Monday 20 November 1939

A Heinkel He 115, used to drop magnetic mines.

Western Front: Adolf Hitler issues another order for Fall Gelb on 20 November 1939, Directive No. 8, "Further Preparations for Attack in the West." The important thing is that it does not specify an attack date anytime soon. It details the occupation of Holland and Belgium. Otherwise, the Front is quiet.

Battle of the Atlantic: The London agents of the Royal Netherlands Steamship Co. report that the number of fatalities in the mined Simon Bolivar was 83.

British submarine HMS Sturgeon sinks Kriegsmarine patrol vessel V-209 in the Heligoland Bight. It is the first success of a British submarine in the war. The crews later report that the U-boat opened fire without warning.

U-33 (Kapitänleutnant Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky) happens upon a group of small fishing trawlers near Tory Island, north of Ireland. Fortunately for the crews, the area is a popular fishing spot and other trawlers later happen along to pick most of them up some hours later. In order:

U-33 also sinks 276-ton British fishing trawler Thomas Hankins in the morning. Everyone survives.

U-33 sinks 250-ton British fishing trawler Delphine with gunfire in the afternoon. All 13 crew survive.

U-33 also sinks 329 British fishing trawler Sea Sweeper with gunfire just before sunset. Everyone survives after the lifeboat makes land. The chief engineer exercises his extensive technical knowledge about engines and mechanics to block a hole in the lifeboat with his foot for 22 hours.

German liner Windhuk leaves Lobito, Portuguese East Africa, armed as a raider.

German He 115 seaplanes drop more magnetic mines in the English Channel shipping lanes and near the Thames estuary.

Kriegsmarine destroyers Z-21 Wilhelm Heidkamp, Z-19, and Z-11 Bernd von Arnim deposit more magnetic mines off the Thames estuary during the (preceding) night. The mines are moored but have a tendency to break free and drift.

British armed trawler HMS Mastiff T-10 blows up near the Thames estuary while trying to recover a German magnetic mine in a fishing net for further study. Six crew perish.

The German crew scuttles freighter Bertha Fisser rather than have it captured by Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser Chitral.

Swedish torpedo boat Munin intervenes in an inspection of a neutral vessel by Kriegsmarine minesweeper Hansestadt.

The British detain US freighter Exambion at Gibraltar.

Convoy OZ 38 departs from Southend and Convoy OB 38 from Liverpool.

German destroyer Z-21.

European Air Operations: There are numerous Luftwaffe reconnaissance flights, both over France (Rhone Valley, Normandy) and Great Britain (Kent, Essex, Thames estuary, the Orkneys). The Luftwaffe loses one Heinkel He 111 over England and another over Holland, shot down by Dutch fighters. It is the first Dutch kill of the war. The Luftwaffe makes an abortive raid on a British destroyer in the southern part of the North Sea.

Soviet Military: There is a planning conference for the anticipated campaign against Finland.

German Opposition: The local Prague authorities have called in the Waffen SS, the militarized formations of the Party's Schutzstaffel (SS, "Protective Squadron"). While some proto-Waffen SS formations participated in the Battle of Poland, they did not play a major role in the fighting. However, since then, the piecemeal SS regiments used there (Deutschland, Germania, and Der Führer regiments) have been combined into one unit, the SS-Verfügungs-Division. It gets useful practical experience suppressing the unarmed students and teachers in Prague and the SS quickly gains control of the city.

Anglo/Polish Relations: Colin Gubbins heads to Paris to be the UK's military liaison with the Polish Government-in-Exile.

Holocaust: All assets in banks within the Polish General Government are blocked.

American Homefront: Today marks the first appearance of two classic comic book heroes, Flash and Hawkman, in DC Comics Flash Comics #1 (the cover date is January 1940).

Focke-Wulf Fw 58 (a trainer) Weihe with passengers (Dutch fighter pilots) before leaving for Soesterberg on 20 November 1939. From left to right: Mr. Aarts, Ottes, Lub, Nijhuis, and Kuhn. The pilot was adjutant DH Lambermont (Royal Netherlands Air Force).

November 1939

November 1, 1939: The Jet Flies Again
November 2, 1939: The Soviets Devour Poland
November 3, 1939: Amending the Neutrality Act
November 4, 1939: Roosevelt Signs Neutrality Laws
November 5, 1939: The Spirit of Zossen
November 6, 1939: First Dogfight
November 7, 1939: More Lies About SS Athenia
November 8, 1939: Hitler Almost Killed
November 9, 1939: The Venlo Incident
November 10, 1939: Dutch Panic
November 11, 1939: Poignant Armistice Day
November 12, 1939: Peace Efforts Made and Rejected
November 13, 1939: First Bombing of Great Britain
November 14, 1939: The Dyle Plan
November 15, 1939: Elser Confesses to the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
November 16, 1939: Martial Law in Prague
November 17, 1939: International Students Day
November 18, 1939: Magnetic Mines
November 19, 1939: Walls Around the Warsaw Ghetto
November 20, 1939: First RN Submarine Victory
November 21, 1939: Salmon & Gluckstein on the Prowl
November 22, 1939: British Recover A Magnetic Mine
November 23, 1939: HMS Rawalpindi Sunk
November 24, 1939: Japanese Enter Nanning
November 25, 1939: The Olympics are a War Casualty
November 26, 1939: Soviets Stage an "Incident" at Mainila
November 27, 1939: German Marriage Becomes Perilous
November 28, 1939: Judenrats in Poland
November 29, 1939: The Soviets Prepare to Invade Finland
November 30, 1939: Winter War Begins

2019

Saturday 21 October 1939

No. 46 Squadron, a Great War unit, re-formed in the 1930s and saw early action.

Battle of the Atlantic: German mine-laying in recent days pays off on 21 October 1939, as three ships are sunk.

British freighter Orsa, 1,478 tons, strikes a mine in the North Sea and sinks, with eleven dead and four survivors.

French freighter Capitaine Edmond Laborie, 3,087 tons, also strikes a mine and sinks in the North Sea.

Norwegian freighter Deodata strikes a mine off eastern England. All 23 crew survive.

German vessel Gloria captured by Royal Navy cruiser Sheffield.

US freighter Meanticut is detained by the British at Gibraltar.

The French Force de Raide is put into service to escort convoys.

Convoy OA 23 departs from Southend. Convoy OB 23 departs from Liverpool.

The Heinkel He 115 B/C Seaplane. These were the biggest seaplanes during World War Two

European Air Operations: A flight of Luftwaffe He 115B seaplanes flying at sea level to avoid detection attacks a convoy near the Humber. RAF fighters out of RAF Digby shoot down 4 of the nine or twelve (depending upon the source) attacking planes. British forces incur no casualties or damage. Squadron Leader Barwell and Pilot Officer Plummer both received credit for victories.

The Hawker Hurricane begins to prove its worth today. Hurricanes compose the "A" Flight of 46 Squadron that intercepted the Heinkels on the Lincolnshire Coast. Two 72 Squadron Spitfires also engaged the Heinkels, but the Hurricanes got all four kills. On the other hand, the Heinkel He 115s are not suitable for operations in contested airspace.

There was some over-claiming in this incident, as the Spitfires claimed two victories but got none, whereas the Hurricanes claimed five downed planes but were determined to have only gotten four. Both sides of the conflict will be very studious about disallowing pilot claims that have no backing evidence.

Western Front: There are artillery barrages but little other action as the heavy rains continue.

General Gamelin, Allied Commander-in-chief, states that French forces are under orders not to attack Germany, and to withdraw into the Maginot Line upon any attack.

German Government: Hitler summons Gauleiters to Berlin for consultations.

Finland: Negotiators return to Moscow for the second round of talks.

Slovakia: Hitler promises to return Slovakian territory that has been "taken from it" by Poland.

Philippines: A new US High Commissioner, Sayre, arrives in Manila.

China: Claire Chennault, who resigned from the US Army in 1937, departs for Hong Kong to organize the Chinese Air Force.

Population Transfers: Germany and Italy reach agreement on the "return" of ethnic Germans to the Reich from the South Tyrol. Under the terms of the South Tyrol Option Agreement, the ethnic "option" is that Germans can either emigrate to the Reich or remain where they are and become Italianized.

October 1939

October 1, 1939: Occupation of Warsaw
October 2, 1939: Hel Peninsula Falls
October 3, 1939: The Diamantis Incident
October 4, 1939: Otto Kretschmer Gets Rolling
October 5, 1939: Polish Resistance Ends
October 6, 1939: Hitler Peace Effort
October 7, 1939: The British Have Arrived
October 8, 1939: First RAF Kill from UK
October 9, 1939: "City of Flint" Incident
October 10, 1939: Lithuania Under Pressure
October 11, 1939: The Atomic Age Begins
October 12, 1939: England Rejects Hitler's Peace Offer
October 13, 1939: Charles Lindbergh Speaks Out
October 14 1939: Royal Oak Sunk
October 15, 1939: Cuban Rockets
October 16, 1939: First Aircraft Shot Down Over UK
October 17, 1939: Marshall Mannerheim Returns
October 18, 1939: Prien Receives His Award
October 19, 1939: Preliminary Plan for Fall Gelb
October 20, 1939: Hitler Grapples with the Jews
October 21, 1939: Hurricanes to the Rescue!
October 22, 1939: Goebbels Lies Through His Teeth
October 23, 1939: Norway the Center of Attention
October 24, 1939: German "Justice" Gets Rolling
October 25, 1939: Handley Page Halifax Bomber First Flies
October 26, 1939: Jozef Tiso Takes Slovakia
October 27, 1939: King Leopold Stands Firm
October 28, 1939 - First Luftwaffe Raid on Great Britain
October 29, 1939: Tinkering with Fall Gelb
October 30, 1939: Defective Torpedoes
October 31, 1939: Molotov Issues an Ultimatum

2019