Monday 5 May 1941

Emperor Haile Selassie during World War II.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe on 5 May 1941 raids Belfast again, the fourth and final raid of the Belfast Blitz. The German bombers cause widespread damage and lightly damage aircraft carrier HMS Furious and seaplane tender Pegasus. In addition, destroyer Volunteer and corvette La Malouine also are damaged, the latter fairly seriously (three months to repair). British 1719-ton freighter Fair Head and 6044-ton freighter Cape Breton are sunk (the latter refloated and repaired), while 2839-ton freighter Shepperton Ferry and 4283-ton blockship Frederika Lensen are damaged.

Other Luftwaffe targets during the night include Glasgow, Newcastle, North Shields and Cullercoats in Northumberland, Cleadon, Annfield Plain and Blaydon in Co Durham and Hull in Yorkshire.

The Luftwaffe "May Blitz" raids continue against Liverpool. Several more ships are damaged, some for the second time, including 6770-ton freighter Silversandal and 4672-ton freighter Clan Macinnes. In addition, 155-ton barge Traffic is sunk, and 231-ton whaler Sumba suffers a near miss and has to be beached before proceeding to Barry for repairs.

The Luftwaffe attacks several British ports and shipping in the English Channel during the day, causing widespread damage. In the Channel, they sink Royal Netherlands Navy trawler HNLMS Jean Frederic. There are 25 deaths.

The Luftwaffe also raids Lowestoft, sinking 147-ton Royal Navy boom defense vessel Fidelia.

In an attack on Greenock, the Luftwaffe heavily damages destroyer HMS Marksman as well as submarines Traveller and Trooper, which are under construction.

RAF Bomber Command sends 141 planes against Mannheim after dark.

A map of the situation in Iraq contained on page 6 of the 5 May 1941 New York Times.

Anglo-Iraq War: British troops are holding their own at Habbaniyah Airfield despite being badly outnumbered. They do have complete control of the air. The Iraqis are slowly giving ground near the airport.

The British Defence Committee gives Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell control over operations in Iraq. The Germans also have their eyes on Iraq and plan to supply it via their allies in Vichy Syria.

Emperor Haile Selassie during an address to the League of Nations.

East African Campaign: Haile Selassie, exiled from his kingdom of Abyssinia by the Italians, makes a triumphant return to his capital of Addis Ababa. The return is timed to mark the 5th anniversary of the Italian occupation of the city. Accompanying him is Orde Wingate. The Emperor is welcomed by streets lined with African troops and a 21-gun salute. Selassie gives thanks "to Almighty God that I stand in my palace from which the Fascist forces have fled." May 5 thereafter is celebrated in Abyssinia/Ethiopia as Arbegnoch Qen or Patriot's Day.

At Amba Alagi, the Indian troops (3/2nd Punjab Battalion) mount a pre-dawn raid across the exposed rock - the "Middle Position" - against entrenched Italian positions. In previous such situations, the Italians have proven adept at defending such positions with well-positioned machine guns, and this battle continues that pattern. The Indian troops are pinned down at barbed wire throughout the day and suffer 8 dead and 28 wounded, finally retreating after dark.

Haile Selassie enters Addis Ababa, 5 May 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-38 (Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe), on her fourth patrol out of Wilhelmshaven, sends two torpedoes into 4976-ton British freighter Queen Maud 200 miles west of Sierra Leone. When the freighter takes its time sinking, Liebe pumps another one into her, and Queen Maud sinks with the loss of one crewman. There are 43 survivors

British 436-ton freighter St. Eunan hits a mine five miles southwest of St. Ann's Head and is damaged. The St. Eunan makes it to port.

U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler), the first Type VIIC U-boat, departs from Lorient for its first mission.

Two ships of the Royal Navy 1st Minelaying Squadron departs Loch Aish to lay minefield SN 9A, accompanied by four destroyers.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Begonia rescues 17 survivors of an unidentified merchant ship.

Convoy OG-61 departs from Liverpool bound for Gibraltar.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Mayflower is commissioned at Tyne, and corvettes HMCS Kamsack, Morden and Sherbrooke are commissioned in Canada.

Time magazine, 5 May 1941. Ramon S. Castillo, acting President of Argentina from 3 July 1940 to 27 June 1942 and President thereafter, is the cover story (Ernest Hamlin Baker). Castillo's overthrow in 1943 will begin the rise to power of Juan Peron.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Fighting has died down on the Tobruk perimeter. The Axis forces hold a small wedge in the perimeter defenses on a 3-mile (4.8 km) front with a maximum depth of 2 miles (3.2 km). However, they have been ordered by visiting General Paulus to cease offensive operations unless the British begin evacuating the port - which they are not doing.

Winston Churchill writes to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal that "I am most deeply concerned" at how the air war is developing in the Middle East:

If at the present time... we have a superiority [but] can only just hold our own, what will be our position in June, when... the enemy will have, or may have, nearly double our strength?

He adds as an aside that "personally I never expected the Greek venture to succeed unless Turkey and Yugoslavia both came in."

Luftwaffe III Gruppe of JG 27 relocates to Sicily in order to prepare for the upcoming Operation Mercury, the invasion of Crete.

Part of Convoy WS 8A reaches Gibraltar from England. This is the Tiger Convoy which carries badly needed tanks for General Wavell in North Africa. The plan - a pet project of Winston Churchill - is to send this convoy directly through the Mediterranean, past German, Italian and Vichy French possessions.

The Royal Navy sends destroyers HMAS Voyager and Waterhen from Alexandria to Tobruk on a transport mission during the night. They immediately unload and head back within hours. This is the first supply mission to the port since the Germans invested it. This is the first of planned nightly supply missions.

The RAF (830 Squadron) lays mines in Tripoli Harbor. The pilots observe an Axis ship mysteriously blow up in the harbor while they are at work.

There is some trepidation in London (principally by Churchill) that the Germans may invade Cyprus instead of Crete. The Australian 7th Infantry Division (cavalry regiment) arrives there today.

Convoy WS 7X arrives in Bombay, India loaded with troops.

Bread rationing begins in Malta, but the price is reduced. It is a quiet day, with only one air raid alert that concerns planes that don't cross over the island. Convoy MW 7B departs Alexandria for Malta.

Spy Stuff: Tokyo suspects that its communications with the embassy in Washington, D.C. are being broken and read. It sends a message to this effect today to the embassy. An investigation is begun.

14th Street and Ninth Avenue (northeast corner) on 5 May 1941 (Museum of the City of New York). Parts of this building survive unaltered near the Old Homestead Steakhouse.

US/French Relations: Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton tells the War Cabinet that the US is poised (by early July) to deliver 14,000 tons of flour in two merchant ships to Vichy France on humanitarian grounds. Winston Churchill permits this and other shipments to pass through the Royal Navy blockade under the overarching theory that this may give the US some leverage with the Vichy government which at some point could become useful to the war effort. The War Cabinet minutes suggest that Lord Halifax, the British ambassador to Washington, had agreed to this shipment without explicit permission to void previous British policy on the matter, which did not allow such shipments. At this point, it basically is a fait accompli.

Churchill does require that, as a condition of this continuing US aid, the French permit no further Germans entry into French possessions in North Africa - a demand that will not be met and is more an attempt to save face than anything else. This agreement appears to be motivated as much to ingratiate Churchill with President Roosevelt as to help the French. Churchill rationalizes that the blockade has been ineffective anyway.

US/Australian Relations: After his meeting with the Prime Minister of Portugal on the 4th, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies departs from Lisbon aboard flying boat "Dixie Clipper" bound for Horta, the Azores. Menzies arrives safely. He is en route to Bermuda, and then New York.

Anglo/Irish Relations: Churchill writes in a memo to Herbert Morrison that "Northern Ireland does not appear to be making its utmost contribution to the war effort... one-eighth of the insured population is out of work." He requests that steps be considered to have Northern Ireland "display some initiative."

German/Romanian Relations: Marshal Ion Antonescu, who keeps a very close eye on Soviet troop movements, warns Hitler that the Soviets are massing troops around Kyiv and Odessa in what may be springboards for offensive action. In addition, Antonescu states:

The thing worth noting is that factories around Moscow have been ordered to transfer their equipment into the country’s interior.

Hitler, of course, already is planning to invade the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941.

Hitler inspects the Kriegsmarine in Gotenhafen (Gdynia), apparently aboard the Bismarck, 5 May 1941.

German Government: Adolf Hitler makes an inspection tour of the Kriegsmarine base at Gotenhafen (Gdynia). While there, Hitler visits his two new battleships, Tirpitz and Bismarck. He has a meeting with Admiral Günther Lütjens, who is in command of an upcoming sortie aboard the Bismarck to the Atlantic, and Captain Lindemann of the Bismarck. Many believe that, during this meeting, Hitler creates overly optimistic expectations within Lütjens that informs some of his questionable aggressive decisions later in the month. Hitler also inspects U-57, a U-boat sunk near Brünbuttel but later repaired and returned to service.

Soviet Government: Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin delivers two secret speeches to a Kremlin banquet held to honor a thousand graduating officers. All of the top Soviet brass, including Foreign Minister Molotov, Mikoyan, Voroshilov, Kalinin, and Lavrenti Beria, are there. The Germans later capture two attendees who independently recall that Stalin stated that the pact with the Third Reich was simply a temporary expedient. He states in his first speech:

New tank models, the Mark 1 and 3, are on their way;  these are excellent tanks, whose armor can withstand 76-millimeter shells. In the near future there will also be a new tank graced with my own name. This tank will be a veritable fortress. Today we have up to a hundred armored and mechanized divisions which still need to be organized into an entity. Our war plan is ready, we have built the airfields and landing grounds, and the frontline aircraft are already there. Everything has been done by way of clearing out the rear areas: all the foreign elements have been removed. It follows that over the next two months we can begin the fight with Germany. Perhaps it surprises you that I tell you of our war plans. But we have to take our revenge for Bulgaria and Finland.

Later, after much drinking by all, Stalin delivers a second speech. In this one, he states:

The slogan of peaceful policies is now obsolete—it has been overtaken by events. During the years of the capitalist encirclement of the Soviet Union we were able to make good use of the slogan while we expanded the Soviet Union’s frontiers to the north and west. But now we must discard this slogan for the reactionary and narrow-minded slogan that it is, as it will not serve to win us one more square inch of territory. It is time to stop chewing that particular cud, Comrade Chosin:  stop being a simpleton! The era of forcible expansion has begun for the Soviet Union. The people must be schooled to accept that a war of aggression is inevitable;  they must be in permanent mobilization.

This aggressive stance will be hidden from the West, of course. It certainly does not justify in any way Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. However, in hindsight, it serves as a countervailing argument to those who point to Hitler's Operation Barbarossa as an epic mistake.

British Government: First meeting of the Tank Parliament, a Cabinet Committee devoted to armored forces. Churchill has formed to "make a general examination of the present position and prospects of armored formations." The Tank Parliament will engage in long-range planning of equipment and strategy, and will, as today's minutes indicate, take into account that "we might have to reckon with a break eastwards by the Germans."

Venezuela: General Isaias Medina Angarita becomes president.

French Homefront: Coco Chanel comes up with a new strategy in her long-running campaign to gain control over perfumes issued in her name in the 1920s. She writes to the occupying German government - she lives in the Ritz with many top German officers - claiming proprietary ownership over company Parfums Chanel, and in particular its leading brand Chanel No. 5. It is another step in a long, complicated struggle by Coco to recover what she views as her rightful ownership over the perfumes.

Channel claims sole ownership of the company over Pierre and Paul Wertheimer, who are Jewish directors of perfume house Bourjois and control Parfums Chanel. Coco Chanel herself only has ten percent of the stock in their company, and basically just licenses her name to the Wertheimer brothers, but she long has felt that she deserves all of it for various murky reasons. Her past attempts have failed, but she decides to try again. The argument that Chanel makes (this time) is that the Wertheimer brothers, being Jewish, have abandoned the property (they sailed to New York in 1940). Coco writes:

I have, an indisputable right of priority ...the profits that I have received from my creations since the foundation of this business ...are disproportionate ...[and] you can help to repair in part the prejudices I have suffered in the course of these seventeen years.

The Germans, of course, are not averse to helping out a fellow "Aryan" against some Jews who have fled (for very good reason). They discover, however, that the Wertheimer brothers have assigned their controlling rights in Parfums Chanel to a "front," Christian businessman and industrialist Felix Amiot. This tactic, fairly common during the Occupation, foils Coco's plan.

Coco Chanel with Adolf Hitler.

Future History: The legal battle over Chanel No. 5 continues for years, and the Wertheimer brother will manage to operate the company from New York throughout the war using agents. The Germans and French government ultimately reject Coco Chanel's petition to obtain sole ownership. The controversy, in fact, outlasts the war, as if it never happened. At the end of the war, Amiot returns control over the perfume company - including Chanel No. 5 - to the Wertheimer brothers, but the legal proceedings and attempts to regain control by Coco Chanel continue and intensify.

Ultimately, the parties reach a settlement which makes Coco a very rich woman for a very unlikely reason: the brand depends in part on her image. The Wertheimer brothers reason that if it is revealed that Coco consorted with German officers during the Occupation, the entire business could be ruined. Basically, she extorts them by threatening to ruin herself. So, while they are on solid legal grounds in retaining ownership, they give Coco a generous portion of their profits essentially to keep her quiet and remain a positive image for the brand.

Thus, Coco Chanel's wartime "collaboration" (if it can be called that, and this is a very contentious issue) actually inures to her benefit in the long run. While there are scandalous rumors for the rest of her life, Coco Chanel's image remains intact until after her death in 1971 - at the Ritz.

The Front page of the 5 May 1941 NY Times.

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk
May 2, 1941: Anglo-Iraq War
May 3, 1941: Liverpool Hammered
May 4, 1941: Hitler Victory Speech
May 5, 1941: Patriots Day
May 6, 1941: Stalin In Command
May 7, 1941: May Blitz
May 8, 1941: Pinguin Sunk
May 9, 1941: U-110 Captured
May 10, 1941: Hess Flies Into History
May 11, 1941: The Hess Peace Plan
May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely
May 13, 1941: Keitel's Illegal Order
May 14, 1941: Holocaust in Paris
May 15, 1941: Operation Brevity
May 16, 1941: Blitz Ends
May 17, 1941: Habbaniya Relieved
May 18, 1941: Croatia Partitioned
May 19, 1941: Bismarck at Sea
May 20, 1941: Invasion of Crete
May 21, 1941: Robin Moore Sinking
May 22, 1941: Royal Navy Destruction Off Crete
May 23, 1941: Crete Must Be Won
May 24, 1941: Bismarck Sinks Hood
May 25, 1941: Lütjens' Brilliant Maneuver
May 26, 1941: Bismarck Stopped
May 27, 1941: Bismarck Sunk
May 28, 1941: Crete Lost
May 29, 1941: Royal Navy Mauled Off Crete
May 30, 1941: Sorge Warns, Stalin Ignores
May 31, 1941: British Take Baghdad

2020

Tuesday 3 September 1940

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

September 1940

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

2020

Sunday 25 August 1940

Berlin bomb damage after the first RAF raid, August 1940 (Ang, Federal Archive).

European Air Operations: The first tentative steps toward unrestricted aerial warfare on cities and other civilian populations that began with an accidental Luftwaffe raid on London on 22 August and leaped forward on 24 August with another takes a giant step forward on 25 August 1940. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders RAF Bomber Command to send a bomber force to Berlin, which turns into one of its larger raids of the war to date, on the night of the 25th. He does not say "bomb military and industrial targets."

So far in the war, Berlin has not been touched. There have been a handful of air raid alerts, but no actual attacks. The Bomber Command orders to the bomber squadrons are to target:

• Siemenstadt plants producing 85% of the electrical power in the area;
• Berlin's Klingenberg power station; 
• the Henschel Aircraft Factory in Berlin;
• the Bucker training aircraft factory at Rangsdorf; 
• Tempelhof aerodrome; and 
• the Tegel gasworks.

The 43 bombers (many sources say 81-95 bombers, but that would be an unusually large figure for this stage of the war on a single target) sent to Berlin include:

• 12 Handley Page Hampden bombers Nos. 61 and 144 Squadrons;
• 9 Vickers Wellingtons of No. 99 Squadron;
• 8 Vickers Wellingtons of No. 149 Squadron;
• 9 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers of No. 51 Squadron
• 5 Whitley bombers of No. 78 Squadron.

Many of the bombers can't find the target at all - a very common occurrence during the war's early years. Some get close and drop their bombs in the heart of Berlin and in the suburbs. Overall, including lesser raids on Boulogne, Cologne, and Hamm, Bomber Command loses five bombers during the night. There are six deaths - the death toll could have been much higher save for very poor bombing accuracy.

Everyone in 1940 knows how inaccurate bombers are - there is plenty of photo-reconnaissance being done after the fact to establish that - so attacking these targets in the heart of Berlin inevitably must cause many bombs to fall on civilian areas. Any appearance of targeting legitimate industrial plants is just a legal fig leaf - but then, the British could claim the same about the Luftwaffe raids that hit London "unintentionally." War is a dirty business, and one thing leads to another.

The slippery slope to all-out devastation just got much, much steeper. The Germans are furious because this seems like an intentional dastardly deed and war crime - they don't realize that the British feel the recent London bombings were intentional and that the British also were targeting factories and power stations. Luftwaffe boss Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, in particular, suffers a blow to his image which he feels pressured to repair.

It is a tragic if unavoidable development in the history of the conflict that is not ameliorated by the fact that it all began with navigational errors over London - some due to British jamming of the known Luftwaffe navigational system. It also is due to the sheer lack of communication between the two sides.

It is pretty obvious to both sides at this point what is going on. Hitler has the next big decision to make. Every decision made now has huge, and often unexpected and self-detrimental, long-term consequences. Many accounts state that Hitler immediately authorizes unrestricted bombing after this raid, but that is not the case. Instead, he ponders what to do.

Elsewhere, RAF Coastal Command bombs Luftwaffe flying boat bases near Tromso, Norway, destroying a couple and damaging others and the base itself.

Inspecting the damage in Berlin after the first RAF raid (Ang, Federal Archives).

Battle of Britain: The day is somewhat cloudy, but with good flying conditions. Everybody is pondering what the recent attacks on London mean and how the Fighter Command strategy should react, and there is a feeling of indecision throughout the day. There definitely is a general belief that the Luftwaffe attacks on London were intentional, signaling a major change in strategy. However, they were not intentional, so RAF expectations of more attacks on it are premature.

The day is eerily quiet until 16:00 when the Luftwaffe sends over 100 aircraft north from Cherbourg and another 100 from the Channel Islands. The RAF quickly gets numerous squadrons in the air of Leigh-Mallory's No. 10 Group and Park's No. 11 Group. The opposing forces meet south of Weymouth and Portland, and a major air battle develops. Junkers Ju 88s of KG 51 and KG 54 attack Weymouth, Portland and Warmwell. Many of the bombers get through and bomb the airfield at Warmwell, the Scilly Islands, and the Bristol/Pembroke area. RAF Warmwell remains in service but is badly damaged.

In this action, Czech pilot Count Manfred M.B. Czernin has a huge day, downing three Bf 110s in quick succession. Both sides take heavy losses in this raid, the Luftwaffe around 20 aircraft and the RAF 15.

Count Manfred M.B. Czernin.

There also is a smaller action over Dover during the late afternoon, with some damage caused to the harbor. Another action by Dornier Do-17 bombers over Kent a couple of hours later at 16:00 results in some damage. Birmingham takes some bombs.

Total losses for the day are estimated as around 20 Luftwaffe planes and 16 RAF fighters. The Luftwaffe outnumbers the RAF fighter force by 2-1, so this is a favorable ratio for the Germans even without any adjustments. To be fair, the RAF loss figure should include the five RAF bombers lost over Europe during the night since the German bomber losses over England are always counted, but nobody does that because it is considered a separate battle. As usual, the London media is full of fantastic tales of many more Luftwaffe planes lost than is actually the case.

In terms of tactics, the close escort of the bombers which the fighter pilots hate actually is working well. The bombers are having more success getting through, and the fighter losses are not any higher than they were before. The massive differential in losses is being whittled away to the Luftwaffe's benefit.

The Luftwaffe transfers I,/JG 77 from Aalborg to Marquise, France. This brings it from Jutland to the Channel front at Pas-de-Calais and into the thick of the Battle of Britain.

Wellington bomber crews who made it back at a press event after the first raid on Berlin on August 25, 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a particularly bad day during a bad week for the Atlantic convoys. Two of the most successful U-boats of the war, U-37 and U-48, and top U-boat commander Joachim Schepke of U-100 pad their totals, and other U-boats and the Luftwaffe also have major successes. U-48 and U-124 attack the same convoy but are operating independently. Allied convoys are devastated.

U-48 (K.Kapt. Hans-Rudolf Rösing), on her sixth patrol and operating out of Trondheim, stalks Convoy HX 65A out of Halifax north of the Butt of Lewis, Ireland, and torpedoes 6825-ton British tanker Athelcrest. The ship takes time to go under - tankers are notoriously difficult to sink - but eventually is scuttled by destroyer HMS Godetia, which takes off 6 survivors. There are 30 deaths.

U-48 also torpedoes and sinks 5763-ton British freighter Empire Merlin in the same area. There are 35 deaths and only one survivor. After its successes, U-48 is attacked with depth charges by corvette HMS Godetia but survives.

U-124 (Georg-Wilhelm Schulz) also is stalking convoy HX 65A around the Isle of Lewis and strikes just before midnight. He stands off the convoy and fires four torpedoes in quick succession at four different ships. Three of the torpedoes hit. Some accounts place these sinkings on the 26th because the attack happens so close to midnight, but the ships that sink go down almost immediately during the waning minutes of the 25th.

One of U-124's torpedoes hits 5394-ton British iron ore freighter Fircrest. The ship goes down quickly due to the heavy ore load (7900 tons). All 40 people on board perish.

Another of U-124's torpedoes hits 5169-ton British steel freighter Harpalyce. The ship, carrying 8000 tons of steel and iron, goes down within minutes. The Harpalyce crew has no time to use its 4-inch deck gun. There are five survivors and 41 deaths, including the convoy commodore Vice-Admiral B.G. Washington, CMG, DSO, RNR (Rtd).

The third of U-124's torpedoes strikes 3900-ton British freighter Stakesby. This ship's cargo (pit props) is lighter than the other two ships, so it stays afloat. The ship is blazing forward, though, and the crew abandons ship. A tug later salvages the badly burnt-out ship, but it sinks in shallow water at Glumaig Bay (later salvaged). Apparently, everyone survives.

Following its own attack, U-124 itself is attacked by destroyer HMS Godetia. It survives the attack but damages itself on an underwater rock formation when it dives deep (90m 300ft) and is reduced to issuing weather reports for the remainder of its patrol.

U-124, known as the "Edelweiss Boat," returns to its French port with numerous victory pennants. Each pennant represents a ship (presumed) sunk together with its tonnage.

U-37 (Kptlt. Victor Oehrn), on her seventh patrol and operating out of Lorient, continues its successful patrol. It has been stalking Convoy SC 1 west of Ireland, and torpedoes and sinks 4141-ton British freighter Blairmore. The Blairmore has onboard seven survivors from Royal Navy destroyer HMS Penzance, which the U-37 sank the day before. All of the Penzance men survive, but 4 of the 34 crew of the Blairmore perish.

U-37 also torpedoes and sinks 3409-ton British freighter Yewcrest. There are 37 survivors, and one crewman perishes. The Yewcrest is a straggler from Convoy OB 201, and stragglers are particularly vulnerable to attack.

U-100 (Kptlt. Joachim Schepke) is on her first patrol in the Atlantic west of the Outer Hebrides. It torpedoes and sinks 5471-ton British freighter Jamaica Pioneer. There are two deaths and 68 survivors.

U-57 (Oblt.z.S. Erich Topp) is on her 11th and last patrol west of County Galway. As her final victory of the war, U-57 torpedoes and sinks 7468-ton British freighter Pecten. The ship goes down within 90 seconds and 48 crew perish, with 8 survivors.  The Pecten is a straggler from Convoy 65A and is counted as another loss from that ill-fated convoy. U-57, incidentally, had survived a depth charge attack by destroyer HMS Westcott in the morning, then spent all day running after the convoy and finally catching it to make this kill.

The Luftwaffe has long-range Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors of Kampfgeschwader 40, 1 Staffeln, operating out of French bases. They find and sink British freighter Goathland southwest of Ireland. Everybody on board survives. British freighters Ossian and Hampshire Coast also are damaged southwest of Wales. British freighter Sanfry also suffers damage by the Luftwaffe in the Channel.

In its first action of the war, battleship Bismarck fires almost 500 shells against attacking RAF aircraft at Kiel without any hits.

British minelayers set down Minefield BS 34 in the North Sea.

German raider Thor obtains supplies from supply ship Rekum.

Convoys OA 204 and MT 150 depart from Methil, Convoy FN 262 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 262 departs from the Tyne, Convoy SC 2 departs from St. Johns, Convoy BN 4 departs from Bombay.

The Wellington bomber crews photographed at a press event after the first raid on Berlin, which took place on the night of 25-26 August 1940. HU 104668.

Battle of the Mediterranean: A typical plane transfer from Gibraltar to Malta goes awry when a Blenheim has some kind of mechanical issue and ditches near Pantelleria. It may have run out of fuel. Pilot Warrant Officer G.H. Cluley, the only one aboard, perishes.

Romanian/Hungarian Relations: Romania, seething about what it considers to be territorial opportunism by all of its neighbors, accuses Hungary of violating its airspace.

Baltic States: In a purely ceremonial move, the Supreme Soviet "permits" the three Baltic States to become Soviet Socialist Republics, as they have "voted" to do.

France: The claimant to the French throne, Jean III, Duc de Guise, passes away and is succeeded by son Henri, Comte de Paris.

China: The British fulfill their promise of earlier in the summer and evacuate the last of their forces from Shanghai and Tientsin Province under intense Japanese pressure (a blockade of Tientsin, for instance). They will never return as an occupying power.

On 25 August 1940, Flight Lt Roland Robert Stanford Tuck downs a Dornier Do 17 over the Channel. However, return fire destroys his engine. Tuck glides the Spitfire back to the coast and crash-lands on the beach. He becomes known as "Lucky Tuck."

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

Saturday 24 August 1940

This Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 (W.Nr. 5587) "Yellow 10" of 6./JG 51 "Molders" crash-lands at East Langdon in Kent on 24 August 1940. The pilot, Oberfeldwebel Beeck, becomes a POW.

European Air Operations: Saturday 24 August 1940 is one of the most significant dates of the 20th Century. It all has to do with the slippery slope of warfare.

Of course, you'll never see that in any of your textbooks. There, it's just another day in the seemingly endless conflict of World War II.

So, what happens on the 24th day of the 40th year of the 20th Century that makes it so darn important? Well, that takes a little explaining.

On the 22nd of August, a flight of Luftwaffe bombers had bombed a western suburb of London. It wasn't even London proper - but it was London as far as the British were concerned. It isn't clear if that flight meant to bomb that particular spot - probably not. But it did, and there weren't any apologies from the Germans about bombing a movie theater, other nearby businesses, and some flats within the London Civil Defense Zone.

The British noticed the attack, of course, but gave the Germans a pass that one time. Some accounts say that the RAF bombed Berlin immediately in retaliation, but there isn't any evidence of that. So far, everything remained as it was.

However, on the night of the 24th, another flight of Luftwaffe bombers ordered to attack a factory of the Short aircraft company at Rochester in Kent and the Thameshaven oil storage tanks uses the Knickebein ("Crooked Leg") radio guidance system to guide their way as usual. The British, also, as usual, employ countermeasures which throw the Luftwaffe navigator off. The Knickebein system already has been superseded within the Luftwaffe for being obsolete and easy to jam, but the more advanced system is only used within one special Luftwaffe squadron - and not this one.

Instead of bombing the proper industrial targets, the navigator relies on the false radio signals and instructs the pilots to release their bombs a bit early. It seems ok, as there is a built-up area below anyway, so the bombs won't be dropped to no purpose. It's not like they'll be dropped in the countryside or ocean.

Below lies central London and the East End. The bombs start numerous fires. In addition, perhaps coincidentally, separate Luftwaffe raids drop bombs on residential areas of Portsmouth and Ramsgate - also most likely in error. The British take note of this. There are "reports" that the London raid was actually the result of a sustained attempt to bomb the city which only succeeded in the second attempt. The RAF starts planning a little raid of its own.

This seemingly minor incident sets in motion the greatest wave of destruction of the century, the destruction of the major cities of Europe... which all begins on 24 August 1940.

London, 24 August 1940.

Battle of Britain: Luftwaffe boss Hermann Goering today orders "ceaseless attacks" against the RAF, but the weather has not been permitting them. Overnight, however, the weather clears and the Luftwaffe really goes to work. The objective remains the airfields and the destruction of the RAF both in the air and on the ground. Since many of the most important RAF airfields are close to London, that creates opportunities for mistakes such as those described above.

Luftwaffe tactics change slightly, and it is an effective change. Since it has the numerical advantage, the Luftwaffe begins using massive feints to draw off the defenders and force them to refuel while other attacks are made. The Germans also begin sending formations across at different altitudes as they try to overwhelm the stretched RAF defenses. The idea is to disperse the defending fighters and get them out of position as they are drawn to the wrong altitudes, or forced to the ground to refuel, making them unable to meet fresh attacks.

The first big operation begins at 08:30, earlier than in recent days. About 100 planes, forty of them Dornier Do 17 and Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers, take the short route over the Channel at Calais. This operation, however, turns out to be a massive feint, and the RAF falls for it by sending a dozen fighter squadrons up before the Luftwaffe formation turns back to France without dropping a single bomb.

The next big operation is 11:30, coming from the same general direction as the previous one. With the other squadrons refueling and re-arming (as the Germans intended), the RAF sends up No. 264, which is composed of Bolton Paul Defiants. The Defiants are known to be sketchy, but they surge into the bomber stream after taking off from RAF Manston. The Junkers Ju 88s shoot down three of them and damage two others. The other intercepting RAF Squadrons have little luck and Oberst ‘Pips’ Priller of 6./JG 51 files claims for two Spitfires. The bombers get through to RAF Manston and add to the damage of recent days, making it useful for little more than refueling stops and emergency landings.

The afternoon raids target RAF Hornchurch, which is perhaps the most important airfield because it is closest to the London docks and the vital Thames estuary. North Weald to the northeast of Hornchurch and almost as important also comes under attack. At this point, RAF No. 11 Group which oversees southwest England is overstretched and a real problem develops over these vital airfields.

Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park requests assistance from Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, commander of 12 Group. Leigh-Mallory doesn't particularly like Park, because he resents Park being in charge of the more prestigious No. 11 Group, and he only sends one formation, RAF No. 19 Squadron. Meanwhile, Leigh-Mallory takes his time forming a "Big Wing," an especially large formation. By the time this "Big Wing" arrives over Hornchurch, the Luftwaffe is long gone. This creates a huge rift between Park and Leigh-Mallory and also, incidentally, allows the bombers to bomb the area around the Thames estuary and start massive fires.

Damage to Ramsgate on 24 August 1940.

This activity over the London docks and the estuary leads to massive dogfights. More Defiants go down, and both sides take several losses. North Weald and Hornchurch are bombed, but not put out of action (like Manston).

Another large raid then heads north from Cherbourg around 15:00. It targets the usual areas on the south coast such as Brighton and Portsmouth. The Luftwaffe fighters have an altitude advantage and make full use of it, getting a number of victories. The worst moment for the Germans is when two Bf 109s of 2,/JG 51 collide over Ramsgate. The bombing of Portsmouth is particularly vicious, with over 100 killed and 300 other casualties, the highest totals of the campaign to date. The damage is widespread, and destroyer HMS Acheron is damaged (2 deaths and 3 other casualties) as well as destroyer HMS Bulldog (one death, the CO) and French torpedo boat Flore. It is probably the most successful raid to date on the important port.

After dark, things get even worse for the British. Another large formation heads north from Cherbourg, and it heads straight for London. This KG 1 raid is the one discussed above which begins the "slippery slope" of European city destruction. About 170 Heinkel He 111s targeting the aircraft factory at Rochester and oil tanks at Thameshaven instead drop their loads too far to the west. Extensive damage to fashionable Oxford Street and the West End results. This especially large bombing raid is barely intercepted at all and causes immense fires all along the dockland area. Some of the bombs drop further north than the others, right in the heart of London.

A pillbox camouflaged as a car. Felixstowe, England, 24 August 1940.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill cannot know that the London attack was unintentional. He demands a quick reprisal raid, and one is prepared for the following night on Berlin. To say that this is playing with fire is a vast understatement. However, the Germans have left him no choice, and whether or not it was against standing Wehrmacht orders to bomb London (it was) and the attack was the result of a mistake in navigation (it was again) is beside the point. If nothing else pure politics demands retaliation, and even former Prime Minister Chamberlain launched similar retaliatory raids against nearer attacks during the Spring.

There are additional night raids during the night on Bristol, another very intense event that only increases the British desire for revenge. "The damage is done," so to speak. The Luftwaffe only loses two bombers during the night.

Two RAF Fleet Air Arm Fairey Fulmars of No. 806 Squadron collide over the Bay of Biscay, killing the pilots.

RAF Bomber Command attacks various industrial targets during the night, including an electrical station at Cologne, an oil installation at Frankfurt, a chemical plant at Ludwigshafen, and the Daimler-Benz factory at Stuttgart. In addition, 10 British bombers raid auto factories in Milan again.

Horse Sands Sea Fort, Plymouth Harbour (Eastern Solent), 24 August 1940.

The day has a lasting effect on the RAF aside from the attack on London. Even if losing the Defiants themselves is not important, the pilots flying them are invaluable. Losing talented pilots in inferior equipment is a poor choice. Fighter Command finally makes the painful decision to withdraw the Defiants completely from combat and relegate them to training purposes. When people point to the withdrawal of the Stukas and Bf 110s from most missions as evidence of the Luftwaffe's "defeat," they usually forget to mention that the RAF also had to withdraw some classes of planes.

As for the Luftwaffe, the attack on London has brought a noticeable result for a change, unlike the raids on airfields which are quickly repaired. The blazing fires can be seen for miles and act as a beacon. The new policy of close escorts for the bombers appears to be working.

Losses for the day are roughly equal when figuring in all losses such as planes destroyed on the ground and such. Combat losses are usually given as roughly 30 for the Luftwaffe and 25 for the RAF. Exact figures are difficult to pinpoint because some damaged planes are write-offs, others are out of action for long periods and so on.

The cross-Channel guns at Cap Gris Nez fire again today. This time, they focus exclusively on Dover and Folkestone but don't hit anything significant.

Hans-Joachim Marseille shoots down a Hurricane over Kent for his first victory but gets in trouble for flying off on his own - abandoning his wingman, a major no-no - to do it. James Lacey gets a victory for the RAF, shooting down a Dornier bomber.

US  Rear Admiral Ghormley during an inspection tour of the Western Approaches Command on 24 August 1940. © IWM (A 216).

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a bad day for the Atlantic convoys. U-37 (Kapitänleutnant Victor Oehrn), operating out of Lorient for the first time on her seventh patrol, has another big day as it stalks Convoy OB 202 and Convoy SC 1 west of Ireland/700 miles southwest of Iceland. U-37 isn't the only successful predator on the high seas today. One of the notable things about these attacks is that they are on larger cargo vessels than usual. U-boat captains, of course, are judged as much by their tonnage sunk as by the number of ships they sink.

U-37 torpedoes and sinks 5100-ton British cargo ship Brookwood at 03:14. There are 36 survivors and one crewman perishes.

Still stalking the convoy throughout the day, U-37 sinks the only armed escort of Convoy SC 1, the British sloop HMS Penzance (L 28) at 20:38. A torpedo on the starboard side sets some of her depth charges off, and the ship sinks within minutes - leaving the convoy defenseless. There are 90 deaths and seven survivors.

U-57 (Oblt.z.S. Erich Topp), also operating out of Lorient now on her 11th patrol, starts off its own big day by damaging British freighter Havildar just after midnight in the Northwest Approaches about 25 miles northeast of Malin Head. The freighter survives.

U-57 then torpedoes 10,939-ton British freighter Cumberland. The large ship stays afloat for a couple of days and tries to make it to Ireland, but ultimately sinks within sight of land. There are 54 survivors and four crew perish.

U-57 also torpedoes 5681-ton British freighter Saint Dunstan. There are 49 survivors and 14 crew perish. Saint Dunstan also takes her time sinking, and also gets within sight of land, but down she goes about 9 km east of Ireland. U-57's big day leads to an attack by British escorts which she survives.

U-48 (K.Kapt. Hans-Rudolf Rösing) is operating west of the Outer Hebrides as Convoy HX 65 passes by. It spots straggling British tanker La Brea and sinks it with a torpedo. There are 31 survivors and 2 crew perish.

Convoy MT 149 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 261 departs from the Tyne, Convoy OB 203 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 68 departs from Halifax, Convoy BN 3A departs from Aden.

German battleship Bismarck is commissioned. However, no operations are scheduled for her as her crew trains and the outcome of the Battle of Britain remains uncertain.

British ASW trawler HMS Gavotte (T 115, Lt. Cyril S. Tennent) is commissioned.

The commissioning of the Bismarck, 24 August 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: A small flotilla departs from Alexandria to cover some freighters coming from Athens (Piraeus). War tensions are high and rising in the Aegean, which should be quiet since Greece is not at war with anyone.

A small British force bombards Bardia again, led by gunboat HMS Ladybird.

At Malta, there this an air raid around noontime on Hal Far airfield and nearby areas, which damages a Swordfish torpedo bomber. The Italians definitely lose one CR.42 fighter in the attack and perhaps others.

View from destroyer Kelvin, 24 August 1940.  © IWM (A 240).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Atlantis, disguised as Dutch cargo ship Tarifa, finds 4744-ton British coal freighter King City about 900 miles east of Madagascar in rough seas and sinks it with its deck guns. There are six deaths, but at least the Atlantis sticks around to pick up the survivors - who would have had big problems stuck in the middle of the Indian Ocean in bad weather.

Applied Science: Oxford University scientists publish an article in The Lancet about penicillin which is considered one of the most revolutionary in medical history. This, in fact, might be the day's most farthest-reaching event. The study authors are Howard Florey, Ernst Chain, and Norman Heatley.

Hungarian/Romanian Relations: Border negotiations fail.

US Military: Former minesweeper USS Peacock collides with Norwegian freighter Hindanger off of Columbia and sinks. Hindanger has been operating in the Caribbean since the German invasion. The Peacock has been operating as a salvage tug under charter to the Shipping Board, but technically remains on the naval rolls.

German Homefront: Paul Julius Gottlieb Nipkow, inventor of the "Nipkow Disk" and honorary president of the "television council" of the Reich Broadcasting Chamber, passes away at the age of 80. He is considered one of the giants in the development of television.

The Bismarck in Kiel Harbor.

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