Thursday 28 November 1940

Artist Ethel Gabain, a commissioned artist hired by the Ministry of Information to record Blitz scenes, in East London, 28 November 1940.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek offensive in Albania grinds forward on 28 November 1940, the men braving blizzards and rocky terrain to push the Italians back. There are few villages to mark their progress, but they are making good ground that is gradually bringing them closer to important Italian bases.

Greek II Corps is reinforced again, this time with the Cavalry Division. The Corps now has received two fresh divisions in two days. The Cavalry Division crosses the Legatitsa River and continues the advance toward Përmet (Premeti).

Greek III continues moving toward Pogradec, the most significant objective off its front.

Greek troops occupy the heights above Argyrokastro (Gjirokastër), a historic town in Epirus. However, the Italians still hold the town and are fighting hard to keep it.

Italian destroyers Pigafetta, Da Recco, Pessagno, and Riboty, accompanied by torpedo boats Prestinari and Bassini, bombard Greek positions on Corfu. The Italian high command has given up early plans to invade the island. The RAF raids the ports of Porta Santi Quaranta in southern Albania, Durazzo, Brindisi and Elbasan in central Albania.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends bombers against Mannheim, Dusseldorf, the synthetic oil installation at Politz, Stettin, Cuxhaven, Antwerp, Boulogne, and Le Havre.

The Luftwaffe sends over 40 fighter-bombers (Jabos) during the day, but they accomplish little. Daylight raids are increasingly pointless, particularly with the shortening hours of daylight, but the Luftwaffe continues with occasional Jabo sweeps. Losses are about even, with half a dozen planes lost by each side.

The Luftwaffe, recently having pounded several other moderate-sized English cities such as Coventry and Brighton with large-scale raids, turns its attention to Liverpool during the night. It sends 340 bombers which drop massive parachute land mines. The raid kills 164-166 and injures 96 more when a landmine scores a direct hit on a shelter at Edge Hill Training College on Durning Road. The scene is gruesome, as it is not the blast that kills everyone, but rather boiling water released from a boiler and gas from damaged pipes.

John Charles Dundas, who perished on 28 November 1940 after shooting down Luftwaffe ace Helmut Wick. Dundas had 12 victories.

Helmut Wick, one of the Luftwaffe's leading aces, has a good day that turns horribly wrong. He gets a victory in the morning, his 55th, and then during the afternoon scores his 56th confirmed kill. This finally catches fellow Luftwaffe ace Adolf Galland, who Wick has been chasing since the war began.

However, shortly after, Wick meets his own fate. It is believed to be at the hands of Flight Lieutenant Dundas (RAF No. 609 Squadron) near the Isle of Wight. Dundas probably never knows who he shot down, however, because minutes later he himself is killed in the same air battle.

Wick is last seen baling out over the Channel and likely landed while still alive in the water. The winter weather is unforgiving, the sea is cold, and the rescue can't happen enough. In fact, Wick's body is never found. As happens more than once in the continuing battle, the downed airman's Luftwaffe colleagues circle above the downed pilot as long as they can. One, Hptm. Rudi Pflanz stays so long that he has to crash land in France because he runs out of fuel. One of the crueler aspects of the Battle of Britain - and war in general, on both sides - is that so many men must watch their friends and colleagues die moments after they were alive, well and at the top of their game.

Wick is a propaganda hero, and in one of those freaky coincidences is on the cover of that day's German propaganda publication, Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung (BIZ). He is standing beside Hermann Goering, whose wayward decisions have sabotaged the Luftwaffe effort and helped keep the RAF strong.

The new Kommodore of JG 2, replacing Wick, is Hptm. Karl-Heinz Greisert.

Lt Harold Reginald Newgass earns the George Cross for disarming a land mine lodged in a fuel tank full of coal gas.

The cover of BIZ No. 48, 28 November 1940. That is Helmut Wick on the right (I believe).

Battle of the Atlantic: The weather is very rough in the mid-Atlantic. This makes the merchant marine service increasingly all-or-nothing around this time, because either you make it across or have a ship close at hand to rescue you if you get torpedoed - or you don't. And, if you don't, your odds of survival are not good. The action is erratic, with equipment not always acting the way it would in more normal weather and more unsuccessful attacks than usual.

U-104 (Kptlt. Harald Jürst) and its 49 crewmen, after having torpedoed two ships on the 27th (and sinking one), disappears into the sea, with nobody surviving. The most common theory is that the U-boat wandered into a defensive Royal Navy minefield (SN 44, laid on 8 November) northwest of Londonderry, County Derry, Northern Ireland. It is not known when it sinks, either, as it is not considered missing by the Kriegsmarine until well into December.

U-103 (Kplt. Viktor Schütze), on its second patrol out of Lorient, is operating in the Atlantic sea lanes about 930 km from Bishop Rock (200 miles southwest of Rockall). It downs two ships. First, it torpedoes 3578 ton Greek freighter Mount Athos. There are 19 deaths. Mount Athos is a straggler from Convoy OB 248 and sinks within four minutes. However, even in that short time, the wireless operator manages to get out a message with the ship's position. Nine survivors are picked up on the 30th by an escort from Convoy OB 251, HMS Vanquisher.

U-103 also torpedoes and sinks 4940-ton British freighter St. Elwyn. There are 16 survivors and 24 men perish. Survivors are picked up by British freighter Leeds City.

U-95 (Kptlt. Gerd Schreiber), on its first patrol out of Kiel, fires two torpedoes at 1298-ton Norwegian collier Ringhorn and misses with both. It is possible that the torpedoes are defective - there are problems with torpedoes in the cold during the war's early years. In any event, Schreiber, undoubtedly frustrated at wasting so much ordnance on a relatively small ship, surfaces and uses his deck gun. The Germans damage the freighter and the crew abandons ship, expecting it to sink. However, they later reboard it and bring it to port at Belfast.

Greek 2950-ton freighter Eugenia Cambanis, traveling in convoy SC 13 in the Atlantic off Newfoundland, sinks in a gale after its cargo shifts. Sources are unclear on what happens to the crew, either they all live or all perish - the story of the Battle of the Atlantic. The crew abandons the ship, certain it will capsize and sink... but it doesn't sink. The derelict, in fact, does not go to the bottom until finally shelled by Norwegian patrol boat Hilda Knudsen on 19 December.

Royal Navy 221-ton trawler HMT Manx Prince hits a mine and sinks off the mouth of the Humber in the North Sea, about 5 km from Spurn Point, Yorkshire. Everybody aboard survives, taken aboard minesweeping trawler HMS Cortina.

The German coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez (Hellfire Corner) score a rare long-range success - sort of - when they hit 1167 ton British freighter Skipjack at Dover. However the ship is only damaged, and at that distance, there is little chance of a successful follow-through. The Skipjack makes it to port for repairs.

Italian submarine Dessie fires torpedoes at light cruiser HMS Glasgow in the Atlantic and misses.

Convoy OB 251 departs from Liverpool, Convoys Sl 575 and SL 57 depart from Freetown.

Australian destroyer HMAS Napier (G 97, Captain Stephen H. T. Arliss) is commissioned.

Consolidated Model 28 - U.S. Navy PBY - flying boats in final assembly at the Consolidated Aircraft factory in San Diego in November 1940. Photo credit: Consolidated Aircraft.

Battle of the Mediterranean: British submarine HMS Regulus goes missing in the Aegean. It is presumed lost due to a mine. Nobody survives.

Operation Collar continues, with battleship HMS Malaya covering the return of Convoy ME 4 - the outward-bound voyage of the Malta convoy MW 4 - to Alexandria.

Operation Canned commences off Italian Somaliland. Light cruiser HMS Leander departs from Aden in a mission to bombard Italian positions at Banda Alulu.

At Malta, there are several air raids as ships arrive at 14:30 in Grand Harbour from the Operation Collar convoys. The Italians are active because they know that there are many British ships operating in the area due to Operation Collar. A raid by half a dozen CR 42 fighters, followed by ten bombers escorted by another ten fighters, around 13:30 is particularly fierce. The Italians lose an SM 79 bomber and a fighter. The British freighters, meanwhile, sustain no damage and unload quickly.

Henry Maitland Wilson, Italy, 30 April 1944 (Imperial war Museum TR 1762).

North Africa: British Middle East Commander Archibald Wavell is busy planning Operation Compass, the planned offensive against the Italians in Egypt. He orders the Commander of British Troops Egypt, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, to prepare limited five-day operations. He writes to Wilson:

I do not entertain extravagant hopes of this operation but I do wish to make certain that if a big opportunity occurs we are prepared morally, mentally and administratively to use it to the fullest.

The general plan of attack will be to send British and Indian troops through the Sofafi–Nibeiwa gap, with armored formations attacking Nibeiwa from the west.

German/Yugoslavian Relations: Yugoslavian Foreign Minister Aleksandar Cincar-Markovic meets with Hitler in Berlin. Hitler pressures Yugoslavia to sign the Tripartite Pact, but the Serb-dominated officer corps violently opposes this. Regent Prince Paul of Yugoslavia knows that signing the agreement will only cause trouble and is extremely leery, so the Yugoslavs pass. Hitler proposes a bizarre swap, a Yugoslavian alliance in exchange for the Greek seaport of Salonika - which the Greeks still possess. At this point in time, Hitler is offering potential allies territory which he has no ability to give, and the offers themselves illustrate his intentions.

Soviet Military: Konstantin Rokossovsky, a former prisoner accused of treason (on fabricated evidence) but released from  Kresty Prison in Leningrad for unexplained reasons on 22 March 1940, assumes command of the newly formed 9th Mechanized Corps in the Kyiv Military District. It has the 19th and 20th Tank Divisions and the 131st Motorized Division. Soviet records can be obscure, but it appears Rokossovsky takes over from the start. Rokossovsky only survived the 1930s officer purges because he refused to sign a false statement, but was badly beaten for doing so. He never blamed Stalin for his mistreatment, but rather the NKVD (Soviet secret police).

Romania: Following the Iron Guard's brutal assaults on its political enemies on the 27th, Ion Antonescu's government declares a state of emergency.

China: The commander of the Japanese 11th Army in Hubei Province (Han River sector), Lieutenant General Waichiro Sonobe, orders a retreat under pressure from the continuing Chinese offensive. The Japanese engage in a scorched earth policy, burning down villages and inflicting heavy casualties on civilians and the advancing Chinese troops.

Holocaust: German Reserve Police Battalion 101 is assigned to guard the perimeter of the Lodz ghetto and shoot anyone who tries to leave.

German Homefront: The German film industry remains quite active throughout the war. Today, it releases its most notorious films, "The Eternal Jew" (Der ewige Jude), likely the most anti-Semitic film ever made. Directed by Fritz Hippler and with a screenplay by Eberhard Taubert, it interweaves documentary footage with acting. Many view this film as a response to a 1934 British film of the same name which portrayed Jews in a sympathetic light.

British Homefront: The government increasingly is trying to shape the lives of its citizens to better withstand what now looks to be a long-term siege of Great Britain. Two different authority figures give their views today, and their news is not good. However, it is judicious and necessary from a medical perspective.

Lord Horder, who chairs the British Medical Committee, has grown increasingly concerned about the risk of epidemics due to the devastation being wrought to dwellings and the other signs of aerial combat (such as dead bodies). He cautions the public that "We have more to fear from germs than Germans."

Lord Woolton, the Minister of Food who recently ended banana imports, has further bad news. he announces a cut in milk rations during the winter months. The government further advises that milk may be unsafe without first boiling it to reduce the risk of typhoid.

Opening Fashion Exhibit at the Parsons School of Design. New York City, 28 November 1940.

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

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

Tuesday 29 October 1940

Father Louis Cheray stands in his ruined Edmundite church in Whitton, England. It was destroyed on the night of 29 October 1940. Unlike today, when someone (usually the government) steps in and fixes things, back then if your building was bombed, you were out of luck. Father Cheray raised some money and set to work repairing the church himself. He completed repairs in 1941, doing a lot himself, and the church as he fixed it remains in service today.

Italian/Greek Campaign: There are three main sectors of the Greek front with varying degrees of activity on 29 October 1940.

Along the coastal sector, the main Greek 8th Infantry Division force on the coast breaks contact and retires in good order to the Kalpaki line. This area has swamps at the mouth of the Kalamas River directly in front of Kalpaki which would retard any attack. Two Greek battalions under Major-General Nikolaos Lioumbas hold this area. Further inland, nine Greek battalions hold the Kalpaki pass. This line looks sturdy due to its natural advantages despite the presence of Italian warships offshore that can bombard the Greeks.

In the central sector, the Julia Division is moving forward in the critical Pindus Mountains sector of the front. Their goal is the crossroads of Metsovo, which would cut Greek lines of communications to their forces further north. The Greeks of the scratch Pindus Detachment (soon to be supplemented by the 1st Infantry Division) are retiring in good order to Samarina. It begins to snow in this area, which helps the defense.

The northern Macedonian sector is fairly static, with minimal Italian gains. Advances in this sector depend upon the Italian forces further south taking Metsovo, through which Greek supplies and reinforcements pass.

A planned Italian landing on Corfu is scrubbed due to poor weather.

A Paris shopgirl displays her wares for appreciative Wehrmacht boys, October 1940.

German/Italian Relations: An underlying tension between the Italians and the Germans concerns North Africa. The Germans want to put their own troops there for a variety of reasons, including sheer imperialism. The Italians, however, consider North Africa their own private domain and want it to remain German-free. Mussolini has been uncertain about the ability of the Italian Army to advance past the British defensive line at Mersa Matruh and take Alexandria without German assistance. At the Brenner Pass meeting on 4 October, Mussolini had waffled on whether to allow German troops to participate in this "third stage" of the North Africa offensive, indicating that he "might be forced" to use German tanks to take the British base (which would lever the British completely out of the Middle East entirely).

In hindsight, it is fairly obvious that the Italian Army had absolutely no hope of reaching Alexandria by itself, much less capturing it. However, the Italians are full of themselves at this point and truly believe they are world-conquerors.

Italian Commander in Chief Marshal Badoglio - adamantly opposed to German involvement in North Africa - today convinces Mussolini that the "third stage" of the offensive, taking Alexandria, is completely impossible with or without German assistance. He convinces Mussolini to cancel any plans for an Italian advance beyond Mersa Matruh (which itself would be extremely difficult for the Italians to take). This eliminates any excuse for the Germans to intrude troops into North Africa. It cripples the "peripheral strategy" favored by many of Hitler's Generals and Admirals - at least for the time being. Armchair historians who wonder why the Germans didn't just boot the British out of Egypt and Gibraltar early on when it would have been feasible - here is your reason.

This is an eminently sensible conclusion for the Italians to draw from the situation. Italian troops have miserable morale and terrible equipment and supplies. The important thing to note, though, is that the Italians don't make this decision at this time because of the British defenses or anything to do with the state of the Italian military - but because of their desire to keep the Germans out of North Africa.

Japan's home fleet on October 29, 1940, off the coast of Yokohama, Japan.

Battle of Britain: The Luftwaffe steps up its raids today, requiring a maximum effort by the RAF. It is a bad day for the Luftwaffe's fighter force, which suffers heavily. Today's operations usually are considered the last major, or climactic, Luftwaffe daylight attacks over England, though the battle continues of course.

German fighter-bombers (Jabos) cross the coast around 10:30, with many evading interception and bombing central London. The Charing Cross bridge is hit. A Hurricane of RAF No. 213 Squadron bales out near Selsey but perishes.

Some Dornier Do 17s mount a rare daylight raid just past noontime. They are intercepted by RAF No. 1 Squadron and don't accomplish much.

The largest operations of the day begin at 13:00 when 100+ Jabos and accompanying fighters head for central London and nearby airfields (Biggin Hill, Hornchurch, Maidstone). JG 51 runs into the main force of RAF fighters and is attacked from above, losing 8 fighters. The Jabos drop their bombs and scramble for home quickly.

Around the same time, a large formation approaches Portsmouth from the south. This includes a dozen Junkers Ju 88s, and they run into RAF Nos. 145 and 213 Squadrons. The Luftwaffe bombs cause 39 casualties, with three deaths, along with dozens of houses destroyed and damage to the railway line.

As these other raids are in progress, the Italian CAI force sends over 15 BR 20 bombers with 39 CR 42 and 34 G.50bis escorts to bomb Ramsgate. They stray off course and bomb the Royal Marines Barracks at Deal, killing 8 men and wounding a dozen others.

The Jabos have great success later in the afternoon, and they are accompanied again by Junkers Ju 88 bombers. These raids proceed against airfields across East Anglia. This is Operation Opernhall (Opera Hall). There are 71 Ju 88s and 52 Jabos escorted by well over 120 Bf 109s and Bf 110s. North Weald, Leeming, Linton, Wattisham, Honington, Leeming, Newmarket, West Raynham, and Linton-on-Ouse and other airfields take damage.

The fighting is wild and wooly all afternoon. There are Luftwaffe planes going every which way, including a diversionary attack on the London docks by Epr210. There were planes falling out of the sky in all directions, most of them German.

After dark, the main targets are London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Coventry. The raids are spread out all across southern England. One bomber raids Bristol, another causes a fire at the Wrays Optical Works which destroys the factory. Junkers Ju 88s act as dive bombers (all Luftwaffe bombers are required to have some dive-bombing capability), attacking airfields in East Anglia, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire.

The Luftwaffe drops mines in the Thames Estuary. These include new acoustic mines, which explode due to noise caused by ship propellers. One of the mines is recovered by two Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officers in the River Ogmore for study.

Overall, as with most days when the Luftwaffe mounts a major effort, it is a bad day for the Germans. They lose over two dozen planes (22 Bf 109s, 3 Bf 110s and 2 Do 17s), and the RAF fewer than a dozen planes.

Werner Mölders claimed his 54th victory, keeping his lead over second-place Adolf Galland. Major Helmut Wick of JG 2 files two claims for Hurricanes over Portsmouth, giving him 44 victories.

Check out Tommy Dorsey and Frank at the Palladium tonight.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends its 25th raid against Berlin.

Battle of the Atlantic: British 1500 ton sludge barge G.W. Humphreys hits a mine and sinks Thames Estuary north of Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent. Seven crewmen perish.

U-31 (Kptl. Wilfried Prellberg) torpedoes and sinks 5389-ton British freighter Matina. The Matina is a drifting derelict that was attacked by U-28 on 26 October. This will be U-31's final success.

U-29 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart) rendezvouses with German raider Widder in the Bay of Biscay. Widder is operating at a reduced power of 5 knots due to engine difficulties and is slowly returning to base.

Norwegian 3015 ton freighter Jamaica hits a mine and is damaged.

Dutch submarine O-24 attacks a freighter off Norway but misses.

German E-boats Iltis and Jaguar lay minefield Alfred off Dover.

Convoy OB 236 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 322 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 322 departs from Methil, Convoy SC 10 departs St. John, Convoy OG 45 departs from Liverpool/Milford Haven/Glasgow, Convoy BM 3 departs from Bombay.

Daily Worker, 29 October 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Greece formally requests British military assistance per the guarantee of 13 April 1939, which states:

[I]n the event of any action being taken which clearly threatened the independence of Greece, His Majesty's Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend all the support in their power.

England already has offered its assistance, so this request is a mere formality.

Operation BN: Pursuant to their mutual defense obligations to the Greeks, the British land troops on Greece. It is a reconnaissance party drawn from members of the Royal Navy, RAF, and the army. The men arrive at Suda Bay in a flying boat. The Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet based at Alexandria, led by battleships HMS Warspite, Valiant, Malaya, and Ramillies along with aircraft carriers HMS Eagle and Illustrious sorties to the west of Crete to cover landing operations there. A convoy of troopships also depart for Suda Bay. Operation BN is planned to continue for the next week and land a large body of British troops. The initial force of battleships also carries an extempore initial landing force of 158 sailors from the crew of damaged HMS Liverpool to form a shore party at Suda Bay.

Italian submarine Scirè parks off Gibraltar and releases its three manned torpedoes. All three submersibles, however, experience technical difficulties and the mission is scrubbed.

Italian submarine Atropo lays mines off Zante in the Aegean.

RAF bombers raid Italian positions in North Africa.

At Malta, the Malta Fighter Plane Fund is closed to contributions today, being announced a great success. A total of £12900 has been raised over three months, which is to be sent to the Minister for Aircraft Production, Lord Beaverbrook, in London.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Pinguin and converted minelayer Passat continue laying mines off southeast Australia. The Passat lays 30 mines in the Banks Straits.

Italian Military: The government begins full mobilization of the Italian Blackshirt units.

Actress Carole Landis learns her future from phrenology, 29 October 1940.

Vichy France: French Brigadier-General Paul Legentilhomme, who has been the Commander in Chief of the French military units stationed in French Somaliland, arrives in London to join Charles de Gaulle. Legentilhomme condemned the French Armistice on 18 June and left his command on 2 August.

China: At the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese withdraw from Nanning as the Chinese advance. The Chinese capture Kaofengyi, Santang, and Chientaohsu.

American Homefront: The first draft number is drawn pursuant to the  Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 lottery by Secretary of War Henry Stimson. He uses a blindfold to fish a number out of a fishbowl. This is the beginning of the first peacetime draft in US history. Chinese laundryman Yuen Chong Chan is the first choice and announces that he is eager to fight Japan.

October 29, 1940, U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson draws the third draft lottery number, watched by President Roosevelt. You can see the first two numbers drawn on the board.

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

Tuesday 15 October 1940

Damage to the 7th floor of the BBC House in central London by a 500 lb bomb on 15 October 1940. At first, the bomb does not detonate, but when men arrive to move it, the bomb goes off, killing four men and three women.

Battle of Britain: Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering continues with his perpetual tinkering of the Luftwaffe operations over England on 15 October 1940. In this case, he basically just codifies what has been the program for weeks now anyway. He orders that there be three priorities in descending order:

• London;
• aircraft factories;
• factories in the Midlands and air bases.

More importantly, the weight of the offensive from now on is to be at night, something that already has been the case throughout the month. With the nights getting longer, this makes good tactical sense, although not so much strategic sense. The British night fighter force composed of Bristol Beaufighters is still embryonic, and the only real defense to the bombers is the fierce anti-aircraft ring defending inner London and some other major cities. Recent raids have been tactically devastating but strategically almost worthless, as they destroy random buildings in the cities while leaving the RAF's growing power unchecked.

The RAF also is tinkering with its strategy. While the British do not have the initiative at the moment - fighter operations by RAF fighters at this stage over the Continent are rare and usually accidental - their decisions greatly affect the course of the battle because the Luftwaffe repeatedly has shifted its own strategy in response.

Number 11 Group today issues new instructions to its units. From now on, there are to be standing patrols at 20,000 feet or higher. This is considered necessary due to the new Luftwaffe tactic of using fighter-bombers (Jabos) during the day rather than the slower (and lower-flying) bombers. This allows for an interception on somewhat equal terms, as the British fighters do not need ten minutes to get up to altitude. It also, however, somewhat plays into the Luftwaffe's own strategy of desiring air battles in order to continue harvesting Fighter Command's assets.

The weather is unsettled, cloudy over the Channel and France but clearing from the west. The day begins with a "pirate raid" at 06:10 by a lone Heinkel He 111 of III,/KG 55 upon the British Aeroplane Company located at Filton. Another attack at 07:00 targets Birmingham and RAF Ternhill, destroying two Blenheims and some other aircraft. Thereafter, the raids are almost continuous, of small scale but coming from all directions.

At 08:00, the Luftwaffe sends a Jabo raid against southern England. As is often the case with the Jabos, the initial group reaches its targets before the RAF can respond. Their target is London, and King George V Dock in West Ham, Waterloo Station and south London, in general, take the brunt of the attack.

Another attack crosses at 09:45. This time, the RAF is waiting and the Jabos don't reach their targets.

Around noontime, the day's major raid occurs when sixty fighters, including Jabos and Bf 110s, cross near Folkestone with London as their target. The RAF performs a successful interception, chasing away the Bf 110s and forcing the Bf 109 Jabos to drop their bombs at random in the Ashford/Gravesend/Maidstone region. Both sides use the clouds to their advantage, which reduces the number of losses on both sides.

Another large formation crosses the Isle of Wight around the same time. This time, the RAF has a clear-cut victory, attacking out of the sun and shooting down several Bf 109s and leading to more dogfights. The Germans, though, have a numerical advantage in this engagement, so some of the Jabos get through to their target of Southampton.

JG 26, perhaps the premier Luftwaffe formation at the time, bounces some Hurricanes east of London during the afternoon as the Luftwaffe continues raids on the Maidstone/Ashford area. Just as the RAF earlier had a clear-cut victory, this battle goes to the Germans. They shoot down several RAF planes.

Sergeant Alois Dvořák welcomed by pilots of RAF No. 310 Squadron at RAF Duxford. He joins the unit on 15 October 1940.

The skies clear completely during the day, and there is a bright moon. After dark, the Luftwaffe mounts another major effort against London. 400 bombers pound the financial district (City of London) with 530 tons of bombs, starting 900 fires and killing hundreds of people. There is extensive damage that severs rail and road communications at five main railway stations. Oxford Street is blocked, as well as the road above Balham Underground Station from the night before. Damage also is caused to key installations such as the Royal Docks, Beckton Gasworks, Battersea Power Station, and a Handley Page aircraft. The vital water pipeline at Enfield is severed, shutting off a 46-million Imperial gallon per day pipeline.

An especially noticeable incident occurs when bombs fall on the BBC during its 21:00 news broadcast. Seven people lose their lives after the bomb crashes through the exterior wall into an interior library, causing extensive damage. However, the equipment still functions. Broadcaster Bruce Belfrage, sitting in the basement with Hell itself breaking loose above, carries on throughout the broadcast despite being covered in plaster. The home audience never suspects a thing. "Keep calm and carry on" indeed.

Birmingham, Kent, and Bristol also are hit during the night but don't receive nearly the attention as does London.  The Luftwaffe loses only one bomber, as the British night fighter force remains ineffective.

Overall, it is another reasonably good day for the Luftwaffe. The score is usually given as 14 losses for the Luftwaffe and 15 by the RAF - and that generally does not include either RAF bombers lost over Europe over planes destroyed on the ground. The Luftwaffe has found a workable strategy against the British, but the question, as previously, is how long they will stick to a good thing. In the past, the answer has been... not long enough.

It is a big day for the big names of the Luftwaffe. Major Werner Mölders of Stab/JG 51 downs a Hurricane during the morning for victory number 47. Adolf Galland of Stab/JG 26 gets his 45th victory, a Spitfire during the afternoon battles, staying hot on the heels of Mölders. Hauptmann Walter Oesau of Stab III./JG 51 also claims a Hurricane for his 37th victory. "Pips" Priller also gets two victories, and Hauptmann Helmut Wick downs a Spitfire for victory no. 42. When the Experten rack up the scores, you know the Luftwaffe is having a good day - for those who return to base.

On the English side, Section Commander George Walter Inwood of the Home Guard pulls two unconscious men from a gas-filled center but perishes on his third go-round. He posthumously receives the George Cross.

Lieutenant Eric Charles Twelves Wilson previously has received the Victoria's Cross for actions in Somaliland during the Italian invasion, but there is a twist. At first, it is believed that the award is posthumous, but today he turns up in a POW camp. Wilson really earned the award, maintaining a machine-gun post-operational from 11-15 August despite being wounded... and having malaria. The stiff upper lip and all that.

General Alexander Holle replaces Generalmajor Robert Fuchs as Kommodore of KG 26.

With all the other big Luftwaffe names in the news today, there's also another one who does something important. This Luftwaffe legend, however, is still unknown. Erich "Bubi" Hartmann joins the Luftwaffe Military Training Regiment 10 at Neukuhurn near Koenigsberg in East Prussia.

Another view of the BBC House damage.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command concentrates on the German-held ports tonight. This includes Kiel, Hamburg, Boulogne, Flushing, Lorient, Brest and Terneuzen. The Fleet Air Arm chips in with attacks on Dunkirk.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a good day for the U-boats and a bad one for the convoys. As usual, it is a lottery for the merchant marine sailors: sometimes the crew all live, sometimes most or all of them perish. There's no way to predict what will happen, the variables include the weather, the ship's cargo (ships with heavy and dense cargos tend to sink faster), the distance from shore, the presence of other ships nearby, the type of ship you are on (tankers are much harder to sink), any assistance offered by the U-boat itself, and whether you even survive the initial explosion intact. Even if you make it to the lifeboats, they may get swamped or spring a leak or you may die of starvation before you make land or are found. Many lifeboats, seen by the U-boat to depart intact, are never seen again. Serving on the North Atlantic trade routes is so disliked that some crews transfer to the navy, which in some ways can be safer.

U-138 (Oblt.z.S. Wolfgang Lüth) stalks Convoy OB 228 northwest of the Butt of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides (about 80 km northwest of Rockall). At 05:10 Lüth fires a torpedo at the Bonheur, and at 05:15 another at the British Glory.

U-138 also torpedoes and sinks 5327-ton British freighter Bonheur. All 39 crew survive, taken off by HMT Sphene.

U-138 then torpedoes and damages 6993 ton British Glory. The torpedo hits in the aft section engine room, killing three men there and disabling the ship. The ship is towed to Kames Bay, then to the Clyde for repairs.

U-103 (Kptl. Viktor Schütze), toward the end of her first patrol, also stalks Convoy OB 228. It torpedoes and sinks 4747-ton British freighter Thistlegarth. There are 9 survivors and 30 crew perish. After this, U-103 heads to its new base at Lorient.

U-93 (Kptlt. Claus Korth) stalks Convoy OB 227 northwest of the Outer Hebrides. Just after midnight, it torpedoes and sinks 9331-ton British cargo freighter Hurunui. There are 73 survivors and 2 crew perish.

Italian submarine Comandante Alfredo Cappellini, operating off the Azores, uses its deck gun to sinks Belgian freighter Kabalo. There are 42 survivors and one man perishes.

Royal Navy patrol boat HMT Mistletoe hits a mine and blows up in the Humber Estuary near Spurn Point, Yorkshire. There are two survivors and six men perish. Several ships have been succumbing to this minefield.

British drifter Apple Tree (19 tons) gets the worst of a collision with RAF Pinnace No. 50 in Oban Harbour and sinks.

British 477 ton collier Bellavale runs aground in a storm at St. John's Point, Rossglass, County Down. It is a total loss.

Royal Navy submarine L 27 (Lt R. E. Campbell) reports attacking a German convoy off Cape Barfleur and scoring three hits on a 7000-ton freighter. However, in one of those mysteries of the sea, the German records make no mention of any such incident.

U-65 (Kptlt. Joachim Hoppe) reports being attacked by a Royal Navy submarine while transiting through the Bay of Biscay from its base at Lorient. However, it is undamaged and continues out to the Atlantic.

Operation D.H.U. is set in motion. Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Hood departs from Scapa Flow as part of a force to attack Tromso, Norway in a few days. Several destroyers also depart and will conduct exercises in the interim.

Minelayer HMS Teviotbank and destroyer HMS Intrepid lay minefield BS 41 in the North Sea.

Convoy OB 229 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 309 departs from Southend, Convoy 310 departs from Methil, Convoy SC 8 departs from St John, Nova Scotia.

"Posed portrait of a soldier with rifle and bayonet standing watch behind beach defenses' somewhere in Southern England', 15 October 1940." © IWM (H 4733).

Battle of the Mediterranean: In a rare gunbattle between submarines, Italian submarine Enrico Toti sinks Royal Navy submarine HMS Triad (Lt.Cdr. G.S. Salt) off Calabria (50 miles south of Cape Colonne in Otranto Strait). Encountering each other on the surface at 01:00, the Triad fires first but misses, and also fires a torpedo that misses. Using its machine gun, the Toti then forces the Triad gunners to seek shelter and closes at full speed. The Toti then sinks the Triad with a torpedo as the British submarine attempts to dive. The submarine pops out of the water vertically stern first, then sinks straight down. There are no survivors of the 50-man crew. The Triad is often mistaken for HMS Rainbow, which sank on 4 October in a collision.

At Malta, a French Loire 130 reconnaissance aircraft with three aboard unexpectedly lands (after being shadowed by three Hurricanes) at Kalfrana from Bizerta. It is a crew of Vichy airmen switching sides. The pilot has never flown a Loire before, but he brings the plane down in a manner described as "a bit shaky" by ground observers. The men provide valuable intelligence about aircraft at Bizerta. It is a solid victory for the propaganda service, as the men are carrying a leaflet dropped by the RAF.

German/Soviet Relations: The German embassy in Moscow is still translating Ribbentrop's massive mission to Stalin about a New World Order. It will take a few more days.

Italian/Bulgarian Relations: Italy asks Bulgaria to assist the projected invasion of Greece. This would require the Italians to defend two fronts rather than one.

Italian Military: Benito Mussolini, after much thought and consultation, decides to use the Italian occupation of Albania to invade Greece. Mussolini obtains permission from the Italian War Council (Ciano, Badoglio, Jacomoni, Visconti-Prasca, Roatta, Cavagnari, and Pricolo), which is a mere formality (despite misgivings they almost all privately have). He does not tell German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, who complains around this time that there is a strange "inability" of Germans to learn the Italian plans. Marshal Badoglio, no fan military adventures with a weak army, succeeds only in gaining a postponement of two days for the start of the invasion, which will have to go through the mountains in northern Greece.

The planned attack date of the invasion is 26 October. The Commando Supremo projects a quick two-week operation to defeat the Greeks. This is a decision of far-reaching ramifications - some say it directly affects the outcome of World War II itself by a direct chain of events - that will not become fully apparent for some time.

US Military: The US Marine Corps mobilizes its reserve battalions. They are to be assigned to active duty by 9 November 1940.

Fighters ordered by Sweden are requisitioned by the US Army Air Corps and the order is canceled.

The storied US 69th Regiment (New York) is inducted into the Federal Armory during a ceremony held at the drill shed. 15 October 1940.

Japanese Military: Captain Sadayoshi Yamada becomes commanding officer of the aircraft carrier “Kaga.” Captain Matsuji Ijuin becomes commanding officer of “Naka.”

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a message to all ambassadors via the Foreign Office that "nothing can compare with the importance of the British Empire and the United States being co-belligerent." This, of course, is not the official policy of the United States - at least openly.

Holocaust: Adolf Hitler expounds upon his vision for Czechoslovakia, which has been incorporated into the Greater Reich as the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia. His view is that half the population will assimilate, and the rest is expendable. Naturally, the usual groups - intellectuals, Jews and other minorities such as the Gypsies, clergy - fall into the latter category.

American Homefront: The government announces that, pursuant to the new peacetime draft, 16 million already have registered for the peacetime draft.

Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" premieres in New York City. This is a pet project of Chaplin's which he has been working on for years. A very political film due to its obvious parodies of Hitler and Mussolini (who is portrayed like a delicatessen butcher in a hilarious performance by Jack Oakie) and others, "The Great Dictator" is seen by just about everyone as a propaganda tool. It is favored in the UK and banned in some Latin American countries.

Charlie Chaplin in "The Great Dictator," released today.

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

Sunday 6 October 1940

The great Legionnaire (Iron Guard) manifestation in Bucharest, October 6,1940.

Overview: Both sides have incidents of Friendly Fire on 6 October 1940 that unnecessarily take the lives of men simply doing their jobs in a routine way. These things happen in war, and they happened a lot more during World War II than either side ever acknowledged until many years later.

Battle of Britain: The poor weather returns, with more clouds and rain over England. In fact, the Luftwaffe actually begins a large raid at one point, but it turns back due to the weather. Instead, the day is characterized by lone "pirate" raiders conducted by specially trained crews who make hit-and-run raids on selected targets.

Late in the morning, a raider bombs Middle Wallop, while at 12:45 it is the turn of RAF Biggin Hill. Another raid on Eastbourne damages gas/water lines.

The Luftwaffe attacks the same convoy at 13:30 and then again an hour later. This is the largest raid of the day, with maybe a dozen bombers, but it accomplishes nothing. At 16:19, a bomber from Chartres starts to come across but turns back. A little while later, a Junkers Ju 88 strafes RAF White Waltham and Farnborough, and a bomber scores some minor hits on the Hawker Aircraft Factory at Stough. Another strafing attack on RAF Northolt catches a Hurricane about to take off and destroys it and kills the pilot, while the Junkers Ju 88 is hunted down and destroyed at Leatherhead, Surrey. Other attacks during the afternoon take place at Biggin Hill and Croydon.

London does have a few minor attacks during the day, but after dark, everything is very quiet. An occasional bomber crosses over, such as one at 20:00 and another at 21:00, but they don't accomplish much. There are a couple of more lone raiders before midnight, then the remainder of the night is peaceful.

Overall, losses are in the single digits for both sides. The RAF loses two planes, and the Luftwaffe about nine.

An airman refueling a Hawker Hurricane I aircraft of No. 1 (F) Squadron, RCAF. Northolt, England, October 6, 1940. Photographer unknown.

The RAF suffers a friendly fire incident when a Hampden bomber of RAF No. 106 Squadron shuttling between bases on a quiet day is mistakenly attacked by a pair of Hurricanes. A quick burst of fire kills the bomber's navigator, Sgt K.S Powers, but then the Hurricane pilots recognize their mistake. The bomber lands intact and without any great damage, but the man is dead. These kinds of things can happen on days of low visibility such as this, but generally, there is little tolerance for such incidents within the RAF. The Hurricane pilots hear about it with great emphasis from their commander when they land.

Sergeant Frederick Fenton Vinyard, flying a Spitfire for RAF No. 64 Squadron, has some kind of mechanical or weather issue and crashes into the sea near Beverley, Yorkshire. It is a typical incident, no glory, an accident, just another casualty of the war. However, sometimes we remember an individual now and then. His name is listed at the Air Forces Memorial, or Runnymede Memorial, in Englefield Green, near Egham, Surrey, England.

Hauptmann Helmut Wick receives the Oak Leaves for his 40th victory on the 5th.

Oblt. Werner Streib, Gruppenkommanduer of I./NJG 1 is awarded the Ritterkruez. He is instrumental in developing the Luftwaffe's night fighter force.

Perhaps the biggest news of the day is that the Luftwaffe has a new version of the Bf 109 to play with. Geschwaderkommodore Werner Mölders of JG 51, the top scorer in the battle, is given the honor of being the first to fly the new Bf 109 F-1 WNr. 5628 'SG+GW' in action. The weather is so bad that he makes no interceptions.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command bombs several ports along the Channel coast, including Boulogne, Calais, and Ostend. along with the airfield at Diepholz. Coastal Command attacks a German convoy off the Dutch coast and loses a Hudson.

HMS Poulmic.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-123 (Karl-Heinz Moehle), U-103 (Kptl. Viktor Schütze)  and U-37 (Victor Oehrn) are all operating in the general area of the trade routes about 400 miles west of Ireland. This is becoming a favored spot by the U-boats based in France and Norway.

U-123 torpedoes and sinks 5943-ton British cargo ship Benlawers at 13:04. The Benlawers is loaded with trucks and other goods destined for British forces at Cairo. There are 27 survivors and 24 men perish. The Benlawers is a straggler from Convoy OB 221.

U-103 torpedoes and sinks 6123-ton Norwegian tanker Nina Borthen in the same general area as U-123's success at 22:04. The tanker refuses to sink, so the U-boat puts two more torpedoes into it at 22:14 and 22:38 - but it remains afloat. Finally, a fourth torpedo at 23:30 does the trick. There are no survivors, all 35 onboard perish. The Nina Borthen had been dispersed from Convoy OA 222.

U-37 (Kplt. Victor Oehrn), also operating in the same area, spots 6989-ton British tanker British General. Tankers are notoriously difficult for U-boats to sink due to their internal structures, and the British General has deck guns. The tanker also is empty, which gives its crew some flexibility in counter-flooding. U-37 puts one torpedo into it at 18:55 and the second at 23:10, but the tanker remains afloat and the U-boat cannot surface to use its deck gun due to the British General's armament. This is one instance where a deck gun plays a vital role in assuring a merchant ship's survival for a while. The ship remains afloat as the day ends, but the U-37 is waiting patiently to finish it off. The British General has been dispersed from Convoy OA 222.

British 910 ton freighter Jersey Queen hits a mine laid by German destroyers and sinks a couple of miles from St. Anthony Point in the English Channel. Two crewmen perish. This sinking is uncertain, and some sources claim it was sunk by the Luftwaffe.

British 300 ton auxiliary minesweeper HMS Poulmic (Le Poulmic, seized from France) also hits a mine and sinks in the same general area off Penlee Point, Cornwall. Divers describe the wreck - a popular dive spot - as being all strewn about as if caused by a particularly violent explosion.

British 84 ton coastal freighter Scotch Thistle runs aground in the Thames Estuary and is written off.

Swedish trawler Hugin hits a mine and sinks in the Skagerak.

Convoys OA 225 and Convoy FS 302 depart from Methil, Convoy FN 301 departs from Southend, Convoy OL 6 departs from Liverpool.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, as he is wont to do, conducts a surprise snap inspection of army units in northern Italy. The Roman press drops hints about "big things" in the offing.

Italian submarine Tricheco mistakes her fellow submarine Gemma for an enemy and torpedoes and sinks it five miles south of Karpathos (near Leros) in the Dodecanese. Everyone aboard perishes. The Italian Naval Command (Supermarina) fails at notifying both crews of the others' presence.

Yugoslavian 1919 ton freighter Vido hits a mine about 18 km off of Sulina, Romania in the Black Sea. The crew beaches the ship.

At Malta, there are no air raids, continuing a lengthy pause in operations. There are various patrols by Short Sunderland Flying Boats that spot an Italian hospital ship and a Greek freighter, but otherwise, it is a very uneventful day.

Anglo/US Relations: The US destroyers that arrived in Halifax on the 5th are turned over to the Royal Navy pursuant to the destroyers-for-bases deal.

• USS Branch -> HMS Beverley, 
• USS Hunt -> HMS Broadway, 
• USS Mason -> the HMS Broadwater, 
• USS Satterlee -> HMS Belmont, 
• USS Laub -> HMS Burwell, 
• USS Aulick -> HMS Burnham, 
• USS Edwards -> HMS Buxton, and 
• USS McLanahan -> HMS Bradford.

Horia Sima, Antonescu and King Michael I of Romania, 1940

Romania: Ion Antonescu presides over a massive rally by the Iron Guard in Budapest. He thereby skillfully creates the appearance of being in charge of the Iron Guard, when in fact that position is still held by Horia Sima. In fact, Antonescu, for now, continues a relatively moderate policy of tolerating the opposition parties (PNT and PNL) without massive reprisals or persecutions.

The Iron Guard pledges allegiance to Antonescu and Sima. The Iron Guard has gained a poor historical reputation for fascism and violence, but at least its ethos has a mystical, heroic quality that transcends current politics:

Walk only on the path of honour. Fight and never exhibit cowardice. Leave to lesser men the ways of infamy. Better to fall in battle, struggling on the path of honour, than to win the battle through the ways of infamy.

 - Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, leader of the Iron Guard in "Cărticica şefului de cuib."

American Homefront: Game 5 of the World Series. The Detroit Tigers win, 8-0, and lead the series 3-2 (best of 7).

The Tigers' Dick Bartell heads home in the first inning of Game 5 of the World Series. Center fielder Mike McCormick throws him out.

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