Wednesday 4 September 1940

Adolf Hitler at the Sportpalast in Berlin, 4 September 1940.

German Government: Adolf Hitler on 4 September 1940 addresses a crowd during the opening of the annual Winter Relief Campaign at the Berlin Sportpalast. It is one of his more memorable speeches, at least to English-speaking peoples. The speech reveals the decision he made in the Hague 3 September to begin bombing London, along with various bombastic observations.

At one point, he addresses the question of when he intends to invade England, which is on everyone's mind:

In England they’re filled with curiosity and keep asking, ‘Why doesn’t he come? Be calm. Be calm. He’s coming!

A few breaths later, however, Hitler signals the change of tactics that the RAF and city-dwellers are starting to notice across the Channel. It is this change of tactics which, perversely, is going to prevent him from "coming":

It is a wonderful thing to see our nation at war, in its fully disciplined state. This is exactly what we are experiencing at this time, as Mr Churchill is demonstrating to us the aerial night attacks he has concocted. He is not doing this because these air raids might be particularly effective, but because his Air Force cannot fly over German territory in daylight. Whereas German aviators and German planes fly over English soil daily, there is hardly a single Englishman who comes across the North Sea in daytime. They therefore come during the night – and as you know, release their bombs indiscriminately and without any plan on to residential areas, farmhouses and villages. Wherever they see a sign of light, a bomb is dropped on it. For three months past, I have not ordered any answer to be given; thinking that they would stop this nonsensical behaviour. Mr Churchill has taken this to be a sign of our weakness. You will understand that we shall now give a reply, night for night, and with increasing force. And if the British Air Force drops two, three or four thousand kilos of bombs, then we will drop 150,000, 180,000, 230,000, 300,000 or 400,000 kilos, or more, in one night. If they declare that they will attack our cities on a large scale, we will erase theirs! We will put a stop to the game of these night-pirates, as God is our witness. The hour will come when one or the other will crumble, and that one will not be National Socialist Germany. I have already carried through such a struggle once in my life, up to the final consequences, and this then led to the collapse of the enemy who is now sitting there in England on Europe’s last island.

When comparing these words - about "not crumbling" in the face of opposition, the unusual references to God, and "already facing such struggles" in his own life - to those Hitler utters in the bunker in 1945, there is an uncanny similarity. This is a time of tremendous stress on Hitler, and he appears to realize the enormity of the decisions he is making.

Spitfires taking off, an entire Squadron at a time, at RAF Hornchurch, September 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather remains good, and the Luftwaffe gets an earlier start than usual.

Before 08:00, the Luftwaffe attacks shipping off the Isle of Wight without interference. RAF Fighter Command is in a defensive crouch and focusing on defending cities from bombing.

After 09:00, two groups of attacks develop, one toward Biggin Hill airfield and the other toward the Eastchurch, Hornchurch, North Weald, and Debden fields. The RAF disperses many of the attacks, but a number of the bombers - Bf 110s - get through to Eastchurch and bomb the airfield.

Another Luftwaffe formation appears at 09:34, heading again toward Biggin Hill. This time, a number of the Bf 110s hit RAF Lympne, but don't cause much significant damage (holes in the runway are quickly filled).

A new tactic by the Luftwaffe is to bring over fighters after the bombing run itself in order to protect the bombers' withdrawal to France. To idle their time away while waiting, they shoot down the barrage balloons over Dover, as in past days.

Shortly after noon, more bombers cross at Dover, and around 13:00 the bombers - Heinkel He 111s and Dornier Do 17s this time - split up into a handful of different formations headed every which way. This leads to the biggest air battle of the day, up and down the coast. During the attack, which appears in hindsight to have been diversionary, a formation of Bf 110s comes in at tree-top level underneath the defending fighters. One group bombs the Short Bros. factory at Rochester, home of the new Stirling bombers, damaging it. Another group gets through and hits the Vickers Armstrong Works at Weybridge. This factory makes Wellington bombers. While only 8 Bf 110s make it through the defending fighters and fierce anti-aircraft defenses, they cause extensive damage and kill 88 people and injure 600 more - it would have been more, but many people are on lunch break. This is a devastating attack that puts the factory out of operation. The attackers lose heavily too, however, losing 15 Bf 110s during the raid.

Around 13:30, fresh intrusions occur along the southern coast. Another Bf 110 formation, this one from ZG 76, comes in unnoticed at first toward Weybridge, but when it is bounced, the carnage is tremendous. Another 16 Bf 110s are shot down, along with a Dornier Do 17. The Zerstörers do mete out some punishment of their own, and they kill four RAF pilots.

After dark, things change. The Luftwaffe sends bombers to Bristol, Avonmouth, Cardiff, Swansea, Liverpool, Newcastle, and Tilbury Docks. They are no longer pretending to target industrial targets, now the cities themselves are the targets, but oil storage tanks blow up near Cardiff which serves as a beacon for further attacks. The Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton is set ablaze as well. While the factories and oil tanks do take damage, the RAF begins to notice a change of tactics during the night toward simply releasing bombs over built-up areas rather than specific military targets.

RAF Bomber Command extends the radius of its attacks to Stettin, where it attacks a synthetic oil plant. The power stations at Berlin receive more attention, as well as oil installations at Magdeburg, warehouses at Nienburg, and the usual airfields throughout northwest Europe. More attempts are made to start forest fires in the Black Forest/Harz Mountains/Thuringian Forest area with incendiaries, but with little success.

The Luftwaffe loses the day in the air by about a 2-1 margin. The RAF's losses are pegged at 15 planes, the Luftwaffe's slightly more than double. In all, 11 RAF pilots and one gunner die during the day. Losses include 9 Spitfires, 6 Hurricanes and 1 Bolton Paul Defiant (crashes during night landing practice).

A Bf 110C after a crash-landing by pilot Oblt. Hermann Weeber on September 4, 1940, at Cousley Wood in Sussex. Kill markings are those of the unit CO, Erich Groth, whose plane he is borrowing.

• Hptm. Erich Groth of Stab II./ZG 76: four Spitfires;
• Oblt. Walter Borchers of 4./ZG 76: three Spitfires;
• Oblt. Hans-Joachim Jabs of 6./ZG 76: two Spitfires; and 
• Oblt. Wilhelm Hobein of 5./ZG 76 two Spitfires.

Looking at those claims might give the impression that the Bf 110s suddenly are terrors of the air again. However, they don't show all the pilots who didn't make it back. That's one thing always to bear in mind with Luftwaffe ace victory claims: the war in the air on the German side is a strictly Darwinian affair. A few pilots survive for long periods of time and prosper with exorbitant victory totals, while many, many others don't make it back at all and are forgotten.

Wilhelm Balthasar of Stab III./JG 3 gets his twenty-fourth victory southeast of London, then flies back to France severely wounded and is out of action for months.

The big coastal guns on the Channel ("hellfire corner") exchange shots without causing much damage.

Kriegsmarine Torpedo motorboat (Schnellboote) S-11.

Battle of the Atlantic: German torpedo boats of the 1st Flotilla make a series of attacks on collier Convoy FS 271 off Great Yarmouth/Cromer in the North Sea with great success. Several ships go down quickly. These coastal surface actions can be extremely short, sharp and vicious. While the British view colliers as expendable, they lose quite a few of them during the attack.

S-18 torpedoes and sinks British collier Joseph Swan. There is one survivor and 17 crew perish.

S-18 also torpedoes and sinks Dutch collier Nieuwland. Eight crew perish.

S-21 torpedoes and sinks 1729 ton British collier Corbrook. Everybody survives.

S-21 also torpedoes and sinks 2709 ton British collier New Lambton. Everybody survives.

S-22 torpedoes and sinks 1562 ton British cargo collier Fulham V.

S-54 damages collier Ewell.

Elsewhere, British 1945 ton ocean-going ferry Lairdcastle collides with freighter Vernon City while transiting from Glasgow to Belfast. The Lairdcastle sinks three hours later near the Mull of Kintyre, giving all 29 crew and 72 passengers time to be picked up by British destroyers.

U-47 (K.Kapt. Günther Prien) torpedoes and sinks 9035-ton British freighter Titan 250 miles northwest of Ireland. There are 89 survivors and 6 deaths. The Titan is with Convoy OA 207, and one of the escorts, HMCS St. Laurent, picks up the survivors. The master, Walter Francis Dark, later is awarded the Lloyds War Medal for bravery at sea for this action.

Prien's protege, Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass (Endrass had been Prien's second-in-command before this command), also gets a success today. His command, U-46, sinks by gunfire 1074 ton Irish freighter Luimneach, which carries pyrites, west of the Isles of Scilly around 22:00. The sinking is controversial. Apparently, Endrass surfaces and fires a shot across the bow to stop the freighter. After that, accounts diverge: the British captain, Eric Jones, claims the U-boat wrongfully continues shelling a neutral ship for no cause, while Endrass claims the crew panics and immediately abandons ship, making it a fair game as an abandoned vessel. Endrass has no torpedoes left, thus has to use the gun. There is mass confusion on both sides, and Endrass tells the men - who had crowded into one overloaded lifeboat - to go back and get a second boat. Endrass also gives them provisions. U-boat boss Admiral Doenitz, not the most impartial observer, sides with Endrass and maintains it was a good kill. Naturally, the British/Irish do not see it that way. All 18 aboard survive, and three crewmen are taken aboard the U-46, which somewhat salves the hard feelings over the event.

Royal Navy 550-ton tug HMS Saucy hits a mine and sinks in the Firth of Forth. All 26 crew perish in the massive explosion.

The first Italian submarines arrive at their new BETASOM base at Bordeaux, France.

Convoy HG 43 departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OA 209 departs from Methil, Convoy OG 42 departs from Liverpool.

U-142 is commissioned (Oberleutnant zur See Nicolai Clausen).

Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass (standing). Endrass had been the first Watch Officer when Gunther Prien made his famous Scapa Flow attack and sank HMS Royal Oak.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Hats and related operations continue, with the final flourishes to the entirely successful operation applied today. Early in the day, HMS Illustrious launches nine of its Swordfish (815 and 819 Squadrons) loaded with bombs. They attack Italian airfields at Callato and Maritza on Rhodes. One of the Swordfish crashes on takeoff, killing the observer, and this keeps three other Swordfish from participating in the attack. Four Swordfish are shot down, the Italians lose two in the air and seven on the ground.

HMAS Sydney bombards Scarpanto. Battleship HMS Malaya and carrier HMS Eagle make port in Alexandria.

The RAF bombs Italian airfields near the Egyptian border. The South African Air Force raids Javcllo, Ethiopia.

At Malta, the coast is buzzed again at 21:30 by an Italian torpedo boat (MAS), but it gets away. There is an air raid alert in the late afternoon, but the bombers do not cross the coastline.

Winston Churchill is pleased with the success of Operation Hats and tells the War Cabinet that he is going to send Governor Dobbie, for distribution to the island, a letter of commendation. However, at the same time, the War Office tells Dobbie that many of the anti-aircraft guns that he has requested are needed elsewhere.

US/Japanese Relations: US Secretary of State Cordell Hull expresses concern about Japanese moves in French Indochina, where the Imperial Army has established bases at many key points.

German/Japanese Relations: The Japanese government holds meetings to decide how to approach negotiations for officially joining the Axis. The question is how to carve up the world, to create "spheres of influence" dominated by each power center, with a line drawn somewhere around India. The wishes of the Soviet Union do not appear to play a major factor.

French Indochina (Vietnam): The Japanese intercept a cable from French Army General Maurice Martin's government in French Indochina to the US and the UK which suggests that those two countries may consider intervening in French Indochina. Japan considers the country virtually its colony at this point. To protect its interests, the Japanese government considers invading rather than just maintaining bases there.

General Ion Antonescu, left, in Iron Guard uniform; Italian Minister to Bucharest Signor Pellegrino Ghigi; Herr Wilhelm Von Fabricius, German Minister to Bucharest, and Horia Sima, leader of the Iron Guard.

Romania: Repercussions from the recent Romanian territorial losses (to the USSR, Bulgaria, and Hungary) continue to reverberate through the kingdom. There is widespread public disgust at the government, protests, and calls for revolution. King Carol still rules as an absolute monarch, but that is about to change.

Throughout the day, King Carol still refuses to appoint Antonescu as Prime Minister despite his advisor ("courtiers") telling him that former minister Ion Antonescu is moderate and a better choice than one of the fascists from the Iron Guard who are threatening to depose the King and take over. Finally, during the evening, Valer Pop, an advisor to the King, decides to force the issue. He visits the German ambassador, Wilhelm Fabricius, to ask for Germany's support for Antonescu. Fabricius has had his doubts about Antonescu - who has been sympathetic to Germany since Munich more out of fear of German imperialism towards Romania than anything else - but abruptly throws Germany's support behind him.

Everybody, including King Carol, realizes that Germany is the only thing standing between Romania and the newly aggressive Soviet Union, so the King capitulates and agrees to appoint Antonescu. Antonescu, however, feels emboldened, and just being Prime Minister isn't enough for him: he now requests the full powers of a head of state. Carol agrees, granting Antonescu virtually all of his own powers as a monarch (making Antonescu "Conducător," somewhat similar to "Fuhrer"). Carol forces the current government led by Gigurtu to resign so that he can appoint Antonescu to form a new government. It is a remarkable rise to power for someone who had been in prison only a month before. It also is the beginning of what can best be described as a royal nightmare for Romania.

Holocaust: Chiune Sugihara, Vice-Consul for the Empire of Japan to Lithuania, is forced to leave his post in Kaunas, Lithuania when the consulate closes. Sugihara has been writing visas for thousands of Jews (exactly how many is unknown) so they can escape the gathering clouds of war and the Holocaust (many stories are circulating about atrocities in occupied Poland). Sugihara does this right up until the last moment, even throwing some off the train as it pulls out of the station. Sugihara also arranges for the Lithuanian Jews to be able to transit on the Trans-Siberian railway (for five times the usual price). Sugihara heads to Königsberg, East Prussia, where he cannot do the same thing. This "incident" is long-remembered both by the Jews he saves, as well as the Japanese government, which dismisses him for it (allegedly) in 1947. Chiune Sugihara is considered to be in the same class as Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg, though not nearly as well known.

China: Prince Nagahisa Kitashirakawa, head of a collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family and a career army officer, perishes in an airplane crash while on duty in Mengjiang, China.

American Homefront: R. Douglas Stuart, Jr., a Yale Law School student, organizes the America First Committee. Its mission is to keep the United States out of the war. Prominent members include Gerald Ford, Sargent Shriver and Potter Stewart (future SCOTUS Justice). The organization will find its biggest base of support around Chicago. The slogan is not new today, but the organization is.

Charles Lindbergh with America First founder R. Douglas Stuart, Jr. in 1940.

September 1940

September 1, 1940: RAF's Horrible Weekend
September 2, 1940: German Troopship Sunk
September 3, 1940: Destroyers for Bases
September 4, 1940: Enter Antonescu
September 5, 1940: Stukas Over Malta
September 6, 1940: The Luftwaffe Peaks
September 7, 1940: The Blitz Begins
September 8, 1940: Codeword Cromwell
September 9, 1940: Italians Attack Egypt
September 10, 1940: Hitler Postpones Sealion
September 11, 1940: British Confusion at Gibraltar
September 12, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Approved
September 13, 1940: Zeros Attack!
September 14, 1940: The Draft Is Back
September 15, 1940: Battle of Britain Day
September 16, 1940: italians Take Sidi Barrani
September 17, 1940: Sealion Kaputt
September 18, 1940: City of Benares Incident
September 19, 1940: Disperse the Barges
September 20, 1940: A Wolfpack Gathers
September 21, 1940: Wolfpack Strikes Convoy HX-72
September 22, 1940: Vietnam War Begins
September 23, 1940: Operation Menace Begins
September 24, 1940: Dakar Fights Back
September 25, 1940: Filton Raid
September 26, 1940: Axis Time
September 27, 1940: Graveney Marsh Battle
September 28, 1940: Radio Belgique Begins
September 29, 1940: Brocklesby Collision
September 30, 1940: Operation Lena

2020

Tuesday 3 September 1940

Spectators easily can watch the air battles over Kent as the planes form condensation trails in the blue sky on 3 September 1940. (AP Photo).

German Military: Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering convenes his Luftlotten commanders along the Channel (Kesselring, Sperrle) and others at the Hague on 3 September 1940. Apparently, Hitler either is in attendance or following the discussion closely elsewhere. The topic is the future strategy against England. Goering first asks for suggestions (as he has in the past, without ever taking anyone's advice). This is a common German command method at such conferences, and not just in the Luftwaffe: to ask for opinions before announcing a decision already made by the high command.

Kesselring advocates bombing London. Sperrle, however, contends that the attacks on airfields are of primary importance, are working, and must continue. Everyone gets into a violent argument.

To reach a resolution, Luftwaffe intelligence provides its estimate of British fighter strength. Staff officer (and Goering crony) German Intelligence Chief Oberst Josef ‘Beppo’ Schmid, claims the RAF only has 100-350 fighters left. This may be based on a combination of wishful thinking and anecdotal reports from pilots, but it certainly is not based on solid intelligence. Goering accepts the estimate and announces that there is to be a change in the air objective (Zielwechsel). Since the RAF is finished, he orders, the final destruction of the British economy and morale will commence with the terror bombings of London. Or so Goering hopes.

Major (later Lt. General) "Beppo" Schmid, head of Luftwaffe Intelligence.

Initiating terror bombing in London, of course, is a decision that only Hitler can make, pursuant to his 16 July Fuhrer Directive. The best reading of this conference is that Hitler already has made the decision to bomb London in private with Goering, and the Hague conference is just a formality. Goering would have known Schmid's figures going in, so they add nothing to the discussion. In such situations, the only chance to influence the patently bad decision made here (and this happens at several key junctures of the war) is for the local commanders to express unanimous opposition. Since Kesselring (unwisely) favors the change to terror bombing, as he has in the past with even less foundation, that does not happen. There always is someone at these conferences who supports the decision, no matter how profoundly stupid it may be.

Since the opposition to the change in direction is split, the change of tactics is implemented (as it likely would have even in face of unanimous opposition). London is to be bombed. Aside from Hitler and Goering, the blame here lies with lousy Luftwaffe intelligence and with Kesselring, who places far too much faith in the power of terror bombing due to his experiences at Warsaw and Rotterdam. Kesselring throughout the war has a well-known reputation for being very optimistic (he is known to both sides as "Smiling Albert"). This serves him quite well at times and is usually considered an admirable trait in a leader. However, in this specific case, it hurts the German war effort. Hugo Sperrle, on the other hand, who receives virtually no press, displays sound judgment throughout the war but is forced into bad tactics by dreadful orders and declining forces.

Adolf Hitler regards the conference's decision with satisfaction (since it ultimately is his decision) and states:

[T]he British air force is down to its last reserves, they cry for pity, and I will give them pity. I will wipe London from the face of the earth! I want fire everywhere, thousands of them and then they will unite into one gigantic area of conflagration.

As the wording of this statement suggests, there may be things other than purely military logic at play in this decision. It is worth pointing out that Hitler several times during the war seems to take a fetishistic delight in wishing to burn out his enemies.

Hitler also reaches a decision on Operation Sea Lion based on this discussion or at least flowing from the decision announced at it. Operation Sea Lion is on. Hitler's orders provide that the Wehrmacht will be given 10-days lead time before the invasion. The new earliest date for Operation Sea Lion landings now is moved from 15 September to 21 September (S-Day), with the ships to sail on 20 September.

The plan now (it has gone through numerous revisions) is to land two airborne divisions first, followed by nine other divisions. Included will be 250 panzers. The 16th Army will land four divisions at Folkestone, while 9th Army will and 2 divisions at Eastbourne and 3 divisions at Brighton. They would face a dozen British divisions of varying states of readiness. The UK has an inventory of roughly 350 Valentine and Matilda tanks (Prime Minister Churchill having just sent off several shiploads to the Middle East) and 500 antitank weapons - a strong, but not overwhelming, defensive force. The 9 picked Wehrmacht divisions against the assorted British divisions would be a fair fight.

With the benefit of omniscience derived from hindsight, knowing the true state of affairs on both sides as of 3 September 1940, the decision to invade England probably already is too late. The British military has recovered, strengthened its defenses, and fought the Luftwaffe to a standstill. RAF Fighter Command is bowed but not broken; even after large recent losses, it has 600-700 fighters ready to defend the beaches - not the 100-350 believed by the Luftwaffe. The Royal Navy remains amply able to defend the Channel. More importantly, the British (via Churchill's rapport with Roosevelt) have solidified their arrangements with the Americans and made them virtual allies in the war. An invasion in July 1940, with a maximum Luftwaffe effort to establish temporary local air superiority rather than frittering away strength on other attacks, would have made infinitely more sense despite the obvious risks.

However, as it stands in early September, if Sea Lion is ever to be attempted, it should be done immediately. The imminent arrival of the 50 destroyers from the United States (see below) would turn the naval equation solidly and permanently against the Germans, but those ships will take time to arrive. Having Luftwaffe bases established on both sides of the Channel before their arrival would largely nullify their local impact.

It is now or never for the Wehrmacht in terms of defeating England by frontal assault (as opposed to either economic strangulation at sea or a peripheral strategy in the Mediterranean, neither of which have worked against the British previously). At least making the effort with a reasonable possibility of success would be worth any number of losses. Leaving the British undefeated at your back - especially if you have some half-cocked notions of starting new wars in the East - is never a winning proposition. The British must be finished off once and for all, and any price is worth paying once they have their hands around your neck. Peace terms must be slapped down on the throne at Buckingham Palace quickly or the British will never go away and ultimately find a way to beat you: there is 300 years of history to prove that, going back to Philip II. Napoleon would nod in agreement.

Operation Sea Lion is a huge gamble, and Hitler is the biggest military gambler of the millennium. The attempt seems worthwhile - but right away, not in 1941. Time is the Wehrmacht's enemy. This decision is perhaps the biggest of the war.

Soldiers with part of a Bf 110 that came to a violent end over Essex, England, 3 September 1940 (AP Photo).

Battle of Britain: While the German high command makes far-reaching decisions, the day-to-day battle continues over the skies of England. The weather continues clear and bright, and the Luftwaffe once again gets off the mark by mid-morning.

The first major attacks begin around 09:15, as two large formations approach over the Thames estuary and North Foreland. Further formations follow directly behind. Keith Park's No. 11 Group gets 11 squadrons in the air, and Leigh-Mallory's 12 Group adds the Czech No. 310 Squadron. Fighter Command continues its recent practice of waiting as long as possible to intercept to gain a tactical advantage, and once again it allows more bombers to get through to their targets than if the interceptions had been made earlier.

RAF North Weald takes a beating, with extensive damage to the main buildings. The airfields at Debden and Hornchurch also suffer heavy damage, with RAF Manston being attacked around 11:40. The London docks also take a pounding.

Noontime is when massive dogfights take place along the coast. Other raids take place along the Kent coast around 14:00, but the RAF gets its fighters in the air earlier and chases most of them off.

After dark, the Luftwaffe continues its raids on Liverpool and areas to the south of it. Bristol and South Wales receive their usual visits. The Avonmouth docks are one target, but the bombers' aim is particularly bad and bombs fall all around without many falling on the target.

The RAF bombs the Grunewald Park in the north of Berlin, apparently by accident. It also drops bombs on oil installations at Magdeburg, storage facilities at Schwere and Hamm, a blast furnace at Merzig, and the barges at Beveland Canal and the Scheldt estuary, and the Ostend docks. Special attention is paid to various airfields in northwest Europe, particularly those near the Pas de Calais where most of the recent Luftwaffe attacks have come from.

Losses for the day are about even, in the mid-teens for both sides. This is a rarity and further grist for the mill of those in the Luftwaffe who think the RAF may be on the ropes. The conclusion certainly can be drawn that the current Luftwaffe strategy - after much trial and error - finally is achieving results.

Adolf Galland of JG 26 gains his 28th victory during the noontime battles. Several other pilots in the squadron get their first victories, while Lt. Gustav Sprick of 8./JG 26 gets his 15th kill.

Hitler directs the Luftwaffe to procure larger bombs than usual - 2200lb - for attacks on cities.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-57 (Oblt.z.S. Erich Topp), returning from her 11th patrol, collides with Norwegian freighter Rona at Brunsbüttel (northwest of Hamburg at the entrance to the Kiel Canal). There are six deaths and 19 crew survive. The U-boat sinks in shallow water where it can be recovered.

U-60 (Oblt.z.S. Adalbert Schnee), on her 8th patrol, torpedoes and sinks 1401 ton British freighter Ulva northwest of Donegal, Ireland. There are three deaths and 17 crew survive.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Truant stops the German wheat freighter Tropic Sea in the Bay of Biscay. The crew of the Tropic Sea scuttles the ship. The submarine takes the Captain and some others aboard as prisoners, and a fishing boat and a Short Sunderland flying boat rescue the other crewmen. The Tropic Sea had been captured by the German raider Orion, and among the prisoners on the ship are some crew from the Haxby.

British 880 ton British collier Philotus collides with the SS Lublin and sinks about 8km northwest of St. Govan's lighthouse off Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.

The RAF bombs and sinks 3077-ton Norwegian ship Anna Sofie at Haugesund, Norway. The ship settles in shallow water and can be salvaged.

U-101 (Kptlt. Fritz Frauenheim) undergoes a depth charge attack (five passes) northwest of Ireland. U-101 survives, but with some flooding.

Convoy FN 271 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 159 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 271 departs from the Tyne, Convoy OB 208 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 46 departs from Freetown.

British submarine HMS Upright (N 89, Lt. Francis J. Brooks) is commissioned.

U-455, a longer Type VIIC submarine, is laid down in Kiel.

Light cruisers HMS Orion and HMAS Sydney, accompanied by destroyers, bombard the Italian bases at Scarpanto (Karpathos) and Port Valecana in Stampala in the Dodecanese. Italian motorboats VAS 356 and VAS 537 attack the force off Stampal, with destroyer Ilex sinking MAS 357. (Some accounts place this action on 1 September).

At Malta, an Italian MAS (Motor Torpedo Boat) buzzes the island at dawn but makes a clean getaway despite attempted interceptions by the RAF. An Italian submarine also is reported northeast of the island, but depth charge attacks produce no result.

Battle of the Pacific: Australian cargo ship Coraline runs aground on Point Kialla, New South Wales (Jervis Bay) and is wrecked. There are six survivors and one crewman perishes.


US/Anglo Relations: Subsequent to the exchange of notes between US Secretary of State Cordell Hull and British Ambassador Lord Lothian on 2 September 1940, President Roosevelt sends a message to Congress setting forth the terms of the exchange of US destroyers for British bases:

• "The right to bases in Newfoundland and Bermuda are gifts";
• "in exchange for fifty of our over-age destroyers."
• "act of preparation for continental defense in the face of grave danger."

The British bases to be turned over to the US, most under 99-year leases, are set forth as:

• on the eastern side of the Bahamas, 
• the southern coast of Jamaica, 
• the western coast of St. Lucia, 
• the west coast of Trinidad in the Gulf of Paria, 
• on the island of Antigua and 
• in British Guiana within fifty miles of Georgetown.

President Roosevelt emphasizes throughout his official communication that the bases are important for the defense of the Western Hemisphere - though why the defense from those locations would be better in the hands of the neutral US military occupying those bases and not the Royal Navy and Air Force is not explained. Some things are better left to the imagination.

US Rear Adml J. W. Greenslade, along with his team ("the Greenslade Board"), boards the cruiser USS St. Louis at Norfolk to inspect British bases acquired under the deal. They head toward Bermuda first.

"Two destroyers, HMS CASTLETON (formerly American Wikes Class destroyer USS AARON WARD) and HMS CLARE (formerly Clemson Class, USS ABEL P UPSHER), sit moored alongside each other alongside the Devonport Dockyard, September 1940. They still show their US Navy pennant numbers. Dockyard workers are aboard preparing the ships for service in the Royal Navy." © IWM (A 724). You can see that the "dockyard workers" (probably British sailors) have cans of paint at the ready. They don't look that over-age.

US Military: Cruisers USS Wichita (CA 45) and Quincy (CA 39) depart from Buenos Aires, Argentina for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as part of their "Show the Flag" mission.

Soviet/German Relations: Responding to Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov's complaints about the Second Vienna Award, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop denies any German wrongdoing. In addition, he accuses the Soviets of breaching the pact in the Baltic States.

Walt Disney stands before his new Animation Building in Burbank, California, in September 1940.

Romanian/Hungarian Relations: Many Romanians in northern Transylvania are not happy about the Second Vienna Award and stage demonstrations. There also are reports of incidents between Romanian and Hungarian troops as the Hungarians move in to occupy the region.

Romania: The fascist Iron Guard agitates to have Ion Antonescu appointed Prime Minister. Antonescu is considered a somewhat moderate figure - among those in the far right - since he is a member of the elite and thus (presumably) not interested in any "death ride" military campaigns. However, Antonescu does sympathize with the aim of restoring the borders of "Greater Romania" in the East. King Carol refuses.

Vichy France: Pierre Laval issues orders to arrest anyone who poses a threat to national security, with priority given to communists.

China: The Nationalist 18th Army moves to block the Communist advance under Mao Tse-tung along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province. Heretofore, the two forces have had an uneasy alliance or at least co-belligerency against the Japanese.

German Homefront: The government releases figures showing that the unemployed number only 32,000. This type of number typically suggests a labor shortage - and with millions of men in the Wehrmacht, that is understandable. In 1932, right before Hitler came to power, the figure was around 5 million and 30% of the workforce was unemployed. Those mystified by Hitler's popularity - and he was popular across a broad swathe of the country - should take note. In addition, the low number hints as to why the Germans embraced forced/slave labor.

The Germans seize the French television service, which has a television antenna on the Eiffel Tower. Eventually, the German Ministry of Post and Radiodiffusion Nationale will resume programming in Paris, broadcasting in both German and French (Fernsehsender Paris) from 7 May 1943.
American Homefront: Long Island daily Newsday begins publication under the editorship of Alicia Patterson, daughter of the founder of New York Daily News.

The recently recruited No. 12 Forestry Company, Canadian Forestry Corps gets in the local papers today. The unit "gave a good account of itself" at Kirkland Lake Ontario on 3 September 1940.

September 1940

September 1, 1940: RAF's Horrible Weekend
September 2, 1940: German Troopship Sunk
September 3, 1940: Destroyers for Bases
September 4, 1940: Enter Antonescu
September 5, 1940: Stukas Over Malta
September 6, 1940: The Luftwaffe Peaks
September 7, 1940: The Blitz Begins
September 8, 1940: Codeword Cromwell
September 9, 1940: Italians Attack Egypt
September 10, 1940: Hitler Postpones Sealion
September 11, 1940: British Confusion at Gibraltar
September 12, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Approved
September 13, 1940: Zeros Attack!
September 14, 1940: The Draft Is Back
September 15, 1940: Battle of Britain Day
September 16, 1940: italians Take Sidi Barrani
September 17, 1940: Sealion Kaputt
September 18, 1940: City of Benares Incident
September 19, 1940: Disperse the Barges
September 20, 1940: A Wolfpack Gathers
September 21, 1940: Wolfpack Strikes Convoy HX-72
September 22, 1940: Vietnam War Begins
September 23, 1940: Operation Menace Begins
September 24, 1940: Dakar Fights Back
September 25, 1940: Filton Raid
September 26, 1940: Axis Time
September 27, 1940: Graveney Marsh Battle
September 28, 1940: Radio Belgique Begins
September 29, 1940: Brocklesby Collision
September 30, 1940: Operation Lena

2020

Monday 2 September 1940

Time-exposure shot at Fleet Street of searchlights. 2 September 1940.

Battle of Britain: The Battle of Britain indisputably is reaching its climax on 2 September 1940. The Luftwaffe has found its groove, and it is driving the RAF into the ground with effective, relentless attacks. With the seasons moving along, this provides at least the possibility that Hitler will approve Operation Sea Lion for later in the month. However, it is not just a question of airpower, the state of the Kriegsmarine versus the Royal Navy also is a huge part of the equation (as shown by today's sinking of a German troopship by a Royal Navy submarine with the loss of 1,000 lives). Hitler is still considering his options, and nobody knows what he will decide, but the decision must be made soon.

Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering meets with the fighter commanders in France, including Major Adolf Galland of JG 26 and Major Werner Mölders of JG 51. When Goering asks Galland what he needs, Galland makes the famous response:

Ich bitte um die Ausrüstung meines Geschwaders mit Spitfire. (I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my squadron).

Goering recognizes the implied insult, but he has just enough of a sense of humor to let it pass and get even later in a clever way. When the Luftwaffe captures an intact Spitfire due to a disoriented RAF pilot landing by mistake in France, Goering has it sent to JG 26:

He wanted Spitfires – Hah! Here is his first, let us see what Galland can do with it!

Flying a Spitfire for the Luftwaffe at this point would be tantamount to suicide. Galland, for his part, has the Spitfire given Luftwaffe markings and sends a thank you note to Goering. It is unclear, though, if Galland ever actually used it in combat. More importantly, Galland and Goering now have established a relationship, each taking the measure of the other. Goering - a former fighter pilot himself - shows in later interactions with Galland that he actually likes this kind of swaggering machismo.

The Luftwaffe gets an early start again today. The first major operation is at around 08:00 over Dover. One arm of the force heads for RAF airfields at Eastchurch, North Weald, Rochford, and Biggin Hill - the usual targets. The other arm of the raid heads toward RAF Hawkinge. The RAF has slightly changed its tactics and is focusing more on protecting the airfields than looking for bombers to attack. Fighter Command disperses many of the attacks, but the Short Brothers aircraft works at Rochester is hit, and a Wellington factory on the grounds of the former racetrack at Weybridge takes damage. RAF Gravesend is hit with 11 high explosive bombs that sever all utilities.

The next formation crosses the Kent coastline around noontime, and it is a big one, well over 200 planes. The Luftwaffe fighter escorts successfully occupy the RAF fighters, and the bombers get through. They attack RAF airfields at Biggin Hill, Hornchurch, Croydon, North Weald, Debden, Detling, Eastchurch, and Hawkinge, with Debden taking the most damage. As with Biggin Hill in recent days, the operations center has to be moved outside under the sky when the building housing it is destroyed. There are other bombs dropped at random which destroy numerous civilian residences.

A third major raid develops at around 16:00, again crossing at Kent. Hornchurch airfield takes damage from Dornier Do 17s, Detling loses a hangar, and there is random damage at Eastchurch.

An hour later, yet another formation crosses near Calais. This leads to a massive dogfight over the Thames estuary, but the bombers get through and hit RAF Eastchurch and Detling again. Detling takes the worst of it, receiving 100 bombs and putting the station out of operation for the rest of the day. The attack on Detling has a lucky strike when a bomb dump explodes, causing a tremendous explosion. This puts Eastchurch out of operation, and the Germans notice.

RAF Hornchurch also takes damage. RAF No. 603 Squadron, defending the airfield, disrupts the attack on this vital airfield and causes many of the bombers to turn back.

Yet another raid develops about an hour later around Dungeness at 18:00, but it turns out to be either reconnaissance or a feint, and they head back to France without bombing anything in particular.

The German attacks continue into the night. The Luftwaffe conducts mine-laying operations in the Thames estuary, and attacks are made on Liverpool, Bristol, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Manchester, and Sheffield. While many bombers pass over London, they do not bomb it. The attacks are scattered far and wide over the length and breadth of England. An attack on freighters off of Kinnairds Head, Scotland around 22:30 leaves two of them damaged.

RAF Bomber Command bombs oil plants at Flushing and Ludwigshafen, Ostend Harbour, munitions plants at Leverkusen and Cologne, the Bosch auto parts plant at Stuttgart, the Dortmund Ems canal, U-boat installations at Lorient, military targets in Genoa, and the German coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez. The British drop incendiaries on the Black Forest in an unsuccessful attempt to start forest fires.

The day is terrible for the RAF, one of the worst of the entire battle. Estimates place the losses for both sides in the 30s, with slightly more Luftwaffe losses. The Bf 110s again take a beating, with elite formation Epr.Gr. 210 losing eight planes. The RAF, though, loses a number of very scarce experienced pilots.

Luftwaffe pilot Hans-Joachim Marseille gets his second kill over Kent, England, but then runs out of fuel and barely makes it back to crash-land on a beach near Calais. Czech pilot Josef Frantisek gets his first victory while serving in the RAF.

A Bf 109 of III,/JG54 piloted by Oblt. Ekkehard Schelcher is shot down over England. His body is found in 1979 and helps lead to the passage of the Protection of Military Remains Act of 1986. Schelcher is buried in the German war cemetery at Cannock Chase.

RAF Nos. 25 and 29 Squadrons receive deliveries of the new Beaufighter fighters.

The cockpit of a Dornier Do-17 Z-7 of 2/NJG, operating as a night fighter, 2 September 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: British submarine HMS Sturgeon scores a huge success with possible widespread ramifications. The submarine is patrolling as dusk settles when it spots 3624 ton Kriegsmarine troopship Pionier, complete with torpedo boat escorts, northeast of Skagen, Denmark. The ship appears to be a standard transfer of troops between Norway and Denmark. Sturgeon pumps three torpedoes into the troopship and it goes down quickly, assisted by exploding ammunition. There are roughly 1,000 deaths. This sinking comes at a propitious time, as Hitler is in the latter stages of deciding whether to risk his troops on troopships heading to England. The sinking becomes a central story in the later history of the Battle of Britain, "Their Finest Hour."

The Kriegsmarine's troubles do not end there. Submarine chaser UJ-121 "Jochen" hits a mine and sinks as she approaches Ostend Harbour, West Flanders, Belgium. There are 13 deaths. The sunken ship blocks the Channel used by the 2nd S-Flotilla and has to be cleared.

German raider Widder uses its deck guns and a torpedo to sink 6317-ton British tanker Cymbeline hundreds of miles west of the Canary Islands. The Widder takes 26 of the crew prisoner, but the Captain, First Officer, and Third Engineer escape in a lifeboat to be picked up two weeks later by another passing tanker. There are seven deaths. One of the crew, a 14-year-old deck-boy, later joins the Waffen SS unit "British Free Corps."

U-46 (Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass) torpedoes and sinks 4261-ton British collier Thornlea around 22:00 about 200 miles northwest of Ireland. There are 34 survivors, 3 crew perish.

U-47 (K.Kapt. Günther Prien) is on its seventh patrol in the North Atlantic south of Iceland when it spots 7,463-ton Belgian passenger ship (either no passengers or very few, carrying food as cargo) Ville de Mons. Prien fires three torpedoes and one hits, sinking the Ville de Mons at 17:01. All 54 onboard survive.

Canadian 987 ton sailing vessel Legatus runs aground off Parrsboro Road, Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy and is lost. Everybody survives.

In the Bay of Biscay, the Germans scuttle Norwegian freighter Tropic Sea to avoid capture by the British submarine HMS Truant. The Tropic Sea was captured by the German raider Orion in the Pacific.

British submarine Tigris spots U-58 off the coast of France but its torpedoes miss. The British know that the U-boats are operating out of the French ports and target them while they are transiting from there to the Atlantic.

Convoys OA 208 and MT 158 depart from Methil, Convoy FS 270 departs from the Tyne, Convoy SC 3 departs from St. Johns, Nova Scotia.

HMS Valiant enters Grand Harbour, Malta on 2 September 1940 (NWMA).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Hats, the involved serious of operations to re-supply Malta, is at its climax. Three supply ships (Cornwall, Volo, and HMS Valiant) of Convoy MF 2 make port at Grand Harbour, Malta and are quickly unloaded in case of air attack, with the men of the volunteer infantry brigades helping. The supplies include anti-aircraft guns, personnel and related supplies, and more general supplies such as food and fuel. After taking 4 hours to unload, the three cargo ships leave the harbor and rejoin the fleet, which has been waiting offshore to the south.

Force H launches a second air attack on Caligari as a diversion early in the morning, but poor weather aborts the strike.

Force F (led by battleship HMS Valiant and carrier HMS Illustrious) heads southeast to make contact with the Mediterranean Fleet heading west from Alexandria. Together, they plan to make strikes on targets in the Aegean. This concludes the bulk of Operation Hats.

Italian battleships Vittorio Veneto, Caio Duilio and Giulio Cesare at sea during British Operation Hats. They did not give battle and returned to port.

Italian aircraft shadow the proceedings throughout the morning, and in the afternoon attack the fleet south of Malta. HMS Illustrious launches its defending fighters, and they shoot down one SM 79 bomber and chase the others away. There are other attacks during the afternoon, but no ships are hit.

At Malta, there is a raid around noontime, but the bombers drop their bombs in the sea. The Hurricanes on the island scramble a few times to assist the fleet during its air attacks but make no contact.

The RAF bombs Assab, Eritrea.

Ellensburg, Washington Rodeo parade, 2 September 1940.

Anglo/American Relations: U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and British Ambassador Lord Lothian conclude their agreement to exchange 50 old US destroyers to the UK in exchange for 99-year leases on British bases. These are in the Bahamas, Antigua, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Jamaica, and British Guiana. The bases at Newfoundland and Bermuda are permanent transfers.

German/Romanian Relations: Hitler sends a military mission to Romania.

German/Spanish/Portuguese Relations: Hitler meets with the Spanish and Portuguese ambassadors.

German/Iranian Relations: Hitler meets with the Iranian ambassador.

Free France: The French Settlements in Oceania (Polynesia), led by Tahiti, announces support for Free France.

British Homefront: The government cuts the butter ration from 6oz. to 4oz. This does not affect margarine.

American Homefront: It is the Labor Day holiday in the States. Workers have the day off, and there are public celebrations and events. President Roosevelt presides at a ceremony dedicating the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Byron Nelson wins the PGA Championship. This completes his "Career Grand Slam."

Future History: Hans-Joachim Marseille's Bf-109 E-1 was recovered from the beach by the Luftwaffe and later flew operations in the Soviet Union. It was abandoned there, found in the 1990s, restored to flying condition, and occasionally goes up for sale (a few years ago for $4.5 million). It is the only flying example of this version of the plane, powered by a Daimler Benz DB601 engine. It currently is in private hands in Europe.

Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on 2 September 1940.

September 1940

September 1, 1940: RAF's Horrible Weekend
September 2, 1940: German Troopship Sunk
September 3, 1940: Destroyers for Bases
September 4, 1940: Enter Antonescu
September 5, 1940: Stukas Over Malta
September 6, 1940: The Luftwaffe Peaks
September 7, 1940: The Blitz Begins
September 8, 1940: Codeword Cromwell
September 9, 1940: Italians Attack Egypt
September 10, 1940: Hitler Postpones Sealion
September 11, 1940: British Confusion at Gibraltar
September 12, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Approved
September 13, 1940: Zeros Attack!
September 14, 1940: The Draft Is Back
September 15, 1940: Battle of Britain Day
September 16, 1940: italians Take Sidi Barrani
September 17, 1940: Sealion Kaputt
September 18, 1940: City of Benares Incident
September 19, 1940: Disperse the Barges
September 20, 1940: A Wolfpack Gathers
September 21, 1940: Wolfpack Strikes Convoy HX-72
September 22, 1940: Vietnam War Begins
September 23, 1940: Operation Menace Begins
September 24, 1940: Dakar Fights Back
September 25, 1940: Filton Raid
September 26, 1940: Axis Time
September 27, 1940: Graveney Marsh Battle
September 28, 1940: Radio Belgique Begins
September 29, 1940: Brocklesby Collision
September 30, 1940: Operation Lena

2020

Sunday 1 September 1940

An errant German bomber drops incendiary bombs in London, 1 September 1940.

Battle of Britain: This is the climax of the RAF's famous "Bad Weekend." Beginning on Friday, 30 August,, the "Bad Day" for the RAF, the Luftwaffe began launching major, relentless raids that have achieved unprecedented success in wearing the RAF down. However, it is often overlooked that this effort also is weakening the Luftwaffe, as on 1 September 1940 it is suffering right alongside the RAF and losing many veterans and highly valued pilots and other flight personnel over England.

It is good flying weather again, so the Germans don't wait until the afternoon to attack as they did so often in August. Shortly before 11:00, a massive formation moves across the Channel at Dover, then, as usual, it splits up to attack multiple different targets. RAF airfields at Biggin Hill, Eastchurch, Detling, Rochford, Gravesend, Hornchurch, North Weald, and Kenley are the German visitors' destinations, but nobody is on these flights to land and go through customs to see the sights and tour the palace. All of these airfields are in RAF No. 11 Group's territory, and soon it has 14 fighter squadrons in the air in defense - virtually its entire inventory.

Numerous dogfights break out, particularly over eastern Kent. The German Dornier Do 17s and Heinkel He 111s have numerous escorts, and both sides take losses. The bombers, however, get through, or at least many of them do. Biggin Hill takes massive damage - the telephone and radio equipment that survives has to be taken out into the parking lots to use because their buildings are destroyed. The vital field at Hornchurch also takes some damage at about 11:40, but not nearly as much as Biggin Hill.

The London docks also are a prime target. The German tactic of close escorts is working, but the Luftwaffe still hasn't perfected it: on this attack, for instance, there are many more fighters than bombers, and much more damage could have been accomplished with a better ratio. However, give the Luftwaffe staff some slack here: they are groping their way forward without any precedents. This is a new mode of warfare, and the Germans are learning lessons and implementing procedures that eventually will become standard air force doctrine around the world.

The raids are incessant and continuous. The British fighters land to refuel and re-arm, and as they do more bombers come across and attack through the seams in the defense. RAF Kenley and Biggin Hill take more damage in the early afternoon, with a full Luftwaffe effort shortly before 14:00. Bf 110s sail in low over British airfields, dropping their bombs more accurately than level bombers, then help defend the vertical bombers from the RAF. While the Bf 110s are vulnerable, there is higher air cover from Bf 109s, which can come to their rescue. The Luftwaffe, having suffered many hard lessons, is using its assets efficiently for once.

WAAF Sgt. Helen Turner keeps things running at Biggin Hill as long as she can. She is the switchboard operator. Turner only leaves with the building ablaze after receiving a direct order to do so. Turner receives the Military Medal. A funeral service for 50 people just like Turner is interrupted during the day at the airfield.

Another raid crosses the coast near Dover around 15:30, and it splits into formations that bomb RAF Hawkinge, Lympne, Detling, and Chatham. Perhaps as much for sport as anything else, the Bf 110s once again take down all the Dover barrage balloons, just as Bf 109s shot them down on the 31st of August.

Around 17:30, another Luftwaffe raid vectors in on RAF Biggin Hill. This is the seventh raid in three days, and it is the capper. A direct hit on the operations building severs all the telephone wires and destroyers the Teleprinter Network machines. At least four Spitfires are destroyed on the ground, and the airfield is completely out of action -  no qualifications this time. Biggin Hill is dead for the time being. Things are so bad that a funeral service for the 50 dead men from the previous day can't be conducted - the Luftwaffe also pays its respects of a different sort at the same time.

The night is fairly quiet over England. There are isolated raids on Liverpool, Kent, Bristol Channel/South Wales, and the Tyne area. The RAF airfields hit during the night are Detling and Rye, with the Detling communications tower damaged. The Germans now are using former Lufthansa employees to assist with navigation to the larger cities such as Liverpool, with which they are well familiar. Targets hit during the night include oil installations at Llandarcy and the Newdown Downs airfield at Porthcawl, Wales.

RAF Bomber Command raids the Fiat factory in Turin and other installations at San Giovanni again, and also the BMW factory and railway installations in Munich for the first time. Other targets include engine factories at Stuttgart, the docks at Emden in northwest Germany, railway installations at Mannheim and Soest, a Kassel electrical plant, munition plants at Ludwigshafen and Hanover, and oil installations in Nordenham.

The total losses usually given for the day are deceptive and virtually worthless. Many accounts give the RAF a decided edge in terms of losses, but those figures don't factor in the planes destroyed in the air and the extensive damage to RAF (and other) infrastructure. Six RAF pilots are killed or missing, and RAF losses now exceed production. Luftwaffe fighter pilots report that fighter opposition over England is diminished from mid-August, though still fierce over key points.

In short: right now, as of 1 September 1940, the Luftwaffe is winning the Battle of Britain and accomplishing its objectives. That is not an exaggeration, that is reality. Whether that is being done quickly enough to satisfy the more strategic requirements of the entire campaign, i.e. setting up Operation Sea Lion before the weather forecloses it for the year, remains to be seen. This will be decided by Adolf Hitler in the coming days. What can be said is that the Germans finally, after much trial and error, have learned how to utilize their numerical air force advantage to the best advantage. The overriding questions are whether the Germans will keep at it and whether the British can devise effective counter-measures.

RAF No. 54 Squadron is put out of action. Several other squadrons, such as Nos. 111 at Croydon and No. 151 at Stapleford are down to only a handful of operational planes and/or pilots. RAF North Weald remains operational, but it has virtually no planes left to put in the air.

During the day, Adolf Galland at JG 26 gets his 27th victory, while his friend Hptm. Gerhard Schöpfel of Stab III./JG 26 also gets a victory. Oblt. Josef ‘Jupp’ Bürschgens of 7,/JG26 is shot down by a Bf 110 who mistakes his Bf 109 for a Spitfire. Jupp retires with 10 victories to see the sights and tour the grounds of a Canadian POW stockade.

Two German pilots, Oblt. Wilhelm Herget and Oblt. Hans-Joachim Jabs of 6,/ZG76, each file claims for three planes shot down - somewhat restoring the honor of the Bf 110 Zerstörers. Oblt. Gustav Rödel of 4./JG 27 files claims for two.

The London headlines are not quite as bombastic as in mid-August. Sunday Express, 1 September 1940.

German Military: The Luftwaffe Operations Staff, Section 1A, issues instructions to Luftflotten 2 and 3 in France regarding quality targets. It includes a list of 30 factories in England thought to be involved in aircraft production. In fact, this list includes some factories that have nothing to do with anything war-related - the Luftwaffe appears to be consulting guidebooks and the like.

Battle of the Atlantic: Italian submarines have been operating off the Azores and Canary Islands for about two months with results that have underperformed expectations but still hold promise. For submarines based in Italy, these patrol stations require passage through the Straits of Gibraltar, which the British are trying to close down. Aside from the British presence, this also involves a lengthy, tiring and time-consuming transit to and from their patrol stations in the Atlantic which effectively reduces the size of the fleet. There appears to be a solution now.

To avoid the dangers of such transits and coordinate training of the under-performing Italian submarine crews, the Regia Marina Italiana now establishes a base at Bordeaux capable of holding up to 30 submarines at a time (with 1/3 of submarines in port, 1/3 in transit to or from the patrol stations, and 1/3 on patrol stations, this works out to support a fleet of up to 90 submarines, which is roughly how many the Italians have operational). This operation goes under the acronym BETASOM.

As usual with Axis joint operations, there is an involved command structure that places ultimate control over the BETASOM project in a German officer, in this case, Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Karl Dönitz. Doenitz now is the effective "Commander of the Submarines" (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote) for both the German and Italian submarine fleets in the Atlantic - and the Italian fleet there potentially is even larger than the German one. This has the potential of tipping the scales of the Battle of the Atlantic decidedly in favor of the Axis. However, the effectiveness of the Italian submarines must be increased substantially for them to make a worthwhile contribution to the war effort. As part of that effort, the Italian Navy also establishes a frogmen training academy at Livorno, commanded by Lieutenant Wolk.

In the day's battle itself, results are slightly better than many recent ones for the Royal Navy but hardly wonderful. The Texel Disaster concludes with the scuttling of the destroyer HMS Ivanhoe during the afternoon and recovery of the badly damaged HMS Express, which has lost its entire bows. It will require major repairs, a virtual reconstruction of a third of the ship.

U-101 (Kptlt. Fritz Frauenheim), on her third patrol and first out of Lorient, finds a straggler from Convoy OB 205 northwest of Ireland. It is 3867-ton Croatian (maybe now Greek?) freighter Efploia. Frauenheim puts a torpedo into the Efploia which badly damages it. The ship is later scuttled by destroyer HMS Anthony, which rescues the entire crew.

U-32 (Oblt.z.S. Hans Jenisch) torpedoes British cruiser HMS Fiji northwest of Ireland, near Convoy HX 67. Fiji, seriously damaged, proceeds back to base at Greenock in the Clyde at a reduced speed of 10 knots, escorted by several destroyers. HMS Fiji has been participating in the opening stages of Operation Menace and is replaced by cruiser HMAS Australia.

British submarine HMS Tigris torpedoes and sinks Vichy French trawler Sancte Michel in the Bay of Biscay.

British submarine HMS Sunfish collides with Royal Navy launch HMML Mesme at Grangemouth, Stirlingshire. All three men aboard perish.

Royal Navy trawler HMT Royalo hits a mine and sinks off Penzance, Cornwall. All seven men aboard perish as the small ship explodes.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Galatea hits a mine off the Humber as it is returning to port. The explosion beside B-turret is against the gunbelt and causes only minor damage.

British submarine HMS Tuna spots what it believes is a submarine in the North Sea and attacks, but without results.

Convoy FN 269 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 157 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 269 departs from the Tyne, Convoy OB 207 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 70 departs from Halifax, Convoy BHX 70 departs from Bermuda, Convoy SLS 46 departs from Freetown, Convoy BS 3A departs from Suez.

Germans troops on parade on Dam Square in Amsterdam, 1 September 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Hats, the intricate Royal Navy operation to run ships to Malta, continues.

At 03:25, Royal Navy carrier HMS Ark Royal launches nine Swordfish to attack Caligari as part of the deception operations (Operation Squawk) to draw attention away from the Malta convoy. The planes attack at 06:00 - the Swordfish is a very slow plane, particularly in a headwind - and are back on the carrier by 08:00. After some evasive maneuvers, Admiral Somerville takes Force H toward the Sicilian Narrows (between Sicily and Tunisia). Late in the, he splits his fleet, half turning back toward Caligari and the rest (Force F) continuing eastward for a junction with the Mediterranean fleet coming from Alexandria.

The Mediterranean fleet coming from Greek waters, for its part, has had its reconnaissance planes spot the Italian fleet off Taranto. The Italians, however, apparently unaware of the British dispositions, heads back to base.

A British flotilla led by Cruisers HMS Orion and HMAS Sydney bombards the Dodecanese islands of Scarpanto (now Karpathos) and Stampalia (now Astypalea) as part of the overall deception plan. Italian motor torpedo boats MAS 536 and 537 respond by attacking the Royal Navy ships. Royal Navy destroyer HMS Ilex, operating with Admiral Cunningham's force out of Alexandria, rams and sinks Italian motor torpedo boat MAS 536 in the Aegean, but the other Italian attack boat gets away (some accounts place this on 3 September).

At Malta itself, a Hudson on reconnaissance is spotted by aircraft from HMS Illustrious, part of Force H coming from Gibraltar. Rather than a happy meeting, the Illustrious Fairey Fulmars mistake the RAF plane for an enemy one and attack the Hudson. They force it to crash-land in Tunisia, where the Vichy French intern the crew. Malta reconnaissance planes also shadow the Italian fleet returning to Taranto. The arrival of the convoy coming from Gibraltar is expected with eagerness on the morrow.

Kenya: A minor Italian offensive occupies Buna in northeast Kenya.

German/Soviet Relations: Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov remains furious about the Second Vienna Award - suggesting that the Soviets itself had further plans for Romania. He privately remonstrates with the Germans, but can't go public with his aggravation because his complaint is that the German interference in eastern Europe is contrary to the secret protocols of the August 1939 Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact.

German Military: Otto Skorzeny receives a promotion to Oberscharführer (senior squad leader, roughly equivalent to a Sergeant 1st Class in the US) and joins 2nd SS Division "Das Reich." Skorzeny is a former civil engineer who has become a promising SS officer, gaining some renown for designing ramps to load tanks on ships - a potentially very useful invention should Operation Sea Lion proceed.

Otto von Wachter, an Austrian politician and here Governor of the Cracow district, shakes hands with Joseph Goebbels on September.1, 1940. Wachter's son is alive as of this writing and denies his father was a criminal.

US Military: The House of Representatives passes the conscription bill, reinstating the draft once President Roosevelt signs it. There is furious grass-roots opposition to the draft in peacetime, a first in American history.

The Navy institutes a small force at Midway Island, part of the Hawaiian Island chain, called the US Marine Corps Midway Detachment of the Fleet Marine Force.

Soviet Military: Lieutenant General Ivan Vasilievich Boldin, who led the 9th Army during the occupation of Romanian Bessarabia, is promoted to Deputy Commander in Chief, Special Western Military District.

Vogue (US) Magazine, 1 September 1940.

Romania: The fascist Iron Guard, which until recently was outlawed, agitates for the abdication of King Carol II.

Ecuador: The new President is Carlos Alberto Arroyo.

Holocaust: A coke-fired two-retort furnace for the incineration of corpses goes into service at Auschwitz.

American Homefront: It remains hurricane season along the Atlantic coastline. The Category 2 1940 New England Hurricane passes by Cape Hatteras, North Carolina headed toward the New Jersey/New York area.

"Can Man Survive Robot Warfare?" Popular Science, 1 September 1940. Good question.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

September 1940

September 1, 1940: RAF's Horrible Weekend
September 2, 1940: German Troopship Sunk
September 3, 1940: Destroyers for Bases
September 4, 1940: Enter Antonescu
September 5, 1940: Stukas Over Malta
September 6, 1940: The Luftwaffe Peaks
September 7, 1940: The Blitz Begins
September 8, 1940: Codeword Cromwell
September 9, 1940: Italians Attack Egypt
September 10, 1940: Hitler Postpones Sealion
September 11, 1940: British Confusion at Gibraltar
September 12, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Approved
September 13, 1940: Zeros Attack!
September 14, 1940: The Draft Is Back
September 15, 1940: Battle of Britain Day
September 16, 1940: italians Take Sidi Barrani
September 17, 1940: Sealion Kaputt
September 18, 1940: City of Benares Incident
September 19, 1940: Disperse the Barges
September 20, 1940: A Wolfpack Gathers
September 21, 1940: Wolfpack Strikes Convoy HX-72
September 22, 1940: Vietnam War Begins
September 23, 1940: Operation Menace Begins
September 24, 1940: Dakar Fights Back
September 25, 1940: Filton Raid
September 26, 1940: Axis Time
September 27, 1940: Graveney Marsh Battle
September 28, 1940: Radio Belgique Begins
September 29, 1940: Brocklesby Collision
September 30, 1940: Operation Lena

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