Friday 26 October 1940

North American Aviation’s prototype fighter, NA-73X, NX19998, at Mines Field, Los Angeles, California. (North American Aviation).

Battle of Britain: The weather continues to offer acceptable flying conditions today, so operations on both sides again are busy.

The day begins with the usual reconnaissance flights. Around 10:30 on 26 October 1940, a fighter-bomber (Jabo) sweep accomplishes little, though the Luftwaffe pilots down a Spitfire of 4,/JG53 near Biggin Hill. There also is an exchange of losses off the coast.

A little later, a large formation heads across from Boulogne. Per recent policy, there are patrolling Hurricanes who intercept. A massive dogfight erupts which extends all the way across the Channel. A pair of Hurricanes of No. 229 Squadron attack a Heinkel He 59 rescue plane - standing orders for the RAF - and are both shot down by Bf 109s. One of the pilots becomes a POW, a relative rarity for RAF fighter pilots at this stage of the war, the other perishes.

During the noon hour, Jabos raid Kent and Sussex. Once again, there is a major dogfight. The RAF takes the worst of this encounter, but there are only a few planes lost altogether.

After that, there are primarily only small raids and RAF Fighter Command does not bother with them. There is one major action over Kent in which JG 26 tangles with RAF No. 605 Squadron (Hurricanes) and No. 222 Squadron (Spitfires). Adolf Galland of JG26 claims his 46th victory, a handful behind leader Werner Molders.

Toward dusk at 18:00, a small raid on RAF Wick by two Heinkel He 111s kills three and wounds a dozen other civilians. It causes moderate damage to the airfield and demolishes several nearby houses. The raid is a bit unusual because the Heinkels pretend to be RAF planes, flashing proper recognition signals. Among other damage, a Hudson plane is destroyed and two others damaged.

At 18:30, a somewhat similar raid by a pair of Heinkels is made on RAF Lossiemouth. They destroy one Blenheim and damage two others. There are two dead and a dozen wounded. The planes fly so low that one of the Heinkels is destroyed by its own stick of bombs.

After dark, the weather takes a turn for the worse, but both sides continue operations. The fledgling RAF night fighter service has a bad night when two Hurricanes of RAF No. 151 Squadron crash for unknown reasons shortly after taking off.

London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, and the Midlands take the brunt of the night attacks. While the raid on London is considered one of the longest of the Battle of Britain, the attack on Birmingham is particularly notable and effective. Bombs hit the center of the city and destroy a large area of important buildings. Several factories are completely flattened, and an unexploded bomb comes to rest on one of the station platforms at New Street (LMS). Large fires break out at Saffron Hill but are brought under control after maximum effort.

In London, mass transit is in trouble. The subway station at Victoria Station, St. Pancras, is demolished along with nearby portions of Victoria Station itself. More and more provincial buses are in town to replace buses lost in bomb craters and the like. Numerous other stations, such as Balham, are completely out of service. The underground is vital to the functioning of the city, but "lucky hits" slowly are making it difficult to use.

The Luftwaffe also continues its mining operations in the Thames Estuary. Mines have taken an increasing toll on smaller ships, though larger vessels have been lucky recently.

Overall, it is a fairly normal day in terms of losses. The Luftwaffe loses about 10 planes and the RAF roughly half as many.

A Swordfish from RAF No. 821 Squadron on a training flight crashes into Quendale Bay in the Shetlands, killing the three men on board.

RAF ace James Lacey scores a victory, shooting down a Bf 109.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command launches a heavy raid on Berlin. It also attacks the ports of Hamburg, Cuxhaven, Flushing, Antwerp, and Bremen. Other targets include oil installations at Stettin, Leuna, and Cologne and various rail lines and airfields in northwest Europe.

Coastal Command attacks a power plant at Brest.

RAF Beauforts attack shipping in Sognefjord (Norway's largest fjord). They bomb and sinks 763-ton Norwegian freighter H.J. Kyvig. Five crew perish. Some sources place this incident on the 28th.

Empress of Britain (in naval gray) on fire and listing after being bombed. If you look closely, you can see the lifeboats being lowered.

Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy troopship (Canadian Pacific line) Empress of Britain, a 42,348-ton liner, is about 70 miles northwest of Aran Island, Ireland off the west coast and nearing its destination of Liverpool when it is spotted at about 09:20 by a German Focke-Wulf Fw 200C Condor long-range bomber of I./.KG 40, commanded by Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope. The Empress of Britain is a fast, modern liner, but fortunately, it only has few passengers on board for its size. Jope strafes the liner and drops two 250 kg bombs on it. The bombs start a fire, and the bulk of those on board (416 crew, 2 gunners, 205 passengers) quickly abandon ship and are picked up by nearby destroyers and trawlers.

The Luftwaffe meanwhile sends reconnaissance planes to review the Empress of Britain's situation and they conclude that because the passengers are abandoning ship and it is on fire, that it is sinking. The ship, however, is only disabled and listing but not sinking. As the day ends, the Royal Navy makes plans to tow the Empress of Britain to port. There are 25 crew and 20 passengers who die in the attack and all subsequent events.

The Empress of Britain is the largest Allied liner hit during the war. Liners, being fast, are difficult to attack. The bombing is big news in Germany. Berlin radio strongly implies that the liner has been sunk, but the Kriegsmarine vectors in U-boats just to make sure.

British 8053 ton tanker Dosinia hits a mine and sinks in Liverpool Bay near Southport, Lancashire. Everybody aboard survives.

Royal Navy 8053 ton destroyer HMS Delhi stops Vichy French freighter Albi off Western Africa. The crew of the Albi scuttles it.

Belgian freighter Katanga hits a mine in the River Mersey near the Bar Lightship and is damaged.

Swedish 6549 ton tanker Strombus hits a mine near Mumbles Light and sinks. Everybody aboard survives.

Swedish 9583 tanker Pegasus also hits a mine a couple of kilometers south of Bar Light Vessel, Mersey and is damaged.

Norwegian 6549 ton whale factory ship hits a mine in the Bristol Channel off Swansea and sinks. All 40 crew aboard survive.

Destroyer HMS Sikh hits a tug at Rosyth and suffers minor damage.

Convoy FN 320 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 320 departs from Methil.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Thunderbolt (N 25, Lt. Cecil B. Crouch) is commissioned.

Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope (center) after he bombs the Empress of Britain.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Malta government long ago made hoarding illegal, but that hasn't stopped anyone. Police now are authorized to search houses for stockpiles. Petrol and silver are in short supply - both being hoarded - and buses only run a few hours a day. Nobody really knows where everything is heading, the German rapprochement with Romania, a key trading partner of Malta which heretofore has supplied much of its fuel, has created numerous problems on the island.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Atlantis, operating in the eastern Indian Ocean, transfers 216 POWs to captured Yugoslavian freighter Durmitor. The freighter then is sent toward Italian Somaliland with insufficient provisions for a large number of people on board. It is not a happy trip.

German Government: Adolf Hitler spends the entire day in Munich, his original power base, as he prepares for his meeting with Benito Mussolini in Florence on the 28th. Hitler, in fact, still maintains an apartment there (and will throughout the war). He stays in Munich until 18:00 on the 27th when his train heads south.

Commonwealth Relations: To coordinate Far Eastern defenses, representatives of Britain, Australia, and New Zealand meet in Singapore.

Soviet/Romanian Relations: Continuing its high-handed and predatory behavior to its neighbors, the Soviet Union occupies islands in the Danube Delta, contending that they are part of Bessarabia - which the USSR already has occupied.

Italian/Greek Relations: Italy has been making aggressive moves against Greece in recent years as part of an ancient rivalry that stretches back to the dawn of time. Today, Italy lodges a diplomatic protest against Greece alleging incursions across the Albanian border due to "anti-Italian bigotry." Italian forces in Albania are preparing for the invasion of Greece still scheduled for 28 October 1940.

Three Italian bombs attack Greek territory even though the countries are not yet at war.

German Military: Hubert Lanz, Chief of Staff for XVIII Corps, takes over command of the 1st Mountain Division. This division had been earmarked for Operation Felix, the capture of Gibraltar, but that mission essentially has been scrubbed due to Spain's unwillingness to join the war effort on the Axis side. The 1. Gebirgs-Division soon will head east, along with many other army units. Lanz is an interesting figure during the war, a stout, relentless soldier who leads many successful operations but also a covert opponent of the Hitler regime. That said, he certainly is no saint and is implicated in war crimes.

Vance Breese in the cockpit of the NA-73X after the first five-minute test flight, 26 October 1940. (North American Aviation).

US Military: Prototype NA-73X of the North American P-51 Mustang has its first flight, only 102 after the order was first placed. An all-aluminum design, test pilot Vance Breese reports that the plane handles during a five-minute flight well despite a heavy fuel load. It is heavily armed, with two .50 caliber Browning machine guns in the fuselage and four .30 inch Browning machine guns in the wings. Even fitted out with armament and everything else, the plane is 56 km/hour faster than the Spitfire V. The Allison engine, however, does not do well at altitude and soon shows other issues.

The US Marine Corps forms a Marine Parachute Detachment at the naval air station at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

A program for the Indiana-Northwestern game, 26 October 1940.

China: Japanese aircraft raid Loiwing (Leiyun), China. They cause extensive damage to the CAMCO factory which assembles CW-21 fighters from kits.

In the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, Japanese army troops at Lungching and Pinghsiang are cut off and begin retreating to French Indochina.

British Homefront: The British government realizes some basic things about the homefront:

1. Many citizens love fish and chips;
2. Potatoes are one food item that people can grow at home fairly easily and thus are in fairly plentiful supply.
3. The daily fish catch is sufficient for present needs.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Food begins subsidizing the consumption of fish and chips.

American Homefront: US Secretary of State Cordell Hull makes a radio broadcast about the necessity of a strong defense. He states:

To have peace, we must have security. To have security, we must be strong … Essential to effective national defense are constant and skilful use of political and economic measures, possession of' military weapons, and continuous exercise of wisdom and of high moral qualities. We must have planes and tanks and ships and guns. We must have trained men. We must hold to the ideal of a world in which the rights of all nations are respected and each respects the rights of all; in which principles of law and order and justice and fair dealing prevail. Above all, we must be a united people - united in purpose, and in effort to create impregnable defense … Thus can we maintain our inheritance.

A game program for the 26 October 1940 football game between the Eagles and the Dodgers at Shibe Park.

October 1940
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020

Wednesday 11 September 1940

Firefighters battle a gas explosion from the previous night's air raid, Kingsway, London, September 11, 1940.

Battle of Britain: While Prime Minister Winston Churchill is sanguine on 11 September 1940 about prospects of a German invasion, he still thinks they might be stupid enough to try (see below). He sees the coming week as the period of maximum danger - which may be the result of good military intelligence because that is when Hitler will make his final decision one way or the other.

Since 7 September 1940, the Luftwaffe has changed its tactics from staggered morning and afternoon raids against airfields to massive raids against cities beginning in the late afternoon and continuing well past midnight. The RAF issues orders that Hurricanes, which are the true workhorses in Fighter Command, are to attack the bombers, while higher-performance Spitfires take on the escorts flying above.

The weather is good, and the weather is good. While we can always second-guess Luftwaffe tactics, today it has a very good day despite doing actually what all the armchair Generals (like us) say is the wrong thing.

The first major raid comes across at 14:45 from the Calais region, crossing the British coast at Ramsgate. There are two staggered formations, one ahead of the other. After following the Thames toward London, one group heads toward central London and the other toward Brooklands. Due to heavy RAF opposition, only 36 bombers actually bomb London, primarily on the docks, particularly the Surrey Commercial Docks. RAF Nos. 41, 249 and 609 Squadrons intercept bombers over north London and shoot down eight bombers, with 12 others damaged.

Another attack coming up from the south at Cherbourg hits Southampton and Portland. The RAF gets an early crack at this formation over the ocean, but the bombers get through and cause significant damage. There are 28 killed and 70 other casualties at the Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft factory at Eastleigh, and the Eastleigh Naval Air Station is attacked but receives no damage due to fierce RAF opposition.

After that, the remainder of the day is taken up with scattered raids over Kent until the usual massive raids on London after dark. The Luftwaffe fighters amuse themselves with shooting down barrage balloons over Dover while the bombers deliver the most powerful raid on it to date. These hammer the dock areas and central London, including Buckingham Palace.

Losses for the day are roughly even in the mid-20s, with many accounts putting RAF losses slightly higher for a change. While the Luftwaffe bombers suffer heavy losses over London, the British fighters and bombers also incur losses. The RAF loses half a dozen Spitfires and 19 Hurricanes, which is a pretty bad day. Worst of all for the RAF, it loses a dozen pilots killed and another four badly wounded.

While the Luftwaffe has a good day, more troublesome facts about its equipment are becoming apparent. The Bf 109 fighters, the only air superiority fighter in the Luftwaffe, operate at the extreme limits of its range over London. Many fighter pilots find they must choose between combat or returning back to France before their fuel runs out. Landings on French beaches by fighters that have run out of fuel or sustained damage are not uncommon.

Elite Squadron JG 26 has a good day, as Oblt. Joachim Müncheberg of 7./JG 26 gets his 19th victory, a Spitfire over Ashford, and Lt. Gustav Sprick of 8,/JG26 gets his 17th. Gerhard Schöpfel, Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 26, shoots down a Blenheim for his twentieth victory. This earns him the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross).

Both Major Werner Mölders of Stab./JG 51 (Spitfire) and Major Adolf Galland of Stab./JG 26 (Hurricane) claim victories. Hans-Joachim Marseille scores his third victory, a Hurricane over the French coast. He receives damage, though, and has to crash-land on the beach at Wissant.

The coastal guns at "Hellfire Corner" open up again, exchanging bombardments that hit Dover and Cap Gris Nez.

During the late afternoon, RAF Coastal Command sends a dozen Blenheim bombers to attack the German barges assembling for the invasion in Calais. No. 826 Squadron loses an Albacore and has two others damaged, with one death and several wounded airmen.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-28 (Kapitänleutnant Günter Kuhnke) stalks Convoy OA 210 about 200 miles northwest of Ireland. During the middle of the night, it strikes quickly. He lets loose three torpedoes and hears three explosions - apparently two on the same ship.

At 03:26, U-28 torpedoes and sinks 1234 ton Dutch freighter Maas. There are 20 deaths and two survivors.

At 03:28, U-28 torpedoes and damages British freighter Harpenden. The torpedo strikes kill one crewman, but the Harpenden just makes it back to the Clyde in tow, where it is beached at Kilchattan Bay and can be salvaged.

U-99 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer) torpedoes and sinks 2468 ton British iron ore freighter Albionic in the Atlantic southeast of Rockall (northwest of Ireland). All 25 crew on board perish.

The Luftwaffe attacks Royal Navy 209 ton trawler HMT Beathwood while it is at anchor in the North Sea just east of Montrose Coastguard lookout (east coast of Scotland). The planes attack at 22:00 and sink it. It is unclear how many perished aboard it, but local newspapers noted that "Most of the crew were below deck when the plane attacked."

British destroyers HMS Malcolm, Veteran, and Wild Swan, on a more-or-less routine patrol off of Ostend, encounters a German convoy on the radar. The destroyers contact the RAF for assistance, which sends planes to drop flares over the convoy. The destroyers open fire and sink an escort ship, two trawlers towing barges, and a large barge.

Kriegsmarine tug Escaut sinks off the French coast of unknown reasons, perhaps due to hitting a mine.

Kriegsmarine freighter Cordoba hits a mine in the English Channel and is towed to Le Havre. The Cordoba is beached, but is a total loss and, after some preliminary repairs, ultimately scuttled in September 1944 to avoid capture by the Allies.

The Luftwaffe attacks convoy CW 11 and damages destroyer HMS Atherstone in the English Channel off Ramsgate.

In the Luftwaffe attacks on Dover, British motor torpedo boats MTB 29 and 71 are damaged, the latter severely.

In London, the Luftwaffe damages Swedish freighter Torkel and British freighter Norman.

Convoy FN 278 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 166 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 278 departs from the Tyne, Convoy OB 212 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 47 departs from Freetown.

British submarine HMS Porpoise lays minefield FD 26 in the North Sea, while several minelayers operating out of Loch Alsh lays mines in Operation SN 41.

Corvette HMS Asphodel (K 56, Lt. Commander Kenneth W. Stewart) is commissioned.

Amman celebrates the 24th anniversary of the Arab revolt under King Hussein & Lawrence of Arabia, Sept. 11, 1940 - Date Created/Published: 1940 September 11. - Library of Congress.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italian advance from Libya toward Egypt continues. By most accounts, they have not yet crossed the border. There are air battles overhead as the RAF tries to slow them down.

The Vichy French flotilla (Force Y) heading from Toulon to Dakar (unknown to the British) is spotted at 05:15 in the Mediterranean 50 miles from the Straits of Gibraltar by destroyer HMS Hotspur. British battleship HMS Renown asks their destination, and in a friendly exchange, the French captain simply says they are southbound. The British tell the French to go no further south than Casablanca, Morocco.

It radios for instructions, but nobody is told to intercept the ships. The three cruisers and accompanying smaller ships speed through the Straits at high speed (25 knots), passing within sight of the British at 08:35. Long after the ships are out in the Atlantic, at 16:00, the Admiralty finally orders the battleship HMS Renown to pursue Force Y to make sure it goes no further south than Casablanca. Their presence at Dakar would cause problems for upcoming Operation Menace, the British attack on Dakar. The French ships put into Casablanca for the night by design, thereby avoiding a major confrontation with former ally Great Britain.

The fact that the British let the powerful flotilla pass through the straits without incident amazes both the French and British governments since the cruisers are easy targets without air cover and with minimal escorts. They easily could have been attacked by air, sea and land bombardment. Gibraltar commander Admiral Sir Dudley North is relieved of his command. Ultimately North is exonerated since the true blame lies with Whitehall. However, the smell of this incident lingers due to subsequent events, and North's career essentially is over.

The entire affair is confused. Ships on "opposing sides" sight each other and don't know whether to attack or wave hello. Whitehall also appears confused and conflicted - which actually may be appropriate under the circumstances, and certainly is understandable. Nobody really knows where the Vichy France/British relationship is headed, but it doesn't look good.

In Malta, it is a quiet day. Governor Lt. General Dobbie sends a request for more anti-aircraft guns in addition to the 60 already "on order," making a total request of 92 in all. He also requests searchlights and sound locators. A patrolling Skua reports spotting two Italian destroyers at Augusta, another destroyer outside Messina, and other small craft in Syracuse harbor.

The King and Queen of Great Britain inspect the damage to Buckingham Palace, 11 September 1940.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Italians bomb Convoy BS 4 in the Red Sea, without success.

Japanese/Vichy French Relations: The Vichy French, upset at the infiltration of French Indochina by Japanese troops in China, have been slow-walking further negotiations with the Japanese. Today, Japanese Army Major General Issaku Nishihara complains to the government in Tokyo about the impasse.

German/Norwegian Relations: Adolf Hitler meets with Vidkun Quisling and Reichskommissar for Norway Josef Terboven. With all political parties in Norway outlawed except for Quisling's pro-German party, Quisling has become a key player in maintaining peace in the country.

US/Japanese Relations: Okuda Ojiro becomes acting Japanese consul general in Hawaii. Part of his mission is to spy on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor.

"Cowra, NSW. 11 September 1940. Bren Gun Carriers of the 2/1st Australian Medium Regiment moving down the main street of Cowra during a parade. The street is lined with cars and people, some of whom are standing on the backs of trucks in order to get a better view. (Donor K. Warner)."

US Military: The US Navy continues its crash shipbuilding program, financed by the exorbitant fiscal year 1941 (the US fiscal year begins in September) appropriations that have just been approved. It orders six new Cleveland-class light cruisers, to be built by the William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

German Military: The Germans make their first expansion of the Schutzstaffel (SS) outside of the Reich: they form the Nederlandsche SS (Dutch SS).

Generalfeldmarshall Fedor von Bock begins taking his Army Group B headquarters east in preparation for Operation Barbarossa.

British Homefront: Winston Churchill addresses the nation in a radio broadcast. Soaring into his usual rhetorical heights, he says:

If this invasion is going to be tried at all, it does not seem that it can be long delayed. The weather may break at any time. Besides this, it is difficult for the enemy to keep these gatherings of ships waiting about indefinitely while they are bombed every night by our bombers and very often shelled by our warships which are waiting for them outside.

Therefore, we must regard the next week or so as a very important week for us in our history. It ranks with the days when the Spanish Armada was approaching the Channel and Drake was finishing his game of bowls, or when Nelson stood between us and Napoleon's Grand Army at Boulogne. We have read about all this in the history books, but what is happening now is on a far greater scale and of far more consequence to the life and future of the world and its civilization than those brave old days of the past. Every man and woman will therefore prepare himself and herself to do his duty whatever it may be, with special pride and care.

The Lord Mayor of London starts an Air Raid Relief Fund. It quickly receives massive support.

Future History: Brian De Palma is born in Newark, New Jersey. He begins filming documentaries in the 1960s which make money and receive good notices (such as "The Responsive Eye" exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in 1965). He turns to features and casts young actor Robert De Niro in "Greetings" (1968) and "Hi, Mom!" (1970). In the 1970s, he moves to Hollywood and has a major breakthrough with the film "Carrie," starring John Travolta and Sissy Spacek. De Palma also wins acclaim as a screenwriter. He goes on to become one of the top directors in Hollywood. Brian De Palma remains active in Hollywood today.

On September 11, 1940, the U.S. Navy opens Naval Air Station Lee Field at Green Cove Springs, Florida. It was named after Ensign Benjamin Lee, a Great War soldier. It is used to train pilots for aircraft carrier landing operations and later is renamed Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs. It was used to store the "Mothball Fleet" after the war.

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 9 September 1940

Near London Bridge in London, 9 September 1940 (AP).

German Military: The Luftwaffe has bombed London for several days now as of 9 September 1940, and basically gotten whatever benefit there is to be gotten - assuming there is any real benefit to the German war effort, which is highly debatable (the effect on British morale is the opposite of what the German leaders expect). It might be a good time, strategically, to go back to suppressing the RAF instead of continuing the pointless attacks on London.

Instead, the Luftwaffe doubles down. The command staff at the Luftwaffe high command (OKL) organizes the attacks, suggesting they are not going to stop any time soon. Night raids will be carried out by Luftflotte 3 and day raids by Luftflotte 2. London is divided into different sectors for bombing priority, Area A being the East End and dock, Area B being the power stations and other priority installations in West London:

The maintaining of the attack against London is intended to take place by day through Luftflotte 2 with strong fighter and destroyer units; by night Luftflotte 3 will carry out attacks with the object of destroying harbor areas, the supply and power sources of the city. The city is divided into two target areas, the eastern part of London is target A with its widely stretched out harbor installations. Target area B is the west of London, which contains the power supplies and the provision installations of the city. Along with this major attack on London the destruction raids will be carried on as much as possible against many sectors of the armament industry and harbor areas in England in their previous scope.

This order confirms and codifies the new change in objectives. The armaments industry is mentioned only in passing, and RAF airfields and radar stations not at all.

In addition, the OKL begins to recognize that the RAF is far from defeated. It issues orders that any formation facing strong opposition is allowed to break off contact and head home.

Meanwhile, Wehrmacht Army Commander-in-chief Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, looking ahead, drafts a plan for the occupation of Great Britain. It is an extremely harsh plan which foresees deporting all males 17-35 years of age to the continent for forced labor and basically robbing the British of their goods and industry.

Germany announces an unrestricted war zone around the British Isles.

Around this time, a German crew spends two days filming practice landings by the Kriegsmarine of troops and tanks near Antwerp. The objective is to have footage of the invasion available for the newsreels, the theory being that a landing at night can't be filmed.

British infant, Margaret Curtis. Published in the 9 September 1940 Life Magazine.

Battle of Britain: It is another good day of flying weather, but the Luftwaffe takes little advantage of it. The RAF is enjoying its respite from attacks on its airfields and has everything pretty much back into operation - which is bad news for the Luftwaffe.

Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park in command of No. 11 Group covering southeast England decides that the Luftwaffe has shifted to a new pattern of attacking London beginning in mid-afternoon and long into the night. He shifts his squadrons to forward airfields along the expected line of attack and has two dozen fighter squadrons ready for action.

Around 17:00, the Luftwaffe finally sends over its main attack for the day. A fleet of about 300 aircraft approaches near Foreland. It appears to be a repeat of the attack on the 7th. The RAF fighters skip the Luftwaffe fighters leading the advance and rise to meet the bombers coming after them.

RAF No. 607 Squadron from RAF Tangmere just east of Chichester is the first to attack, and it is the squadron's first combat. It turns out badly, as it loses half a dozen Hurricanes, with the Germans losing only one bomber to it.

RAF No. 303 Squadron has better luck. The Polish squadron shoots down a couple of Bf 109s and a Bf 110. Sergeant Josef František shoots down one of the Bf 109s.

The bombers make it over London, and massive dogfights break out over the Houses of Parliament and the docks nearby. Squadron Leader Douglas Bader of No. 12 Group with his "Big Wing," ordered to protect the airfields at Hornchurch and North Weald, defies orders and instead heads down to the action, where his planes do a lot of good.

Some of the bombers make it over London to drop their bombs. However, many more bombers heed the OKL orders and drop their bombs at random to no purpose and head for home.

Two Bf 109s from JG 27 (Gruppe-Adjutant Oblt. Günther Bode of Stab I,/JG 27 and Oblt. Erwin Daig, the Staffelkapitän of 5,/JG 27) are forced down after their radiators are hit and the engines overheat. This gives the British two virtually intact German fighters. These are put on display, then join the RAF "Ratwaffe."

After dark, Sperrle's Luftflotte 3 sends bombers across the coast near the Isle of Wight, heading toward London. They cause the major damage of the day in several neighborhoods, including near the Bank of England and Cheapside. A bomb hits a school being used as a shelter for homeless people near the historic Somerset House, just east of Waterloo Bridge in central London, killing 370 and injuring 1400. A women's hospital is bombed, and the East End docks area suffers tremendous damage. The raids last all night, the source moving from France north to the Dutch islands, finally ending around 05:00 on the 10th.

The score for the day is slightly in favor of the RAF, but it is fairly close. Most estimates put the Luftwaffe losses around 25 planes and RAF losses around 20. The Luftwaffe bombers, however, accomplish little, particularly to prepare for an invasion.

There is an exchange of gunfire by the big coastal guns at Hellfire Corner (Dover/Cap Gris Nez) during the evening.

Commander of No. 242 Squadron Douglas Bader downs a Dornier Do 17. Afterward, spotting a Heinkel He 111, he tries to shoot it down but realizes he is out of ammunition. He then rams the plane, slicing off its rudder, before turning away.

Kommodore Major Werner Mölders of Stab,/JG 51 shoots down a Spitfire over London for his 35th victory. Oblt. Gerhard Schöpfel of 9,/JG 26 shoots down three Spitfires of No. 92 Squadron over the Thames estuary. Oberleutnant Helmut Wick is promoted to Hauptmann and now is the Gruppenkommandeur of I,/JG 2, while Hptm Franz-Heinz Lange becomes Gruppenkommandeur of II,/JG 77

Fähnrich (officer candidate) Hans-Joachim Marseille receives the Iron Cross Second Class for his second air victory.

London, 9 September 1940. All of the passengers and the driver heard the air raid sirens and sought shelter before the bombs hit.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command No. 51 Squadron raids Berlin, specifically targeting the Neuköln gasworks. Other targets during the night include the docks and shipyards at northern German ports Hamburg, Kiel, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven and Wismar, warehouses in Krefeld, Brussels, and the usual airfields in northwest Europe. Particular attention is paid to the ports where invasion barges are thought to be gathering, including Ostend, Calais, Flushing, and Boulogne. The big coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez also are attacked, without effect.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a busy day at sea. U-boats have been gathering in a wolfpack around Convoy SC 2 northwest of County Donegal, Ireland/southwest of Barra, Outer Hebrides. U-47 (Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien) already has several victories against the convoy, and today he strikes again.

U-47 torpedoes and sinks 3840 ton Greek sulfur phosphate freighter Poseidon at 00:24. There are ten survivors and 7 crew perish (some accounts say all were lost).

U-28 (Kptlt. Günter Kuhnke) also is shadowing Convoy SC-2. At 04:47, it torpedoes and sinks 2434 ton British pitch freighter Mardinian (Master Joseph Every). The ship takes 30 minutes to sink, giving most of the crew time to get off. There are 32 survivors and six crew perish.

Some ships in London become victims of the Luftwaffe raids there.

British 5046 ton freighter Minnie de Larrinaga is bombed and sunk in London. Destroyed by fires, she is a total loss, but since she is sunk in such shallow water, her hulk can (and must, for the continued operation of the dock) be salvaged (some accounts say this sinking happened during the first big London raid on 7 September). Ultimately, it is dragged out and used as a blockship at Dover.

The Luftwaffe also sinks 8,663-ton British freighter Baronesa at its dock in London. It already was damaged by E-boat attacks in the North Sea while with Convoy FS 271. The damage is not too great, and the ship can be salvaged.

The Luftwaffe also damages the 695-ton Belgian freighter Anna at Russia Dock, Surrey Docks in London.

The Luftwaffe damages British 367-ton freighter Ryal at its London dock.

Destroyers HMS Vanoc and Viscount collide at Plymouth, causing minor damage.

Italian submarine Comandante Faà di Bruno damages 8030 ton British Shell tanker Auris off the Azores 750 miles west of Gibraltar. Large tankers are very difficult to sink by torpedo due to their construction, and the Auris makes it to port.

The Royal Navy, concerned about a prospective invasion, resorts to sinking old and damaged ships at harbor entrances as blockships.

Small 56 ton British cargo ship Alfred Colebrooke is sunk as a blockship at Richborough (Dover), Kent. In addition, British trawler Harvest Moon also is sunk there as a blockship.

Royal Navy trawler HMT Dervish, requisitioned by the Admiralty in June (as it had been during World War I), hits a mine and sinks at the mouth of the Humber near Spurn Point. There are 11 survivors and 4 crew perish.

Royal Navy trawler HMS John Baptist also hits a mine and sinks, this one south of the Conningbeg Lightship off Wexford's Saltee Islands.

German raider Widder, having captured Greek collier Antonios Chandris in the mid-Atlantic on the 8th, plants demolition charges and scuttles it at dawn. The crew of the freighter, set adrift on lifeboats hundreds of miles from land, is adrift until 8 October.

British Fleet Air Arm Skuas are sent from their base at Royal Naval Air Station Hatston, Orkney, Scotland to attack shipping at Bergen, Norway. One of the Skuas is lost, with two dead.

The first eight former US Navy destroyers transferred to the Royal Navy pursuant to the destroyers-for-bases deal become Her Majesty's Ships:

• Caldwell,
• Cameron,
• Campbeltown,
• Castletown,
• Chelsea,
• Chesterfield,
• Churchill, and'
• Clare.

Convoys OA 212 and MT 164 depart from Methil, Convoys FN 277A and FN 277B departs from Southend, Convoy FS 276 departs from the Tyne, Convoy HX 72 departs from Halifax,

German minelayers continue laying a minefield in the southwest portion of the North Sea as part of Operation Hannelore.

A new floating dock, the Admiralty Floating Dock, goes into operation at Scapa Flow. Its first ship is destroyer HMS Bedouin.

The Daily Mail, 9 September 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Marshal Rodolfo Graziani complies with Mussolini's order and sends troops led by the 10th Italian Army (General Mario Berti) toward British positions in Egypt at Bardia, Sidi Azeiz, Gabr Saleh and Sidi Omar. The Italians have no offensive deployments or plans and heretofore have been in a purely defensive orientation. The advance by five divisions and seven tank battalions (with two in reserve at Tobruk) is almost entirely limited to the vulnerable coast road, open to both air and naval assault.

The Italian equipment is inferior, most noticeably in the lack of adequate transport to support the advance. The Regia Marina only has about 300 combat airplanes total in the theater, though more planes can be dispatched from Italy across the Sicilian Narrows.

There is no ground combat today (apparently the Italians don't even cross the border yet), but the RAF swings into action. RAF Nos. 55, 113 and 211 Squadrons raid both the advancing troops and airfields in Italian Libya. Italian aircraft bomb British defensive positions ahead of the advance and make a fighter sweep by 27 CR. 42s over Buq Buq. There are unusual dogfights over the desert involving biplanes on both sides, Regia Aeronautica Fiat CR.42 Falco fighters and RAF Gladiators.

HMS Illustrious and Eagle send aircraft against the Italian bases on Rhodes. The latter carrier loses four aircraft.

At Malta, there are no air raids. The Royal Navy only has one minesweeper, HMS Fermoy, in operation, and the local government requests two more from the Admiralty.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Atlantis, disguised as Dutch freighter MV Tarifa, tries to stop empty 9557-ton British tanker Athelking about 1200 miles east of Madagascar. When the tanker refuses to stop and opens fire, the Atlantis disables it with its own vastly superior gunfire. There are six deaths. After taking whatever supplies and documents it can from the tanker and making the remaining crew POWs (40), the Atlantis uses the tanker as target practice and sinks it.

The Athelking manages to send a distress call that is received at the Royal Navy East Indies station at Colombo. The Admiralty sends cruisers HMS Neptune and Capetown and several smaller ships to track down the raider.

Anglo/US Relations: The US transfers eight submarines to the British Royal Navy at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Anglo/Vichy French Relations: Vichy French military intelligence gets wind of the coming attack on Dakar (Operation Menace) by the British. To reinforce the forces there, the French send cruisers Montcalm, Gloire, and George Leygues, escorted by torpedo boats Fantasque, Malin and Audacieux, from Toulon. They head toward the straits of Gibraltar en route to Dakar. Given that the British and Vichy French already have engaged in combat in the Mediterranean, this sets the stage for a tense situation, as the French ships literally will be sailing within sight of the British base at Gibraltar.


War Crimes: In Treznea, Sălaj, the handover of Northern Transylvania goes very badly. There are roughly 93 deaths during the Treznea massacre. There are varying versions of the incident, with the Hungarians claiming that an uprising was started by a local Romanian Orthodox priest, and the Romanians claiming that many of the local (minority) Hungarians participated in the incident and instigated the situation in hopes of taking sole possession of the region - and perhaps getting a little revenge for past perceived slights. Local Romanians are taken to a nearby cliff and machine-gunned, but the Hungarians stop when retreating Romanian army units are called. Needless to say, this inflames tensions between the two nations that already are red hot.

Hungarian troops entering Transylvania, September 1940 (Source: Fortepan).

Palestine: The Italians raid Tel Aviv for the first time with unusually devastating effect (for the Regia Marina). For the loss of four bombers, the Italians kill 50-137 people (accounts vary).

In addition, the Italians start trying something that will be a recurrent theme throughout the war: appealing to local ethnic/religious resentments as a motivating tool. Leaflets are dropped on Jaffa to promote the idea that Palestinian Arabs will become free if they join the Axis war effort. In fact, there is tremendous sympathy for the Axis throughout the Arab world for several different reasons, so these leaflets drop on fertile ground (so to speak). The British administer Mandatory Palestine, but the obvious subtext is an appeal to anti-Semitic/anti-British groups such as the Black Hand. They have been causing problems for the British for years, most significantly during the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939.

This fine fellow as "annoying children in Central Park" and the cops roughed him up a bit to teach him a lesson. Back when cops taught miscreants a thing or two personally.

Norway: The meaning of Adolf Hitler's recent meeting with Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling becomes clear. The Germans ban all political parties there save for Quisling's pro-German Nasjonal Samling Party.

Free France: French forces in India join the Free French movement.

US Military: With a new $5 million appropriation available, the US Navy places orders for seven battleships, 12 aircraft carriers, and 191 additional ships.

Colonel Carl Spaatz, having completed his tour as a special military observer in England, departs for the US via Lisbon to become an assistant to the head of the Army Air Corps, with a promotion to Brigadier General.

US Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, on tour of naval operations in the Hawaiian Islands, visits the USS Enterprise.

German Homefront: Berliners are instructed to sleep dressed and to go to bed early so that they can get in some sleep and then run to the shelters should bombers appear overhead at midnight as usual.

Carol Bruce was a Broadway star who wound up her career as "Mama Carlson"on CBS tv comedy "WKRP in Cincinnati." She was singing with Ben Bernie's orchestra at the time of this cover. Carol Bruce passed away in October 2007.

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

Wednesday 28 August 1940

Mossley Hill Parish church in Liverpool (the Church of St. Matthew and St. James) It is bombed during the night of 28/29 August 1940 - the first church bombing in England.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe continues to avoid bombing London. However, that doesn't mean they are completely avoiding English cities, as discussed below, and the British have been "triggered" (to use a 21st Century idiom) into bombing German cities themselves. The slippery slope toward unrestricted aerial warfare is getting greasier on a daily basis as of 28 August 1940.

The RAF raids Berlin for the second time, killing 8-10 civilians and injuring 21-29 others. Among other things, they bomb the Görlitzer railway station. This kind of obvious damage to public infrastructure is causing the government to lose face, and Hitler is still deliberating about how to respond. People are starting to recall Luftwaffe boss Hermann Goering's words at the start of the war in September 1939:

Wenn auch nur ein englischer Bomber die Ruhr erreicht, will ich nicht mehr Hermann Göring, sondern Hermann Meyer heißen. (If even one British bomber reaches the Ruhr, I don't want to be called Hermann Göring any more, but rather Hermann Meyer.)

Note that, contrary to every legend about Goering, he never said anything about Berlin not being bombed. However, this statement invariably is mistranslated and bastardized to, "If the enemy ever bombs Berlin, you may call me Meyer," which is a lot pithier (This is similar to Captain Kirk never actually saying "Beam me up, Scotty" on Star Trek, but that is how it comes down in history). Loosely interpreted, Goering has been boasting in his usual bombastic fashion that his Luftwaffe is so powerful and almighty that he stakes his entire reputation on completely overwhelming and destroying the RAF before it can strike back and hurt Germans.

Incidentally, let's clear one other thing up while we're at it. Goering was not making an anti-Semitic reference here, though that is claimed far and wide now. Meyer was and is a common German name. "Panzer" Meyer would have been highly offended if you claimed that "Meyer" was a Jewish name. Goering simply was intimating that he was staking everything on the claim - which makes the whole incident more ironic in retrospect.

While this jest (using a common German idiom) explicitly refers to the industrial region of the Ruhr, virtually everyone in Germany interprets it as really meaning Berlin. Since Berlin is now being bombed, it becomes a catchphrase for the failures of the Luftwaffe (of which there is an increasing number). It is one of the classic ill-fated predictions of the war. This phrase will haunt Goering to the last days of the war, but among much of the public, he remains a popular figure. Despite all of his other many and varied faults, Goering is perhaps the only top German with any kind of sense of humor, which is badly needed during the dark days of World War II. People already are starting to call the ubiquitous air raid sirens "Meyer's trumpets" with typical German sardonic wit as a way to poke fun at the fat man and his farcically bellicose rhetoric.

"Call me Meyer."

Battle of Britain: Air Vice Marshall Keith Park of No. 11 Group continues to ride the whirlwind. The Luftwaffe is singling out his airfields in southeastern England for devastation, and his forces are weakening though not breaking. Some of his jealous fellow commanders (No. 11 Group is the most prestigious command in England) are secretly delighting in Park's discomfiture (though they would never admit any such thing, would deny it to the death, and the regular history books would never even hint as such an interpretation).

There are three major Luftwaffe raids against England forces during the daylight hours:

1. At 09:00, raids against various points in Kent;
2. Around 11:00, raids targeting RAF Rochford;
3. During the afternoon, a massive fighter sweep swooping down from Kent to the Thames estuary.

The first raid results in massive dogfights between JG 51 and RAF Nos. 79, 85 and 264 Squadrons. Dornier Do 17s of I,/KG 3 bomb RAF Eastchurch with 100 bombs, while Heinkel He 111s from KG 53 bomb RAF Rochford. The damage is significant in both airfields, particularly Eastchurch.

The second raid by KG 2 Dorniers hits RAF Rochford again with about 30 bombs. However, the damage to the airfield is slight despite it being hit for the second time, and it remains operational. There is some fancy flying, with a Bf 109 heading for home and the pursuing Spitfires of No. 54 Squadron flying so low themselves that one of them returns to its base with leaves and branches stuck in its wing.

The third raid is a standard Luftwaffe fighter sweep, or Freie Jagd, over a large swathe of England from north to south. It is a massive sweep, including elements of JG 2, 3, 26, 27, 51, 54 and Epr.Gr 210 (Bf 110s). The Luftwaffe fighter pilots love these opportunities to act unrestricted by escort obligations, and, having the initiative, they generally begin the battles with the altitude advantage. Both sides lose 16 fighters in this action, which somewhat vindicates the fighter pilots' argument that the Freie Jagds are a good way to wear down the RAF. Keith Park, meanwhile, is furious that his weary fighters are being baited like this and forbids any similar interceptions in the future.

After dark, another slide down the slippery slope toward all-out bombing occurs when the Luftwaffe raids Liverpool for the first time. KG 27, LG 1 and KGr 806 send across about 160 bombers. The raid experiences navigational errors and bombs land seemingly everywhere in the general vicinity. Another raid by 23 Dorniers hits Bristol, but Bristol gets hit every night and that raid is barely noticed. The bombs dropping on houses in Liverpool do get everyone's attention.

A Morris Quad towing a 25-pounder field gun, 28 August 1940.

The day's losses sum up to about 30 Luftwaffe losses and 20 RAF ones. There are clear signs of frustration on both sides to just get on with it and move on to the next stage, but Hitler continues to ponder a decision to resort to outright mass terror bombing.

In addition, RAF Fighter Command is forced to come to some hard truths about part of its force which is completely inadequate. During the afternoon raid, the remaining Boulton Paul Defiants are like sitting ducks, and one after another - five in all - goes down in flames. Along with the planes, nine crew perish. At long last, Fighter Command transfers the remaining planes to night operations. In this way, there is a parallel to the Bf 110s, but they remain at least viable during the daytime, if not particularly threatening.

Luftwaffe top-scoring ace Werner Mölders gets two victories but loses his wingman, who is captured. His new wingman is Oberleutnant Georg Claus.

In a weird "wrong way Corrigan" type of flight, a Luftwaffe Gotha Go 145 biplane (not a World War I plane as often claimed, these were built starting in 1935) used for communications gets seriously lost and, instead of flying east from Cherbourg to Strasbourg, somehow flies north to England. It lands at Lewes horse track and becomes an odd exhibit in the "Rafwaffe," the RAF No. 1426 Squadron of captured enemy aircraft.

British Prime Minister Churchill watches the afternoon air battles over Dover from Dover Castle, where he inspects "Hellfire Corner." Afterward, he visits some bombed buildings in Ramsgate, then tours a nearby bombed airfields and, concerned about the damage, orders more manpower devoted to airfield repairs. This has not really been an issue for the RAF, and bomb craters are easily filled in. It is an instance of Churchill's good intentions leading to intervention that would have been better off avoided.

Winston Churchill inspects air raid damage at Ramsgate in Kent, 28 August 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-101 (Kptlt. Fritz Frauenheim), operating out of Kiel, stalks Convoy SC 1 west of Ireland. At 04:25, it torpedoes and sinks 3868-ton Finnish freighter Elle. There are 27 survivors and 2 crew perish. The ship doesn't sink right away, so sloop HMS Leith sinks it with gunfire.

U-28 (Kptlt. Günter Kuhnke), on its fifth patrol, is about 200 nautical miles west of the Outer Hebrides stalking Convoy HX 66. At 21:00, it torpedoes and sinks 3946-ton British freighter Kyno. There are 32 survivors and 5 crew perish.

Dutch grain freighter SS Driebergen is sailing with the daily food convoy from Methil to the Tyne when it sinks off Northumberland in the North Sea after colliding with British freighter Port Darwin, perhaps trying to avoid Luftwaffe attack. Everybody survives, and the damaged Port Darwin makes it to port.

British 202 ton trawler Flavia goes missing in the North Sea, perhaps hitting a mine - both sides are heavily mining the area.

Convoy FN 265 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 153 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 265 departs from the Tyne, Convoy HX 69 departs from Halifax and other ports,

British minelayers HMS Plover and Willem van der Zaan lay minefield BS 36 in the North Sea, while four other minelayers put down a field in the St. George's Channel.

U-94 is commissioned.

Destroyer HMS Eglington (L 87, Commander Emile F. V. Dechaineux) is commissioned.

This Ju 88 A-1 of I/KG 54 just made it back to France and crashed near Dieppe on August 28, 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: British submarine HMS Pandora, which has been delivering supplies to Malta, torpedoes and sinks Italian cargo ship Famiglia about just east of Haniya, Libya.

Italian bombers raid  El Qantara and Port Said during the night.

At Malta, there are two air raid alerts, but, as is often the case, the Italian planes turn back before getting close to the coastline. In other news, Governor Dobbie and the War Office continue wrangling over additional anti-aircraft guns for the island, with the War Office dragging its feet despite hinting at big plans for upgraded air forces there.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The British know there is a German raider operating in the Indian Ocean - one of its victims' recent distress signal was even picked up in New York - but they don't know which one or exactly where it is. Ships are out looking for it, without success so far. The Italian Navy also has destroyers Pantera and Tigre operating in the Red Sea.

German Government: Adolf Hitler is keeping a close eye on Romania, which has been seething over losing territory to its neighbors such as the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Hungary. He cautions the Wehrmacht to be prepared to intervene if necessary as the situation develops and perhaps occupy the country.

Vichy France: The government broadcasts that laws providing special protections to Jews - such as there are any - have been revoked. Marshal Petain has complete power and discretion over the entire government, but Pierre Laval is actually running day-to-day operations.

In between stops at Dover and then Ramsgate on 28 August 1940, Winston Churchill noticed a crashed plane and asked to stop and visit. It is a Messerschmitt Bf 109E on Church Farm at Church Whitfield near Dover. His personal bodyguard, Inspector W H Thompson, is on the right.

French Cameroon: Captain Leclerc, who occupied the Presidential Palace on the 27th, travels by train to Youande to accept the country's surrender from the nominal Vichy authorities. This is a major coup for Charles de Gaulle's "Free France" movement, which has not been accomplishing much recently.

Oubangui (Central African Republic): At French-controlled Bangui, Governor de Saint Mart follows Captain Leclerc's lead in Cameroon and announces for Free France also. He promises the local Vichy garrison that they will be taken to the Vichy base at Dakar if they wish.

Finland: Famed sniper Simo "Simuna" Häyhä, horribly injured on 6 March 1940 during the closing stages of the Winter War, receives a promotion direct from Marshal Mannerheim. He is elevated from alikersantti (Corporal) to vänrikki (Second lieutenant). Häyhä is still recovering from his disfiguring wounds but improving.

Latin America: Heavy cruisers USS Wichita and Quincy continue their "Show the flag" mission and depart Montevideo, Uruguay for Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is the area that ignited the request for the mission in the first place.

Burma: The British lock up radical nationalist Ba Maw.

American Homefront: The last refugee ship from Petsamo in northern Finland arrives in New York City. It carries Crown Princess Martha and a 40mm Bofors gun which the Finns did not wish to fall into Soviet hands.

"Rhythm on the River" starring Bing Crosby and Mary Martin (the mother of Larry Hagman of "Dallas" who at this time is 8 years old) opens today.

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

2020