Wednesday 6 November 1940

Hurricane Mk Is of No 245 Squadron, based at Aldergrove, November 1940

Italian/Greek Campaign: In the coastal sector on 6 November 1940, the attacks against the Kalpaki front continue. The Italians continue trying to re-take the Grabala heights, without success. Nearby, Italian troops take Igoumenitsa on the coast, where the natural barriers are less formidable.

The Italian Julia Division continues being slaughtered in the Pindus sector. The Greek troops of the 2nd Army Corps continue pressing in on them. All attempts at the relief of the Italian troops in the Vovousa Valley fail.

The RAF raids Italian airfields in Albania.

The British government gives the Greek government £5,000,000.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe raids Southampton during the day, causing casualties and property damage. They hit two churches, one of which has 600 people sheltering in the crypt, but there are no casualties. This is estimated to be the 175th raid against Southampton. During the night, the Luftwaffe sends 190 bombers to London and surrounding areas.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command attacks a convoy off Den Helder and oil installations at Salzbergen, Cuxhaven, and the airfield at Haamstede, Zeeland. After dark, the bombers attack Spandau, Berlin and nearby locations.

Major Helmut Wick, commander of JG 2 "Richthofen," shoots down a Hurricane flown by Hubert Adair. The plane comes down at Pigeon House Farm, Widely, Hampshire. The plane is excavated on 6 October 1979 and the pilot's remains removed. His loss is listed on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, Surrey.

There are dogfights over the Isle of Wight, one of which leads to the death of Ofw. Heinrich Klopp of 5./JG 2.

Overall during the day, the Luftwaffe loses about 6 planes and the RAF loses four.

Battle of the Atlantic: During the night, the Germans send seven E-boats on a sweep of the east coast of Scotland during the night. The area is heavily mined, however, and T6 hits one and sinks. The other torpedo boats then return to their base.

Italian submarine Comandante Faà di Bruno attacks Convoy HX 84. It makes a surface attack, using its deck gun, on freighter Melrose Abbey. However, its attack is unsuccessful, and the submarine, in turn, is attacked by Royal Navy destroyers HMCS Ottawa and HMS Harvester. The Faà di Bruno is sunk southwest of Ireland and all 57 aboard perish. It is an unusual situation, not just because of the brazen surface attack in the face of escorts, but because the zone of operations for Italian submarines lies much further to the south.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Sturgeon torpedoes and sinks 1294 ton Norwegian freighter Delfinus in the North Sea west of Varhaug, Jæren. Everybody survives. The Sturgeon fires two torpedoes, one of which hits the Delfinus and the other which misses and hits the beach.

In a "friendly fire" incident, Royal Navy destroyer HMS Encounter misidentifies and rams submarine HMS Utmost off Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. The submarine makes it back to port.

The Luftwaffe has a good day against shipping.

A Heinkel He 115 seaplane (KG 706) attacks Convoy WN 31 in the North Sea off Noss Head, Caithness. It bombs and sinks 6418-ton British freighter Clan Mackinlay. Five crew perish.

In the same attack, 5415-ton British freighter Harborough also is hit. Tugs take it back to port.

A Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor (1,/KG 40) bombs and sinks 7206-ton British freighter Nalon west of Ireland. Everyone survives.

Royal Navy 253 ton whaler HMS Sevra (T/S.Lt. Francis Brooks Richards, RNVR) hits a mine and sinks off Falmouth, Cornwall in the English Channel.

Royal Navy 63 ton trawler (drifter) HMT Girl Helen hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland. There are two deaths of men serving with the Royal Naval Patrol Service.

Swedish 52 ton fishing ship Elly hits an air mine and sinks in the Skagerrak about 37 km west of the Pater Noster Lighthouse. There are five deaths. It is the third Swedish fishing vessel lost to mines in the area in the past month.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Elgin hits a mine and is damaged. Fellow minesweeper Gossamer tows it to Harwich.

British minesweepers HMS Teviotbank and Plover, along with destroyers HMS Icarus and Impulsive, lay minefield BS 45.

Convoy FN 328 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 329 departs from Methil, Convoy BS 7 departs from Port Sudan.

Tanker San Demetrio arrives in port. This tanker was shelled by the German cruiser Admiral Scheer on 5 November 1940. The crew abandoned ship, but then saw the tanker intact on the 6th. They reboarded it on the morning of the 7th and got it running again, making it to port under its own power. The crew was awarded salvage rights. In the picture of it above, you can see the "SOS" signs the crew has put on the sides.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British under General Slim, accompanied by Sudanese and 10th Indian Brigade troops, counterattack the Italian troops at Gallabat and Metemma. Gallabat falls. The frontier post of Gallabat on the border of Sudan/Abyssinia has changed hands a couple of times, most recently in July.

Operation Coat gets underway. It is a fleet operation out of Gibraltar and part of overall Operation MB8. It is an attempt to ferry Hurricane fighters to Malta. This is the second such operation to ferry fighters (the first was Operation Hurry in August 1940). HMS Argus carries the 12 Hurricanes. The entire operation will continue over the next ten days.

At Malta, there are rumors that the BBC has broadcast that the recent air attacks on Naples have come from Malta. The bombers' base is supposed to be a secret as if the Italians believe that Malta is an offensive threat, that would make them more likely to invade it. This also is a particularly bad time to antagonize the Italians because of the extensive Royal Navy fleet operations in motion, including convoys to Malta.

Battle of the Pacific: German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin lays another 40 mines off southern Australia, this time in the Spencer Strait near Melbourne. It is now finished with its minelaying activities and departs for a rendezvous with converted minelayer Passat.

German Military: Colonel Adolf Heusinger, chief of the operations department at the army high command (OKH), submits his first draft of the proposed invasion of Greece from Bulgaria. General Franz Halder, OKH Chief of Staff, reviews it - the plan is based on his general instructions - and decides to beef up the motorized troops involved. He adds the 60 Motorized Division and the SS Adolf Hitler Division to the 40th corps which forms the backbone of the invasion. This effectively doubles its strength. He also adds 30th corps, which has to be taken from Army Group B in Poland, giving that corps the 5th and 6th mountain divisions.

In effect, Halder doubles the size of the forces involved. Taking some of these top units from forces based in Poland that otherwise would be available later for Operation Barbarossa leads some historians to reach the conclusion that this operation - which eventually becomes Operation Marita - dilutes the forces for that more important invasion.

By Illingworth, 'The Daily Mail', November 6, 1940, At Stake: "The sovereignty of the Mediterranean."

Gabon: The Free French remain on the move. They take Lambarene.

South Africa: Former Prime Minister General J.B.M. Hertzog, who some have accused of having Hitlerite sympathies, resigns as leader of the Nationalist Party. The reason is Hertzog's loss of support by his coalition partners due to his platform of equal rights between British South Africans and Afrikaners.

Chile: The country makes a claim to some territory in the Antarctic region.

Today's papers are full of the election results.

German Homefront: The first Canadian prisoners arrive at the new Oflag IV-C POW camp at Colditz Castle.

British Homefront: The government takes another step toward regularizing the Home Guard by authorizing the commissioning of Home Guard officers. The British Under-Secretary for War promises to provide the Home Guard troops with better equipment.

American Homefront: Professor F. Bert Farquharson at the University of Washington, who recently has completed a study of the "Galloping Gertie" Tacoma Narrows Bridge, meets with Bridge engineer Clark Eldridge and PWA engineer L. R. Durkee. Farquharson tells them that they will have to modify the brand-new bridge in order to make it more streamlined to eliminate or at least dampen a "twisting motion" which his scale models had shown were caused by high winds. The engineers agree and tell their superiors that they need to contract with suppliers to install wind deflectors on the south side of the bridge. State authorities being drafting the contracts.

Fats Waller and His Rhythm records "Tain't Nobody's Biz-Nezz If I Do."

November 1940

November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

2020

Saturday 27 January 1940

The good ship Faro drifts ashore in Tarcliff Bay.

Winter War: General Siilasvuo's 9th Division completes its deployment opposite the Soviet 54th Mountain Division on 27 January 1940. His plan is a copy of his plan to destroy the 44th Rifle Division on the Ratte road. First, his men will destroy the Soviet division's lines of communication by using mobile ski groups. Then, his men will cut the column - stretched out on the road - into the "logs" that are easier to "burn." This has become known as the "motti" strategy.

The 7,000-shell bombardment of Summa continues for another day. It has now been a continuous rain of artillery shells for two weeks.

The final preparations are now being made for a massive Soviet offensive on the Karelian Isthmus. Comrade Stalin likes to begin his offensives on days that have some larger significance. The first of the month is the nearest one available.

Battle of the Atlantic: US freighter City of Flint arrives back in Baltimore after a historic journey that sparked repeated international incidents.

U-20 (Kapitänleutnant Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt) goes on a wild U-boat spree, with four victories in a matter of hours. However, they are all small, empty, neutral steamers, so the effect is not as great as appears at first glance. Operating just to the east of the Orkneys, he sinks in order:

• 844 ton Norwegian SS Faro (8 men perish, 7 survive);
• 2,094 ton Danish SS Fredensborg (20 men perish);
• 2,319 ton SS England (20 men perish, one survivor);
• 1,591 ton Norwegian SS Hosanger (17 men perish, one survivor).

Klot-Heydenfeldt could have sparked wars with the neutrals by these sinkings. However, neither Norway nor Denmark is looking for a fight.

The winter waters are extremely rough on the survivors. The sole survivor of the Hosanger, Magnus Sandvik, is near death, and a crew member of the HMS Northern Reward must jump into the water to help him aboard. The Fredensborg and England are both torpedoed as they came to help the stricken Faro, which somewhat ironically does not itself sink but instead drifts ashore and was wrecked in Taracliff Bay, Deerness. The crew reboarded the Faro at one point, but her list drew the propeller out of the water, making her un-maneuverable. She then broke free of the anchor the crew set.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Cold Harbor.

Convoy OA 80G departs from Southend, and Convoy OB 80 departs from Liverpool.

German Military: Hitler okays the expanded Kriegsmarine plan for the invasion of Norway and orders preparations to begin, and the code name Weserubung is adopted - which suggests that Admiral Raeder already has the ultimate date in mind.

British Homefront: First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, undaunted by the very mixed reviews to his previous radio address, takes to the broadcast waves again. At the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, he gives a pep talk to workers, stating: "each to our station. . . there is not a week, nor a day, nor an hour to be lost!" He almost sounds disappointed that England has not been bombed yet, which would spur the national effort.

South Africa: After five days of debate in Parliament, General Hertzog's peace resolution is defeated, 81-59. PM Jan Smuts says of Hertzog's arguments, "Goebbels could not have done it better."

China: Chinese 3rd War Area forces the Japanese 22nd Infantry Division to withdraw to Hsiao-shan.

The evening papers in Baltimore are full of news about the City of Flint.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019