Sunday 30 March 1941

Bristol Blenheim TR-A of RAF No. 59 Squadron at RAF Hawkinge following the attack on shipping off Calais on 30 March 1941 (Photo by crew member Sgt. Len Hunt - from the book "Bristol Blenheim - Theo Boiten"').

Italian/Greek Campaign: The action at the Albanian front is desultory on 30 March 1941, with artillery exchanges but very little movement on the ground. As has been the case for several days, the main action is of the diplomatic variety. This activity necessarily concerns the fate of Yugoslavia, as nobody expects the Allies to be able to defend the long border stretching from Bulgaria to Albania. Thus, if the Wehrmacht invades Yugoslavia as well as Greece, the fate of both Yugoslavia and Greece depends upon the ability of the Yugoslav military as much as anything else.

Yugoslav Foreign Minister Momčilo Ninčić summons German ambassador Viktor von Heeren. Ninčić has a statement indicating that Yugoslavia will honor its international agreements, including the Tripartite Pact. Von Heeren prepares to send the diplomatic note on to Berlin when he receives instructions from Berlin to avoid any contact with Yugoslavian officials and to return to Berlin. It is unclear if von Heeren ever delivers the message, and Ribbentrop certainly never replies to it.

The Yugoslav Army begins deploying troops to the frontiers.

Deputy chief of the German General Staff (Oberquartiermeister I) Lieutenant General Friedrich Paulus arrives in Budapest for discussions with the Hungarian chief of staff. The chief of staff agrees to attack Yugoslavia. There is some confusion at the highest levels of the government, as Admiral Horthy approves of the attack, but Prime Minister Teleki is out of the loop entirely.

East African Campaign: General Lewis Heath's 5th Indian Infantry Division continues to pursue the fleeing Italian troops toward the port of Massawa. The 4th Indian Infantry Division has been redirected to Port Sudan for shipment to Port Sudan - showing the amount of confidence that Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell has in a single division's ability to subdue the port's garrison.

The Italians in Massawa realize the fate awaiting them. Italian 7565 ton freighter Piave makes a run for it and heads for Assab.

In Addis Ababa, the Italian commander, the Duke of Aosta, also realizes what is happening. He messages Rome that he will resist for as long as he can.

Pilot Officer L.W. Stevens in his Hawker Hurricane during the Battle of Britain. While flying with RAF No. 145 Squadron, Stevens is KIA 30 March 1941. Photo from: "The Battle of Britain" Author: T.C.G.James.

European Air Operations: The British have learned that German heavy cruisers are in Brest following their very successful Operation Berlin. After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 109 bombers to pay them a visit. They are both in dry dock, and neither is hit. Another force of 3 bombers based at Thorney Island raids shipping off Calais at 16:30.

The RAF loses at least one bomber during the Calais raid, TR-A of RAF No. 59 Squadron, which makes it back to RAF Hawkinge and crash-lands after losing hydraulics and throttle control. The crew survives, though two are wounded, one very seriously. The RAF also loses at least one Hawker Hurricane.

The Luftwaffe continues with its recent pattern of scattered raids by single planes. A Spitfire of RAF No. 41 Squadron shoots down a Junkers Ju 88 which lands at Wilton Moor, Eston, Yorkshire during the afternoon. All three Luftwaffe crew perish.

USS Gar, USS Grampus in the background, 30 March 1941. Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler), on its second patrol out of Lorient, is southwest of Iceland when it spots and sinks 3759-ton British freighter Coultarn. There are three deaths.

U-124 (Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz), on her fourth patrol and in the vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands, torpedoes and sinks 3767-ton British freighter/passenger ship Umona. There are 100 deaths, including 15 passengers. The Umona was carrying, among other things, jam, maize and similar goods that are in short supply in England.

British 210 ton trawler Nisus disappears near the Faroe Islands. There are many British minefields in the area, and it is a favored hunting ground for the Luftwaffe.

Dutch coaster Celebes disappears during a trip from Liverpool to Falmouth.

Royal Navy anti-aircraft ship Alynbank is back in action after repairs to its collision damage from 23 December 1940.

Convoy OB 304 departs Liverpool, Convoy SC 27 departs from Halifax.

USS Gar, with USS Grampus in the background, 30 March 1941. Photo courtesy of The US Navy Submarine Force Museum.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Rommel is ready to get moving. Since he does not have orders from OKH to attack, he gives his directives verbally. He tells the 5th Light Division to attack Mersa Brega in the morning. The 5th Light has had patrols out and reports that it captured an armored car. The British 2nd Armoured Division defends Mersa Brega. Rommel is encouraged by recent skirmishes, including the capture of El Agheila, and also wants to advance to the Jebel Achdar (Green Mountain) south of Benghazi because it is a rare source of potable water in the desert.

The RAF raids Tripoli in the early morning hours, causing only slight damage. The Luftwaffe also is in action, claiming to have destroyed an armored car, self-propelled gun, and tanker.

The damaged freighter Ruhr, carrying men and vehicles for the Afrika Corps, is towed back to Sicily. Troop casualties on it are reportedly 30 men. The rest of the ships of 15th Naval Transport Squadron accompanying it are in Tripoli at 09:00.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Rorqual (Lt. Commander Dewhurst) torpedoes and sinks 3645-ton German freighter Laura Corrado about 40 miles (70 km) north of Trapani, Sicily.

The Vichy French send a convoy of six freighters, escorted by destroyer Simoun, from Casablanca back into the Mediterranean. This, of course, requires passage through the Straits of Gibraltar. The Royal Navy has had conflicting views on how to handle such transits in the past, leading to at least one court-martial. This time, the Royal Navy sends out a large force led by light cruiser HMS Sheffield to intercept the French. This is Operation Ration by Force H.

The French ships pass under the guns of their forces at Nemours, and the British are unable to intercept the convoy when the French open fire. On their way back, the Royal Navy ships are attacked by French aircraft. Sheffield is damaged by a near miss and destroyer HMS Forester is hit and requires four weeks of repairs.

Italian submarine Dagabur attacks cruiser HMS Bonaventure escorting Convoy GA-8 south of Crete but misses.

The victorious Royal Navy fleet, led by battleships HMS Barham, Valiant and Warship and aircraft carrier Formidable, arrives back at Alexandria around sunset.

At Malta, the Luftwaffe sends four Junkers Ju 88 bombers which bomb Ta Qali airfield. One Hurricane on the ground is slightly damaged, but overall it is an unsuccessful mission. Neither side loses any planes.

Camp Hulen, Palacios, Texas. View of the 300,000 elevated water tank. 30 March 1941 at 14:00. Camp Hulen is named after Major General John A. Hulen, who suggested the spot in the 1920s due to the availability of water.

US/Anglo Relations: In keeping with the expressed desires of English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the US Navy seizes 63 ships (26 Italian, 35 Danish and 2 German) interned in US ports. Over 900 Axis sailors (850 Italian, 63 German) are taken into custody. Some of the ships carry valuable cargo. A final decision has yet to be made whether to use them in North Atlantic convoy runs to Great Britain. The decision to seize the ships is a consequence of the recent ABC-1 Conference between US and British military leaders in Washington, D.C.

As part of Operation Fish, the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44) departs Simonstown (Cape Town) carrying gold bullion being used by Great Britain to pay for war supplies. Its destination is New York.

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Menzies note that Churchill, elated by recent victories, has been communicating with President Roosevelt. Menzies, never one to mince words in his private diary, writes:

Great news of naval victory in Mediterranean at which Winston sends off cables to Roosevelt.... What a genius the man has. He has maintained by cable and letter the most easy and informal correspondence with Roosevelt; always treating him as a friend and ally, and also U.S.A - 'Don't you think we could do so and so.' Result, F.D.R. has passed into the position of an ally without perhaps realising how some of the steps have come about.

While this entry is highly flattering of Churchill, it is not so high-minded about President Roosevelt.

Spy Stuff: Churchill learns through "sources" that the Wehrmacht has redirected three panzer divisions from Romania, thence to Southern Poland, and then further south. There, they will participate in the invasion of Yugoslavia. This crystallizes the belief in Churchill's mind that a German invasion of the Soviet Union is next on Hitler's list - after he takes care of Greece and Yugoslavia. The source of Churchill's knowledge is poor practices by a German Lorenz cipher machine operator, who sends the same 4000-character message twice.

USS Barnett (AP-11) McCawley-class attack transport off the Norfolk Navy Yard on 30 March 1941 (Photo No. 19-N-23945, U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command).

German Military: Adolf Hitler holds a private meeting in the Cabinet Room of the Chancellery in Berlin with about 250 top leaders of the Wehrmacht, including Colonel General Franz Halder, Field Marshal von Bock, and General Hermann Hoth, all of whom take fairly thorough notes or immediately write down their recollections. It is a fairly remarkable meeting, with issues discussed that will dramatically influence the Operation Barbarossa campaign.

Hitler directs that Army Group Center's mission was to head due east to the Dneiper River, and only then head north. Moscow, he casually mentions, is "absolutely irrelevant." This directly contradicts a very strong body of opinion among the men to whom he is speaking. They feel that Moscow is of the utmost importance as the entrance of the land bridge to Asia and the center of Soviet life (including the focus of the entire railway and road system). Nobody challenges Hitler on this strategy, but some in the room will make their own contrary views known eventually - and act on those views.

Hitler does not think the campaign will be much trouble. He thinks it will all be over by fall, declaring:

We have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down.

Moving from the specific to the general, Hitler remarks on the ultimate objective of the campaign. It is not just the conquest of the Soviet Union, but the "eradication" of Communism itself "for all time." To do this, he authorizes "liquidation of the Bolshevik commissars and the Communist intelligentsia." As recorded by Halder, Hitler says:

The war against Russia cannot be considered in a knightly fashion; the struggle is one of ideological and racial differences and will have to be conducted with unprecedented, unmerciful and unrelenting harshness.... The commissars are the bearers of ideologies directly opposed to National Socialism. Therefore the commissars will be liquidated. German soldiers guilty of breaking international law... will be excused.

John Keegan, The Second World War (Hutchinson, 1989), page 186. The liquidations would be carried out by SS Einsatzgruppen following behind the fighting troops.

After being translated into an official OKW order, this directive becomes known as the "Commissar Order." As Hitler indicates himself (according to the notes), it is illegal under the terms of the Geneva Convention of 1929. Some will argue the Convention does not apply to the Soviet Union because the USSR never ratified the Convention (though the previous Russian government had). Article 82 of the Geneva Convention, however, states:

In case, in time of war, one of the belligerents is not a party to the Convention, its provisions shall nevertheless remain in force as between the belligerents who are parties thereto.

Thus, even if the USSR was not a party to the Geneva Convention, Germany, as a signatory at least arguably was bound to follow it (though, again, some will argue that it need be followed only in cases where both opposing governments, and not just one, have ratified it). The Geneva Convention, of course, forbids exterminating entire classes of captives. The OKW will begin working up its drafts of this order quickly.

Luftwaffe jet prototype Heinkel He-280 makes its maiden flight under its own power under the command of test pilot Fritz Schäfer. It features tricycle landing gear and a compressed-air ejection seat. The Luftwaffe has expressed little interest in the plane, preferring to focus on other designs, so Ernst Heinkel has been continuing with the plane's development on his own initiative. The main holdup is the engine, the HeS 8, which has been behind schedule. On the bright side, the engines burn inexpensive kerosene. The Luftwaffe, specifically RLM development chief Ernst Udet, remains uninterested. Heinkel views the Luftwaffe's failure to pursue this design as one of its biggest mistakes.

The Heinkel He 280.

US Military: Eight B-18 Bolo bombers of the USAAC 73rd Bombardment Squadron arrive at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, Alaska. This is part of a slow but steady buildup of a US military presence in Alaska (not yet a US State); they are the first bombers to be based in Alaska.

The first flight of the Vultee A-31 Vengeance prototype V-72 dive bomber. It takes place at Vultee's factory at Downey, California. The British Purchasing Commission, in need of a dive bomber, already has placed orders for 300 of them. The plane is well behind schedule, as delivers originally were scheduled to begin in October 1940.

Yugoslavia: With Belgrade in an uproar after the recent bloodless coup, Italian and German nationals have left.

Future History: Graeme Charles Edge is born today in Rochester, Staffordshire, England. He becomes a founding member of rock group Moody Blues alongside Denny Laine, Clint Warwick, Mike Pinder, and Ray Thomas. As of this writing, Edge is the only remaining original member of The Moody Blues still performing in the band.

The Heinkel He-280.

March 1941

March 1, 1941: Rettungsboje
March 2, 1941: Oath of Kufra
March 3, 1941: Germans in Bulgaria
March 4, 1941: Lofoten Islands Raid
March 5, 1941: Cooperation With Japan
March 6, 1941: Battle of Atlantic
March 7, 1941: Prien Goes Under
March 8, 1941: Cafe de Paris
March 9, 1941: Italian Spring Offensive
March 10, 1941: Humanitarian Aid
March 11, 1941: Lend Lease Becomes Law
March 12, 1941: A New Magna Carta
March 13, 1941: Clydeside Wrecked
March 14, 1941: Leeds Blitz
March 15, 1941: Cruisers Strike!
March 16, 1941: Kretschmer Attacks
March 17, 1941: Happy Time Ends
March 18, 1941: Woolton Pie
March 19, 1941: London Hit Hard
March 20, 1941: Romeo and Juliet
March 21, 1941: Plymouth Blitz
March 22, 1941: Grand Coulee Dam
March 23, 1941: Malta Under Siege
March 24, 1941: Afrika Korps Strikes!
March 25, 1941: Yugoslavia Joins The Party
March 26, 1941: Barchini Esplosivi
March 27, 1941: Belgrade Coup
March 28, 1941: Cape Matapan Battle
March 29, 1941: Lindbergh Rants
March 30, 1941: Commissar Order
March 31, 1941: Cookie Bombs

2020

Friday 3 January 1941

"Hurricane Mk I of Squadron Leader Robert Stanford Tuck, commanding No 257 Squadron, refuelling at Coltishall, early January 1941." © IWM (CH 1931).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italians on 3 January 1941 commit two fresh divisions in the area of the Klisura Pass, which is on the road to the key port of Valona. They also begin a small counteroffensive north and west of Korcë. Neither offensive accomplishes much, but casualties mount on both sides. The counterattacks are pretty much over by the end of the day.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe switches back to one of its favorite targets tonight. It sends 178 bombers that hit the Bristol port area hard. The granary warehouse on Princes Wharf is obliterated, taking with it 8000 tons of grain. The raid lasts for 12 hours and is considered the longest sustained attack on Bristol. There are 149 deaths and 351 other casualties. A 4000 lb aerial mine comes to rest without exploding - the citizens quickly nickname it "Satan" and, after it is disarmed, it becomes an emblem of the hardships the city has faced.

RAF Bomber Command raids Bremen for the second night in a row, this time with 71 aircraft.

The Italian Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI) withdraws from the Channel coast after having accomplished virtually nothing there except incurring heavy losses.

The Luftwaffe night fighting force continues to gain experience, with Lt. Gerhard Böhme of 3./NJG 2 downing a Whitley bomber southeast of Flamborough Head.

Baltimore News-Post, 3 January 1941: The RAF raid on Bremen is big news, the brewing Australian victory at Bardia gets barely a mention.

Battle of the Atlantic: The RAF bombs a bridge in the Kiel Canal, and it falls on 2803 ton Finnish freighter Yrsa, sinking it and blocking the canal. However, the canal is shallow, and in any event, the ship must be removed so that it does not prove to be a hazard to navigation. So, the ship is raised and returned to service, with the canal being reopened.

The RAF attack on Bremen over the night claims 1460 ton Finnish freighter Liisa. However, it sinks in shallow water near the docks and can be salvaged.

British 2466 ton freighter Pinewood hits a mine and sinks south of Southend. There are six deaths, 18 survivors.

Royal Navy 70 ton drifter New Spray founders in a storm off Sheerness in the Thames Estuary.

Convoy OB 269 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 374 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 378 departs from Methil, Convoy BS 12 departs from Suez.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Hydrangea (K 39, Lt. Joseph E. Woolfenden.) is commissioned.

U-335 is laid down.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Compass resumes. At 06:00, Australian Major General Iven Mackay sends his 6th Australian Division against the Italian defenses at Bardia. The Australians attack from the west, and they are assisted by Royal Navy barrages (led by battleships HMS Warspite, Barham and Valiant) between 08:10 and 08:55, and RAF bombing. Monitor HMS Terror, gunboats HMS Ladybird and Aphis, and destroyers HMS Dainty and HMAS Voyager assist in the bombardment. The Italian air force attacks the ships offshore and score a near miss on gunboat Aphis that causes some damage, kills two and wounds three others.

In the initial stage, sappers blow holes in the barbed wire using Bangalore torpedoes, then engineers rush in and fill the tank ditches using picks and shovels. Once that is done, 23 Matilda II tanks rush through the opening and quickly reach the second main defense line (the "Switch Line"). The Australians advance two miles and capture 8000 prisoners by 08:30. While the attack is a huge success and the Italian position hopeless, the Italians hold out through the night in Bardia itself.

The weather throughout the Mediterranean is characterized by strong force 8 gales and heavy seas. At Malta, four Sunderland flying boats are damaged in waves up to 15 feet.

Luftwaffe units continue transferring to Italy.

Australian troops on exercise in the desert near Bardia, 3 January 1941 (AP Photo).

Anglo/US Relations: Prime Minister Winston Churchill replies to President Franklin Roosevelt's request of 31 December 1940 that the US be allowed to provide humanitarian relief to Vichy France and Spain. This requires Churchill's permission due to the Royal Navy blockade of continental Europe. Churchill assents, but requires that Vichy France acknowledge Great Britain's largesse in allowing relief supplies through the cordon:

[W]e would like it stated that the relief goods are available only by the good will of His Majesty's Government.

There is an argument made by some that Churchill is reluctant to admit anything through the blockade because his goal is to "starve Europe" as a means of hurting the German war effort. However, this particular aid specifically is aimed at unoccupied sections of Europe, so there is little reason for Churchill to block it even if that argument were true. Roosevelt somewhat obliquely hints that providing aid may instead cause disaffection from the Germans in Europe and thus help the Allied war effort. Both men's positions are unprovable and may stem from deeper motivations than just the effect on military operations.

The issue of humanitarian aid to Europe is very complex, with many nuances, and remains a contentious issue between Great Britain and the United States until 1945. Drawing it perhaps over-simplistically, the available evidence does show that Roosevelt attempts to expand the amount of aid to the peoples of Europe throughout the war, while Church is prone to limiting it.

Irish/German Relations: The Luftwaffe hits Dublin again, injuring 20 people at Donore Terrace near South Circle Road. Following several nights of Luftwaffe bombing, Éamon de Valera protests officially to the German government.

Swedish/German Relations: Sweden completes its deliveries of Junkers Ju 86K bombers (built by Saab under license) to the Luftwaffe. While overall an outdated design, the K variant with 905 hp Bristol Mercury XIX radial engines proves quite handy. The Ju 86 was used throughout the first few years of the war by both sides, particularly by South Africa's SAAF. Some of the Luftwaffe Ju 86K's will be converted to Ju 86P high-altitude bombers and photo-reconnaissance versions that can approach altitudes of 50,000 feet, making them for a long time invulnerable to interception.

US Military: The issue of hemispheric defense is at the top of the War Department's agenda. Discussions with Brazilian representatives have been gradually building a case for defending the bulge of Brazil from aggressors. Rainbow 4, the US defense plan in the case of aggression from both east and west, envisions movement of a reinforced triangular division to Brazil. Today, Chief of Staff General George C. Marshal holds meetings with and gains the approval of Admiral Stark and Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles for the movement of five companies of American soldiers to different Brazilian airfields upon the outbreak of hostilities. This must meet with Brazilian approval, which has not yet been sought. The issue of the defense of Brazil continues to simmer throughout 1941.

Soviet Military: The first series of war games continue. Georgy Zhukov commands the invading forces, while General DG Pavlov commands the defending forces. These games, which began on 2 January, will continue through 6 January.

"Men of the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps (AMPC) search buildings demolished by bombing in Fore Street in the City of London, 3 January 1941." © IWM (H 6379).

US Government: At a press conference apparently timed to coincide with the opening of the 77th United States Congress, President Roosevelt announces a "between $300 million and $350 million" shipbuilding program:

[B]ecause it is perfectly obvious that so much tonnage in the way of ships has been going to the bottom for a year and a half, probably at the end of the war, sooner or later, there will be a shortage—a world shortage—of tonnage. Therefore, we have begun taking the first steps toward a program of building about 200 merchant ships—a program which will cost somewhere around $300 million, between $300 million and $350 million, in a number of new plants.

Roosevelt is somewhat dismissive about the quality of the ships he is planning to build. "Nobody that loves ships can be very proud of them," he says, but "by building this dreadful looking object you save six or eight months" from building "a ship that is really a ship." He adds that the ships will be "roughly, about 7500 tons each." Obviously, the details - including where the ships will be built, and who will build them - remain to be worked out. Roosevelt says that he has $36 million available to build the shipyards from "the President's Special Contract Authorization Fund." The questions at the news conference somewhat predictably focus on where all this money is going to be spent.

These ships at this point have no name, though they will quickly acquire various belittling appellations ("dreadful looking objects" is one such term, another is dreamt up by Time Magazine: "ugly ducklings"). However, we know these ships by another name coined later in 1941 that has stuck: Liberty Ships.

At his press conference, President Roosevelt also announces that he is sending crony Harry Hopkins to London as his "personal representative" until an ambassador is appointed. Joseph Kennedy withdrew from the slot in November as a result of British anger at some of his controversial statements and attitudes. However, Kennedy's resignation still has not taken effect, so technically the position is not open yet.

Separately, USS Tuscaloosa departs from Lisbon for Norfolk, Virginia, having delivered the new Ambassador to France Admiral William D. Leahy to Europe.

USS Gar (SS 206) on 3 January 1941. Visible on the right is USS Mackerel (SS 204) (US Navy Submarine Force Museum).

Vichy French Government: Marshal Petain reorganizes his cabinet. Among other changes, he appoints Admiral Darlan to head the ministries of Justice and the Interior, Pierre Etienne Flandin in charge of economic affairs, and General Huntziger becomes defense minister. This is a period of great turmoil and change in the Vichy government, with people changing jobs routinely. Flandin, incidentally, will later reveal that, at this time, he is noticing episodes of memory loss by Petain. The old marshal, for instance, always seems to adopt the position of the last person who had talked to him - because he could not remember earlier arguments.

Finnish Government: The new Prime Minister of Finland, Johan Rangell, takes office and appoints his cabinet.

German Homefront: Martin Bormann issues a decree (Normalschrifterlass) banning gothic typefaces and instituting roman/Antiqua type as the new standard. The gothic typeface is very difficult to read, particularly by those in occupied Europe who are not used to it. The gothic typeface can still be seen in various out-of-the-way places in Germany, and the Berlin subways retained it long after the war (and yes, it is very difficult to read even in giant-sized letters, I had a very difficult time deciphering some of the letters). Making the typeface more readable apparently is Adolf Hitler's idea.

American Homefront: A Gallup poll taken after President Roosevelt's "Arsenal of Democracy" speech of 29 December 1940 shows overwhelming support for his position. In response to the question "Do you think our country's future safety depends on England winning this war?", the results are:

Yes 68%
No 26%
No Opinion 6%

This reflects an ongoing shift in opinion within the United States in favor of supporting Great Britain and opposing Germany. Earlier in the war, opinion surveys reflected a much more ambivalent attitude by the public at large, with about half the country as opposed to any intervention in Europe.

USS Gar (SS 206), 3 January 1941. Visible on the right is USS Grampus (SS 207) (US Navy Submarine Force Museum).

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020

Thursday 7 November 1940

"Galloping Gertie" in its last moments.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The slow Italian advance against stiffening Greek resistance reaches its point of maximum advance along the coast on 7 November 1940. The Italians that have crossed the Kalamas River reach Margariti, Greece. On the Greek side, the Thesprotia Sector begins receiving reinforcements from Katsimitros. On the other fronts, the situation remains unchanged, with the Greeks gradually destroying the remnants of the Julia Division on the Pindus front.

The RAF raids Valona, Albania, a big Valona airbase. The planes come in low and strafe the field in addition to bombing it.

European Air Operations: After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 50 bombers against the Krupp munitions factory at Essen, synthetic oil installations at Cologne, Dusseldorf blast furnaces, the Oberhausen docks in the Dortmund-Ems Canal, the port of Duisburg, Dunkirk Harbor, Lorient U-boat installations, and various airfields in northwestern Europe.

The Luftwaffe attacks across the Thames Estuary and sends two attacks against Portsmouth. The attacks accomplish little. After dark, the Luftwaffe concentrates on London, hitting a children's hospital, and sends a few bombers against the Midlands and southwest. Overall, the Luftwaffe loses seven planes and the RAF five.

Ten-victory ace Wilhelm Müller is killed in combat over England.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge giving a vivid demonstration of the aeroelastic principle and resonance.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe (KGr 506) attacks Convoy FS 28. It bombs and damages 1673 ton British freighter Astrologer. The crew manages to beach the ship, but a storm wrecks it on the 15th. Everyone survives. Other ships in the convoy also are damaged: 1993 ton British freighter Dago II and 2163 ton British freighter Medee. The Germans lose a Junkers Ju 88 to gunfire from sloop HMS Egret, which takes some damage.

British 2645 ton freighter Herland hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary northeast of Sheerness, Kent. There are 18 deaths.

Free French 350 ton auxiliary minesweeper Poulmic hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off Plymouth, Devon. There are 7 survivors and 11 men perish.

Royal Navy 99 ton trawler HMT Reed hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. All 15 onboard perish.

Royal Navy 364 ton trawler HMT William Wesney hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Felixstowe, Suffolk. There are five men dead, the survivors are picked up by HMS Sheldrake and two nearby trawlers.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Swordfish hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight. All 41 crew perish.

Working in conjunction, an RAF Supermarine Walrus and destroyer HMS Milford damage Vichy French submarine Poncelet off Gabon. The submarine manages to surface, and then the crew scuttles the sub later. The crew is picked up by HMS Foxhound and Fortune except for Commander de Saussine, who intentionally goes down with his ship.

Early in the morning just past midnight, German torpedo boat T-6 hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea forty miles off Kinnaird Head, Aberdeenshire. The torpedo boat is traveling with several other torpedo boats ( T.1, T.4, T.9, T.10 of the 1st Torpedo Boat Flotilla and T.6, T.7, T.8 of the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla) operating out of Trondheim on a sweep off the Scottish coast. T=7 and T-8 pick up the survivors and then head back to France.

Royal Navy submarine Utmost, damaged in the Bay of Biscay on the 6th in a "friendly fire" incident by HMS Encounter, makes it to Gibraltar.

Convoy FS 330 departs from Methil.

U-551 (Kapitänleutnant Karl Schrott) is commissioned.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Bangor (J 00, Commander Jack Peterson) is commissioned.

American submarine USS Gar is launched. It has been sponsored by the wife of  Rear Admiral George Pettengill.

USS Gar is launched.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italians attempt to retake Gallabat, on the Abyssinia/Sudan border, which the British have just taken. There are fierce dogfights overhead. The 10th Indian Brigade which took the base finally retreats under pressure due to tank losses and RAF losses. At the end of the day, the Italians occupy the town.

Force H departs from Gibraltar, led by the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and battleship HMS Barham. The Barham actually leads a separate group that will split off from Force H. This is Force F, and it is carrying 2000 troops to Malta. The Italians are aware of these movements and send three destroyers to intercept Force F.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie sends a letter to Secretary of State for War. He expresses the impression that "it would not take a great deal to get the Italians to quit." He suggests replacing the large Wellingtons operating on the island with Blenheims (two of the Wellingtons recently crashed upon take-off).

A multi-turret Soviet tank T-35 Model 1939, in the 7 November 1940 October Revolution parade.

Battle of the Pacific: British refrigerated freighter Cambridge hits a mine in eastern approaches of the Bass Strait. The mine recently was laid by German raider Pinguin. There are 55 survivors and one man perishes. HMAS Orara picks up the survivors.

The Pinguin and the Passat head for a pre-arranged meeting 700 miles west of Perth in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Spy Stuff: Tyler Kent, a cipher clerk at the US Embassy, is convicted of espionage in the Central Criminal Court in the Old Bailey. He is sentenced to seven years.

Anglo/Irish Relations: Irish Taoiseach Éamon de Valera refuses a British request that it be allowed to use naval ports and airfields in Ireland.

Joan Crawford takes in the National Horse Show. 7 November 1940. Say what you will about the old days, folks knew how to dress.

German Military: OKH Chief of Staff General Franz Halder has a meeting with Colonel Heusinger and his adjutant, Major Gehlen. They review Heusinger's preliminary plans to invade Greece from Bulgaria, as adjusted by Halder. Key issues are the fact that German troops would have a long march through Poland or Hungary and through Romania. Once they reached Bulgaria, moreover, the launching points themselves would be remote and conspicuous to the enemy. In addition, the Greeks have fortified the border with the "Metaxas Line" chain of barriers and fortresses. Even after the German troops broke through this line, they would be far removed from their allies, the Italian troops in the west, and require breaking out of Thrace over inhospitable terrain. This would create supply issues, no small matter with an advance by 100,000 men or more. Thus, the Wehrmacht would face large problems even before they began the campaign.

All of these issues point to a single solution: take the short route through Yugoslavia. That is something that Hitler already has considered, and of course, the decision rests with him. This all eventually comes under the rubric of Operation Marita.

Gabon: Free French troops of the Foreign Legion land at Libreville. They arrive in troopships Fort Lamy, Casamance, and Nevada. These troops are necessary to complete the conquest of the territory, as Vichy French troops still control key areas. The Free French forces are under the command of Colonel Leclerc.

The Vichy naval forces are operating in the area. Submarine Poncelet attacks troopship Milford but misses. It then is attacked as described above under "Battle of the Atlantic."

Australia: In the "Blue Draft," which is the training of RAAF pilots in Canada, Draft No. 3, which had embarked at Sydney on 16 October, arrives in Vancouver.



American Homefront: Pursuant to the meeting between engineering Professor F. Bert Farquharson of the University of Washington and state engineers on 6 November, state bureaucrats are drafting up contracts to modify the brand-new Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Farquharson recommends installing wind deflectors in order to disperse the effect of the strong gales that sweep down the river valley during the fall change of seasons.

Professor Farquharson has found from studying scale models of the bridge that these winds can cause extreme oscillations in the bridge deck, vertical wave motions that cause the roadway to "bounce." Well, you learn something new every day, right? Farquharson's studies, however, have taken about eight months to complete and lasted into the high-wind autumn season that is most dangerous.

The condition, which has given the bridge the nickname "Galloping Gertie," has been noticed by bridge workers and others even before the bridge was completed. Now, with all of their boxes checked - formal study completed, a conference held to discuss the issue, higher officials notified and so forth - state engineers finally take steps to correct the issue. They understand the urgency and plan to implement the remedies within ten days, which is an extreme speed for such a massive project which requires making architectural sketches, obtaining steel and other materials, and finding workers.

At this point, Mother Nature intervenes. Before dawn, the winds pick up from the southwest. As it has before, the Tacoma Narrows bridge begins undulating, or "galloping." These are not small waves - some are as high as 5 feet high. The wind speed increases after daylight and reaches 38 miles per hour at 07:30 and 42 mph at 09:30. The chief bridge engineer drives across the bridge at 08:30 and decides that the undulations, while noticeable, are not as large as in some previous instances.

Professor Farquharson arrives at 09:30 from Seattle and begins filming the bridge for his engineering study, with no notification that anything unusual is in store. The undulations are so intense that a college student walks out on the bridge around this time "for a thrill" and to watch a coast guard ship, the Atlanta, pass under it. Just before 10:00, the last few vehicles pay their tolls and start driving across. At 10:30, the bridge adds a lateral twisting motion to the vertical oscillations. The movements seem to feed on each other (resonance), and the undulations reach 28 feet, with the roadway tilting 45 degrees.

The State Police close the bridge, but there are people still on it, some clinging to the railings for their lives. One of the cars gets tossed against the curb, and the driver crawls on the roadway toward one of the towers. The Tacoma News Tribune hears about the situation and sends out a photographer. At 10:30, the bridge starts coming apart, with concrete chunks falling into the river.

The winds die down for a little while but soon pick back up again. At around 11:00, the bridge span begins to rip apart. The entire span then starts ripping from the cables which hold it up. Farquharson, who has run onto the bridge to save a dog left in a car, runs for his life as the bridge starts oscillating in 60-foot waves (the dog, Tubby, wedges himself under the seat, biting the owner who tries to get him out). The entire bridge then twists apart and crashes into the river at around 11:10.

The event receives world-wide attention due to the excellent color filming of the collapse. American POWs in the jungles of southeast Asia a few years later report being ribbed about the incident by their guards, who find it quite amusing. The bridge only lasted four months. Incidentally, the concrete remains of the bridge that fell into the river remain in situ, forming a natural reef. New bridges with better wind tolerance have replaced the collapsed bridge.


November 1940

November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

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