Sunday 27 October 1940

Tommies on patrol in the Western Desert, 27 October 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather remains acceptable for flying on 27 October 1940, and the pattern of recent days continues - that is, no real pattern. There are disjointed Luftwaffe raids throughout the day which primarily are made by fighter-bombers (Jabos) and cause little damage. They do stretch out the RAF fighter defenses, but they stress the Luftwaffe planes and pilots as well. As usual, the daylight attacks are bifurcated between the usual city targets and RAF airfields, with neither suffering particularly much due to the Jabos' small bomb loads.

The day has low-hanging clouds which allow the planes to battle it out in blinding sunshine, but on the ground, it is dark, drizzly and miserable. For some reason, Fighter Command loses (at least temporarily out of action) several planes today due to running out of fuel. This may be related to the standing patrols that it has begun implementing.

The Jabos start early this morning, coming across in waves beginning around 07:30. The primary targets are the airfields around London (Biggin Hill, Kenley) and the city itself. As usual with the early morning raids, Fighter Command is slow off the mark and makes relatively few interceptions. Both sides take losses.

The first series of raids last for two hours, and another series begins around 11:30. This formation flies high and fast and heads for the London docklands. Two Hurricanes run out of fuel and are forced to crash-land, and a Spitfire is lost at Andover.

Another wave of Jabos crosses around 12:30. Fighter Command is ready and waiting for them and prevents any major damage.

The next wave of attacks is just after lunchtime at 13:30. The Jabos split up after crossing the coast, some heading for Central London, others for points further east. RAF No. 603 Squadron takes a beating in this encounter, losing three planes and two pilots.

The largest raids of the day take place around 16:30. This one includes medium bombers, a rare sight during daylight hours. Junkers Ju 88s, Heinkel He 111s and Dornier Do 17s fly over the Thames Estuary to East Anglia. RAF Martlesham and Coltishall are attacked, but they sustain little significant damage. The medium bombers strafe the airfields to little purpose, and the bombs, including some with delayed action fuses, only lightly damage the facilities.

At the same time, Junkers Ju 88s escorted by fighters attack Southampton and Portsmouth. Both sides claim victories in this attack. Further, but smaller, raids take place beginning around 18:30 against a bunch of RAF airfields: Leconfield, Feltwell, Driffield, Kirton-in-Lindsey, and Martlesham. One of the Junkers is shot down near Driffield, and the men at the base recover one of the MG 15 machine guns for their trophy case. Italian BR 20M bombers participate in an attack on Ramsgate

After dark, the main targets are London, Liverpool, and the Midlands. The London raids are of moderate intensity, and the bombers drop their loads all across the southern part of England without any main target. The LMS railway at Tottenham takes a hit which puts it out of action when a water main bursts. The Luftwaffe also drops mines all along the eastern coast, including Harwich and the Thames estuary.

Losses for the day are about even at roughly a dozen apiece. While the Luftwaffe attacks appear disorganized, they cause a fair amount of damage. The Germans do much better when they do not send their formations over "parade-style" but instead, vary the targets and intensity of their raids. The RAF loses four pilots killed, which is much worse than losing planes.

A Bf 109 shot down today in the marshes near Canterbury - flown by Oblt. Ulrich Steinhilper of I./JG 52 - will be recovered in 1980 for preservation by the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge. Steinhilper himself, who survived the war as a POW in Canada, visits the plane a few years later.

Another plane lost today at Congburn Dean, Edmondsley, a Hurricane of No. 43 Squadron flown by Sergeant L.V. Toogood, is recovered in October 1978. Toogood perished in the crash. This apparently was not a combat crash, but due to some equipment malfunction such as oxygen failure.

Major Hannes Trautloft of JG 54 claims a Spitfire over Ashford.

“The Messerschmitt Bf 109 E Oberleutnant Karl Fischer shot down in Windsor Great Park. October 1940.”

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks several targets in Greater Germany, including oil installations at Hamburg, Hanover, Gelsenkirchen, Magdeburg, and Ostermoor. Other targets include the Skoda plant at Pilsen, ports such as Antwerp, Flushing, Ostend, Lorient, Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg, and warehouses at Krefeld, Hamm, and Mannheim.

Battle of the Atlantic: British 42k ton troopship Empress of Britain is taken in tow by oceangoing tugs HMS Marauder and HMS Thames around 09:30. They make for the Clyde at 4 knots, covered by destroyers and Short Sunderland flying boats. U-32 (Kptl. Hans Jenisch), directed to the scene by U-boat Command, approaches the British ships during the day but must remain submerged throughout the day due to the British escorts. After dark, he surfaces and locates the stricken liner using hydrophones. Destroyer escorts HMS Broke and Sardonyx are zig-zagging. U-32 maneuvers into position to attack just after midnight.

Italian submarine Nani torpedoes and sinks 1583 ton Swedish freighter Meggie about 130 km off Santa Maria Island, Azores. Everybody aboard survives.

Dutch 325 ton coaster Margaretha hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel near Newport, Monmouthshire. Everybody aboard survives.

British 20 ton drifter Persevere hits a mine and sinks in the Firth of Forth.

British 634 ton coaster Suavity hits a mine and sinks off Hartlepool, County Durham in the North Sea. Everybody aboard survives.

The Luftwaffe damaged 5013-ton British freighter Alfred Jones in Convoy OB 234 in the Irish Sea. There are 12 deaths.

The Luftwaffe also damages 411-ton British freighter Conister and 1556 ton British freighter Newlands.

Royal Navy light cruiser Arethusa collides with freighter Flaminian in the North Sea, slightly damaging its bow.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Swordfish reports damaging a freighter off Cherbourg.

German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer departs Germany for a raid into the Atlantic, proceeding north along the Norwegian coast.

Convoy OB 235 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 321 departs from Southend, Convoy FN 321 departs from Methil, Convoy SL 53 departs from Freetown.

USS Wasp decked out for Navy Day. 27 October 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General de Gaulle's Free Free troops in French Equatorial Africa are on the march into Vichy French Gabon. Under the command of General Edgard de Larminat, they advance from the Congo Valley, take the town of Mitzic, and invest the fortress of Lambarene. These events in central Africa are intended to consolidate de Gaulle's strength and set up bases for air attacks on the Italian positions further north and east.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, on a mission out of Alexandria, launches air attacks against the Italian seaplane base at Maltezana, Rhodes, Greece.

At Malta, there is an air raid around 10:00 which results in a massive dogfight over the island. Eight RAF planes (six Hurricanes, two Gladiators) take on an equal number of Macchi 200 aircraft. There is no bomb damage and both sides take some damage to a plane (the Italian plane may not have made it back).

Spy Stuff: An Enigma intercept puts British fears of an imminent invasion to rest. The German message refers to "training" for the invasion - which means it can't happen any time soon, if at all.


Italian/Greek Relations: Italian ambassador in Athens Emanuele Grazzi peremptorily delivers a demand from Mussolini late in the evening. The note demands that Italian troops be permitted to occupy key points in Greece. Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas replies:

Alors, c'est la guerre ("Then, it's war").

Everybody knows this is tantamount to a declaration of war. Metaxas is fully aware of increasing Italian provocations, such as their air raid on Greece on the 26th, but censors such news from the media.

Metaxas has been mobilizing his own troops in great secrecy and they are dug in along the mountains facing Albania. Mussolini, of course, did not deliver the demand in the expectation that it would lead to anything other than such a refusal. The Greek/Albanian front - the traditional invasion route from Italy for millennia - is full of good defensive positions. It also is an extremely restricted front, with almost no maneuvering room. For the time being, Metaxas can concentrate his entire army there, because the Italians also have to worry about the Royal Navy and thus cannot embark on tenuous amphibious invasions further south. Deep-seated historical enmity guarantees that any conflict between the two countries will be fought with great savagery.

German/Italian Relations: The Germans remain in the dark about Italian intentions toward Greece, and news flows to them sporadically from various sources. German Generalmajor Enno von Rintelen, the liaison with the Italian military, calls the OKW at noon and informs them that it is now "practically certain" that the invasion will take place the next morning. This is the first "confirmation" of when the attack will take place, as Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano has been uncommunicative. German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, meanwhile, already is on his train "Heinrich" for the meeting on the 28th with Mussolini in Florence and remains completely out of the loop. General Alfred Jodl, OKW Chief of Operations, reviews the information and informs Hitler that the Italian attack will take place in the morning; Hitler simply accepts the information, issues no instructions, and leaves as scheduled in his train "Amerika" at 18:00 for Florence. If the attack does take place as anticipated, it will be while Hitler is still crossing the Alps in his train. By 21:00, the Italians reveal their plans officially to the Germans.

Today is Navy Day in the US. Here, the battleship USS Texas shows its colors on 27 October 1940 (US National Archive).

US Military: The Greenslade Board investigating the British bases acquired in the destroyers-for-bases deal winds up its travels aboard light cruiser USS St. Louis at Norfolk, Virginia.

Free France: In a symbolic exercise, the Free French government officially is established in London. General de Gaulle, in Africa, broadcasts:

As long as the French Government and the representation of the French people do not exist normally and independently of the enemy, the powers formerly performed by the Chief of State and by the Council of Ministers will be exercised by the leader of the Free French forces assisted by a Council of Defense.

Albania: The Italians, preparing for their invasion of Greece, order all Jews out of Albania.

American Homefront: The 1939-40 New York World's Fair, which opened in April 1939, closes. A cultural success, it is a financial failure at least in part due to the outbreak of the war in Europe. Many countries have not participated or have withdrawn their participation due to the conflict. The site in Flushing Meadows remains a park to this day and was later used for the 1964-65 World's Fair, which obliterated the remnants of the earlier fair but used the same basic geography. The monuments leftover from the latter remain clearly visible to travelers on the nearby New York highways. Little is left of the 1939-40 Fair, however, which most people consider having been more historically significant and a classier affair. The site, incidentally, also will be used briefly as the first home of the United Nations.

Future History: John Joseph Gotti, Jr. is born in the Bronx, New York. Born in poverty, he rises through the ranks of organized crime and becomes the boss of the Gambino crime family. He ultimately is convicted of five murders and numerous other crimes. He dies in prison on 10 June 2002.

Frieda Siegel (Miss Brooklyn) at the Fair. The Crosley Pavilion and Trylon and Perisphere can be seen in the background.

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

2020

Sunday 8 September 1940

Prime Minister Winston Churchill tours bomb damage in London, 8 September 1940.

British Military: The codeword "Cromwell" remains in effect on 8 September 1940, indicating that a German invasion is imminent. Unfortunately, the meaning of the codeword is not understood by everyone. During September 7th, poorly trained local Home Guard commanders around the country begin taking extreme actions as if the codeword means that the Germans are on the beaches already. This includes ringing church bells - an accepted signal of enemy troops in the vicinity - and other crazy stuff like shooting at innocent passing cars. Other troops who hear the church bells assume that this mistaken bell-ringing is confirmation of an invasion in progress, so they set their own extreme plans in motion. A vast chain-reaction spreads across the country. Some Home Guard forces lay unmarked minefields at strategic spots, and three Guards officers drive over such a field in Lincolnshire and are killed. Several East Anglian bridges are blown up to prevent their "capture." The chaos peaks during the night of the 7th-8th and is slowly brought under control during the day as the BBC spreads the word that all is well.

Air Marshal Hugh Dowding continues his triage operations on RAF Fighter Command. While rational and productive, these decisions exacerbate political issues within the RAF. Along with Vice Air Marshal Keith Park in command of Fighter Command in southeast England, Dowding is no fan of the "Big Wing" concept preferred by Air Vice Marshal Leigh-Mallory of No. 12 Group. That tactic has been proven time and again to take too long to assemble the formations, during which time the Luftwaffe accomplishes its objectives and leaves before the fighters can arrive. It is very similar to the divisions between the "battleship Admirals" and the "airpower Admirals." However, Dowding is unable to kill the idea because Leigh-Mallory is backed by the Air Ministry.

However, Dowding can help Park in other ways. He decides that Park may have the pick of experienced fighter pilots throughout the RAF for his No. 11 Group despite the effects this may have on other units and pilot development. Basically, Park is allowed to cherry-pick pilots from other units to fill gaps in his own. This decision increases the political frictions within the uppermost echelons of the RAF which have been boiling over recently.

Park leads from the front. During the morning, when things are quiet, he flies his own Hurricane over London. He shrewdly notes that, while the scene is one of horror, it contains the seeds of ultimate victory:

It was burning all down the river. It was a horrid sight. But I looked down and said "Thank God for that," because I knew that the Germans had switched their attack from the fighter stations thinking that they were knocked out. They weren't, but they were pretty groggy.”

He concludes that Hermann Goering has made a huge error in allowing the fighter bases to recover. In effect, quite unintentionally, Fighter Command has duped the Germans into thinking it was dead by playing possum.

In vastly oversimplified terms, there now are two power blocks at war within the RAF: Dowding and Park, attuned to the needs of the moment, versus the old guard of the Air Ministry and Leigh-Mallory (among others), anxious to preserve their power and prestige. One side or the other ultimately must prevail, because they cannot coexist indefinitely. Decisions made now will affect the careers of the parties involved, but not until the battle is decided. These folks all hold grudges, regardless of what their public statements or official histories may indicate.

Air Vice-Marshal Keith Rodney Park, a native of New Zealand.

Battle of Britain: German bombers remain over London through much of the night. Londoners spend a restless night in shelters, including the subway Tubes, and emerge in the morning to inspect the damage.

The East End and the docks on the southern shore of the Thames have been hit the hardest. The major docks (Royal Albert, Queen Victoria, King George V, St. Katherine's) are ablaze, with half-sunken ships all along the waterfront. There are fires in outlying residential areas that send huge columns of smoke into the air, and many people who stumble home to their homes find them obliterated or ablaze. In many ways, for many people, it feels like the first day of the real war.

The Luftwaffe only sends over reconnaissance flights during the morning. Then, at 11:30, a formation of Dornier Do 17s escorted by JG 2 and JG 53 attacks RAF Detling and West Matting. The bombers do not get through to London, and many drop their bombs in the countryside or other random spots. The vast majority of RAF airfields are undisturbed.

At dusk, another bomber raid heads toward London. At 19:30, Sperrle's Luftflotte 3 sends its medium bombers across Shoreham. The timing is impeccable, as it is too late for Fighter Command to send up its day fighters. This raid by 250 bombers drops its bombs on the docklands and surrounding areas, interrupted only by anti-aircraft fire. The attacks continue into the night, and the fires blazing in London serve as a beacon to the Luftwaffe navigators. The bombs drop on a more dispersed part of London than on the previous night, with residential areas receiving more attention. The railways are especially hard-hit, with a train destroyed at Victoria Station and lines closed in several places due to unexploded bombs.

In an infamous incident, a direct hit on a shelter at the Peabody Estate, Whitechapel kills 78 people, including entire families.

Civilian deaths during the night of 8/9 September total 412, with 747 other casualties. The Luftwaffe loses about 25 planes and the RAF only 6. Most importantly for the future conduct of the battle, the RAF has another day to repair its vital airfields and other infrastructure necessary to fight the Luftwaffe in the air. It is like a boxer, having staggered his opponent, suddenly going off to shout at the other boxer's manager. It may feel good... but it allows the man on the ropes to recover. Everyone in the RAF sees this at the time, but apparently, nobody in the Luftwaffe does.

With invasion fears at a fever pitch, Royal Navy cruiser HMS Aurora leads a small flotilla that shells German barges at Boulogne harbor, France. Cruiser HMS Galatea leads a similar flotilla to Calais, but finds no ships and thus does not fire its guns. As the Galatea withdraws, it hits a mine which causes serious damage and lays the ship up in drydock for months.

Oberleutnant Ulrich Steinhilper of I,/JG52 is leading a group of new pilots in a training mission on the French coast when he spots a Hawker Hurricane flying nearby. He attacks it to demonstrate a good attack technique to his charges. The Hurricane turns out to be a Bf 109 flown by Kommandeur of JG 26 Adolf Galland which Steinhilper has misidentified (Galland is known for engaging in solo flights). Galland, who doesn't particularly care for radios in fighter planes (too heavy and unnecessary in his opinion), uses his to warn Steinhilper off at the last minute with bullets flying around him.

Oberleutnant Helmut Wick of 6,/JG 2 gainst his 28th victory.

The Observer, 8 September 1940.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks the usual airfields in northwest Europe, shipping (barges) at Ostend and Boulogne, and the northern German ports of Hamburg, Emden, and Bremen. The priority at this point, in line with the overall British effort, has shifted from industrial targets of strategic impact deep within Europe to the more immediate tactical concerns of an imminent invasion.

Battle of the Atlantic: After dark, British torpedo boats MTB-14, MTB-15 and MTB-17, based at Dover, attack a German convoy of about 30 small vessels in the vicinity of Ostend. Two of the boats, MTBs 15 and 17, enter the harbor itself during an RAF raid and launch torpedoes. They claim to have hit two vessels and to have sunk a Kriegsmarine ammunition ship, but the identity of the ship(s) they hit is unknown. If indeed it happened as claimed, the mission is the first successful MTB attack of the war.

German raider Widder (Captain Ruckteschell) stops 5866 ton Greek collier Antonios Chandris in the Central Atlantic, 500 miles from land. The Greek crew is told to disembark, and Ruckteschell sinks it at dawn on the 9th. The crew of 22 neutrals drifts for 31 days at sea before being found 1400 miles away by a Portuguese freighter.

The Luftwaffe damages more freighters tied up along the London docks, approximately four in all.

The Luftwaffe also attacks the port of Methil. One torpedo hits sloop HMS Stork in Methil Roads, causing extensive damage to the stern and one casualty. Dutch 8501 ton freighter Stad Vlaardingen also is damaged at a nearby location.

Italian submarine Faa Di Bruno reports making an unsuccessful attack on a tanker.

At Kiel, the battleship Bismarck gets some target practice when she again opens fire with her anti-aircraft guns against RAF bombers. She fires 72 3.7cm and 65 2cm shells but misses the bombers.

In Operation Hannelore, German torpedo boats lay mines off Dover in preparation for Operation Sealion.

Convoy OA 211 departs from Methil, Convoy OB 210 departs from Liverpool.

The Tubes now are becoming home-away-from-home (their real homes may no longer exist) for over 100,000 people. As the Blitz continues, the stations become full of bunk beds and other essential items, but early on, people sleep on the tracks.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The minor penetrations continue by both sides along the border between British-held Kenya and Italian Abyssinia. Today, a British patrol stages a raid on the remote Italian garrison at Gara Gorai, 16 miles north of the border.

Minesweepers HMS Fermoy and Fellowship succeed in their special ops mission of cutting the Italian communications cable between Syracuse and Tripoli.

It is Malta's National Day. Lord Lloyd, Secretary of State for the Colonies, broadcasts an appeal to the islanders:

The old Maltese spirit rises again, and with hearts steeled they cherish the sacred soil of Malta, defying all who would attack their Island.

The Yellow Garage under Valletta is turned into a temporary chapel to mark the occasion. The enclosed space magnifies the hymns sung by the 200 people living there.

Hawker Hurricane of RAF No. 607 Squadron, probably at Bicester refueling stop, approximate date 8 September 1940 (photo Will Whitty).

Italian Military: Italian Duce Benito Mussolini is furious that the offensive in Libya that he wished to begin in early August still is not happening. He orders Marshal Rodolfo Graziani to attack by the 9th or face dismissal. Graziani, new to his post, has much less prestige than his predecessor (killed in an air crash over the summer) and no leverage. He realizes, however, that his forces, while numerically superior to the British forces on the frontier, are vastly inferior on a qualitative basis.

US Military: The Greenslade Board departs from Hamilton, Bermuda after inspecting the new US base there, granted by the British in the "destroyers for bases" deal. It now heads back to Norfolk, Virginia.

Kingdom of Mysore: 21-year-old Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar is the new Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore (southern India). His father, Krishnaraja IV, has been progressive and worked with the British. Even Mahatma Gandhi has praised Krishnaraja as a "saintly king" for his progressive efforts in education and infrastructure. One could call the dynasty "Anglophiles." Mysore is a key element in the British administration of India, whose politics are very much in flux.

British Homefront: The government proclaims a national day of prayer.

Future History: Ulrich Steinhilper never became a top fighter pilot, but in the 1950s he achieved recognition in another line of work. He is credited with coming up with the phrase "word processing" (in German) while working for IBM Germany. Although apparently the phrase previously had been used here and there in the English language, Steinhilper's usage led to its mass acceptance and popularization. If anyone can be credited with coming up with the phrase, it is Steinhilper. IBM eventually rewarded him with an around-the-world cruise.

Superman Sunday No. 45, 8 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