Wednesday 11 December 1940

"Only one very badly damaged house still stands amidst the huge piles of timber and rubble following an air raid on Queen's Road, Aston, Birmingham. This site was damaged during the longest raid sustained by Birmingham, lasting 13 hours, which occurred on 11 December 1940. A few other houses can be seen in the background: all are without a roof." © IWM (D 4130).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Outside Sidi Barrani - held by the British on 11 December 1940 - the English Army goes to work reducing the remaining pockets of Italian troops. Selby Force attacks the 1st Libyan Division Sibelle and forces it to surrender. Their surrender uncovers the 4th Blackshirt Division 3 Gennaio, which also surrenders. The British bring 7th Armoured Brigade forward to relieve 4th Armoured Brigade near Buq Buq on the western sector of the front - 4th Armoured is being pulled out of the line and sent south after it completes its current operations.

The Italians, meanwhile, are either surrendering or running. Italian 63rd Division Cirene abandons Rabia and Sofafi and they run so fast - literally, in many cases - that British 4th Armoured Brigade is too late to cut them off. Retreating down the coast road, the Italians build up their position at Halfaya, the critical defensive position further west. Today the Italians have suffered 2184 killed, 2287 wounded and 38,000 taken prisoner. Usually, such a high ratio of KIA to wounded suggests that a military force is fighting hard, but in essence, all the Italians who weren't killed outright in the first British assault and could still walk have bugged out immediately to the West. Overall, 15,000 Italians have surrendered during Operation Compass - though the British aren't stopping to count. There are "5 acres of officers and 200 acres of other ranks," as put by a Coldstream Guards officer.

The Royal Navy has large forces approaching from both the east and west, but, given the outcome of Operation Compass so far, their presence would be purely superfluous. Monitor Terror and two gunboats shell the retreating Italians in the Sollum area overnight, later joined by British battleships HMS Barham and Valiant. Royal Navy submarine HMS Truant damages Italian torpedo boat Alcione off the Libyan coast, but it escapes.

The Royal Air Force has command of the air in North Africa - and during World War II this almost invariably is a tell as to who is winning. Flight Officer C.H. Dyson, flying a Hurricane in RAF No. 33 Squadron, has no difficulty with the biplanes the Italians are flying. He shoots down a record seven Italian fighters in one sortie before being shot down himself. He is uninjured, an ace-and-a-half (almost) in one day. Elsewhere, though, the news is not quite so good for the RAF, as two Swordfish of RAF No. 810 Squadron flying off HMS Ark Royal collide off Europa Point, with three deaths.

Fleet Street has great fun with the Italian collapse in Egypt. By Strube, The Daily Express, December 11, 1940.

Italian/Greek Campaign: While the Greeks are still making progress in Albania, the weather is horrible and there aren't any towns to mark their progress. Greek Commander-in-chief Papagos knows that the real prize is Valona, the key Italian supply port, and without that, the Italian ability to strike back after it builds up reinforcements and supplies remains intact. Valona, however, remains well-defended by the Greeks, who, by and large, have occupied a lot of worthless mountain goat territory and only a few significant towns. The Greeks are approaching Himara on the left of the line.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe sends a major effort against Birmingham after dark. Dropping 277 tons of high explosives and 685 incendiaries, 278 bombers destroy 6 churches, 11 schools and hundreds of homes.

RAF Bomber Command concentrates on power stations and communications junctions in western Germany and the usual Channel ports. The main target is Mannheim, with 42 bombers attacking.

Battle of the Atlantic: The other shoe drops in the Caribbean when 6049-ton German freighter Rhein, the second ship (with the Idarwald, already sunk) to make a jailbreak from Tampico, Mexico to Occupied France. Dutch warship Van Kinsbergen alerted to the situation by US destroyers Simpson and MacLeish shadowing the Rhein as part of the Neutrality Patrol, intercepts the Rhein near the Dry Tortugas (off Key West). Just like the crew of the Idarwald, Rhein's crew sets fire to the ship and attempts to scuttle it. After taking the German crew prisoner, the destroyer HMS Caradoc sinks the flaming wreck with gunfire as destroyers USS MacLeish and McCormick watch. The Rhein now is a popular dive wreck for experienced divers. Incidentally, Adolf Hitler mentions this sinking - along with that of the Idarwald - in his declaration of war upon the United States on 11 December 1941 - exactly one year from today.

U-94 (Kptlt. Herbert Kuppisch), on its first patrol out of Kiel (heading for Lorient), torpedoes and sinks 5306-ton freighter Empire Statesman in the shipping lanes west of Ireland. All 32 onboard ultimately perish in the frigid seas. The Empire Statesman is a straggler from Convoy SLS 56 due to engine issues - convoys don't slow down to help those who can't keep up.

U-96 (Kplt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock), also on its first war patrol out of Kiel, stumbles upon scattered Convoy HX 92. First, at 15:12, it torpedoes and sinks 10,890 British passenger ship Rotorua, the ship carrying the convoy commodore (Rear Admiral J. U. P. Fitzgerald Rtd), who perishes. There are 23 deaths, but most of the passengers survive. U-96 picks up a couple of survivors and takes them as prisoners. Royal Navy destroyer HMS Mashona later picks up the other 108 survivors.

Next, U-96 torpedoes 5419-ton Dutch freighter Towa from the same Convoy HX 92. However, this ship takes its time sinking, so the U-boat puts a second torpedo into it at 21:30. Somehow, this also does not sink the freighter, so the U-boat surfaces and begins shelling it. This induces the 37 crewmen to abandon ship, and the freighter finally sinks at 22:42. There are only 19 survivors after one of the lifeboats capsizes in the rough seas. The Towa was carrying 7778 tons of grain and 48 trucks.

U-96 also attempts to torpedo 8,237-ton freighter Cardita, but misses. There are still plenty of targets on the horizon for U-96 as the day ends.

U-65 (Kptlt. Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen), on an extended three-month cruise, crosses the Equator. It is the first U-boat to do so.

British 208 ton British trawler Robinia hits a British-laid mine in the North Sea. Everybody survives.

The Luftwaffe attacks shipping in the Thames Estuary and damages 482-ton British freighter Saxon Queen and 1130 ton Swedish freighter Tor.

British battleship King George V, the first of a new class of battleships, finishes her sea trials and joins the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow. The days of the battleship may be waning, but King George V is a handy ship to add to the fleet. However, while it won't be discovered for a while, there are issues with her main guns that still require attention.

Convoy OB 257 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 357 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 359 departs from Methil, Convoy BS 10A departs from Port Sudan.

U-147 (Kapitänleutnant Reinhard Hardegen) commissioned.

U-172 laid down.

Destroyer HMAS Napier commissioned. It heads to Scapa Flow for trials.

"Image: a view of the Royal Navy battleship HMS King George V at sea, with a destroyer also visible on the water." December 1940. War Artists Advisory Committee commission artist Muirhead Bone. © IWM (Art.IWM ART LD 1366).

Anglo/US Relations: The British have been remarkably composed about requesting aid from the US to date - especially compared to the French in May and June. Today British Ambassador to the US Lord Lothian states that:

But with your help in airplanes, munitions, in ships and on the sea, and in the field of finance now being discussed between your Treasury and ours, we are sure of victory.

He further warns that the British Isles and other island chains such as the Azores are essential to the US strategic defense because,  if they are lost, "your power to strike back at an enemy disappears because you have no bases from which to do so."

Typical street scene, Nameoke Street, Far Rockaway Boulevard, New York City. The street still has cobblestone, which was quite common in New York around this time, but most of it since has been paved over. December 11, 1940 (Baumwoll Archives, New York Public Library).

British Military: Air Marshal A. W. Tedder is appointed Deputy to Air Officer Commander-In-Chief, Middle East. He replaces Air Vice-Marshal O.T. Boyd, captured on Sicily recently after his plane made a forced landing there on a trip to Malta.

Romania: Romania agrees to export three million tons of oil to Germany during 1941. That would be double what it has exported in 1940, but the Wehrmacht war machine is exceedingly thirsty. Romania is virtually Germany's only oil source, and this fact informs many of Hitler's strategic decisions.

Future  History: Donna Jean Miller is born in Chicago, Illinois. Donna graduates early from high school and goes off to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but the dancing bug bites and she leaves school to perform in summer stock productions. Her big break comes when she lands a spot in a touring production of My Fair Lady, which brings her to New York. Adopting the stage name of Donna Mills, she gets another big break by landing a six-month role on ABC-TV soap opera The Secret Storm in 1966, then appears the following year in "The Incident" with Martin Sheen (born 3 August 1940), Beau Bridges and Ed McMahon. More soap and stage work follows, followed by guest appearance son numerous '70s television shows. Donna Mills comes to national attention when she is cast as Abby Cunningham, a prime-time soap that runs throughout the '80s. Donna remains active in soap operas and occasional film work, winning Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series for her performance in General Hospital, in a three-way tie with Fred Willard and Ray Wise in 2015.

M/S Rhein WWII Wreck from Anton Kozhevnikov on Vimeo.
December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020

Sunday 8 December 1940

"The British warship approaches the IDARWALD." 8 December 1940. © IWM (A 2843)

Italian/Greek Campaign: Mussolini on 8 December 1940 continues his ongoing purge of Italian military leadership. He dismisses three admirals, including Chief of Naval Staff Domenico Cavagnari. He is replaced by Admiral Arturo Riccardi. Cavagnari is a "battleship" admiral who has little use for aircraft carriers, which in theory are unnecessary in the Mediterranean due to the prevalence of airbases. However, having naval aircraft close at hand - and not a half-hour away - can make all the difference in the short, sharp engagements that characterize this war's encounters.

General Cesare Maria de Vecchi, commander of the Italian forces based in the Aegean Sea, and Inigo Campioni, a commander with the Italian Navy 1st Naval Squadron. also are rumored to be leaving their posts. However, there is no official announcement of this at this time.

The Greeks, meanwhile, continue pressing forward. Today, Greek I Corps captures Gjirokastër (Argyrokastro) and Delvinë (Dervitsani).

European Air Operations: After taking a day off at least partly due to the weather, the Luftwaffe comes back with full force. KG 55 and other formations send 413 bombers against London, maintaining a prolonged bombardment that lasts from dusk to dawn. Damage is extensive, including the Tower of London and House of Commons. There are seven hospitals destroyed along with four churches from the 115,000 incendiaries drop and 387 tons of high explosives. The Luftwaffe loses only two bombers, one of which crashes during takeoff at Villacoublay airfield.

RAF Bomber Command attacks Dusseldorf, Lorient, Bordeaux, Brest, Flushing, Gravelines, Dunkirk and various airfields in northwest Europe.

"The IDARWALD was cast off overnight, and next morning the British warship coming alongside again finds the midships section of the German freighter burnt out and the ship very low in the water." © IWM (A 2842).

Battle of the Atlantic: German freighters Idarwald (5098 tons) and Rhein are attempting at least their third breakout from their refuge at Tampico, Mexico, but are being shadowed by the US Neutrality Patrol ship USS Sturtevant (DD-240). Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diomede (D 92), alerted by the US ships broadcasting the situation in the clear, approaches the Idarwald off Cabo Corrientes, Cuba to take possession. The German captain, however, instructs his crew to scuttle the ship. They set fires and take to their lifeboats. The British fight the fires and take the ship in tow, but it later sinks. Adolf Hitler specifically refers to this incident on 11 December 1941 in his declaration of war on the United States.

U-103 (Kptl. Viktor Schütze), on its 2nd patrol out of Lorient and sailing in the Western Approaches, torpedoes and sinks British 5186-ton freighter Calabria. The Calabria is carrying 4000 tons of iron, 3050 tons of tea and 1870 tons of oilcake. It also has 230 passengers, primarily Indian sailors being brought to England to crew other ships, in addition to 130 crew. The U-boat puts two torpedoes into the freighter in bright moonlight. The ship sinks quickly - typical for ships carrying heavy cargo - and all 360 aboard perish. The losses include the 79-year-old ship's cook, Santan Martins, believed to be the oldest merchant marine crewman to lose his life during the war. The Calabria's ship's bell had been removed prior to this voyage and occasionally comes up for auction.

U-140 (Kptlt. Hans-Peter Hinsch), on its only war patrol (it is a small Type IID submarine unsuited to ocean work), is sailing north of Ireland when he spots a victim. It is the steel 3-masted 2816-ton Finnish bark Penang, which has sailed all the way from Australia with a load of grain for Ireland. Hinsch torpedoes and sinks the bark, and all 18 crew aboard perish.

Later in the day, Hinsch hears a ship nearby requesting assistance by radio. The 5652-ton British freighter Ashcrest has suffered in the recent storms and its rudder is damaged. Hinsch puts a torpedo into it as well, sinking it and causing the deaths of all 37 crew. These are U-140's final victories in the Atlantic and it soon heads back to port.

British 311-ton freighter Actuality hits a mine about 6 km off the Isle of Sheppey, Kent (near Mouse Light Vessel) and sinks. There are six deaths.

British 5186-ton freighter Anthea collides with Dutch freighter Maasdam off the Grand Banks of Canada and the crew abandons it, with the ship later sinking.

Canadian freighter Beothic runs aground about two miles from Griquet in the Straits of Belle Isle off Cape Bauld, Newfoundland and is lost.

British 429-ton freighter Goosethorn sinks in rough weather in Liverpool Bay.

German 3210-ton freighter Adalia collides with fellow freighter Mendoza during the night in Flushing Roads in the North Sea near Vlissingen, Zeeland, and sinks.

The Luftwaffe damages 5281-ton British freighter Treverbyn.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Windsor hits a mine off Aldeburgh and sustains heavy damage. It requires a tow to Harwich by the fellow destroyer HMS Garth.

German battleship Bismarck exits the Kiel Canal.

Convoy OB 256 departs from Liverpool, Convoys FS 356 and 357 depart from Methil, Convoy SC 15 departs from St. John, New Brunswick, Convoy AS 8 from Piraeus is postponed, .

Bears coach George Halas and Quarterback Sid Luckman win the NFL Championship, 73-0.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British make final preparations for Operation Compass, their attack on the advanced Italian positions in Egypt. The operation is planned as a five-day raid, with the British sending approximately 30,000 troops and 275 tanks between widely separated Italian camps southwest of Mersa Matruh. The troops march until 1 a.m. on the 9th and then rest until dawn.

The Operation Compass preparations include RAF raids on Italian airfields and ports in North Africa. Wellingtons based on Malta and near Cairo attack Benina airfield in Libya, bombing 10 Italian aircraft.

The Italians begin to become aware that something is going on. An Italian reconnaissance crew flying over the air spots the British and advises superiors that something is imminent. However, they do not pass the information to General Pietro Maletti, commander of the Raggruppamento Maletti (Maletti Group) of the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali della Libia (Royal Corps of Libyan Colonial Troops). In any event, it is probably too late for the Italians to take any effective action at this late point anyway.

French light cruiser Primauguet, carrying 1200 tons of gold reserves of the Banque de France and the Polish government, arrives at Casablanca from Dakar.

Waco Sunday Tribune-Herald of Waco, Texas, December 8, 1940.

Battle of the Pacific: German raiders Orion and Komet (accompanied by supply ship Kulmerland) are operating just off the island of Nauru, west of the Gilbert Islands. The two ships join forces during the night. Together, they sink:

• Triadic (6480 tons) (one death)
• Triaster (6129 tons)
• Komata (4000 tons) (two deaths).

The two raiders had intended to bombard the port and land a raiding party to destroy its important phosphate production facilities. However, the weather is bad, and after these sinkings, the German ships withdraw to the east of the island.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raiders Atlantis and Pinguin rendezvous in the middle of the Indian Ocean and plan future operations. They await the arrival of captured Norwegian tanker Storstad, which has a full load of 10,000 tons of diesel oil.

Anglo/US Relations: British ambassador to the US Lord Lothian suggests to Winston Churchill that he write to President Roosevelt summarizing events during the year. Churchill complies with a lengthy telegram in which he requests:

• US Neutrality Patrols further into the Atlantic;
• That the US pressure Ireland to allow British bases there, in exchange for a post-war unified Ireland;
• 2,000 combat aircraft per month;
• More merchant shipping construction.

Churchill summarizes:

The danger of Great Britain being destroyed by a swift, overwhelming blow, has for the time being very greatly receded. In its place, there is a long, gradually-maturing danger, less sudden and less spectacular, but equally deadly.

As both men know, the rub is that Great Britain is running out of money. However, Roosevelt has been doing some creative thinking about that issue which he still wants to think about some more.

Bears coach George Halas and Sid Luckman begin a dynasty on 8 December 1940.

US/Latin American Relations: The US agrees to lend Argentina $50 million to stabilize its currency. This is part of a coordinated effort to counter growing pro-German sentiment in Latin America, especially Argentina and Uruguay.

Canada: Parliament imposes a 25% excise tax on Canadian luxury manufacturers and suspends imports of manufactured goods from the United States. The government also orders eight new minesweepers.

British Homefront: The London press speculates about what is going on within the Mussolini high command, saying it is in "disarray."

American Homefront: Super Bowls have a reputation for being blowouts, but back in the day the situation was even more lopsided. The NFL has the biggest blowout in its entire history, and it is in the Championship Playoff Game held in Washington. The Chicago Bears, behind Sid Luckman, beat the Washington Redskins, 73-0. It also is the first NFL championship game broadcast nationally on Mutual Radio, narrated by Red Barber. The Redskins had beaten the Bears, 7-3, behind Sammy Baugh just a few weeks earlier, so everybody anticipated a defensive struggle.



December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020

Tuesday 3 December 1940

Italian M.13/40 tank of the Centauro Division during the Italian/Greek war. The Greeks standing nearby probably contrived to get it in that position.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek advance continues on 3 December 1940, though the pace has slowed just a bit in a few areas due to stiffening Italian resistance. In the mountains, control of the passes means everything, and they are easy to defend - given the will to defend them by the local troops. The Italian troops often are lacking in that regard. The Greek 2nd Division is engaged in a heavy battle to capture the Suhë Pass, and the 8th Division is attacking near Kakavia Pass. Should the Greeks get through the passes, the defense would become much harder.

Along the coast, the Greeks advance 15 miles (25 km) and take Saranda (Italian Santiquaranta). Saranda is a reasonably important supply port and puts more pressure on the Italians to hold the other, absolutely vital ports further north. The loss of Saranda is a particularly jarring one to Mussolini because the port has acquired the honorific "Porto Edda" in honor of his eldest daughter.

Greek II Corps advances on Përmetin in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. A fierce battle erupts for control of that town (which changes hands regularly throughout the first half of the 20th Century between the Greeks, Turks, Albanians, and Italians). The Greeks are taking more casualties in these battles than they have in previous actions, but the Italians continue to give ground. The Greeks also are taking a lot of prisoners, hundreds at a time as the Italians are bereft of supplies and the means to escape in isolated mountain towns.

The battle of Argyrokastro continues, with the Greeks dominating the heights above the town. The Greeks also advance past Pogradets and capture some high ground there.

Mussolini is still in a panic about the Italian reversals in Albania. However, Fascist Party secretary Roberto Farinacci is a hardliner and helps to steady his nerve. A change in military leadership is looking increasingly necessary to Mussolini because the troops do not display the will to win.

The Italians, meanwhile, have caught on to the British presence at Suda Bay, Crete. The Regia Aeronautica launches a raid at 15:40 that hits light cruiser HMS Glasgow with two torpedoes. The torpedoes both hit on the starboard side and rip two huge holes, causing structural damage, flooding, and putting two propeller shafts and the X turret out of action. There are three deaths and three serious injuries. The Glasgow can return under its own power to Alexandria for repairs.

Convoy AS 6 departs from Piraeus for Port Said with several Greek freighters.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe bombs Birmingham again, sending over 50 bombers to attack it. They drop over 55 tons of high explosives and 448 incendiaries. Birmingham, loaded with factories was devastated by successive raids in early November, and this adds to the city's misery. London also receives some incendiaries, along with scattered other locations in the Home Counties.

Poor weather restricts flight operations by RAF Bomber Command. They make some small attacks on Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Essen, and Dunkirk.

Italian troops posing with their tank, Libya, December 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: German freighters Idarwald (5033 tons) and Rhein (6031 tons) attempt once more - for at least the third time in recent months - to evade the American Neutrality Patrol and sail from their port of Tampico, Mexico for Occupied France. US destroyer USS Broome spots Idarwald and shadows it, while USS Simpson shadows Rhein. Both US ships make sure that the Royal Navy knows what is happening. This is the beginning of a week-long incident that Adolf Hitler will single out in his 11 December 1941 declaration of war against the United States.

The attacks on Convoy HX 90 conclude during the early morning hours today, but we talk about that attack on the entry for 2 December. After today's final sinkings, including freighter W. Hendrik by Luftwaffe Fw 200 Condors, there are 30 of the convoy's original 41 ships remaining, which sail on to port. The sinking of the W. Hendrik is tragic because the captain mistakenly believes that the ship has been torpedoed due to near misses, making it easy prey for an actual torpedo. Some of the sources make light of this convoy battle, emphasizing that 30 ships did survive, but 25% of losses (to no loss for the enemy) are unsustainable in the long run no matter what repetitive task you are doing.

Two Royal Navy cruisers and four destroyers embark on a standard sweep of the southwest Norwegian coast in Operation DN. They do not spot anything.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Campbeltown (one of the US Navy destroyers received in the destroyers-for-bases deal) collides with 8132-ton British tanker Conus. The Campbeltown is badly damaged and will require almost four months for repair.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Castleton also is damaged in a collision during a patrol in the Western Approaches. She is taken to Portsmouth for repairs.

The Luftwaffe is active against shipping. It damaged 222-ton British trawler Slebech, 275-ton trawler William Downes, and 4745-ton British freighter Quebec City, all in the Western Approaches.

British 292-ton freighter Robrix hits a mine and is damaged about 3 km off Spurn Light House, East Riding of Yorkshire,

German raider Kormoran departs from its homeport of Gotenhafen (Gdynia) for a mission in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Pacific. The has 320 mines for use near Australia.

German destroyers Greif, Kondor, Falke, and Seeadler lay minefield Marieanne off Dover (Hellfire Corner).

Convoy FN 349 departs from Southend, Convoy FN 349 and FN 351 depart from Methil, Convoy HX 93 departs from Halifax.

U-76 (Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich von Hippel) is commissioned.

Royal Navy minesweeping trawler Ophelia is commissioned.

US Navy light cruiser USS Montpelier is laid down.

Ups and Downs Magazine, December 1940. These magazines were published quarterly in order to provide information about schoolboys who had been sent from England to live in Canada. They were published by Dr. Barnardo Homes in Toronto, Ontario, usually quarterly between 1895 and 1949. The original immigrants to Canada generally became indentured servants - the 1940s issues, though, dealt with youngsters sent to avoid the war. All the kids grew up with foster Canadian families, and many stayed in Canada permanently. By this time, the British government had halted overseas placements due to U-boat dangers.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British are gearing up for Operation Compass, the planned assault on the advanced Italian forces in Egypt. The Chief of the General Staff (CIGS) John Dill instructs the Commander in Chief Mediterranean (General Archibald Wavell) to set aside landing craft for possible hooks around the advanced Italian positions. Wavell and his fellow officers on the scene don't  much care for the idea, but the strategy is favored by Winston Churchill - himself, of course, a former First Sea Lord who always appreciates naval involvement.

Wavell, meanwhile, meets with Lieutenant General William Platt, General Officer Commanding Sudan Defence Force, and Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham, (brother of the naval C-in-C) General Officer Commanding 51st Division, from Kenya. Entirely apart from Operation Compass, they decide to allocate an infantry division - and maybe more forces to recapture Kassala in East Africa (as if to emphasize the point, the RAF attacks Kassala today). Everything depends upon the outcome of Operation Compass - if the offensive there succeeds, then the British can "roll-up" the remaining Italian positions to the south. Thus, Operation Compass is of great import to the entire course of the war south of the Mediterranean.

A report of the British First Sea Lord Sir Dudley Pound to the War Cabinet states that the Royal Navy is gaining control of the Mediterranean. The recent engagement at Cape Spartivento, Admiral of the Fleet Pound concludes, was merely a "chance encounter" in which an Italian claim that the "British units... had run away" was "unfounded." Malta is now "reasonably secure" given the success of Operation Collar in delivering reinforcements to the island. Admiral James Somerville, meanwhile, is currently facing an official Court of Inquiry at Gibraltar due to the "chance encounter."

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Havock collides with battleship HMS Valiant in Alexandria Harbour. It requires two months of repairs at Malta.

The Italians have four destroyers and a submarine operating in the Red Sea looking for convoys.

Anglo/US Relations: The UK announces that it has placed orders for 60 merchantmen in US shipyards.

German/Bulgarian Relations: Hitler meets with the Bulgarian ambassador. He needs Bulgaria as a launching pad for the invasion of Greece.

US Government: President Roosevelt and crony Harry Hopkins arrive in Miami and embark on the heavy cruiser HMS Tuscaloosa. They are going to inspect some of the bases acquired from the British in the September destroyers-for-bases agreement. The Greenslade Board already has inspected them, but Roosevelt wants to see them for himself. At some point during this trip, Roosevelt and Hopkins come up with the "Lend-Lease" idea.

Luftwaffe Major General Wolff von Stutterheim.

German Military: The Kriegsmarine is upset at Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering's abrupt decision to remove all naval control from torpedo bombers, and - a rarity for this stage of the war - complains.  Konteradmiral (rear admiral) Kurt Fricke, Chief of Naval Operations, requests the return of Naval bomber squadrons, and further requests that they come equipped with the Heinkel He 111H-5 version adapted to carry two torpedoes (one Italian Whitehead Fiume 850 kg (1,870 lb) torpedo and a German F5 50 kg (110 lb) light torpedo). Fricke has little chance of winning any kind of dispute with Goering about aircraft, given that the Reichsmarschall considers all airplane activity within the Reich as his personal turf (along with many other things). However, he has good grounds for pursuing the matter, because the planes under naval control have done sterling work against British shipping.

Generalmajor Wolff von Stutterheim, former commander of KG 77, passes in a Berlin hospital. Von Stutterheim is a Pour le Mérite holder from the First World War (and Ritterkreuz recipient) who lost 11 relatives in that earlier conflict. He has been in a Berlin hospital suffering from wounds incurred during the very early stages of the Battle of Britain in June 1940. Stutterheim is buried in a place of honor next to Ernst Udet and Werner Mölders in the Invalidenfriedhof Berlin.

US Military: Heavy cruiser USS Louisville departs from Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil as part of its "Show the Flag" mission in Latin America. Its next stop is Rio de Janeiro.

American Homefront: "The Son of Monte Cristo" starring Louis Hayward and Joan Bennett has its premiere at the Capitol Theatre in New York City.

Eastern Airlines DC-3 followed by a row of DC-2s at Atlanta's Municipal Airport terminal, 1940 (Georgia State University Digital Collections).

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020