Thursday 19 June 1941

Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler, wife Marga, and daughter Gudrun gather daisies together in Valepp Valley, 19 June 1941 (Realworks Ltd./Die Welt).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Britsh approach toward Damascus during Operation Exporter has gained ground on 19 June 1941, but suddenly shows signs of stalling due to fierce Vichy French counterattacks. This has resulted in overall control of the advance being taken away from General Henry Maitland Wilson on the 18th, and today results in Major-General John Evetts, commander of the British 6th Infantry Division, replacing Brigadier Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd as commander of Gentforce east of Merdjayoun.

The 5th Indian Brigade has taken Mezzeh, a key junction on the Damascus/Beirut road, during the night. However, they spend the 19th trying to keep it against furious French counterattacks. Evetts quickly requests reinforcements and receives the British 16th Infantry Brigade from the 7th Australian Division and three Australian battalions: the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion and the 2/3rd and 2/5th Infantry Battalions.

The British and Australian reinforcements, however, require time to get to Mezzeh, and it is time that the embattled Indian troops may not have. By evening, they are isolated and taking tremendous casualties from the French and their Renault R35 tanks. Expecting the advance to continue straight to Damascus, the Indian troops have not carried with them mundane things like food and water for an extended siege. So, there is no food or water, and there are dead men everywhere. After dark, the Indian troops send three men who manage to get past the encircling French forces and report the dire situation to Evetts. The French claim to have taken 400 prisoners.

The British still fear an invasion and practice to prevent one. Here, the 53rd Battalion The Reconnaissance Corps ride in Beaverettes (RAF light armored cars) during maneuvers at Ballykinlar in Northern Ireland. They are armed with .303 light machine guns or Boys .55 inch anti-tank rifles. Unfortunately, despite the heavy armor, they are powered by a 46-hp engine and the top speed is only 24 mph (38 km/h). 19 June 1941.

Near Merdjayoun, meanwhile, the situation if anything is even worse for the British. Easily taken a week ago by the Australian 25th Brigade, the majority of those troops were sent east to help with the advance along the coast. The 25th had left behind only a small force to defend Merdjayoun, but this was considered acceptable because the Vichy French were giving ground.

This turns out to have been a bad idea, as the French already have retaken part of Merdjayoun and have placed the embattled Australians in a precarious position. On the 19th, the Vichy French there continue the attack against the outnumbered Australians and claim to take 80 prisoners. Australian Lieutenant Roden Cuttler, a forward artillery observer, takes over a Bren gun and anti-tank rifle after others at his outpost are killed and helps to hold an outpost in the town against the French. After being surrounded, he escapes in the dark. For this and subsequent valor, Cuttler earns the Victoria Cross, the only Australian artilleryman to earn it during World War II.

Lieutenant General Sir John Dudley Lavarack, who now has operational control in Syria and Lebanon, confers with Wilson in Jerusalem. Lavarack gets permission from Wilson to let the forces around Damascus and around Merdjayoun work things out as best they can while the main effort remains on the coast road to Beirut.

The Vichy government, meanwhile, already is asking the British via the American consulate for peace terms. However, there is no indication that this will end the conflict anytime soon, at this point it is just casual talk.

A report in the 19 June 1941 Yorkshire Post about a Luftwaffe bombing the previous day. Note that they do not identify the actual town bombed for security reasons - it was Bridlington. There were seven deaths.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command conducts Operation Blot III, a Circus mission. This is an attack by 24 Bristol Blenheims of No. 2 Group and then 12 more Blenheims on the Le Havre dockyards. There is a thick haze that confuses many of the RAF navigators, and only 24 of the bombers make the rendezvous over Tangmere. An additional 15 bombers failed to find the target, and only nine bombers actually make it to Le Havre. They bomb No. 1 Dry-Dock successfully. RAF No. 616, flying escort, tangles with the Luftwaffe near Le Havre and claims one fighter.

During the night, RAF Bomber Command sends 28 aircraft against Cologne and 20 against Dusseldorf.

Grimsby class sloop HMAS Parramatta at Mersa Matruh, Egypt, 19 June 1941. The Parramatta sank just over five months later, on 27 November (Photo: RAN Historical, it appears in Paul and Frances Margaret McGuire's 'The Price of Admiralty' [Oxford University Press, Melbourne 1944] opp. p243).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft of I Staffeln, Kampfgeschwader 40) bombs and sinks 1306-ton British freighter Empire Warrior a few miles off Guardians Bar, Gulf of Cadiz. All 25 aboard survive, picked up by a Portuguese destroyer.

The Luftwaffe in the same attack also bombs and badly damages 1770-ton Swedish freighter Gunda in the same area as the Empire Warrior. British freighter Peterel takes the Gunda in tow, but it eventually sinks. The entire crew survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages Royal Navy destroyer HMS Vanessa in the North Sea. During the encounter, the Vanessa collides with 430-ton ASW trawler Turquoise. Vanessa has to be towed to Yarmouth by destroyer Vesper and is out of action until 15 April 1942.

Dutch patrol boat Sirius seizes Vichy French vessel Compiegne. However, in light of the confused state of relations between the UK and Vichy France (note that the British and Vichy French right now are battling each other in Syria and Lebanon while the British still wish to curry favor with France), the Admiralty ultimately orders the French ship released.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Plover lays minefield BS.59 in the North Sea.

Canadian corvette HMCS Moose Jaw (Lt. Frederick E. Grubb) is commissioned.

United States destroyers USS Redoubt and Roebuck are laid down.

U-619 and U-620 are laid down.

'Matilda', or `I', tanks in the Western Desert, Egypt in June 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The German News Bureau in Berlin crows about General Erwin Rommel's recent defeat of the British during Operation Battleaxe. It notes:

The most recent reports indicate that the British have lost more tanks than was earlier estimated: When we cleared up the battlefield, we found 200 British tanks destroyed or immobilized by German and Italian guns, which the British were forced to abandon when they retreated.

The German figures are exaggerated - British tank losses were far fewer than 100, let alone 200 - but the complete British defeat gives the Germans a welcome opportunity to pat their staggering Italian allies on the back in the shared victory.

An Axis convoy departs from Naples with five freighters/transports bound for Tripoli. It is escorted by four Italian destroyers.

The Royal Navy headquarters at Alexandria institutes a major resupply of the embattled British forces in the Western Desert. It begins the "Tobruk Ferry," which entails sending destroyers to Mersa Matruh and Tobruk at night. The Luftwaffe dominates the skies over North Africa at this time and such naval missions are extremely hazardous.

Following a review of Malta's defenses, the War Office promises large reinforcements. Whitehall promises thousands of additional troops to prevent a German takeover as in Crete - but there remains the small matter of actually getting them there. Governor Dobbie replies that the most urgent needs are additional RAF forces and an infantry battalion.

Spy Stuff: Soviet agents in Germany and Finland continue issuing warnings to the Kremlin of a coming German attack on the Soviet Union. The spy reports now routinely identify the date of the attack as 22 June.

Wellington W5665, shot down by a German night fighter during the night of 18-19 June 1941 over Frisian Isle Ameland. Of the six-man Polish crew, four were killed and buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery at Nes there, and two captured. The interred men were later reburied in Nijmegen pursuant to a 1960s centralization scheme for war dead (RAF via Traces of War).

German/US Relations: Following the US State Department's 16 June order to the Germans to close their consulates, Germany and Italy respond by ordering the Americans to do the same in their countries no later than 15 July. This appears to be another reverberation from the 21 May 1941 sinking by a U-boat of US freighter Robin Moore off the African coast. This is a blow for Allied intelligence, as the US consulates have served as valuable "listening posts" within Occupied Europe.

German/Hungarian Relations: General Halder, Chief of the OKH (Army High Command), visits Hungary for a conference.

Anglo/US Relations: Lord Halifax, the British Ambassador to the United States, gives a speech at the Harvard Alumni luncheon. He notes:

The President has declared in terms that no man can mistake on which side in this grim contest stands the United States. And there is no need for me to dwell upon the encouragement that his words have brought to my people, to the whole British Commonwealth, or to lovers of freedom everywhere.

He calls England "the last home of freedom in Europe."

Apparently given as a response to the University of Rochester, New York conferring an honorary degree on Winston Churchill, Oxford University confers the degree of Doctor of Civil Law on President Franklin Roosevelt. Neither man, of course, attends the ceremony.

A map of military units along the German/Soviet border around 19 June 1941. Shown are three German Army Groups, North, South, and Center in Poland, with additional allied Romanian troops to the south.

German Military: The Kriegsmarine is mining the Baltic, while the Luftwaffe continues reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union.

Luftwaffe night-fighter ace Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld is mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht bulletin of the headquarters of the German Wehrmacht. This is considered one of the highest honors a German officer can receive and is coveted even by generals. Prince Lippe-Weißenfeld (he is an heir to the throne of the Principality of Lippe, which was abolished under the Weimar Republic) now has about 10 victories over the bombers, which are considered the most prestigious enemy aircraft to destroy.

The Wehrmacht cancels all soldier leaves. Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler, however, who technically is not in the Wehrmacht, flies home to his private house on Lake Tegerness to visit with his family. They go to a nearby field in the Valepp Valley and pick daisies by the roadside for the propaganda cameras.

Soviet Military: The Soviet Navy issues a Grade 2 Alert to its units. The Red Air Force orders camouflaging of airfields, and the government orders blackout in cities along the western border. Some of these orders, such as the camouflaging of airfields, take days to begin implementing and are barely started when Operation Barbarossa begins.

General Pavel Batov assumes command of the 9th Rifle Corps.

Field Manual No. 30-55, Basic Field Manual, Military Intelligence, Identification Of German Naval Ships, 19 June 1941.

British Military: Rear Admiral E.N. Syfret CB becomes commander of 18th Cruiser Squadron.

German Government: After some meetings during the day, Adolf Hitler spends the evening drafting his "Proclamation" for Operation Barbarossa. This will be issued to the troops shortly before the opening of Operation Barbarossa. It is a curiously dour document that pins the entire future of European civilization itself on the outcome of the invasion.

Around 18:00, Foreign Minister Ribbentrop telephones to say that Soviet Ambassador Dekanozov has stopped by the Ministry, transacted some normal business, made some small talk and jokes, and then left without incident. This ends 24 hours of uncertainty after Dekanozov on the 18th had indicated he needed to visit the German Ministry for unspecified reasons.
British Government: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit factories and war ruins in Billingham and other areas in the northeast.

An RAF Second World War vertical aerial photograph of Crail airfield, 19 June 1941. © Courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland (RAF Air Photographs Collection via Airfields of Britain).

Holocaust: Hitler talks to Hans Frank, the Governor-General of the occupied Polish territories (Generalgouverneur für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete). Frank controls all of the territories, known as the General Government, that encompass pre-war Poland aside from those directly incorporated into the Reich - roughly half of the original 187,000 square miles occupied by the Wehrmacht (which of course does not include the far larger portion allocated to the Soviet Union).

Frank long has objected to having Jews from throughout Occupied Europe shipped to the General Government for internment. This is partly because he resents having them under his administration, but more importantly, because controlling them has expanded the influence in the General Government of Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler - at Frank's expense. Frank sees himself as a sort of overlord and chafes at having other authority in "his" territory.

Hitler tells Frank that the territories soon to be wrested from the Soviet Union will become the new "home" of the Jews. These new destinations in "the East" are to replace the nebulous destination of Madagascar that has been bruited about within the government as the eventual home of European Jewry. Frank is delighted and quickly tells his staff that there will be no need for more Ghettos such as the ones in Warsaw and Lodz because all the Jews from now on - including the ones already in the Ghettos - will be heading "east.'

Hitler, however, is unclear about what he really intends for the Jews. The only thing that Frank cares about is that the Jews are heading "east" of his own domain, so he does not press for further details. Where in the "east" Hitler means is left undefined, and what would happen to the Jews once they got there is deemed an unimportant detail at this stage. This will be resolved at the Wannsee Conference in January 1942.

In Romania, the government orders Jews to move to city Ghettos.

The big news in northern Michigan is the introduction of dial service. Mayor Hinkley makes the first dial call to his mother. Northern Michigan Review, 19 June 1941.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets a home run and two singles in New York against the Chicago White Sox. DiMaggio now has hit in a club-record 32 games in a row.

General Mills introduces Cheerioats on store shelves. Designed by food science expert Lester Borchardt, they arise from his experiments in "puffing" oats into tiny ovals (each 1/2-inch (12.7 mm) diameter, .0025 ounce (71 mg)). The name is changed to Cheerios® in 1945 and remains a staple on breakfast tables into the 21st Century.

Future History: Václav Klaus is born in Prague, which at this time is within the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. He grows up in the middle-class neighborhood of Vinohrady. He later says that, at age 3, he helps to build barricades in Prague during the uprising of May 1945. Klaus grows up to become a top politician within the Czech Republic and, ultimately, the 2nd President of his country for two terms from 2003-2013. He survives a weird assassination attempt with an airsoft gun by a communist in 2012 and remains as of this writing an elder statesman of the Czech Republic.

Roden Cuttler, as described above a recipient of the VC for his actions in Medjayoun on 19 June 1941 and subsequent days, goes on to earn a Knighthood and become Governor of New South Wales, Australia.

Irina Petrescu is born in Bucharest, Romania. She grows up to become a top Romanian film actress in the 1960s and wins the Best Actress award at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival for her role in "A Woman for a Season" (1969). Petrescu passes away on 19 March 2013.

Gravestone of Joseph Jossie Goldman, a 22-year-old South African Sergeant-Pilot in the RAF who perished on 19 June 1941. He perished near Baynards Green when his training flight in a Hampden crashed near the airport. This is located at Upper Heyford Cemetery.

June 1941

June 1, 1941: Farhud Pogrom
June 2, 1941: Massacres on Crete
June 3, 1941: Kandanos Massacre
June 4, 1941: Kaiser Wilhelm Passes Away
June 5, 1941: Death in Chungking
June 6, 1941: Hitler's Commissar Order
June 7, 1941: Commandos Strike at Pessac
June 8, 1941: British Invade Syria and Lebanon
June 9, 1941: Litani River Battle
June 10, 1941: British Take Assab
June 11, 1941: Hitler Thinking Beyond Russia
June 12, 1941: St. James Agreement
June 13, 1941: Lützow Damaged
June 14, 1941: Latvian June Deportations
June 15, 1941: Operation Battleaxe
June 16, 1941: The Old Lion
June 17, 1941: British Spanked in North Africa
June 18, 1941: Turkey Turns Its Back
June 19, 1941: Cheerios Introduced
June 20, 1941: Birth of US Army Air Force
June 21, 1941: Damascus Falls
June 22, 1941: Germany Invades Russia
June 23, 1941: A Soviet KV Tank Causes Havoc
June 24, 1941: Kaunas and Vilnius Fall
June 25, 1941: Finland Declares War
June 26, 1941: Bombing of Kassa
June 27, 1941: Encirclement At Minsk
June 28, 1941: Minsk Falls
June 29, 1941: Brest Fortress Falls
June 30, 1941: Mölders Becomes Top Ace

2020

Saturday 12 October 1940

The Italian torpedo boats in action today are all Spica class. This is Spica class torpedo boat Cassiopea.

Battle of Britain: There is another "baby step" on 12 October 1940 on the long, tortuous unwinding of Operation Sealion, the proposed German invasion of England. There is no one date when Operation Seeloewe truly "disappears"; it is more a gradual withering of the operation's prospects until, eventually, it is stricken from the books entirely as a mere clerical formality, all hope of anything of the sort long since passed.

Hitler, basically admitting the obvious, today officially postpones the invasion until 1941. This frees up forces allocated to the operation for other purposes, which sounds impressive, but they don't have much to do anywhere else, either. The issue is so trivial to Hitler that, rather than issue another pompous Fuhrer Directive as he did in July to start the process, he simply has General Keitel issue a somewhat indifferent order which states in relevant part:

The Führer has decided that until next spring the preparations for ‘SEELOEWE” are to be continued with the sole intention of maintaining political and military pressure on England. Should the projected landing be resumed in spring or early summer, orders will be given for new preparations. In the meantime, it is necessary to shape conditions in the military sphere to suit a final invasion.

In essence, this order simply confirms what almost undoubtedly was the case all along, that Operation Sealion was a sham deception operation with virtually no chance of being undertaken.

The day itself is fairly clear again, and the aerial action is virtually a repeat. Once again, the Luftwaffe concentrates on high-altitude fighter-bomber (Jabo) attacks, which don't cause a lot of damage but do manage to draw up RAF fighters for combat.

The raids start a little later than yesterday. At 10:00, a raid crosses into Kent and is intercepted by RAF Nos. 72 and 92 Squadrons flying out of Biggin Hill. It is a fairly heavy Luftwaffe commitment by JG 54, JG 77 and LG 2. The Luftwaffe loses two fighters and the RAF one.

Another formation approaches over Hastings. Another massive dogfight results. This action is notable because Major Werner Mölders, Kommodore of JG 51, claims three Hurricanes of RAF No. 145 Squadron. Hptm. Walter Oesau, Stab III./JG 51, gets a Hurricane for his 36th victory.

The raids come in waves thereafter, not particularly large but steady. Around 13:00, a formation over Maidstone leads to a fierce dogfight in which both sides take losses.

At 15:30, the Luftwaffe sends over some Junkers Ju 88 bombers escorted by fighters from JG 53 and JG 54. They are intercepted off Beachy Head, and another battle ensues.

By 17:00, the raids are pretty much over, with only some lone raiders and reconnaissance aircraft appearing on the radar scopes.

After dark, the Luftwaffe hits the usual targets: London, the Midlands, East Anglia, the Northeast. This night is particularly bad for London, as the bombers stay overhead until the first light. Trafalgar Square Station takes a bad hit, killing seven people and injuring 30 in the Tube. The National Gallery takes a hit, but Myra Hess performs her Bach and Beethoven selections as usual. Coventry also takes damage, starting fires. Some scattered raids along the southern coast hit some factories and put out the telephone exchange for a while.

Overall, losses again are about even. The Luftwaffe loses eleven planes, the RAF ten. The Luftwaffe seems to have found a successful formula at long last - though how long they will stick to it is an open question, given the OKL's predilection for constantly changing strategy.

With his three victories, Major Mölders now has 45 and leads the war in victories.

RAF ace James Lacey gets a victory, a Bf 109.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command raids Berlin, attacking the usual power stations, gas works, and warehouses. In addition, the aluminum factory at Heringen, the Krupp factory at Essen, the Fokker factory at Amsterdam, oil installations at Cologne and Hanover, an aqueduct at Dortmund-Ems, and smaller targets receive attention. at Other raids target points along the Channel Coast, including the coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez.

U-101.

Battle of the Atlantic: it is a busy day at sea, both in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The sharpest incidents take place at night, a common theme throughout the conflict. In addition, an unofficial wolfpack has gathered around Convoy HX 77 in the North Atlantic and goes to work.

German E-boats are operating out of the Cherbourg area after Royal Navy forces shell the port. Just after midnight, the Greif sinks two French Navy trawlers, Chausseurs 6 and 7, with the loss of 8/19 crewmen in the first and 12/19 in the second. The Greif picks up the survivors and makes them POWs.

U-48 (Kplt. Heinrich Bleichrodt) is stalking Convoy HX 77 west of the Outer Hebrides and northwest of County Donegal. It torpedoes and sinks 7102-ton Norwegian freighter Davanger. There are 17 deaths and 12 survivors.

U-59 (Kptl. Joachim Matz), on her 12th war patrol and heading back from Lorient to Bergen due to obsolescence, also is stalking Convoy HX 77. It torpedoes and sinks 6895-ton British lumber freighter Pacific Ranger in the same area as U-48. All 53 men on board survive, though some have to make landfall in their lifeboats. It is U-59's last victory after a very successful career in the war's first year, having sunk 17 merchant ships, 2 auxiliary warships, completely wrecking another freighter, and damaging a tanker.

U-101 (Kptlt. Fritz Frauenheim), on her fourth war patrol and operating out of Lorient, also is tracking Convoy HX 77. It torpedoes and sinks 5799-ton Canadian freighter Saint Malô. There are 16 survivors and 28 men perish.

Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli, on its third patrol and in the process of transferring from La Spezia to Bordeaux, uses its deck gun to sink 5135-ton Yugoslavian wheat freighter Orao in the Atlantic west of Gibraltar. Two crew perish. The sinking technically is not a violation of neutrality because the ship radios the Royal Navy at Gibraltar during the encounter. In addition, the Orao previously had been intercepted by destroyer HMS Hotspur and ordered to Gibraltar with Royal Navy guards aboard, so it was a legitimate target for that reason, too. Destroyer HMS Wishart scuttles the sinking ship.

Royal Navy 231-ton trawler HMT Resolvo (Temporary Skipper A. Affleck RNR) hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary. All the crew is taken off by nearby HMT Peter Carey, and the wreck eventually drifts ashore at Sheerness. One sailor is wounded.

British motor yacht Astrid also hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary and sinks.

German E-boat S-37 hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea about 74 km east off Orfordness, Suffolk.

Large elements of the British Home Fleet put to sea in Operation DH. This is to cover a destroyer mission off Egero, and includes aircraft carrier HMS Furious and two heavy cruisers (HMS Berwick and Norfolk). The patrol is uneventful. Monitor Erebus bombards the German invasion barges still gathered at Dunkirk.

Minesweeper HMS Kellet hits the pier at Leith and requires repairs.

The Luftwaffe damages trawler HMS Longscar off Hartlepool.

The Luftwaffe damages 1320 ton British freighter Starling just southwest of San Sebastian Light.

Convoys OA 228 and FS 307 depart from Methil, Convoy OB 227 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 80 departs from Halifax, Convoy SL 51 departs from Freetown.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Mendip is completed and is ready to be worked up at Scapa Flow.

U-98 (Kapitänleutnant Robert Gysae) is commissioned.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Arbutus (K 86, Lt. Commander Hugh Lloyd-William) is commissioned.

An Imperial Airways short c class flying boat, October 1940 (Damien Peter, Australian War Memorial).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Royal Navy is withdrawing from the vicinity of Malta after the successful MB 6 convoy.  Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham is in his flagship, HMS Warspite, along with three other battleships and 16 destroyers. So far, the voyage has been quiet, with only a destroyer damaged by a mine. An Italian aircraft, however, has spotted the British ships on the 11th. This leads to the Battle of Cape Passero.

Upon learning of the Royal Navy presence so close to Italy, Admiral Inigo Campioni orders a destroyer force to sea, with four destroyers (Artigliere, Camicia Nera, Aviere, and Geniere) accompanied by three torpedo boats (Ariel, Alcione, and Airone).

The battle opens when Alcione spots RN cruiser HMS Ajax at 01:37. The three Italian torpedo boats close at full speed, and Alcione gets within 1900 yards (1700 m) and launches two torpedoes. The Italians also open fire with their 100 mm guns, which is a bit unwise as it alerts the British to their presence. The Ajax sends off star shells and uses its fire-control radar to quickly open fire, destroying the Ariel and the Airone. Only the Alcione escapes. The Ajax itself takes no damage from the two or three torpedoes fired at it. Pretty good night gunnery by the British.

The incident - which costs the lives of the crew on the two Italian torpedo boats - alerts the four Italian destroyers. They close on the British force, perhaps not realizing what they are up against (destroyers generally don't like to take on cruisers). At 02:15, the Ajax radar spots two of the destroyers and opens fire. The Aviere is heavily damaged but able to withdraw, then Artigliere is bombarded. The Ajax takes some minor damage from four shells, including putting out her radar. Ajax takes four dead. Italian ship Camicia Nera takes the drifting Artigliere in tow, but at first light British cruiser HMS York drives it off and sinks the Artigliere with a torpedo. The 100 survivors take to lifeboats and are rescued by the Italian Navy. The Ajax loses 13 men and has 20 wounded, but remains operational (though with the damage to gun turrets and the radar).

The Italians send heavier forces, led by Heavy cruisers Bolzano, Trento, and Trieste of the 3rd Cruiser Division, to support the destroyers. However, they arrive late.

The Italians send aircraft after the British ships, too. They bomb anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Calcutta, without success, and also destroyer HMS Perim. HMS Eagle takes some damage from a near-miss.

The RAF in North Africa bombs Bardia and Tobruk, Libya, causing extensive damage and fires. The South African Air Force chips in with an attack on Javello Airfield in East Africa.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie writes to the War Office proposing an increased bomb disposal service. Unexploded bombs have become a major issue on the island. In addition, some downed Italian pilots picked up at sea by a Sunderland flying boat (their Cant 501 flying boat had been shot down by a Fulmar) are interrogated and give some insight into Italian reconnaissance practices.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Pinguin, which captured Norwegian tanker Storstad on the 7th of October, has been working it up into being a minelayer. Today, the process is complete and the ship (renamed the Passat) heads for the Banks Strait off Tasmania and for the east and west ends of the Bass Strait off Melbourne. Pinguin, meanwhile, heads for Sydney to lay mines as well. The presence of the Passat, manned by German sailors, doubles the effectiveness of Pinguin.

This picture shows a typical Wurts Bros. Long Island, New York home, list price $3000-10,000. Taken 12 October 1940. (Museum of the City of New York).

German/Romanian Relations: The German troops taking up positions in Romania continue fanning out to specific billets. Some four hundred Wehrmacht troops arrive in Bucharest to set up a new military mission. The ostensible purpose of this is to supervise the training of the Romanian Army pursuant to a request by Romanian leader Ion Antonescu.  Erik Hansen leads the mission. The Aerian Mission or the Deutsche Luftwaffenmission in Rumänien commanded by General Wilhelm Speidel also arrives. The 13th Motorized Infantry Division is the source of the troops. The primary focus of German duties in Romania will be anti-aircraft protection of the oil fields against Allied bombers and security against sabotage.

German Military: Directive Warschau-Sud is issued. This is an instruction to aircraft companies Junkers and Messerschmitt to develop gliders to carry assault forces for invasion purposes. The companies are given a fortnight to come up with designs, but it is a much larger project than that and requires much more time. Messerschmitt is mandated to use steel tube and fabric, while Junkers must use non-strategic materials such as wood. This project eventually leads after a long and winding road to the Ju 322 "Mammut" and the Me 261w, Me 263, Me 321 and Me 323 - none of which were used for invasions.

Soviet Military: The prototype of the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik, TsKB-57, flies for the first time.

US Military: The US Navy issues contracts for infrastructure projects just outside the perimeter of the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard.

Canadian Pacific Railway No. 5804 at Revelstoke, October 12, 1940 (Bud Laws Collection).

US Military: USS Wasp, based at Norfolk, launches 24 USAAC P-40 Warhawks and 9 O-47 observation planes for training and evaluation purposes.

Destroyer USS Rhind visits Port-au-Prince, Haiti as part of the continuing Show the Flag operations.

Argentina: Juan Manuel Fangio, a former soldier now become a race car driver, wins the Turismo Carretera, Gran Premio del Norte, the Grand Prix International North. The two-week race involves a 9500 km drive through Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. In particular, the racers have to drive up through the Andes to Lima, Peru and then back down again in stages. His time is 109 hours 36 minutes. Fangio is the first TC Argentine Champion to win the race with a Chevrolet. It is Fangio's first major victory and leads him to become Argentine National Champion for 1940.

The Carolina Times, 12 October 1940.

Holocaust: German Governor-General of Poland Hans Frank issues new orders for the 138,000 Polish Jews living in occupied Warsaw. They are to move into the Jewish Ghetto, euphemistically called the Jewish residential quarters. This area is vastly overpopulated, with 30% of the city's 400,000 people crammed into 2.4% of the city's land area. They also, of course, are penned in by a large wall.

American Homefront: President Roosevelt gives a speech in which he reassures the country that the US is only arming for the defense of the western hemisphere. He is in the midst of his re-election campaign, and indications from polls and the like are that public sentiment remains strongly in favor of non-intervention.

Cowboy star Tom Mix perishes in an auto accident. Driving his bright yellow Cord Phaeton sports car, Mix is heading north from Tucson at 80 mph when he fails to notice a sign warning that a bridge is out on the road ahead. The Phaeton flies through the air and crashes into a dry wash. Tom Mix is killed when a heavy aluminum suitcase in the convertible’s backseat strikes his head. The area is now known as the Tom Mix Wash, with a small commemorative iron statue of a riderless horse.

So long to Tom Mix.

October 1940
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