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

Saturday 21 September 1940

A Heinkel He111 tactical bomber of KG/54's commanding officer (Geschwaderkommodore) Oberstleutnant Ernst Exss strafes 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards Headquarters, late morning, September 21, 1940. ​

Battle of the Atlantic: With the Battle of Britain winding down on 21 September 1940, the real action shifts out to sea. It is a busy day for the U-boat fleet. In two separate areas, they cause the Royal Navy problems. The Royal Navy, for its part, also has plans in the works for a major operation.

The wolfpack assembled by Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien in U-47 and U-boat Control (BdU) shadows Convoy HX 72 throughout the night. The convoy, about 400 miles west of Ireland, has over 40 ships, temporarily, no escorts.

U-99 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer) gets things rolling with a series of attacks between 03:12 and 04:47. It torpedoes and sinks 9154-ton British tanker Invershannon. There are 32 survivors and 16 perish.

U-99 then torpedoes and sinks 3668-ton British freighter Baron Blythswood. All 34 aboard perish.

U-99 then torpedoes and sinks 5156-ton British cargo ship Elmbank. There are 54 survivors and 2 men perish.

U-48 (Heinrich Bleichrodt) then torpedoes and sinks 4409-ton British timber freighter Blairangus at 06:14. There are 28 survivors and 6 men perish.

The five escorts from England for Convoy HX 72 - sloop Lowestoft, destroyer Shikari and 3 corvettes, Calendula, Heartsease, and La Malouine - arrive during the afternoon to find a convoy in ruins. However, the newly arrived escorts don't do much good. The wolfpack continues to shadow the convoy, waiting for darkness.

U-100 (Kptlt. Joachim Schepke) takes its turn later in the morning. At 23:10, it fires off several torpedoes in quick succession.

U-100 first torpedoes and sinks 8286-ton British refrigerated freighter Canonesa (Master Frederick Stephenson). There are 62 survivors and one man perishes.

U-100 then torpedoes and sinks 4608-ton British freighter Dalcairn (Master Edgar Brusby). All 42-48 (sources vary) on board survive.

U-100 also torpedoes and sinks 10,364-ton British tanker Torinia, which has a full load of fuel oil (13,815 tons). There are 50 survivors, five crewmen perish.

Shortly afterward, U-48 finds another target. At 23:38, it torpedoes and damages 5136-ton British freighter Broompark, carrying lumber and metal. One man perishes. Most of the crew abandon ship, but the master and mate shift ballast and bring it back to an even keel. This enables them to restart the engines and make port. Master Olaf Paulsen receives the OBE and Lloyds War Medal for Bravery at Sea.

U-138 (Oblt.z.S. Wolfgang Lüth), meanwhile, is still shadowing Convoy OB 216 further east. At 02:27, it torpedoes and badly damages 5145-ton British freighter Empire Adventure. The crew abandons ship, but the burning hulk remains afloat. It sinks on the 23rd after being taken in tow. There are 18 survivors and 21 men lost.

Elsewhere, Canadian sailing ship Imogen runs aground in rough weather on the east coast of Nova Scotia and is lost.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tuna (Captain "Ginger" Cavenagh-Mainwaring) torpedoes and sinks 7230 ton captured Norwegian freighter Tirranna near Bordeaux. The Tirranna had been captured by the German raider Atlantis in the Indian Ocean. It carries 274 crew from the British freighter Kemmendine and other ships sunk by the Atlantis. There are 86 deaths of the captured British crewmen (sources vary) and one death among the 19-man prize crew. News of the sinking of the Tirranna is picked up by the Atlantis a week later and seriously damages morale.

The Royal Navy sets its ships in motion in final preparations for Operation Menace, the attack on Dakar. Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, battleships HMS Barham and Resolution, and cruiser HMS Devonshire lead an armada of smaller ships out of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Included are French sloops Commandant Domine, Commandant Duboc and Savorgnan De Brazza. Already at sea patrolling off Dakar are cruisers HMS Cumberland and Dragon and HMAS Australia. The Cumberland returns to Freetown on a quick stop to refuel, and cruiser HMS Dorsetshire also is on the way to Freetown from Simonstown. All of the ship movements are intended to come together on the 22nd to form the greatest striking force of the Royal Navy in the war to date.

Convoy FN 287 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 288 departs from Methil, Convoy OB 217 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 75 departs from Halifax, Convoy BHX 75 departs from Bermuda, Convoy BM 1 departs from Bombay.

F/O Francis N "Fanny" Brinsden undertakes a cockpit check of Spitfire Mk I QV-B prior to takeoff from RAF Fowlmere. 21 September 1940.

Battle of Britain: The subject of the Polish pilots comes up over dinner conversation at 10 Downing Street. The No. 303 Polish Squadron has been leading the RAF in victories, and it is not a particularly close race. Everybody tries to quantify just how good they are. Prime Minister Winston Churchill ventures that one Polish pilot is worth three French pilots. Lord Gort, however, demurs, along with Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding. The ratio is not 3:1, they opine, but more along the lines of 10 to 1. The Polish pilots are more "seat of the pants" flyers who do not rely on radio and radar, and they also are a little older and better trained.

Bowing to the inevitable, the British government officially recognizes the London Tubes as air-raid shelters. The subway trains shut down at night anyway, so the stations are quiet. The stations, which usually close during the night, already have been converted into makeshift aid stations, bunk beds, pantries and other accouterments of civilization. The government itself already is using the tunnel on the Aldwych branch to store antiquities from the British museum, such as the Elgin Marbles. The British also have constructed many massive underground bunkers in discreet locations to protect government officials in case of an invasion.

The weather is fine again, but the Luftwaffe, as has been its practice recently, gets a late start. The morning is occupied with reconnaissance flights and an occasional lone "pirate" raider, such as a single Junkers Ju 88 of LG 1 which attacks the Hawker Aircraft Factory and leaves some unexploded bombs. There are small raids on RAF Biggin Hill and RAF Kenley, but the defending fighters from those fields and RAF Croydon prevent any damage.

Around 18:00, a large force of about 200 aircraft attacks in the waning daylight. They focus on Fighter Command fields south of London. The Duxford "Big Wing" rises in response, along with the usual squadrons of AVM Keith Park's No. 11 Group.

London and Liverpool are hit during the night. The London East End and the docks, as usual, suffer the worst.

Handling unexploded bombs has turned into a major project for the British. At Ipswich, a 1000kg "land mine" has to be blown up where it lands, creating a crater 50 feet wide and 25 feet deep. It destroys an estimated 70 houses and damages 750 more, with a lot of broken glass. At the Hawker Aircraft Factory, Lt. John MacMillan Stevenson Patton of the Royal Canadian Engineers tows a bomb to a nearby bomb crater to detonate it. He receives the George Cross. Lt-Cdr Richard John Hammersley Ryan and CPO Reginald Vincent Ellingworth perish as they are trying to defuse a magnetic mine in a warehouse (both earn the George Cross posthumously). Another man, Leonard John Miles, also earns the George Cross when he perishes while warning others of a nearby unexploded bomb.

Overall, it is one of the quieter days of the battle. Losses on both sides are in the single digits. Adolf Galland of JG 26 downs a No. 92 Squadron Spitfire west of Ashford for his 37th victory. He is just behind Werner Mölders, who receives the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal for being the first fighter pilot to achieve 40 victories on the 20th

Parts of a Dornier Do 17 lie on a London rooftop near Victoria Station. 21 September 1940.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command continues attacking the Channel ports as the Germans disperse their barges. They have been quite successful in decimating the barges, sinking just over 10% of the total assembled. Coastal Command also attacks shipping near Boulogne and near Borkum and Ameland.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF bombs Sidi Barrani and makes reconnaissance flights across the desert. The South African Air Force chips in as well. The Italians, for their part, raid Alexandria and Haifa, with the latter a particularly productive raid.

At Malta, the police are instructed to investigate shops for hoarding. These spot checks are authorized by The Food and Commerce Control Officer (FCCO). Shortages, the FCCO reports, are appearing in common staples despite supplies of these items on hand that are known to be adequate. The theory is that the owners of stores that have large hoards figure they will be able to charge high black-market prices in the event of real shortages. Homeowners, too, are stockpiling staples.

Bulgarian/Romanian Relations: The Bulgarian 3rd Army takes possession of Southern Dobruja, incorporating it into Bulgaria per the agreement with Romania.

The New York World's Fair parking lot, 21 September 1940. It is in its final weeks and remains busy. The Fair is widely considered to be a creative success, drawing a total of 45 million visitors and generating $48 in revenue. Financially, however, the Fair is a failure, losing tens of millions of dollars, and the Fair Corporation declares bankruptcy. Many Pavilions of combatants such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union left the fair after the first season, and Germany did not participate at all. Many European staffers cannot return home at the Fair's end and seek employment in the United States. This results in the founding of several excellent restaurants.

Australia: General elections are held. The results announced in October reveal that Prime Minister Robert Menzies has increased vastly his own personal popularity, perhaps as a show of support for the war. Overall, the results are:

• United Australia Party, 24 seats; 
• Country Party (allied with UAP), 14 seats; 
• Labour, 32; 
• Non-Communist Labour, 4. 

One imagines that PM Winston Churchill in England draws some comfort from these results as a show of support for the war, although technically Labour is the largest party in both the House and the Senate.

In addition, the government announces that another division, the 9th Australian, will be raised.

American Military: The Greenslade Board, reviewing the new US bases obtained from the British in the destroyers-for-bases swap, departs from Boston for Argentina aboard the cruiser USS St. Louis.

American Homefront: The James Cagney flick "City for Conquest" opens. It also stars Ann Sheridan and Arthur Kennedy.

The Carolina Times, 21 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

Thursday 4 July 1940

A bomb at the New York City World's Fair on 4 July 1940 kills two policemen. The incident remains unsolved and is a prime example of terrorism in the United States decades ago.

European Air Operations: Today is sometimes referred to as the beginning of the Kanalkampf, or English Channel Battle. The battles are said to take place on the Kanalfront.

The German recently have been focusing on British convoys sailing north past Spain and France, but today, 4 July 1940, they score some major successes at England itself with Convoy OA178. Kriegsmarine E-boats join with 33 Stukas of III/StG51 to mangle a British convoy at Portland, sinking auxiliary anti-aircraft vessel HMS Foyle Bank (157 men rescued, 176 crew lost), tug boat Silverdial and five freighters (Dallas City, Britsum, Deucalion, Kolga, and Elmcrest) in the Portland Harbor. The attackers lose one Stuka to anti-aircraft fire. One of the British seamen in the attack, Jack Foreman Mantle, receives the VC - posthumously - for firing his anti-aircraft gun to the end and going down with the ship.

There also are dogfights near the Kent coastline between III/JG27 and RAF No. 54 Squadron. Each side loses a couple of fighters.

A Heinkel of III/KG54 bombs the Bristol Aeroplane Company and damages the roof before getting shot down by RAF No. 92 Squadron.

During the day, the RAF attacks refineries near Hannover and Emmerich, and also airfields in Holland. After dark, the target is Kriegsmarine bases such as Wilhelmshaven, Emden, and Kiel, along with related naval targets such as the Dortmund-Ems Canal.

General Ernst Udet, Director General of Luftwaffe Equipment, and the Kommodore of KG76, Generalmajor Stephan Fröhlich, both receive the Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz). Udet already has the Pour le mérite from World War I.

The Winnipeg Free Press of 4 July 1940 notes hopefully in its headline "British Get French Navy." Well, that's not exactly what happens.

Battle of the Atlantic: The French government issues an all-points bulletin to French ships to attack British vessels on sight due to yesterday's attack on the French fleet in Algeria.

Convoy SL 38F departs from Freetown.

Battle of the Mediterranean: At 15:30, British submarine HMS Pandora sinks French mine-layer Rigault de Genouilly off Oran, Algeria. This is part of Operation Catapult.

French battleship Strasbourg and destroyers Volta, Tigre, and Le Terrible complete their journey to Toulon from Mers el Kebir.
The French raid Gibraltar with little impact, but the British hurry up plans to evacuate women and children.

At Malta, there is an air raid alert at first light, 05:55. The Italian fighters conduct a strafing attack without causing any damage.

The Italians are broadcasting propaganda in Maltese to undermine morale. Malta’s own Rediffusion radio service begins counter-programming.

The French fleet is now the subject of interest to both sides. The Pétain government claims that the fleet at Alexandria has been recalled, but also says they are to be scuttled if they can't escape due to the wishes of Hitler that they do not fall into British hands.

At Alexandria, Admiral Cunningham and Admiral Godfroy agree to demobilize Godfroy's ships, but he does not turn them over. Talks continue.

Mrs. Hathaway, the Dame of Sark, greets the Germans.

Western Front: The Germans complete their unopposed occupation of the Channel Islands by sending a token detachment from Guernsey to Sark. Dame Sibyl Mary Hathaway, DBE rules the island independently by charter and has an American husband, and thus feels free to adopt a neutral stance. As the hereditary ruler of the island, she receives the German delegation cordially, sorts matters out quickly, and then serves them lobster dinner (which becomes notorious back in England). When the German commander asks if she is afraid, Dame Hathaway (her official title) replies, "Is there any reason why I should be afraid of German officers?"

North Africa: Italian troops advance north across the Abyssinia/Sudan border and take two British outposts, Kassala and Galabat. It is quite an aggressive move for a poorly equipped colonial garrison.

The Regia Aeronautica raids Alexandria and Malta. They lose 7 CR-42 fighters in various actions over the desert.

German/Romanian Relations: The Germans warn Romania to concede Hungarian territorial aspirations if it wants closer ties.

German/Hungarian Relations: The Germans warn Hungary against taking military action against Romania, but broadly hint that Hungary will get the territory it seeks from Romania.

Romanian Government: The political upheavals caused by the recent occupation of eastern territories continues. The Tatarescu government falls. Ion Gigurtu becomes Prime Minister, and the fascist Iron Guard goes from being imprisoned only weeks ago to having two members - Manoilesca (Foreign Minister) and Sima (Minister for Arts) - in the cabinet. Mr. Gigurtu, a wealthy industrialist, has extensive contacts with the Germans, including - according to him - friendship with Hermann Goering.

At the same time, the government expels 22 British oil technicians in an indirect swipe at the British for failing to keep the Soviets away. Romania is casting about for a "big brother" protector against the Soviets, and this is yet another indication that Germany is it.

French Government: The final rupture between former allies takes place when the Vichy government severs diplomatic relations with London.

Charles de Gaulle becomes a wanted man when a Toulouse court sentences him in absentia to four years in prison for treason.

Finnish Government: The Finnish Foreign Minister tells German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop that his country desires closer relations with Germany.

British Government: Winston Churchill goes before the House of Commons and receives his first standing ovation as Prime Minister when he denies:

“...that we have the slightest intention of entering into negotiations in any form and through any channel with the German and Italian Governments. We shall, on the contrary, prosecute the war with the utmost vigour by all the means that are open to us.”

China:  Japanese bombers attacked Chungking, China.

A bomb exploding at the World's Fair is big news in New York.

Terrorism: A bomb explodes at the New York World's Fair. Since it is at the British exhibit, German saboteurs are suspected. Two policemen are killed. Many countries' exhibits already are closing, since their home countries have been occupied.

Canadian Homefront: The government is banning many US publications. Today, the New York Post and Chicago Tribune join 115 others.

German Homefront: The German demobilize some troops to release them for industries that badly need workers.

American Homefront: Sonja Henie, Norwegian skating champ, marries baseball executive Dan Topping in Chicago.

The United States celebrates independence day as one of only 14 quasi-democracies remaining in the world. The others are Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Iceland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Chile.

Future History: During a professional appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritates the ankle of Robert Pershing Wadlow. At 8' 11", he is the tallest person ever recorded in human history. The chafing causes a blister and subsequent parasitic infection. Doctors treat him with a blood transfusion and emergency surgery, but his condition worsens due to an auto-immune disorder, and on July 15, 1940, he dies in his sleep at age 22.

Karolyn Grimes is born today. She becomes a child actress who concludes "It's a Wonderful Life" in 1946 with the line, "Look, Daddy. The teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings” as Zuzu Bailey.

Karolyn Grimes, Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in "It's a Wonderful Life."

July 1940

July 1, 1940: Vichy France
July 2, 1940: Arandora Star
July 3, 1940: Operation Catapult at Mers El Kébir
July 4, 1940: Romania In Crisis
July 5, 1940: The Five Freedoms
July 6, 1940: Hitler's High Point
July 7 1940: Dakar And Ringo
July 8, 1940: Tea Rationing in England
July 9, 1940: Battle of Calabria
July 10, 1940: Battle of Britain Begins
July 11, 1940: "Nous, Philippe Petain"
July 12, 1940: Enter Laval
July 13, 1940: German Surface Raiders Attack!
July 14, 1940: Bastille/Mourning Day
July 15, 1940: Tallest Man Dies
July 16, 1940: Plans for Sea Lion
July 17, 1940: Burma Road Closed
July 18, 1940: FDR Runs Again
July 19, 1940: Last Appeal To Reason
July 20, 1940: First Night Fighter Victory
July 21, 1940: Soviets Absorb Baltic States
July 22, 1940: First RAF Night Fighter Victory
July 23, 1940: Invasion False Alarm
July 24, 1940: The Meknés Incident
July 25, 1940: Black Thursday for RAF
July 26, 1940: Capture The Duke?
July 27, 1940: What's Up, Doc?
July 28, 1940: Destroyers Pulled From Dover
July 29, 1940: Barbarossa On The Burner
July 30, 1940: Hitler Delays Sealion
July 31, 1940: Bloody Wednesday of Olkusz

2020

Monday 25 March 1940

A typical UK lightship. The Luftwaffe has sunk many of them, so the Admiralty makes a decision as to how to replace them on 25 March 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-57 (Kapitänleutnant Claus Korth) torpedoes and sinks 5,742-ton British freighter Daghestan at 20:11 on 25 March 1940 about 9 miles east of the Orkneys. There are 29 survivors and 3 perish. The Daghestan already had been damaged in Luftwaffe attacks while sailing with Convoy HN 20.

U-47 (K.Kapt. Günther Prien) sinks Danish freighter Britta 30 miles to the north of Scotland. There are 5 survivors, 13 perish.

The Admiralty decides to replace lightships bombed by the Germans with automatic light floats.

Convoy HG 24F departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OG 23 forms at Gibraltar, Convoy HX 30 departs from Halifax.

US Navy: The cruiser Augusta hits something underwater and suffers damage.

Science: Sunspot activity interferes with short-wave radios across the western hemisphere.
British Military: British POWs are instructed by official order not to broadcast for the Germans. This is due to the fact that Britons had been tuning in to German propaganda broadcasts to learn if their loved ones had been captured by recognizing their voices.

British Government: Foreign Minister Lord Halifax pledges the nation to protect Romanian neutrality, and adds pointedly that the Allies "will not shrink from war with the Soviet Union" to do so.

French Government: Having considered with his inner cabinet the Allies' options for the prosecution of the war, French Prime Minister Reynaud writes to the British government and proposes attacking Soviet shipping.

British Prime Minister Chamberlain instantly rejects the idea. One of the British government's consistent rules during the first six months of the war has been to alienate the Soviet Union as little as possible. Such attacks also would be of dubious value to the war effort. He concludes that Reynaud is just fishing for something to make him look good in public eyes during his first days as Prime Minister.

American Homefront: The US Supreme Court issues a ruling in Helvering v. Bruun, 309 U.S. 461 (1940), which holds that improvements to a property made by a tenant are taxable to the landlord when the landlord repossesses the property.

British Homefront: The ration for butter is set to rise beginning 26 March 1940 to 1/2 pound per week.

China: The Japanese attacking along the Wuchia river at Ta-Tsai-chu 10 km (6.2 miles) north of Wuyuan receive 3,000 men in reinforcements in addition to the 600 with which they began the battle. With the support of artillery and air support, they finally cross the river after three previous days of futility against the Chinese 8th War Area.

In the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Chinese 46th Army captures Lingshan after several days of struggle. The Japanese retreat westward in the direction of Nanning.

Future History: Anita Bryant is born in Barnsdall, Oklahoma. She becomes Miss Oklahoma in 1958, then a top country music singer. She also became involved in political causes and charity work and continues to do so.

A March 1940 view of the New York World's Fair in Queens, New York.

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

2019