The Japanese 10th Independent Artillery Brigade attacking North Point Power Station, Hong Kong, on December 18, 1941.
Eastern Front: After two days of deliberation and introspection, Adolf Hitler on 18 December 1941 issues an order to Army Group Center which sets for how the Wehrmacht shall respond to the unrelenting Soviet counteroffensive. The order reads:
The Fuehrer has ordered: Larger evasive movements cannot be made. They will lead to a total loss of heavy weapons and equipment. Commanding generals, commanders, and officers are to intervene in person to compel the troops to fanatical resistance in their positions without regard to enemy broken through [sic] on the flanks or in the rear. This is the only way to gain the time necessary to bring up the reinforcements from Germany and the West that I have ordered. Only if reserves have moved into rearward positions can thought be given to withdrawing to those positions.
This is not the order that the commanders at the front desired. The entire front is in motion, and the question now becomes whether it can even be stopped, much less hold a new line where it is.
Adolf Hitler hosts a Christmas party for German soldiers at the Lowenbraukeller restaurant in Munich on 18 December 1941. There is some doubt whether this series of pictures is from 1941 and not actually from the 1930s, but they are identified in the original sources as being from 1941, so that is why they are placed here (Photographer Hugo Jaeger dated these photos as being from 18 December 1941).
Field Marshal Fedor von Bock sends the order along to his army commands without comment. When General Erich Hoepner protests that the order cannot be followed, von Bock curtly tells him to "hold your fist in the backs of these people." General Guderian responds to the Army Group Center chief of staff:
The situation is more serious than one could imagine. If something does not happen soon, things will occur that the German armed forces have never before experienced. I will take these orders and file them. I will not pass them on even under threat of court-martial. I want at least to give my career a respectable ending.
Guderian then arranges a flight to the Wolfsschanze to argue his case directly with Hitler. Von Bock himself has fallen out of favor at the Fuehrer headquarters, which directs him to submit an immediate request for medical leave and relinquish his command to Field Marshal Günther von Kluge. Von Bock remains in good standing and will be put on the "Fuehrer Reserve" (Führerreserve) for future assignments.
The New Castle News of New Castle, Pennsylvania is full of good war news on 18 December 1941.
Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese Navy is hungry for information about the damage caused at Pearl Harbor and decides to take a chance to find out. Submarine 1-7 launches a floatplane that flies over Pearl Harbor at dawn on 18 December to find out. The plane apparently is not detected, showing that whatever security improvements the Americans have put in place have not been completely effective. This reconnaissance information leads to a Japanese Navy communique on 19 December that announces that 8 battleships, 4 cruisers, and 2 destroyers have been sunk or heavily damaged, and lesser damage has been done to another battleship and 4 more cruisers. The communique also claims that 450 US planes were destroyed on the ground and 14 shot down. These claims, particularly those related to aircraft, are inflated but not complete fantasy. The figures appear to stem more from enemy prewar overestimates of Hawaiian air strength than to the damage actually done, bad as it was.
Late in the day, Japanese forces cross the waterway to the north shore of Hong Kong Island and land on the island's northeastern shoreline. They consolidate their position and prepare to advance inland in the morning. They capture about 20 Commonwealth gunners of the Sai Wan Battery (5th Anti-Aircraft Battery of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps) and also roughly the same number of medical staff in the Salesian Mission on Chai Wan Road and execute almost all of them on the morning of the 19th.
While the Third Reich celebrated Christmas, they renamed it Julfest and claimed that its origins predated Jesus Christ and in fact simply celebrated the winter solstice. In any event, at this Christmas party, Hitler seems pensive and out of sorts, as do others at the party, such as Reich Commissioner for Social House-Building Robert Ley sitting next to him. 18 December 1941 (Hugo Jaeger).
On Borneo, the Japanese landing forces begin to fan out from their beachhead positions. The Dutch send Martin B-10 Bombers to slow them down. The Japanese apparently don't know where the Dutch Singkawang II airfield is, so it remains in Dutch possession despite the nearby Japanese forces.
Attendees at Hitler's 18 December 1941 Christmas party in Munich (Hugo Jaeger).
On the Malay Peninsula, the Indian 11th Division completes its withdrawal behind the Krian River and proceeds to the Taiping region. The British plan on making a stand along the river and the Grik road, but commanding Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur E. Percival contemplates another withdrawal to the Perak River. The Japanese consolidate their advances and occupy Penang, which the British abandoned on the 17th. The RAAF orders all planes that can fly to proceed to Singapore.
In the Philippines, the Japanese advance from Legaspi, southeast of Manila, continues. The troops reach Naga after brushing off light resistance from the Filipino Army.
A typical 1941 blood chit. This would be pinned to the back of a pilot's flight jacket.
In China and Burma, the American Volunteer Group (AVG, or "Flying Tigers") are fighting hard. However, the American pilots are concerned about how they will be treated by Chinese civilians if they are forced to parachute to safety. These concerns have been exacerbated by difficulties encountered by pilot Eriksen Shilling and local Chinese fighters who treat him roughly. The Chinese Intelligence Service allays these concerns by printing pictures on silk and then stitching these onto the back of the pilots' jackets. These are called "blood chits" and have pictures such as the flag and a promise of a reward for safe return to authorities of the pilot.
Attendees at Hitler's 18 December 1941 Christmas party in Munich seem ill at ease, perhaps because the Fuehrer himself seems preoccupied (Hugo Jaeger).
American Homefront: Just as happened during the Civil War, the government asserts broad new authoritarian powers over citizens and companies. These powers are in the War Powers Act of 1941 and, among other things, permit censorship of all communications entering and leaving the United States. The director of censorship, Byron Price, generally follows a laissez-faire approach to censorship, relying on the threat of censorship to do his work for him. However, Price does not hesitate to intervene at times, such as when his office bars publication of photographs of US military war dead.
The decorations at the 18 December 1941 Christmas Party celebrate the Third Reich more than Christmas (Hugo Jaeger).
President Roosevelt signs an executive order, No. 8984, establishing the Roberts Commission. This commission will be headed by Supreme Court Associate Justice Owen J. Roberts and will investigate the defenses of Pearl Harbor prior to its attack on 7 December 1941. The order provides that the Roberts Commission is to:
ascertain and report the facts relating to the attack made by the Japanese armed forces upon the Territory of Hawaii on 7 December 1941...to provide bases for sound decisions whether any derelictions of duty or errors of judgment on the part of United States Army or Navy personnel contributed to such successes as were achieved by the enemy on the occasion mentioned; and if so, what these derelictions or errors were, and who were responsible therefor.
Recently fired Admiral Husband Kimmel and General Short, in command at Hawaii, will be star witnesses before the Roberts Commission.
Hitler can't seem to take his mind on the festivities at his 18 December 1941 Christmas party (Hugo Jaeger).
The US State Department announces that all French possessions in the Caribbean have been neutralized. The French have large naval forces based at Martinique in the French West Indies. Rear Admiral Frederick J. Horne and Admiral Georges Robert, French High Commissioner at Martinique, reach this agreement which prevents the need for any military intervention there by the United States Navy.
"Woody Herman In Disco Order, Volume 12" features recordings between 5 September 1941 and 18 December 1941.
Greek soldier on an Italian L3/33 tankette during the Battle of Elaia.
Italian/Greek Campaign: In the Pindus Mountain sector, by far the most strategically significant prong of the Italian invasion, the Greeks counterattack on 3 November 1940. The Italian Julia Division is stretched out along a snowy valley, and the Greeks (The Pindus Detachment, supported by the 1st Infantry Division and attached units) swoop in behind and cut them off. There is a steady flow of Greek reinforcements. The Italians immediately request a relief attack from headquarters, which is unsuccessful. The local Greek civilians help the Greek troops to position their forces and block the attempted Italian relief by the Bari Division. The trapped Italians, cold, subjected to fire from the surrounding heights, and with no supplies, begin surrendering quickly. Many Italians in the division are killed. The Greeks begin recapturing the villages of Samarina and Vovousa, which is done methodically over the next couple of days.
On the Kalpaki front in the Negrades sector, the Albanian battalion which seized the Grabala heights on the 2nd is forced off of it and the Greeks re-occupy the hill. This is the start of a seesaw battle for possession of the heights which is to the Greeks' advantage, as it is keeping the Italians penned into a restricted area and preventing re-allocation of forces to more strategically significant areas.
This is part of a larger attack on the Elaia-Kalamas Front, where the Italian Ferrara Division is trying to piece a well-fortified Greek defensive line of Kalamas–Elaia–Grabala–Kleftis hill (north of Ioannina). The Italians try using light L3/35 tankettes and medium M13/40 tanks, but the ground is too muddy and hilly. They make no progress. Directly to the right, the Italians continue their attempt to cross the Kalamas River and make some progress.
The Italians bomb Salonika again.
The British, with the approval of the Greek government, begin landing troops in the Peloponnese (west of Athens). A British tanker docks at Piraeus, the port of Athens, permitting the transfer of RAF units to mainland Greece.
European Air Operations: The weather is poor, so the Luftwaffe bombers stay in their bases throughout the night. It is the first night with no bombing of London after 57 straight nights. The average attack during that time was 165 planes dropping 13,600 tons of high explosives and additional incendiary bombs. Many people are now basically living in the subway system and thus their routine alters little.
RAF Bomber Command attacks the dockyards at Kiel and oil installations/railway targets in Naples, Italy. The latter attacks are mounted from Malta.
The South African Air Force shoots down two Italian bombers over Kenya.
Wilfrid Rhodes Freeman, 1st Baronet, moves from RAF Research and Development to become Vice-Chief of the Air Staff. Lord Beaverbrook replaces him (with eventually poor results). Freeman is opposed to this staffing change, but it is the first of a series of related changes in the RAF high command. Freeman has been the research and development guy most responsible for the development of the Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, De Havilland Mosquito, Avro Lancaster, Handley-Page Halifax, and Hawker Tempest, as well as the P-51 Mustang Fighter. He is one of the most far-sighted and insightful men in the RAF. While it is an institutional decision, the decision to replace the Mustang's Allison V-1710 engines with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine essentially flows from his desk. Freeman is one of those unsung heroes that set the stage for all the war heroes to take their bows, while nobody remembers his name.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-99 (Kptlt. Otto Kretschmer) is on its 6th patrol, operating out of Lorient, and is about 370 km west of Bloody Foreland, County Donegal, Ireland. Kretschmer, the top U-boat commander of the time (the best of them all, in fact) previously had been heavily involved in the Convoy SC 7 destruction in mid-October. He already has been to base and back to re-stock, not wasting any time. The pickings remain easy for such a talented commander on the poorly protected mid-Atlantic sections of the convoy system, and once again he takes full advantage. This is the "Happy Time" for U-boats in the North Atlantic.
U-99 torpedoes independent 5376-ton British banana boat Casanare around 21:40 (the British love their bananas, no joke). It is a rather ordinary attack, but it leads to something much greater. Independents (unescorted ships not in convoys) are easy prey for U-boats because the U-boats don't have to be worried about being spotted and attacked, so they can set up the target at their leisure. They also can serve another, larger purpose to a U-boat, which Kretschmer proceeds to demonstrate like a professor in the classroom.
The Casanare takes its time sinking, which provides nice bait for Kretschmer's real prey. If you put out some cheese, you never know how many mice may show up. Casanare manages to get a distress call out and waits for rescue. It is sinking slowly, completely defenseless and an obvious target, but Kretschmer bides his time. Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) HMS Laurentic (F 51) (Capt E.P. Vivian) picks up the distress message. The Laurentic is an 18,724 ton White Star ocean liner converted into an auxiliary cruiser, which involves some changes to the superstructure and addition of various weapons such as guns and depth charges. Conversion, however, does not make an AMC any more difficult to sink. Joining the Laurentic is 11,314 ton HMS Patroclus (Capt. G.C. Wynter), another AMC. The two AMCs arrive on the scene quickly, by 22:50.
Kretschmer and his crew enjoy some libations right around the time of this patrol in 1940.
Kretschmer waits patiently. As the two AMCs arrive in the darkness, he sits quietly until the Laurentic is within 1500 meters, with no idea that he is there, and then puts a torpedo into it. Patroclus, meanwhile, busies itself picking up survivors from the Casanare. The Laurentic takes its time sinking - liners now have watertight compartments much more effective than the Titanic's - so after thirty minutes Kretschmer pumps another torpedo into it. This has little effect, so Kretschmer puts the third torpedo into the Laurentic which goes into the same hole as the first torpedo. The Laurentic settles but remains afloat.
Kretschmer, meanwhile, brazenly is keeping his U-boat on the surface in the darkness. A lookout on the Laurentic spots it and the slowly sinking liner opens fire with its deck guns. Slinking away in the darkness, Kretschmer decides to pay the Patroclus a visit. Absorbed in picking up men from the water, this AMC's crew does not notice U-99 sneaking up on it either. Kretschmer maneuvers to within 300 meters and fires a torpedo into the Patroclus at 00:22 on the 4th, which again does not cause it to sink immediately. All three British surface ships are now dead in the water and helpless. Kretschmer now maneuvers around them, casually pumping another torpedo into the Patroclus at 00:44 and then another at 01:18. The gunners on the Patroclus spot U-99 and fire at it, but once again Kretschmer slinks away in the darkness. All three ships are sinking, but taking their sweet time about it.
Kretschmer once again bides his time. The AMCs get off distress messages of their own, which draws a Short Sunderland flying boat at 02:39 which overflies the scene and forces U-99 to submerge. The Casanare eventually sinks, but the two AMCs are more solidly built and remain afloat for the time being. However, they aren't going anywhere. At 03:30, Kretschmer resurfaces and surveys the scene. He waits, then at 04:35 he casually approaches to within 250 meters of the Laurentic and pumps another torpedo into it just to hurry it along. This torpedo does the trick, hitting the stern and setting off its depth charges. The Laurentic sinks quickly by the stern.
By this time, more Royal Navy units are approaching, as is daylight. Kretschmer pumps two more torpedoes into the Patroclus, the last at 05:25 which sinks the ship quickly. Royal Navy destroyers HMS Hesperus (H 57, Lt.Cdr. D.G.F.W. Macintyre) and HMS Beagle (Lt. C.R.H. Wright) arrive on the scene. Hesperus forces Kretschmer to submerge while Beagle picks up survivors.
In total, there are:
54 survivors and 9 deaths on the Casanare;
368 survivors and 49 deaths on the Laurentic;
263 survivors and 56 deaths on the Patroclus.
Eventually, HMS Achates also appears on the scene to pick up survivors from the three sunken ships. The Achates joins the Hesperus and also drops depth charges. Kretschmer survives the depth charge attacks and then goes on his way. He still has some torpedoes left and knows the destroyers will soon be gone, with other ships using these same sea lanes. The Laurentic is the 10th largest ship sunk by the U-boat fleet during the entire war.
U-99, 1940.
Elsewhere, the day also is active at sea.
The Luftwaffe attacks Convoy WN 29 in the North Sea east of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire. Heinkel He 115 seaplanes of KG 706 bomb and sink 3877-ton British freighter Kildale. There are 1-8 deaths as a result of the attack out of the 37-man crew (sources vary).
The same Luftwaffe attack that sank the Kildale also torpedoes and damages 5888-ton British refrigerated fruit carrier Eros in the same general location. The Eros previously had been torpedoed and damaged by U-48 on 7 June 1940, but put back into service. The Eros survives this attack as well, later repaired and returned to service. It is a lucky ship, perhaps because of the natural buoyancy of its construction.
A Luftwaffe Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor also damaged 19,141-ton British freighter Windsor Castle near Scotland. It manages to return to the Clyde.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Sturgeon (Lt.Cdr. D. St Clair Ford) torpedoes and damage 1337 ton Danish freighter Sigrun in Oslofjord about 19 km southeast of Larvik, Norway.
Belgian 132-ton fishing trawler Van der Weyden hits a mine (apparently) and sinks off Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. There is one survivor and eight deaths. The boat rests in shallow water.
British 394 ton freighter Cairngorm hits a mine and is damaged in the Bristol Channel.
Some sources say that British 1535 ton coaster Hilfern sinks today in the North Sea off Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire due to an explosion, probably a mine. Other sources say it occurred on 31 October, which is where we have it.
German freighter Helgoland, which has left Colombian waters in a risky bid to make it to France, passes St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands. It so far has eluded the Neutrality Patrol vessels which have been alerted to its voyage.
Convoy FN 326 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 327 departs from Methil,
The Eros in the Clyde.
Battle of the Mediterranean: At Malta, two Wellington bombers setting out to raid Naples crash just after takeoff from Luqa and destroy some houses in the nearby village of Qomi. The bombers apparently were overloaded. Six civilians are killed. One of the airmen survives by hanging to the edge of a quarry right the houses. A rescue worker has to be lowered to tie a rope around him so that he can be hauled up. After the raid by the surviving bombers, Italian fighters chase the bombers all the way back to Malta and strafe military installations before heading back to Sicily.
German Military: General von Thoma, just back from an inspection tour of Libya, briefs Hitler on the state of Italian forces there. He reports that the Italians were hostile to him, are inadequate to their mission, and do not want German troops in North Africa. He also comments on the supply difficulties faced in North Africa. Hitler will use this information during a major OKW meeting scheduled for the 4th.
In Australia, the 2nd/23rd Infantry Battalion (Albury’s Own) is formed. It is formed from men of Albury and others in Victoria. After training, they will head to North Africa. Pictured is a color party marching at Albury Sportsground, November 3, 1940.
British Military: General Richard O'Connor becomes commander of the British Western Desert Force, which is opposing the Italian advance from Libya.
US Military: General George S. Patton, Jr. becomes acting commander of the 2nd US Armored Division.
Heavy cruiser USS Louisville departs Montevideo, Uruguay for Buenos Aires on its "Show the Flag" mission.
Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade concludes his talks with French Vice-Admiral Georges A.M.J. Robert. In exchange for Greenslade recommending a relaxation of sanctions on the Vichy territory, the French will permit daily patrol plane overflights.
Guam: A typhoon hits the Mariana Islands. The Congress, with some internal opposition, has spent millions of dollars upgrading US naval facilities there, and they are badly damaged. The US Navy Yard at Piti, the nearby Marine Barracks, and nearby farms and residences are all hit hard. A district patrol craft (YP-16 or YP-17) sinks dredge YM-13 (being used to enlarge the channel for naval use) is blown ashore, Greek freighter Axios is blown off her moorings and barely escapes being wrecked on the nearby reefs. Fortunately, the islanders themselves have been through this before and carry on, helping to repair as much damage as they can.
Italian/Greek Campaign: At the Battle of Elaia–Kalamas on 2 November 1940, Italian infantry of the Ferrara Division attack Greek forces on their main defensive line of Elaia-Kalamas, north of Ioannina. The Italians make no progress despite having light L3/35 tankettes and medium M13/40 tanks because the mountainous terrain is hostile to vehicles.
In the central Pindus Mountain sector, the Italian Julia Division struggles forward and captures the villages of Vovousa, Samarina, and Distrato. This is still 30 km short of their objective, Metsovo, whose capture would have strategic significance (it is a key transit point to Greek supplies). Greek Colonel Konstantinos Davakis, in charge of the two battalions, cavalry and artillery of the Pindus Detachment, is badly wounded during reconnaissance near Fourka. The Greeks work through the night to prepare an ambush of these advanced Italian troops.
On the Coastal Sector, the Italians begin their attack on Kalamas River along the Kalpaki front. It starts to snow, which aids the defense. An Albanian battalion captures the Grabala heights in the Negrades sector and holds it through the night, but otherwise, the attack makes little progress.
In the Koritsa sector, the Greek 9th Infantry Division and 4th Infantry Brigade attack static Italian positions at the border.
The Italian air force bombs Salonika again, killing 200 civilians. Other targets include Corfu, Patras, and Janina. The attack on Salonika is especially strong, with 15 Italian Cant 1007Z bombers escorted by Fiat CR 42 fighters. The Greeks intercept the formation and shoot down three of the Italian bombers.
A downed Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM-70 bomber, 2 November 1940.
The Greeks bomb Koritsa airfield.
The Greeks report repelling an Italian naval attack near the Corinth Canal with antiaircraft guns and fighter attacks.
Royal Hellenic Air Force pilot Marinos Mitralexis, out of ammo in his PZL P-24 (serial no: Δ 130) because he already has shot down one bomber, rams another Italian bomber in its rudder, causing it to crash. Mitralexis then lands nearby (his engine is out) and, knowing where the Italian plane crashed, runs over with his pistol and arrests the Italians who parachuted to safety. Mitralexis is promoted to Wing Commander and received Gold Cross of Valour, Greece's highest award.
Turkey, which has declared its neutrality in the Italian/Greek war and warned Bulgaria to stay out also, pointedly keeps 37 divisions on the Bulgarian border "just in case."
European Air Operations: During the day, the Luftwaffe sends a couple of raids against London, but the RAF scatters the German planes, which drop their bombs at random over the Kent/Sussex countryside. The weather is bad during the night, so the RAF bombers stay on the ground today, and the Luftwaffe bombers finish their minor raids by midnight.
Michael Marwood in later years.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-31 (Kptlt. Wilfried Prellberg) is sunk by depth charges by Royal Navy HMS Antelope (Lieutenant-Commander RT “Dick” White) in the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland. Prellberg is stalking Convoy OB 237 when the Antelope spots it. After several hours, during which Asdic contact is lost and regained, a depth charge ruptures the U-boat's ballast tanks. Captain Prellberg manages to surface the boat and even opens fire with his deck gun. The U-boat still has its engines running when the crew abandons it and the sub collides with the destroyer before sinking (the men of the Antelope get a boat in the water to board U-31, but it sinks before they can get to it). The Antelope will require a month of repairs.
This is the second time that U-31 goes under, having been sunk in shallow water on 11 March 1940 by the RAF and later raised and repaired. This time, the sinking is permanent, and U-31 still rests where it fell that day. U-31 has sunk 11 ships of 27,751 tons and an additional auxiliary warship of 160 tons.
Prellberg gets off 43-44 of the 45-46 man crew (two ratings are lost) to become POWs. Lieutenant Commander Michael Marwood, the navigator who guides the destroyer by Asdic to the U-boat's location, receives the DSC for the action. At this point in the war there is still some civility at sea, and Marwood lends some of the German officers his own clothes, “but received little thanks. They thought we were mad. As the war became total and cruel, we treated future prisoners very differently!” Michael Marwood passes away on 5 January 2016.
Royal Navy 429 ton tug HMT Rinovia (Chief Skipper T. Fraser RNR) hits a mine in the English Channel off Falmouth, Cornwall, and sinks. There are 14 deaths.
German aerial mines of IX Air Corps sink British 168 ton tug Lea and 148-ton Deanbrook in the River Thames. Six crew perish on the Lea and everyone on board the Deanbrook (apparently also six crew) also perishes. The tugs sink in shallow water and are salvaged for scrap.
British 28 ton drifter Goodwill hits a mine and sinks in the Firth of Forth.
British 138 ton grain schooner Penola collides with another ship during the morning and sinks in the Clyde off Toward Point, Argyllshire (just west of the Toward Lighthouse). The crew abandons ship safely. The ship comes to rest upright in shallow water but later breaks up. Some sources place this incident on November 9th.
Greek 1588 ton freighter Menelaos capsizes in heavy weather and sinks in the outer Owers in the English Channel south of Selsey Bill, West Sussex.
Minelayers HMS Teviotbank and Plover and destroyers HMS Intrepid and Icarus lay minefield BS 44 in the North Sea. The Intrepid itself hits a mine off Hartlepool (it is unclear if it is one that it itself is laying, it appears not), which damages its engines. It limps into Hartlepool for repairs, joining the 50 other Royal Navy destroyers currently under repair.
Royal Navy HMS Campbeltown, one of the destroyers received from the US Navy in the destroyers-for-bases deal, collides with 793-ton Norwegian freighter Risoy. The Campbeltown sustains only minor damage which requires repairs of about three weeks at Liverpool.
Royal Navy Armed Merchant Cruiser Ranpura has a fire onboard which causes minor damage.
Royal Navy submarine Taku (Lt J. F. B. Brown) attacks 8923-ton German freighter Gedania in the Bay of Biscay off the Loire but misses.
Royal Navy submarine Tigris also spots an enemy ship, the Italian submarine Veniero, off the Gironde. Its attack also is unsuccessful. Submarines are difficult for other submarines to attack.
Convoys FN 324 and FN 325 depart from Southend, Convoy OB 238 departs from Liverpool,
U-69 (Kapitänleutnant Jost Metzler) is commissioned.
Adolf Hitler with Günther von Kluge, 1940. Von Kluge was known as der Kluge Hans, a play on his name which translates as "Clever Hans." Hans also was a famous horse of the day who supposedly was good at arithmetic. Hans also happened to be Kluge's own nickname, and English-speakers can somewhat grasp the nickname with the incorrect translation "Clever Hands Hans." Kluge was known as being extremely slippery in a political sense for a general (Federal Archive).
Battle of the Mediterranean: With the Crete landings successfully completed, the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet, led by battleship Warspite and aircraft carrier Illustrious, returns to Alexandria. Italian bombers attack the departing ships and score some near misses against cruisers HMS Ajax and Coventry.
Royal Navy submarine Tetrarch joins the other Royal Navy submarines making unsuccessful attacks today, missing an Italian freighter off Benghazi.
At Malta, there is an air raid around 12:30 when 20 SM 79 bombers escorted by 30 Macchi 200 and CR 42 fighters fly over the island from the north. There is a massive dogfight. One Macchi 200 is shot down by Hurricanes (pilot killed when chute fails to open), and a second Macchi and two CR 42s badly damaged. The bombs hit Luqa airfield and four houses near Aabbar.
A Maryland of RAF No. 431 Squadron is photographing Taranto Harbor when the pilot is wounded by a fire from an Italian fighter and knocked unconscious. The navigator takes over the controls until the pilot recovers sufficiently to pilot the aircraft back to base.
Spy Stuff: Free French submarine Rubis (CC Cabanier), which was in the port of Dundee, Scotland at the time of the French surrender on 22 June, drops off a British agent at Korsfjord, Norway during the night. US Military: Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade arrives in Fort-de-France, Martinique. This is a continuation of amicable discussions between the US and the local commander, Vice Admiral Georges A.M.J. Robert, about the French situation there. The French have an aircraft carrier there which is immobilized.
US Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson contracts with a subsidiary of the Pan American Airport Corporation to construct airfields and seaplane bases from the border of French Guiana along the Brazilian coast and down to Uruguay.
American Homefront: Doc Holliday's common-law wife, Hungarian "Big Nose" Kate, passes away at age 89.
Professor F. Bert Farquharson at the University of Washington completes studies he has been conducting of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State. Contracted by the Toll Bridge Authority in March, Farquharson has built a 1:200 scale model of the bridge to try to duplicate in a wind tunnel the vibrations which have given the bridge the nickname "Galloping Gertie." He is successful at this and decides the bridge has a major problem. Farquharson, however, believes one of two solutions should be implemented: drill holes in the bridge's girders to allow wind to pass through or affix wind deflectors. The State, meanwhile, has taken the temporary expedient of tying the bridge spans down with cables. The State plans a meeting with Farquharson on the 6th to discuss the remedies.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge around 2 November 1940. In the foreground are cables (anchored restraining wires 1-9/16 inches in diameter) that were affixed in October to suppress the bridge's twisting motion during high winds. One of the cables snapped on 1 November but was quickly repaired. There were no cables, however, on the critical center span.
