwaffe also drops mines all along the English Channel shoreline.

Losses for the day are light, with the RAF losing only three planes and the Luftwaffe 9.

Oblt. Hans-Ekkehard Bob from 7./JG 54  makes two claims, both Spitfires.

Hawker Hurricanes, RAF No. 85 Squadron, October 1940.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks oil installations at Hamburg and various targets in Holland (Texel Airfield, Helder) and France (Le Havre) during the day. After dark, it launches an oil installation at Cologne, a Krupp factory in Essen, and various Channel ports.

A Whitley of RAF No. 77 Squadron returning from a raid over Germany during the night flies into high ground west of Snape while returning. Midshipman D. A. C. Hadingham perishes.

RAF Coastal Command chips in with an attack on the port of Brest, causing minor damage to destroyers Eckholdt, Lody, and Riedel. The RAF loses one Albacore biplane, the crew becoming POWs.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-103 (KrvKpt. Viktor Schütze), on her first patrol and having entered the Atlantic between the Faroe and the Shetland Islands, has a big day. During the morning, the lookout spots Convoy SC 6 about 37 miles north-northwest of Rockall and Schütze goes to work. After stalking the convoy all day, he shoots three torpedoes at 22:11 and makes three hits.

U-103 torpedoes and sinks 3816 ton Greek freighter Delphin. Everybody survives.

U-103 torpedoes and sinks 4407 ton Greek freighter Zannes Gounaris, which is carrying a cargo of phosphate rock. One crewman perishes.

U-103 also torpedoes and badly damages 3697-ton British freighter Graigwen (Master Daniel Wright Fowle). After putting a torpedo into it at 22:11, the crew abandoned the ship. U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle) sees the drifting hulk on 10 October at 21:33 and finishes it off with a torpedo. There are 27 survivors and 7 crew perish. The survivors are picked up by HMS Enchantress.

After this engagement, the convoy escorts depth-charge U-103, but it escapes.

Royal Navy 321 ton minesweeper (former fishing trawler) HMT Sea King (Acting Temporary Skipper T. Sleeth RNR) hits a mine and sinks in the Humber Estuary about 28 nautical miles off Bull Sand Fort, Grimsby. All 14 crew perish.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 633-ton British collier Alderney Queen off Grassholm Island in the Bristol Channel. Everybody aboard survives.

The weather in the North Sea is poor, and Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Furious is forced to abandon a planned strike on Bodo after leaving Scapa Flow.

Convoy OB 226 departs Liverpool, Convoy FN 304 departs from Southend, Convoy HG 45 (49 ships and carrying 1093 civilians on troopship Neuralgia) departs from Gibraltar.

German raider (AMC) Kormoran is commissioned.

Hermann Goering on an inspection tour in France, September/October 1940 (Dreesen, Federal Archives).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Free French under General Charles de Gaulle invade and capture Duala in Cameroon. This establishes Free French control over the colony, from which de Gaulle hopes to launch air raids against Italian positions to the north and east. De Gaulle himself arrives aboard Free French minesweeper Commandant Duboc.

Both the Royal Navy fleet based at Alexandria and elements of the Italian fleet based at Taranto are at sea, but they don't spot each other. Aerial reconnaissance from Malta, though, spots Italian ships at sea near Taranto. The reconnaissance establishes that the Italians have five battleships there.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regent torpedoes the 6968-ton Italian transport Antonietta Costa off Durrës, Albania.  The freighter manages to make it close enough to shore - about 10 miles - to run aground, but it is a total loss.

The RAF attacks Tobruk Harbor. There is some skirmishing south of Buna in East Africa that results in some Italian casualties.

Italian destroyers Vivaldi, Da Noli, and Tarigo lay mines south of Malta.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie requests permission to implement a bonus system for the fast construction of shelters.

German/Romanian Relations: German troops continue entering Romania with that government's permission in order to secure the Ploesti oil fields and other key points. The oil fields are a major preoccupation of Adolf Hitler and are the real reason for this "invasion," which ostensibly is to train the Romanian Army (which doesn't really need any training). While the Soviet Union looms nearby, Hitler is more worried at this point by British sabotage.

The New York Times reports the end of the World Series.

Anglo/Canadian Relations: Continuing the cozy relationship between Great Britain and North America, the British purchasing mission places initial orders for 20 10,000 ton freighters. This order eventually expands to 26 ships.

British Government: In a quirk of British politics, Prime Minister Winston Churchill has not been the leader of the Conservative Party - that honor has belonged to Neville Chamberlain. Today, with the "retirement" of Chamberlain recently due to illness, that is rectified and Churchill formally becomes the leader of the party. While not well-liked within the party, for better or worse he has become the face of the Conservatives and of the war effort in general.

Holland: The Germans ban Jews and half-Jews from public employment.

Future History: John Winston Lennon is born at Liverpool Maternity Hospital to Julia and Alfred Lennon. Alfred is a merchant seaman and is not present. John Lennon becomes a happy-go-lucky schoolboy in the 1950s, gets a guitar from his mother in 1956 and goes to art school. He forms a skiffle/rock and roll group called the Quarrymen in 1956 and meets younger student Paul McCartney on 6 July 1957. They team up with McCartney's even younger friend George Harrison and Lennon's old pal Stuart Sutcliffe from art school (from which Lennon flunks out). In early 1960, they rename the group "The Beatles," and in August/September perform in Hamburg. They continue these German gigs into 1962, when Brian Epstein, the son of a local record store owner, becomes their manager and starts them on a path to recording their music. Ringo Starr, a local but well-known Liverpool drummer, now joins the group to replace the first drummer, Pete Best. Sutcliffe passes away around this time, leaving the lineup of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr.

The Beatles release their first single, "Love Me Do," in October 1962, and finds middling success (on its initial release). After recording their first album, Please Please Me, in February 1963, which contains 8 songs written by Lennon and McCartney, the group begins to get mainstream success. The movie "A Hard Day's Night" in 1964 causes the group to explode in popularity, and an appearance in New York on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in February 1964 cements their international fame. The group, always led by Lennon and McCartney, goes on to become the most successful act in pop music history, with songs reaching the charts decades after the Beatles' breakup in early 1970. John Lennon goes on to solo success as a singer and songwriter but is assassinated by a crazed fan on 8 December 1980.

John Winston Lennon.

October 1940

October 1, 1940: Wait Daddy October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020

Monday 7 October 1940

A sentry in Southern England. 7 October 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather is good on 7 October 1940 after a long stretch of clouds and rain, and the Luftwaffe gets busy. Daylight raids have become increasingly unprofitable, but they are essential to "keep the RAF honest" and prevent it from building an overwhelming force of fighters which might make an invasion impossible in 1941, too. While there apparently is no official order to change tactics, the Luftwaffe resumes including medium bombers in its daylight attacks.

Things get started at 10:30, when the Luftwaffe mounts a large raid of 127 aircraft, including Dornier Do 17s that appear after the initial formation composed solely of Bf 109s and 110s. The RAF intercepts, led by the elite No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, but some of the bombers penetrate to East London. The German escort fighters have some success, but most of the bombers are turned back.

Around 12:30, another formation of similar size crosses at Dover. Some medium Junkers Ju 88 bombers are escorted rather than just fighter-bombers (Jabos). Fighter Command disrupts the formation, turning most of the bombers back after they drop their bombs (and cause some random damage). The London dockyards are hit, starting fires at Rotherhithe and Tidal Basin

Another mixed formation of bombers and fighters approaches around 14:00. Once again, London is the target, particularly the nearby airfields. Strong Fighter Command opposition blunts the attack, and there are massive dogfights.

The day's fourth attack, at 16:00, targets primarily areas along the southern coast and slightly inland. At Yeovil, the Wrestland factory is hit, as is Portland Harbour and areas in Dorset. Government House and a furniture warehouse are hit and burn.

At the same time, a raid approaches against Kent and Sussex. This raid is entirely by fighters and Jabos, focusing on Thames River docks. Large fires start in several areas.

After dark, London is the main target. Other areas hit include Liverpool, Newcastle, South Wales, and the Bristol area, East Anglia Montrose, Sunderland and scattered areas in the Midlands. The railways at Sedgefield and Mill Hill East are disrupted.

Overall, it is a fairly even day. The Luftwaffe loses about 20 planes and the RAF a few less. In a way, it is one of the better days for the Luftwaffe, because previous daylight bombing raids using regular bombers usually resulted in much heavier losses. In fact, on a relative damage basis, the larger and more precise bombing made probably more than compensated for losing a few planes more than the RAF, so if you are scoring the battle, I would put this into the "Luftwaffe" column.

Major Bernd von Brauchitsch, Reichsmarschall Goering's adjutant, presents the Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz) to Wolfgang Falck. Falck, for his part, breaks protocol afterward and complains (to General Milch) that pensions are not being awarded to the families of new (less than 10 years service) Luftwaffe men who have perished in action. This group, of course, covers virtually all Luftwaffe personnel.

Viktor Mölders, brother of leading scorer Werner, is shot down and captured. After his force-landing, the plane is repaired and joins the RAF's "Ratwaffe."

Lt. Erich Meyer, 2./JG 51, is shot down over the Channel and also becomes a POW. His plane is recovered in 1976 and restored.

Luftwaffe ace Oblt. Josef "Pips" Priller of 6,/JG 51 shoots down a Spitfire near Canterbury and another later in the day over the Thames.

Acting RAF No. 605 Squadron Leader "Archie" McKellar claims five Bf109Es during the day. Ace James Lacey also puts in a claim.

Major Gotthard Handrick moves from JG 26 to become Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 52 after the loss of Hptm. Wolf-Heinrich von Houwald.

Daily Mail, 7 October 1940.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command targets the barges still in Dutch and French ports. It also attacks Berlin power stations again, the coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez, an aircraft factory in Amsterdam, and the U-boat base at Lorient. While not large by late-war standards, the Berlin raid is the largest of the war so far. The RAF's bomber force continues to gradually expand, and tonight it uses 140 planes.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a fairly quiet day at sea. However, the U-boat fleet is active.

U-59 (Kptl. Joachim Matz), on her eighth patrol and operating out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5811-ton Norwegian freighter Touraine about 50 miles west of Ireland. The Touraine is a straggler from Convoy OB 225, and it is a tortuous sinking. The first torpedo hits at 16:01, but the ship remains afloat and the U-boat fires two more at 19:25 and 19:32 - but they both miss. An hour later, at 20:41, hits, but the ship stubbornly refuses to go down right away. Finally, at 21:59, it goes down. All but one of the 35 crew on board survive, some picked up by British freighter Derbyshire, others making land in their lifeboats after several days. The lone casualty is the cook, who perishes in the hospital from exposure.

U-37 (Kptlt. Victor Oehrn) finishes off 6989-ton British tanker British General with two more torpedoes at 20:00 after badly damaging it on the 6th. All 47 onboard perish. Many accounts place this sinking on the 6th because that is when U-37 makes its initial attack. The British General had been traveling in Convoy OA 222.

The Royal Navy makes its third try to complete Operation Lucid. This involves "fireships," two old tankers (War Nizam and War African) filled with fuel oil. They are to be taken to Dutch ports and run into shipping there, with the intention of destroying barges assembled there for an invasion. The first attempt was scrubbed when the Nizam had engine troubles, the second due to the weather. On this attempt, escorting destroyer HMS Hambledon hits a mine near Folkestone, causing major damage and requiring it to be towed back to Chatham. Once again, the mission is scrubbed.

Convoy FN 302 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 303 departs from Methil, Convoy OB 225 departs from Liverpool.

Parts of Convoy WS 3 Fast ("Winston Special") loaded with troops for the Middle East depart from Scapa Flow, Liverpool, Londonderry, and the Clyde. It has four troopships, the Georgic, Capetown Castle, Winchester Castle, and Orionsay. The first stop is Freetown.

US destroyer USS Livermore (DD 429, Lt. Commander Vernon Huber) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The echoes of Operation Menace continue. Today, Dutch transport Westernland lands troops near Manoko at the mouth of the Douala River in Cameroon. This is part of General de Gaulle's plan to consolidate Free French possessions in central Africa.

The RAF bombs Aisha, a railway station on the Italian supply line heading from Djibouti to Addis Ababa, Abyssinia.

Italian destroyers lay mines in the Sicilian Straits off Cape Bon.

At Malta, Rome radio is monitored making some false claims about air victories. Otherwise, it is a quiet day with some normal reconnaissance.

By Low, 'The Evening Standard', October 7, 1940.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Operating about 500 northwest of Australia (northwest of Christmas Island), German raider Pinguin spots a ship and closes. The Pinguin fires a warning shot with its 75 mm gun, causing Norwegian tanker Storstad to surrender. The tanker has 12k tons of diesel and 500 tons of heavy fuel oil. Rather than sink it, the Pinguin's Captain, Ernst-Felix Krüder, decides to convert the Storstad into a minelayer. He renames it the Passat and uses 1200 tons of diesel oil to refuel his own ship. The ship is taken to a remote location and loaded with 110 mines. Five of the Storstad's crew switch sides and continue to serve aboard it, while 30 others become POWs.

German/Romanian Relations: With the Romanian government's permission, German troops move from Hungary to Romania. The expressed purpose is to help re-train the Romanian Army. They garrison Ploiești, home to Romania's oil fields. The oil is a major priority for Hitler throughout the war and plays a much larger role in the overall German strategy than many realize. Hitler is concerned about the Soviets seizing the oil, which fuels the Wehrmacht, and is one of the main reasons he gives during his June 1942 meeting with Marshal Mannerheim in Finland for Operation Barbarossa. He says then that he has had "nightmares of the oil fields burning out of control."

US/Latin American Relations: Heavy cruiser USS Louisville makes port at Recife, Brazil as part of a "Show the Flag" mission in Latin America. This is but the latest in a series of such efforts.

US/Japanese Relations: The Japanese ambassador protests the US embargo on strategic materials, including oil.

US Military: Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum, director of the Office of Naval Intelligence's Far East Asia section, submits the "Eight Action Memo" to Navy Captains Dudley Knox and Walter Stratton Anderson. It proposes:

1. Make an arrangement with Britain for the use of British bases in the Pacific, particularly Singapore
2. Make an arrangement with the Netherlands for the use of base facilities and acquisition of supplies in the Dutch East Indies
3. Give all possible aid to the Chinese government of Chiang-Kai-Shek
4. Send a division of long-range heavy cruisers to the Orient, Philippines, or Singapore
5. Send two divisions of submarines to the Orient
6. Keep the main strength of the U.S. fleet now in the Pacific[,] in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands
7. Insist that the Dutch refuse to grant Japanese demands for undue economic concessions, particularly oil
8. Completely embargo all U.S. trade with Japan, in collaboration with a similar embargo imposed by the British Empire

Beyond some general suggestions regarding military preparedness with other Allied Pacific rim nations, the "McCollum Memorandum" is notorious for its suggestion that the US intentionally provoke the Empire of Japan into making a hostile act of war - so it can be attacked and subdued once and for all. This memo becomes a cornerstone of later conspiracy theories that President Roosevelt manipulated Japan into the Pearl Harbor raid, but Roosevelt had nothing to do with it (as far as is known). It is "the smoking gun" showing that the US manufactured its entry into World War II out of whole cloth.

The McCollum Memo and its interpretation/use are quite controversial topics. There are no clear answers on what effect, if any, it may have had on US strategy. Possibilities - refuted by some major historians - are that it either gave the US military some ideas about provoking Japan into war or perhaps just reflected thinking common in the Navy at the time. However, the McCollum Memo undeniably did exist and any evidence of its influence or lack thereof is entirely circumstantial. In other words: we just don't know what it really means in terms of later historical events.

Besides the entirely coincidental McCollum Memo and the Japanese protest previously mentioned, there is a third related development in the Pacific Theater. Admiral James O. Richardson, Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (CinCUS), arrives in DC for conferences with President Roosevelt and others. The topic is the stationing of the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. Richardson is the key military figure who thinks that Hawaii is unsuited to being the base of the US Pacific Fleet. He considers the Pearl Harbor base to be underdeveloped and vulnerable. For those looking for subtle coincidences in history, today is a good start.

German Military: Reinhard Gehlen, a liaison officer to Army Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, transfers over to an operations planning post on the staff of Army Chief of Staff General Franz Halder. Gehlen is heading for a key intelligence position in the planning and execution of Operation Barbarossa. Gehlen also is considered to be a legendary figure in the post-war West German Bundeswehr. He definitely is a key player in the shadowy spy business both during the war and afterward.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller uses a fancy home movie camera at Crosley Field in Cincinnati during the World Series, The Reds take the game against the Tigers 4-0, to even the series at 3 games apiece. 7 October 1940.

British Military: The RAF forms a top-secret electronic warfare unit, the No. 80 (Signals) Wing. This unit will develop tactics such as developing devices to hone in on German radar installations.

Salvage efforts become consolidated in the No. 43 Group RAF (Maintenance), known as No. 43 Group Salvage and based at Cowley.

Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt, military commander of France, takes in a tour at the Louvre given by curator Alfred Merlin. They are discussing the Venus de Milo. October 7, 1940 (Ang, Federal Archives).

Vichy France: All Jews must now register with the authorities in German-occupied areas.

British Homefront: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill regularly receives reports on civilian morale. These reports are derived from postal inspectors secretly opening mail and reviewing the contents. Today, he orders that the latest report on "Home Opinion – As Shewn in the Mails to USA and Eire" be circulated to the entire War Cabinet. The report finds that:

Morale is highest in London, but the provinces run a good second, and only a few letters from Liverpool, mostly from Irish writers, show any sign of panic.

What is most interesting about this report - and possibly the reason that Churchill finds it particularly significant - is that it shows that, exactly one month after the beginning of the bombing of London, morale there is higher than elsewhere in the country. This, of course, is exactly the opposite of many pre-war theorists claimed might be the case.

American Homefront: Soap opera "Portia Faces Life" debuts on the NBC Red Network (radio), which eventually becomes the foundation of NBC-TV. The soap is an instant success.

"Drums of the Desert" is released by Monogram Pictures, starring Ralph Byrd, Lorna Gray, and George Lynn. The film is interesting because, despite current developments in Africa, the film completely ignores them and instead concentrates on a plot involving the French Foreign Legion fighting Arabs. It illustrates the degree of distance between the US and the war very much in progress in Africa, particularly since much more interesting current real events are taking place in the film's locale than some contrived boilerplate plot.

Artie Shaw and his orchestra record "Star Dust" in a version arranged by Shaw and Lenny Hayton, and recorded for Victor on 7 October 1940. The trumpet solo is played by Billy Butterfield (2nd Trumpet), with a trombone solo by Jack Jenny. The song, written in 1927 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics added in 1929 by Mitchell Parish, will become an American standard and one of the most recorded songs in history, with over 1500 versions. In 2004, Carmichael's original 1927 recording of the song was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. Shaw's version of Star Dust is the best known and if you are going to listen to an "original version," the one you are likely to choose.  Incidentally, "Star Dust" is the actual title, though over time it has been corrupted to Stardust. The song helps summarize the era in Woody Allen's 1980 film "Stardust Memories," though Allen uses a Louis Armstrong version and technically the "Stardust" in the title refers to a fictional hotel.

October 1940

October 1, 1940: Wait Daddy
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020

Friday 4 October 1940

Bombs dropping on Tillbury, England. This port is the source of London's food supply. The bomb cluster on the left will hit ships, the second to the right will hit the docks. 4 October 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather remains lousy on 4 October 1940, and air operations remain minimal. In any event, given the pattern of the battle so far, this probably would have been an "off" day for the Luftwaffe anyway, which has alternated periods of attacks and quieter days since June.

RAF Fighter Command, for its part, is focusing on developing more lead-time for its fighters. These measures, championed by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, include a new reconnaissance squadron based at Gravesend. The new guidelines are that Spitfires are to assemble at 25,000 feet and Hurricanes at 20,000 feet before embarking on patrol.

The new pattern of using primarily fighter-bombers by day and regular bombers by night continues, but especially on days like this with heavy clouds and rains, the Luftwaffe does sneak a fair number of Junkers Ju 88s, Dornier Do 17s and Heinkel He 111s into the mix.

The morning is occupied with lone bombers seeking out specific targets. Some hit London, others various other targets in the southeast. Among the areas hit are RAF Penrhos, which destroys some buildings, and Fairlight (home of the Air Ministry). Some bombers are intercepted at sea before they can even make land.

Around 13:00, the Luftwaffe sends over some Bf 109E-7 Jabos (fighter-bombers) and Bf 110s. This is the first organized raid, but does not accomplish much in the muck.

Another raid at 17:00 crosses the coast apparently heading for London. A timely interception by RAF No. 605 Squadron Hurricanes, though, sends them running.

The weather clears up a bit after dark, just in time for the Luftwaffe to get to its main task, the bombing of English cities. Airfields around Abbeville send out a steady stream of bombers beginning around 19:00. The aircraft are in parade formation, regularly spaced in true Germanic precision. These raids last for about two hours and all head for London, which is fairly easy to find even in the poor weather conditions. Southwest and Northwest London take the brunt of the attack, with some bombers hitting the RAF stations at North Weald and Debden. The most significant damage to infrastructure is at the Hawkers Aircraft Factory at Kingston, the New Cross Telephone Exchange, and the railroad track near Crews Hill Station. This last attack stops all rail traffic on the line in both directions for a while.

The Luftwaffe also mines all along the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts.

Losses are light today. The Luftwaffe loses about 10 planes, the RAF about 3.

Squadron Leader M. Lister Robinson, DSO, DFC, becomes commanding officer of RAF No. 609 Squadron.

Hauptmann Walter Adolph becomes Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 26.

A Wehrmacht man enjoying wine and some artichokes. This is why France is one of the most sought-after billets in the German Army. Dieppe, 4 October 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy once again tries to implement Operation Lucid, the fireship attack on Channel ports. Once again, creaking old tankers Nizam and War African, loaded with volatile fuel oil, diesel oil, and petrol, head across the Channel. The previous time the Royal Navy attempted this, the Nizam broke down within sight of the target. This time, a massive force of 11 destroyers, 6 minesweepers and various torpedo boats escorts the tankers toward France. However, this time it is the weather that does not cooperate (the tankers are barely seaworthy), and once again the operation is scrubbed.

British paper mill tug HT Sirdar hits a mine and sinks in The Swale near Kent. Some accounts state that the Luftwaffe sank it, but an oral history by local Keith Chisman states that it hit a mine, with the loss of all three crew. The Luftwaffe story is unlikely due to the foul weather, but memories can be shaky 70 years later, too.

Convoys OA 224 and FS 300 depart from Methil, Convoy FN 299 departs from Southend, Convoy HX 78 departs from Halifax.

British patrol ship HMCS Otter is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Due to the foul weather in the Atlantic, all of the action at sea today is in the Mediterranean for a change - where the weather also is cloudy and rainy. It is a very mixed day for British submarines in the Mediterranean. Despite some successes, it is a sad day for the Royal Navy's Mediterranean fleet.

British submarine HMS Rainbow (Lt. Colonel Moore), operating in the Adriatic 20 miles north of Brindisi, gets too close to 6860-ton Italian freighter Antonietta Costa, which is on a supply run to Durazzo. The sub is rammed and sunk, with all 55 crew perishing. This is a very rare instance of a freighter "evening the score" with the submarines that terrorize them.

British submarine HMS Triton approaches Genoa and uses its deck gun to get in some target practice and shell Savona and Vado Ligure. During this action, it sinks passing 1854 ton Italian passenger ship Franca Fassio about 30 km off Capo Noli, Liguria (Vado Roads, Gulf of Genoa).

British submarine HMS Tetrarch is operating in the same general area as Triton and attacks another (unknown) Italian freighter, but misses.

British submarine Rorqual lays mines off neutral Portugal.

At Lisbon, British troopship Neuralia takes off various refugees and Polish troops who failed to escape over the summer. The troopship makes it back to Gibraltar escorted by destroyer Wishart - which is only a marginally better location for the people aboard, and perhaps worse.

Italian 2180 ton freighter Nina Bianchi collides with fellow freighter Veloce near Brindisi. The Nina Bianchi sinks.

The RAF sends raids against railway infrastructure serving Italian bases in Eritrea and Abyssinia (Ethiopia).

Force H, which participated in Operation H, returns to Gibraltar.

At Malta, there is a sustained Italian air raid shortly after 10:00. The formation is composed of fighters, and the defending Hurricanes only rise to defend when they attack Luqa and Hal Far airfields. The Italians lose one Macchi C.200 Saetta ("Arrow") and the pilot perishes.

Hitler and Mussolini exchange a few last words through the window of his Führersonderzug "Amerika."

German/Italian Relations: Hitler and Mussolini meet in the Brenner Pass, which is convenient for their command trains. They talk for three hours. The main subject apparently is new plans in the Mediterranean, as the Germans have given up on Operation Sealion. This pleases Mussolini militarily because his priority always is the "Italian Lake." However, there may be more to Mussolini's good humor than merely a convenient military decision. Foreign Minister Count Ciano confides to his diary that Mussolini appears to be delighted by this setback for the Germans, happier than at almost any other time. This is an attitude that Mussolini reprises throughout the war even as it can't be good news for himself personally in the long run.

However, Hitler also is in an expansive mood and declares "The war is won" - which somewhat contradicts the topic of the conference, to change the Axis' focus away from the country that he cannot defeat, Great Britain, to the Mediterranean. Hitler states that the British people are about to "crack" - a constant refrain of his about his accumulating enemies throughout the conflict.

Hitler offers his support for Italy's (now stalled) drive into Egypt. Mussolini, however, indicates that he doesn't need the help yet, perhaps during the final drive into Alexandria and Cairo. Mussolini still sees his armed forces as capable of defeating Allied resistance and Italy being an equal partner in the relationship. Perhaps Mussolini feels it would be a slight to Italian prestige to require German help. This is one of Mussolini's quirks - perhaps fantasies is a better word - that leads him into a lot of difficulties and actual loss of prestige.

Another major issue at this conference is France. Hitler wants to upgrade Vichy France to virtually a full partner in the war. Mussolini, however, adamantly opposes any French rearmament, perhaps because he has his eyes cast in a completely different direction. France recently has shown its potential value in the successful defense of Dakar against Charles de Gaulle's and the Royal Navy's Operation Menace, and Hitler wants to build upon that. Vichy France occupies vast overseas dominions such as Madagascar and could be a big help to the Axis. The outcome of the discussion on this point is unclear, but Hitler seems to have succeeded in keeping Mussolini from interfering with his plans for Vichy France.

What is most significant about this meeting is what is not said. Hitler does not bring up Operation Barbarossa - which is consuming Wehrmacht planning. Mussolini also (apparently) does not mention that he also has plans of his own. These involve perennial Italian nemesis Greece, Italy's ancient enemy stretching back before even Roman times. Mussolini has a springboard against Greece in Albania - the traditional European route of the Middle Ages to attack Constantinople/Istanbul - and he intends to use it, and soon. In Mussolini's defense, these meetings according to accounts of other meetings usually turn into Hitler monologues, with Mussolini probably trying to stay awake in a comfortable chair.

Little is known about this meeting, and there are some subtle indications that maybe the topic of an Italian invasion of Greece did come up, at least tangentially. It is known that Mussolini speaks at the meeting with contempt of Greek "double-dealing," but Hitler may not "take the hint." Hitler's later reaction to the Italian invasion suggests that this meeting at least did not bring him completely on board. Immediately after this meeting, Mussolini quickly gives up plans to invade Yugoslavia as well - which is almost always overlooked by historians - so Hitler and Mussolini may have made some kind of deal on that score.

Back in Berlin, one of the Foreign Ministry's tasks is to brief neutral governments (such as the United States) about what is going on with things like the Mussolini/Hitler meeting. A spokesman says that the discussion at the Brenner Pass was about reaching a peace deal with Great Britain - which is far-fetched because Great Britain would need to be interested, or at least consulted, and it isn't. The Italian newspaper Il Popolo di Roma harps on the fact a German invasion of Great Britain is impossible in 1940. There is always an underlying resentment during World War II of the Italians at their military domination by the Germans, who in the 1920s were seen as little more than beggars across the Alps.

Cole sorghum mill near Camden, Tennessee, October 4, 1940. This sorghum mill belongs to John Cole, located about 5-6 miles south of Camden, Tennessee on Highway 69. Nelson Cole, grandson of John Cole, reports that the individuals in the photograph are Pauline Hargis, Rural Cole (son of John Cole), Fay Howe, Johnell Moore, Reba Nell Pace, and Harold Cole. Two mules are visible, "Bigun" and "Littleun." Department of Conservation Photograph Collection, Courtesy of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, TN (USA).

Anglo/US Relations: Churchill sends a message to President Roosevelt requesting a US naval presence in Singapore.
British Government: The re-shuffling of government and military posts that began on the 3rd continues. Sir Charles Portal takes over as British Chief of Air Staff from Sir Cyril Newall, who becomes Governor-General of New Zealand. This change is effective on 24 October 1940. Sir Richard Peirse takes over at RAF Bomber Command.

Free France: Charles de Gaulle (still referred to as a "General," but in fact no longer a member of any army) arrives in Douala, French Cameroon. His arrival fits into grand British strategy to wrest all of Africa from the Axis by picking off the low-hanging fruit first. While an overlooked part of World War II, control of central and southern Africa is of immense importance for many reasons, not least the ability it gives to extend the range and scope of U-boat and Luftwaffe operations against vulnerable British supply routes.

PM Weekly Magazine, 4 October 1940.

Vichy France: The Petain/Laval government continues the persecution of communists that has lasted ever since the first days of the German invasion and arrests communists in Paris.

China: The Japanese launch a typical raid by 27 G3M bombers escorted by 8 A6M Zero fighters against Chengdu, Sichuan. Half a dozen Nationalist Hawk 75 fighters intercept. The Zeros once again demonstrate their superiority and destroy three of the Hawks.

The Nationalists at Huangqiao attack the communist Chinese New 4th Army forces which have been advancing along the Yangtze. The communists struggle to hold the town.

American Homeland: "Knute Rockne, All American" premieres at four separate venues in South Bend, Indiana, the home of Rockne's alma mater, Notre Dame. The film stars Pat O'Brien and Ronald Reagan. Ticket prices range from $1.10 to $1.65 for reserved seating on the main floor (about $23 today).

Boxer Fritzie Zivic beats Henry Armstrong for the world welterweight title at Madison Square Garden.

Future History: Barbara-Maria "Barbi" Henneberger is born in Oberstaufen, Bavaria. Germany. She becomes a top alpine skier who competes in the 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympics, winning the bronze medal in the Slalom in the former. She perishes in an avalanche accident not long after the latter Olympics.

The War Illustrated magazine, 4 October 1940. One of the reasons we have so many excellent photographs of World War II is that picture magazines were in vogue in the 1940s, much more so than today when television and other media has lessened their importance.

October 1940

October 1, 1940: Wait Daddy October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020

Wednesday 2 October 1940

The crew of an RAF No. 83 Squadron Hampden exit the aircraft "after a successful night's work over Germany," Scampton, 2 October 1940.

Battle of Britain: The Luftwaffe continues on 2 October 1940 its new and improved tactic of using "Jabo" fighter-bombers to entice the RAF up to the battle. The tactics work reasonably well, and Luftwaffe losses have declined drastically since true bombers were restricted to night operations. The RAF has difficulty intercepting these raids because Jabos fly higher and faster than the medium bombers, and also can get back to France quicker, providing fewer attack possibilities. On the downside for the Luftwaffe, the Jabos carry fewer bombs that can cause less damage (though they can aim more accurately under some circumstances), and the pilots have a pronounced tendency to jettison their bombs randomly whenever confronted by interceptors.

It is a cloudy, rainy day, giving the attacks some much-needed cover. The raids start early today, heading for London and nearby airfields such as RAF Biggin Hill around 07:15. RAF Penrhos (Gwynedd in Wales) takes a beating, with numerous ancillary buildings destroyed.

The first major attack starts to form at 08:30. when the Luftwaffe assembles a mixed formation of bombers, Jabos and fighters above Calais and sends it against London. RAF Fighter Command intercepts with 8 squadrons when they approach London. More formations follow, with the first group heading for central London and following formations branching off to surrounding areas. Some ancillary formations cross at different locations, creating a confusing picture for the RAF. The bombers generally reach their targets, and there are massive dogfights which result in few losses given the good cloud-cover.

A smaller raid crosses shortly before noon in the Maidstone area. This is a hit-and-run raid that bombs the coast there, but a larger, following formation heads for RAF Biggin Hill, RAF Lympne, and RAF Kenley and also east London and causing moderate damage.

After the by-now standard break for lunchtime, the Luftwaffe returns with moderate-sized (a few dozen aircraft) raids at 13:30 heading for the same Biggin Hill/Kenley/east London areas targeted during the morning. Once again, there are many ancillary raids of much smaller formations bombing other targets in East Kent such as  Camberwell and Sheppey.

Hurricane pilot and ground staff inspect the oxygen supply, October 1940. The mechanics back at base get no recognition, but the pilots knew who the real heroes of the Battle of Britain were.

Another large raid occurs around 16:30. This time, there is a large component of Heinkel He 111s amongst the 75 Luftwaffe planes. They target the same areas as in the earlier raids. Fighter Command, as one might expect, has better luck with the slow bombers than it had with the Jabos in the earlier raids.

Around dusk at 19:30, the Luftwaffe attacks a convoy off Peterhead with Heinkel He 115s, which have some luck (mentioned below). Fighter Command shoots down one Heinkel and damages another.

After dark, 180 Luftwaffe bombers queue up over London, Newcastle, Manchester, northwest Scotland and the Midlands. The raids are largely over by 01:00, much earlier than during September. The Luftwaffe also mines the Humber and the Thames Estuary. Overall, it is a fairly quiet night as these things have gone since the start of the Blitz on 7 September.

Losses are moderate, with the Luftwaffe losing about ten planes (half bombers, the rest Bf 109s) and the RAF apparently only one. The Luftwaffe's mix of fighters lost to bombers is "improving" in the sense that fewer bomber crews are being lost, though at the expense of more elite fighter pilots lost. Given the fact that there were bombers in only one moderate-sized raid throughout the raid, the attack around 16:30, a disproportionately high five Luftwaffe bomber losses just underscores how vulnerable they have become to the increasingly experienced and aggressive RAF fighter pilots.

For its part, the RAF is getting many more interceptors in the air at night - this time about 33 planes - but they remain singularly unsuccessful at intercepting the lumbering Luftwaffe bombers. The slow, largely unprotected Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 88s, and Dornier Do 17s still can conduct their operations virtually unmolested after dark aside from anti-aircraft fire (admittedly extremely intense over the London Inner Artillery Zone).

During the morning dogfights, some pilots of JG 53 claim to have a big day. Lt. Eric Schmidt and Uffz. Robert Wolfgarten, both from 9./JG 53, combine for claims of four Spitfires. RAF records, though, only report the loss of one plane during the day, so there was some, ah, German confusion over England.

An unusual incident happens in the morning when the crew of a meteorological/reconnaissance Junkers Ju 88 bomber - still a new entrant on the scene - gets disoriented. After departing Amsterdam Schiphol at 03:00, it wanders about in the dark, cloudy night and mistakes England for France (hey, it happens a lot during the war). Landing at 06:30, the RAF gets a perfectly good new plane for its "Ratwaffe," the British collection of intact captured aircraft.

Bessie Knight-Hepburn, pictured at right, and Mrs. Clarke (left) become the first women to receive the George Medal for civilian bravery at the hand of King George V. Mrs. Clarke drove an ambulance that carried Mrs. Hepburn to a minefield, which they crossed at great hazard to themselves in an attempt to help two badly wounded men (both ultimately perish). Their medals were exhibited at the Moot Hall Museum at Aldeburgh for many years.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command targets oil installations at Bottrop in the Ruhr, Stettin and Hamburg, Hamm, Cologne warehouses, the Essen Krupp factory, and several major ports (Flushing, Antwerp, Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and other invasion ports along the Channel). The bomber lands at Brightlingsea, Essex

Battle of the Atlantic: U-32 (Kplt. Hans Jenisch) torpedoes and sinks 4606-ton British freighter Kayeson along the trade routes 400 or so miles west of Ireland at 18:25. All 38 onboard are seen by the U-boat to abandon ship, but none are ever seen again - Captain Jenisch notes high swells. The U-boat accidentally collides with the Kayeson's rudder and sustains damage and, since it is now out of torpedoes, heads for home. This is one of several incidents around this time when entire crews mysteriously disappear in the mid-Atlantic.

The Luftwaffe Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condors of 2,/KG 40 attack Convoy HG 44 a few miles west of County Kerry, Ireland. Oberleutnant Schlosser hits 2218 ton British freighter Latymer with a 250kg bomb and sinks it. There is some confusion about this sinking because the wreck site is west of Ireland, but she was heading from Lisbon to London and that was far out of her way. The ship may have been re-routed, but sending it clear around Ireland seems kind of odd. There was at least one fatality for this sinking, a seaman listed on the Plaques All Wars Seamen's Mission in South Shields (currently on the staircase).

RAF No. 801 Squadron based at Hatson bombs German shipping at Bjorne Fjord and lose a Skua, the two airmen perish.

The Luftwaffe attacks Convoy HX 74 off Scotland in the North Sea, but they cause no damage. However, in another attack off Peterhead against Convoy HX 74A, they damage freighter Trehata.

Convoy FN 297 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 298 departs from Methil.

U-144 (Kptl. Friedrich von Hippel) is commissioned.

The Curtiss SO3C Seamew developed by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in a wind tunnel, October 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy destroyers HMS Havock and Hasty find and depth charge Italian submarine Berillo for two hours while returning to Alexandria after the Malta convoy. The sub surfaces after being heavily damaged and all 45 onboard are taken as prisoners.

The Royal Navy fleet returns to Alexandria after its successful resupply mission to Malta.

Cruisers HMS Orion and Sydney attack the Italian base at the port of Maltezana on Stampalia (Astypalaia).

The Malta command, realizing how easy it is to confuse Royal Navy submarines and Italian ones (there are no U-boats in the Mediterranean at this time), develops a new protocol. Coastal batteries from now on will be given a stand-down order when Royal Navy submarines are known to be in the vicinity. The first such stand-down order (called "submarine sanctuary" orders, which is somewhat misleading) are issued today for the anticipated arrival of HMS Truant. Meanwhile, the infantry and artillery units on the island continue integrating the troops received in the recent convoy from Alexandria.

Anglo/US Relations: Pursuant to the destroyers-for-bases deal, the USS Mason (DD 191) becomes the HMS Broadwater (H 81, Lt. Commander Charles L. de Hauteville Bell).

The Greenslade Board inspecting the new US bases from that deal arrives at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"ON BOARD ONE OF THE US DESTROYERS RECENTLY TRANSFERRED TO THE ROYAL NAVY. 2 OCTOBER 1940, PLYMOUTH." © IWM (A 1062).

US Military: Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. receives a promotion to temporary brigadier general after well over a decade at the colonel level. Patton is the commander of the 2nd Armored Brigade, part of the 2nd Armored Division, and is in charge of training. Patton is one of the few US Army officers with actual experience leading tanks in combat during World War I and is a key figure in one of the very few armored formations in the US Army.

Holocaust: Adolf Hitler meets in Berlin with Hans Frank, the Gauleiter in Occupied Poland. He sets forth his views about the Poles (notes of the meeting by Martin Bormann):

The General Gouvernment is our work force reservoir for low-grade work (brick plants, road building, etc.) ... Unconditionally, attention should be paid to the fact that there can be no "Polish masters"; where there are Polish masters, and I do not care how hard this sounds, they must be killed. (...) The Führer must emphasize once again that for Poles there is only one master and he is a German, there can be no two masters beside each other and there is no consent to such, hence all representatives of the Polish intelligentsia are to be killed ... The General Gouvernment is a Polish reservation, a great Polish labor camp.

In essence, Hitler sets forth the view that the Poles exist only to service the German war effort as slaves and otherwise are useless and unnecessary. This also is direct evidence of Hitler ordering executions of "undesirables." The issue of the Poles will remain an active topic until the last days of the Reich and will not deviate from this attitude. One last fact: many of the Polish "intelligentsia" (but not by any means all) are Jewish.

Free France: The British and General de Gaulle are having "issues." The Royal Navy sends the transports loaded with the troops intended for Operation Menace from Freetown to join de Gaulle at Duala, Cameroon. However, disagreements about objectives arrive, and the British turn the transports around and they return to Freetown. De Gaulle's prestige is at a low point due to the fiasco at Dakar.

British Homefront: The government formally ends the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) due to the recent sinkings of the Volendam and City of Benares (the latter sinking on 18 September 1940 decisive because of the large loss of life by the evacuees).

A pet fox waiting for its owner, Owning unusual pets was a big fad in the 30s-50s and included deer and pigs. Moorhead, Minnesota, October 1940.

October 1940
October 1, 1940: Wait Daddy October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020

Wednesday 28 August 1940

Mossley Hill Parish church in Liverpool (the Church of St. Matthew and St. James) It is bombed during the night of 28/29 August 1940 - the first church bombing in England.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe continues to avoid bombing London. However, that doesn't mean they are completely avoiding English cities, as discussed below, and the British have been "triggered" (to use a 21st Century idiom) into bombing German cities themselves. The slippery slope toward unrestricted aerial warfare is getting greasier on a daily basis as of 28 August 1940.

The RAF raids Berlin for the second time, killing 8-10 civilians and injuring 21-29 others. Among other things, they bomb the Görlitzer railway station. This kind of obvious damage to public infrastructure is causing the government to lose face, and Hitler is still deliberating about how to respond. People are starting to recall Luftwaffe boss Hermann Goering's words at the start of the war in September 1939:

Wenn auch nur ein englischer Bomber die Ruhr erreicht, will ich nicht mehr Hermann Göring, sondern Hermann Meyer heißen. (If even one British bomber reaches the Ruhr, I don't want to be called Hermann Göring any more, but rather Hermann Meyer.)

Note that, contrary to every legend about Goering, he never said anything about Berlin not being bombed. However, this statement invariably is mistranslated and bastardized to, "If the enemy ever bombs Berlin, you may call me Meyer," which is a lot pithier (This is similar to Captain Kirk never actually saying "Beam me up, Scotty" on Star Trek, but that is how it comes down in history). Loosely interpreted, Goering has been boasting in his usual bombastic fashion that his Luftwaffe is so powerful and almighty that he stakes his entire reputation on completely overwhelming and destroying the RAF before it can strike back and hurt Germans.

Incidentally, let's clear one other thing up while we're at it. Goering was not making an anti-Semitic reference here, though that is claimed far and wide now. Meyer was and is a common German name. "Panzer" Meyer would have been highly offended if you claimed that "Meyer" was a Jewish name. Goering simply was intimating that he was staking everything on the claim - which makes the whole incident more ironic in retrospect.

While this jest (using a common German idiom) explicitly refers to the industrial region of the Ruhr, virtually everyone in Germany interprets it as really meaning Berlin. Since Berlin is now being bombed, it becomes a catchphrase for the failures of the Luftwaffe (of which there is an increasing number). It is one of the classic ill-fated predictions of the war. This phrase will haunt Goering to the last days of the war, but among much of the public, he remains a popular figure. Despite all of his other many and varied faults, Goering is perhaps the only top German with any kind of sense of humor, which is badly needed during the dark days of World War II. People already are starting to call the ubiquitous air raid sirens "Meyer's trumpets" with typical German sardonic wit as a way to poke fun at the fat man and his farcically bellicose rhetoric.

"Call me Meyer."

Battle of Britain: Air Vice Marshall Keith Park of No. 11 Group continues to ride the whirlwind. The Luftwaffe is singling out his airfields in southeastern England for devastation, and his forces are weakening though not breaking. Some of his jealous fellow commanders (No. 11 Group is the most prestigious command in England) are secretly delighting in Park's discomfiture (though they would never admit any such thing, would deny it to the death, and the regular history books would never even hint as such an interpretation).

There are three major Luftwaffe raids against England forces during the daylight hours:

1. At 09:00, raids against various points in Kent;
2. Around 11:00, raids targeting RAF Rochford;
3. During the afternoon, a massive fighter sweep swooping down from Kent to the Thames estuary.

The first raid results in massive dogfights between JG 51 and RAF Nos. 79, 85 and 264 Squadrons. Dornier Do 17s of I,/KG 3 bomb RAF Eastchurch with 100 bombs, while Heinkel He 111s from KG 53 bomb RAF Rochford. The damage is significant in both airfields, particularly Eastchurch.

The second raid by KG 2 Dorniers hits RAF Rochford again with about 30 bombs. However, the damage to the airfield is slight despite it being hit for the second time, and it remains operational. There is some fancy flying, with a Bf 109 heading for home and the pursuing Spitfires of No. 54 Squadron flying so low themselves that one of them returns to its base with leaves and branches stuck in its wing.

The third raid is a standard Luftwaffe fighter sweep, or Freie Jagd, over a large swathe of England from north to south. It is a massive sweep, including elements of JG 2, 3, 26, 27, 51, 54 and Epr.Gr 210 (Bf 110s). The Luftwaffe fighter pilots love these opportunities to act unrestricted by escort obligations, and, having the initiative, they generally begin the battles with the altitude advantage. Both sides lose 16 fighters in this action, which somewhat vindicates the fighter pilots' argument that the Freie Jagds are a good way to wear down the RAF. Keith Park, meanwhile, is furious that his weary fighters are being baited like this and forbids any similar interceptions in the future.

After dark, another slide down the slippery slope toward all-out bombing occurs when the Luftwaffe raids Liverpool for the first time. KG 27, LG 1 and KGr 806 send across about 160 bombers. The raid experiences navigational errors and bombs land seemingly everywhere in the general vicinity. Another raid by 23 Dorniers hits Bristol, but Bristol gets hit every night and that raid is barely noticed. The bombs dropping on houses in Liverpool do get everyone's attention.

A Morris Quad towing a 25-pounder field gun, 28 August 1940.

The day's losses sum up to about 30 Luftwaffe losses and 20 RAF ones. There are clear signs of frustration on both sides to just get on with it and move on to the next stage, but Hitler continues to ponder a decision to resort to outright mass terror bombing.

In addition, RAF Fighter Command is forced to come to some hard truths about part of its force which is completely inadequate. During the afternoon raid, the remaining Boulton Paul Defiants are like sitting ducks, and one after another - five in all - goes down in flames. Along with the planes, nine crew perish. At long last, Fighter Command transfers the remaining planes to night operations. In this way, there is a parallel to the Bf 110s, but they remain at least viable during the daytime, if not particularly threatening.

Luftwaffe top-scoring ace Werner Mölders gets two victories but loses his wingman, who is captured. His new wingman is Oberleutnant Georg Claus.

In a weird "wrong way Corrigan" type of flight, a Luftwaffe Gotha Go 145 biplane (not a World War I plane as often claimed, these were built starting in 1935) used for communications gets seriously lost and, instead of flying east from Cherbourg to Strasbourg, somehow flies north to England. It lands at Lewes horse track and becomes an odd exhibit in the "Rafwaffe," the RAF No. 1426 Squadron of captured enemy aircraft.

British Prime Minister Churchill watches the afternoon air battles over Dover from Dover Castle, where he inspects "Hellfire Corner." Afterward, he visits some bombed buildings in Ramsgate, then tours a nearby bombed airfields and, concerned about the damage, orders more manpower devoted to airfield repairs. This has not really been an issue for the RAF, and bomb craters are easily filled in. It is an instance of Churchill's good intentions leading to intervention that would have been better off avoided.

Winston Churchill inspects air raid damage at Ramsgate in Kent, 28 August 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-101 (Kptlt. Fritz Frauenheim), operating out of Kiel, stalks Convoy SC 1 west of Ireland. At 04:25, it torpedoes and sinks 3868-ton Finnish freighter Elle. There are 27 survivors and 2 crew perish. The ship doesn't sink right away, so sloop HMS Leith sinks it with gunfire.

U-28 (Kptlt. Günter Kuhnke), on its fifth patrol, is about 200 nautical miles west of the Outer Hebrides stalking Convoy HX 66. At 21:00, it torpedoes and sinks 3946-ton British freighter Kyno. There are 32 survivors and 5 crew perish.

Dutch grain freighter SS Driebergen is sailing with the daily food convoy from Methil to the Tyne when it sinks off Northumberland in the North Sea after colliding with British freighter Port Darwin, perhaps trying to avoid Luftwaffe attack. Everybody survives, and the damaged Port Darwin makes it to port.

British 202 ton trawler Flavia goes missing in the North Sea, perhaps hitting a mine - both sides are heavily mining the area.

Convoy FN 265 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 153 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 265 departs from the Tyne, Convoy HX 69 departs from Halifax and other ports,

British minelayers HMS Plover and Willem van der Zaan lay minefield BS 36 in the North Sea, while four other minelayers put down a field in the St. George's Channel.

U-94 is commissioned.

Destroyer HMS Eglington (L 87, Commander Emile F. V. Dechaineux) is commissioned.

This Ju 88 A-1 of I/KG 54 just made it back to France and crashed near Dieppe on August 28, 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: British submarine HMS Pandora, which has been delivering supplies to Malta, torpedoes and sinks Italian cargo ship Famiglia about just east of Haniya, Libya.

Italian bombers raid  El Qantara and Port Said during the night.

At Malta, there are two air raid alerts, but, as is often the case, the Italian planes turn back before getting close to the coastline. In other news, Governor Dobbie and the War Office continue wrangling over additional anti-aircraft guns for the island, with the War Office dragging its feet despite hinting at big plans for upgraded air forces there.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The British know there is a German raider operating in the Indian Ocean - one of its victims' recent distress signal was even picked up in New York - but they don't know which one or exactly where it is. Ships are out looking for it, without success so far. The Italian Navy also has destroyers Pantera and Tigre operating in the Red Sea.

German Government: Adolf Hitler is keeping a close eye on Romania, which has been seething over losing territory to its neighbors such as the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Hungary. He cautions the Wehrmacht to be prepared to intervene if necessary as the situation develops and perhaps occupy the country.

Vichy France: The government broadcasts that laws providing special protections to Jews - such as there are any - have been revoked. Marshal Petain has complete power and discretion over the entire government, but Pierre Laval is actually running day-to-day operations.

In between stops at Dover and then Ramsgate on 28 August 1940, Winston Churchill noticed a crashed plane and asked to stop and visit. It is a Messerschmitt Bf 109E on Church Farm at Church Whitfield near Dover. His personal bodyguard, Inspector W H Thompson, is on the right.

French Cameroon: Captain Leclerc, who occupied the Presidential Palace on the 27th, travels by train to Youande to accept the country's surrender from the nominal Vichy authorities. This is a major coup for Charles de Gaulle's "Free France" movement, which has not been accomplishing much recently.

Oubangui (Central African Republic): At French-controlled Bangui, Governor de Saint Mart follows Captain Leclerc's lead in Cameroon and announces for Free France also. He promises the local Vichy garrison that they will be taken to the Vichy base at Dakar if they wish.

Finland: Famed sniper Simo "Simuna" Häyhä, horribly injured on 6 March 1940 during the closing stages of the Winter War, receives a promotion direct from Marshal Mannerheim. He is elevated from alikersantti (Corporal) to vänrikki (Second lieutenant). Häyhä is still recovering from his disfiguring wounds but improving.

Latin America: Heavy cruisers USS Wichita and Quincy continue their "Show the flag" mission and depart Montevideo, Uruguay for Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is the area that ignited the request for the mission in the first place.

Burma: The British lock up radical nationalist Ba Maw.

American Homefront: The last refugee ship from Petsamo in northern Finland arrives in New York City. It carries Crown Princess Martha and a 40mm Bofors gun which the Finns did not wish to fall into Soviet hands.

"Rhythm on the River" starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin (the mother of Larry Hagman of "Dallas" who at this time is 8 years old) opens today.

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