They’re going to be in Mordor a long, long time.
King Haakon VII and the Norwegian government of Prime Minister Nygaardsvold are evacuated from Molde to Tromsø, Norway aboard the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Glasgow, taking with them the national gold reserves. It also takes Crown Prince Olav, Prime Minister Nygaardsvold, and much of the rest of the Norwegian government. The government issues a statement condemning German “terrorism” which they claim to have witnessed first-hand against civilians. The portion of the Norwegian gold reserves that have not been transported to England goes with them.
Like other British-held ports, Molde is in flames due to Luftwaffe attacks. The royals and other Norwegians have to board the ship by running across a burning pier.
Despite this cooperation, Anglo-Norwegian relations are strained at all levels. The Norwegians feel that the British are acting in high-handed fashion, such as by not telling them about the decision to evacuate. There are tales of British soldiers acting imperiously: “British officers behave with the arrogance of Prussians, demanding food at gunpoint.”
Allied destroyers were dispatched from Scapa Flow to evacuate to the British troops from Namsos. In the United Kingdom, British destroyers HMS Kelly, HMS Maori, and HMS Imperial and French destroyer Bison departed Scapa Flow, Scotland to evacuate British troops at Namsos, Norway; they were escorted by cruisers and other destroyers. The sea phase of the evacuation of Sickleforce begins in Norway. First a sloop took off 340 men. After darkness fell that evening more than 1,800 British troops, exhausted and hungry, stumbled aboard blacked-out warships and transports.
While the British have decided to evacuate, they are still tinkering with their strategy. They land troops at Bodø in the north. It is convenient to have if the objective is Narvik.
The British 15th Infantry Brigade holds Dombås through the day. The German troops pursuing them are delayed by British demolitions. Oberst Fischer’s Kampfgruppe, composed mainly of the 196th Division, completes its bypass of the British blocking action. It moves from the Østerdal valley to link up with German troops from Trondheim. This effectively hems the British in on the east.
Troops of the German 196th Division marched out of the Gudbrandsdal Valley in Norway and linked up with German troops near Trondheim, threatening to surround the British 15th Brigade. British 15th Infantry Brigade holding Dombås east of Åndalsnes.
The Germans at Steinkjer launch probing attacks against the British concentrated at Namsos.
The Germans at Hegra bring in fresh troops. They now ramp up the artillery assault, using captured Norwegian 12 cm (4.7 in) howitzers from the armory in Trondheim.
3,700 isolated troops of Norwegian 2nd Infantry Division surrender east of Lillehammer.
With the resumption of routine business, spokesmen for Wilhelmstrasse today revealed no inclination to expand on Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop’s week-end elucidation of the government’s White Book exposing alleged military and diplomatic plotting by Britain and France in Norway.
The Luftwaffe launches attacks at Åndalsnes, the site of a large British base, and Molde, where King Haakon and the Norwegian government have been recently camped. Heavy air activity over Åndalsnes, Trondheim, and other targets continues. The continuation of the heavy German bombing attacks on the towns of Åndalsnes and Molde, where one part of the Allied expeditionary forces made its base, is reported in the British communique tonight.
The Royal Navy trawler HMS Cape Chelyuskin was bombed and in the Norwegian Sea sunk off Trondheim, Norway by Luftwaffe aircraft.
The Royal Navy trawler HMS Cape Siretoko (Lt.Cdr.(rtd.) Arthur Norman Harding, RN) was bombed and in the Norwegian Sea sunk off Trondheim, Norway by Luftwaffe aircraft.
The Royal Navy trawler HMS Jardine was bombed and damaged in the Norwegian Sea off Trondheim, Norway by Luftwaffe aircraft. She was judged to be unfit to cross the North Sea and was scuttled by the Royal Navy the next day. She was later salvaged by the Germans and entered service as V-6117.
The Norwegian cargo ship Ørland was bombed and sunk in the North Sea off Midsund by Luftwaffe aircraft. All crew survived.
The Luftwaffe attacks Norwegian hospital ship Brand IV off Aalesund.
The Royal Navy submarine HMS Unity collided with Norwegian freighter Atle Jarl in the harbor of Blyth, England (55°13’N 1°19’W) in foggy weather. At 1730 hours HMS Unity sailed from Blyth to patrol off Norway. The visibility was down to 300 yards as Unity moved out in the main channel, where the Norwegian ship Atle Jarl was proceeding on her way from Scotland to the Tyne. A short while later visibility was down to 100 yards and neither vessel was aware of the other until the submarine spotted the ship at 50 yards and on a collision course. There was just time to shut the bulkhead doors and order the engines astern before the Atle Jarl smashed into the submarine. The order to abandon the submarine was given and Unity sank only five minutes after the collision, killing four of her crew. Lieutenant John Low and Able Seaman Henry Miller were posthumously awarded the George Cross for their self-sacrifice while helping fellow comrades in their escape.
The Estonian cargo ship Begonia was bombed and damaged in Aurlandsfjord off Flåm, Norway by Luftwaffe aircraft on 25 April. She was scuttled by the Norwegian military four days after the bombing.
The British cargo ship Whitetoft ran aground at Robin Hood’s Bay, Yorkshire and was wrecked.
Eight Allied submarines deployed off Norwegian coast.
HMS Glorious, at Scapa Flow, flew off her two unserviceable Skuas and has the pilots attempt to acquire replacement aircraft for what remains of 803 Squadron. HMS Ark Royal has retired out to sea to rest and reorganize her air group in preparation for the planned bombardment of Trondheim Leeds by the Home Fleet, after HMS Glorious rejoins.
HMS Furious, in company with HMS Isis, HMS Ilex and HMS Imogen, arrives in the Clyde, the carrier anchoring off Greenock at 0800 in preparation to being drydocked for repairs and refitting
Battleship HMS Valiant with destroyers HMS Fury, HMS Fortune, HMS Escort, and HMS Encounter departed Scapa Flow at 2100 to give anti-aircraft protection to aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and Operation ZEAL, the bombardment of the approaches to Trondheim. However, this operation was cancelled before it began.
Anti-submarine trawler HMS Cape Chelyuskin (494grt, Skipper H.E. Moran RNR) of the 12th Anti-Submarine Group was sunk by German bombing at Åndalsnes. Lt H. Roach RNR, was wounded. The crew returned to Scapa Flow in destroyer HMS Mashona on 3 May.
Light cruiser HMS Glasgow with destroyers HMS Jackal and HMS Javelin departed Scapa Flow on the 28th at 2030. The ships arrived at Molde at 2130/29th to take aboard the King of Norway, his government, some 795 cases of gold (23grt) for transport to Tromso. In addition, 117 survivors from sunken anti-submarine trawlers HMS Bradman, HMS Hammond, HMS Larwood, HMS Cape Siretoko, HMS Cape Chelyuskin were embarked for transport back to England. However, not all of the gold could be embarked on Glasgow in time. The remaining gold was embarked on Norwegian fishing vessels Stolvag and Alfhild. The light cruiser arrived at Tromso on the evening of 1 May and was escorted into port by Norwegian fishery protection vessel Heimdal. The King of Norway and his government were landed at Tromso. The fishing vessels safely arrived at Tromso on 9 May.
Destroyers HMS Kelly, HMS Maori, and HMS Imperial and French destroyer Bison (Capitaine de Vaisseau J.A.R. Bouan) departed Scapa Flow at 2000 with French armed merchant cruisers El D’jezair (5818grt), El Mansour (5818grt), El Kantara (5079grt) for the evacuation of Namsos. Royal Navy Heavy cruisers HMS Devonshire (Flagship Vice Admiral John Cunningham) and HMS York, French light cruiser Montcalm (Flagship Contre Amiral Derrien, Capitaine de Vaisseau J. L. de Corbiere), destroyers HMS Grenade, HMS Griffin, and HMS Hasty departed Scapa Flow at 2100 to support. Destroyers HMS Nubian, HMS Afridi, and HMS Foudroyant departed Scapa Flow later and joined the forces at sea.
Destroyers HMS Amazon and HMS Witherington were escorting convoy TM.1 as it returned to Scapa Flow from Åndalsnes. West of the Shetlands, destroyer HMS Mohawk was detached to Sullom Voe for refuelling. Destroyer Mohawk arrived Sullom Voe at 0900/30th and went on to Scapa Flow arriving at 0600 on 1 May. From 61 35N, 00 36E to 62 54N, 01 56W, destroyers Amazon and Witherington, escorting convoy TM.1, attacked at 1445 and claimed sinking U.14, which was returning to Germany. The submarine sustained only light damage. Wooden battens and a small stool came to the surface, but could not be recovered due to German aircraft in the area. Destroyer Witherington was damaged on the 29th by German bombing. The damage only required three days to repair.
It is typical of German methodical preparation that, despite the operations in Norway, other theatres of war, actual or potential, are not overlooked. Thus all enemy raids on the French front in recent days have been launched systematically in the sector north of Bitche, which as indicated in these dispatches would be one of the key points in the event of a major attack in the West. Another instance is reported from the Moselle area. For some time the Germans have been building concrete piers on their side of both the Moselle and Saar Rivers, which from south to north successively form the boundary between the Reich and Luxembourg.
The grand duchy having requested an explanation, Berlin replied that the piers are intended to facilitate river traffic and relieve pressure on the railroads. That might hold good for the Moselle, but the Saar is scarcely navigable. Luxembourg therefore is constructing tank obstacles on its side exactly opposite each of the German piers. French General Headquarters, it is understood, does not attach any present significance to such activities, but undoubtedly they form part of some plan that some day may be executed. Meanwhile, today’s communiqués indicated that all was quiet on the front.
The Berlin High Command communiqué today again reported “no special events” on the Western Front. Meanwhile, unofficial observers are giving closest attention to possible action north of the Moselle River on the Western Front. That area was described as the only conceivable spot where the rival main German-French forces could really get at each other. Repeated assertions of the Germans that the war will be over in a year invites belief that an effort may be made to destroy the French Army by attacking its weakest westward flank.
The official news agency D.N.B. in Berlin said today that one wing of the German Air Force on the Western Front had shot down seventy-five Allied planes and balloons since the beginning of the war as follows: Two bombers, seventeen reconnaissance planes, thirty-one fighters and two balloons of the French Air Force, and six bombers, three reconnaissance planes and eleven pursuit planes of the British force. The three other casualties were not identified. D.N.B. quoted the commodore of the German wing as having said that most of the craft were shot down “in single dogfights over French territory.”
Germany and Italy have a common enemy in France, Nazi Labor Leader Robert Ley declared today in a 30-minute address to German youth from a Cologne machine factory. Ley described the powers of the Rome-Berlin axis as “nations without living space” and as for Italy’s position he asked: “What legal right have the French on Corsica?” Corsica is an insular department of the French republic and it has figured in Italian clamor at various times for concessions from France. “Napoleon, the great Corsican, was Italian,” said Ley. “That is eternal truth once and for all.” Defining Italy’s natural “living space” as the Mediterranean area, Ley asked: “What rights have the English on Malta and other islands in this sea?” Amid cheers the labor leader declared that Germany and Italy would stand firmly together to the “victorious end” when “the English dragon-serpent will be vanquished.”
Italy tonight was reported planning to send a special diplomatic envoy to the United States to enlarge shipments of raw materials through the British blockade of Germany. Although this move was said to depend upon British willingness to pass such vital materials as copper and cotton through her contraband control at Gibraltar, Italy offset British optimism for speedy development of better British-Italian trade relations by naming a prominent pro-German, Dino Alfieri, as ambassador to Berlin.
Prime Minister Paul Reynaud offers old war hero Henri Petain a cabinet post as Minister of State.
The first death sentence for espionage handed down by the Paris military tribunal and the second in France against a woman since the war began was pronounced today against Carmen Mory, 34 years old, a Swiss newspaper woman.
Hundreds of foreigners were arrested today and a strong guard was placed around all strategic buildings following an incident involving Yugoslavia’s Boy-King Peter, which led police to believe his life was in danger. The youthful monarch was followed by three mysterious automobiles when he drove to his father’s tomb at Oplanac, near Belgrade, on Sunday. As the king alighted near the tomb the mysterious cars stopped and several passengers came out. They were arrested immediately. Police revealed the suspects were “all foreigners,” but refused to give their names or nationality. The arrests signaled a nationwide roundup of other suspicious persons. During the past 36 hours authorities said “many hundreds” of foreign tourists were arrested and expelled. Most of them were “subjects of a belligerent state,’ they added.
Generalissimo Francisco Franco of Spain was reported in frontier dispatches tonight to have refused to join Italy and Germany in an attack on Gibraltar in event Premier Benito Mussolini should go to war on Germany’s side. These border reports, which lacked confirmation from any official quarter, said Franco had been promised that in event of victory over the allies the rock of Gibraltar would be returned to Spain. The British took the fortress guarding the entrance to the western Mediterranean from Spain in 1701 and recently the Falangist (Fascist) press in Spain has been demanding its return. Franco was said to have been approached on the proposition of allowing German-Italian forces to occupy the Balearic and Canary Islands as well as Spanish Morocco as bases for an attack upon Gibraltar in cooperation with Spanish forces operating from the land side. It was rejected, it was said, after Colonel Beigbeder, veteran commander in Morocco and now foreign minister, vigorously opposed any opening of Spanish Morocco to foreign forces working against France or Britain.
Over 20,000 Poles have been shot during the purge known as the Katyn Forest Massacre, led by Vasily Blokhin, who personally has shot over 7,000, or 250 per night.
All sorts of basic commodities, such as toilet paper, are now rationed and highly sought after on the black market in Great Britain.
The British 1st Tank Brigade begins moving to France.
The Empire Air Training Scheme began in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The effort was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Helsinki forfeited the 1940 Summer Olympics.
Australian light cruiser HMAS Hobart escorted the 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla in the Red Sea on its voyage to the Mediterranean from the China Force. The 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla arrived at Alexandria on the 29th for duty with the Mediterranean Fleet.
Convoy TM.1 arrived safely at Scapa Flow at 0505 on 1 May.
Convoy FN.158 departed Southend, escorted by sloops HMS Hastings and HMS Londonderry. The convoy was forced to anchor in heavy fog. Destroyers HMS Vimiera and HMS Vivien relieved the sloops and arrived with the convoy in the Tyne. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on 1 May.
Convoy MT.61 departed Methil, escorted by sloops HMS Londonderry and HMS Hastings. The convoy was forced to anchor due to fog, but was able to arrive in the Tyne on the 30th.
Convoy FP.4, consisting of the French liners Degrasse (18435grt) and Massilia (15363grt), departed from Brest on the 26th. They arrived at Greenock on the 29th escorted by French destroyers Cyclone, Mistral, Sirocco, but the troops were disembarked at Glasgow on 1 May. The French destroyers departed the Clyde the next day to return to Brest.
Convoy FS.4, consisting of French steamers Ville De Majuna (4792grt), Rose Schiaffino (3349grt), Cap Hadid (1700grt), departed Brest on the 27th and arrived at Greenock on the 29th escorted by French sloops Chamois and Commandant Delage and minelayer Pollux. The cargo was disembarked on 1 May. Steamers Ville De Majuna and Cap Hadid departed the Clyde for Brest on 22 May escorted by anti-submarine trawlers HMS Leeds United (405grt) and HMS Arsenal (398grt).
Convoy HG.28 departed Gibraltar with twenty five ships. The convoy was given ocean escort by sloops HMS Wellington and HMS Aberdeen from 29 April to 6 May. Destroyer HMS Whitehall and sloop HMS Rochester were the escorts in Home Waters from 6 to 9 May. On 6 May, the convoy split into HG.28 and HG.28 B. The latter section was escorted by sloop Rochester. Convoy HG.28 arrived at Liverpool on 9 May.
The War at Sea, Monday, 29 April 1940 (naval-history.net)
Aircraft carrier FURIOUS and destroyers IMOGEN, ISIS, and ILEX arrived in the Clyde at 0700 after being delayed by fog.
Battleship VALIANT with destroyers FURY, FORTUNE, ESCORT, and ENCOUNTER departed Scapa Flow at 2100 to give anti-aircraft protection to aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL and Operation ZEAL, the bombardment of the approaches to Trondheim. However, this operation was cancelled before it began.
Anti-submarine trawler CAPE CHELYUSKIN (494grt, Skipper H.E. Moran RNR) of the 12th Anti-Submarine Group was sunk by German bombing at Aandalsnes.
Lt H. Roach RNR, was wounded. The crew returned to Scapa Flow in destroyer MASHONA on 3 May.
Light cruiser GLASGOW with destroyers JACKAL and JAVELIN departed Scapa Flow on the 28th at 2030. The ships arrived at Molde at 2130/29th to take aboard the King of Norway, his government, some 795 cases of gold (23grt) for transport to Tromso. In addition, 117 survivors from sunken anti-submarine trawlers BRADMAN, HAMMOND, LARWOOD, CAPE SIRETOKO, and CAPE CHELYUSKIN were embarked for transport back to England. However, not all of the gold could be embarked on GLASGOW in time. The remaining gold was embarked on Norwegian fishing vessels STOLVAG and ALFHILD. The light cruiser arrived at Tromso on the evening of 1 May and was escorted into port by Norwegian fishery protection vessel HEIMDAL. The King of Norway and his government were landed at Tromso. The fishing vessels safely arrived at Tromso on 9 May.
Destroyers BEAGLE and VOLUNTEER arrived at Scapa Flow at 0545 from Narvik.
Danish steamer GUNVOR MAERSK disembarked the 166th Antiaircraft Battery and KIMBERLEY and BRAZEN disembarked troops at Namsos. The steamer escorted by destroyers WOLVERINE, BRAZEN, and KIMBERLEY and naval trawlers HAZEL (530grt) and WHITETHORN (530grt) departed Namsos during the early morning. The British ships were bombed from 1621 to 2008/28th, but no damage was done.
Destroyers NUBIAN and ASHANTI arrived at Scapa Flow at 0900.
Destroyer WALLACE departed Scapa Flow for Rosyth at 0400. Destroyer VALOROUS departed Scapa Flow for Rosyth at 0700.
French destroyers BRESTOIS and BOULONNAIS departed Namsos for Scapa Flow with French steamers AMIENOIS (3713grt) and SAUMUR (2955grt) which were carrying 840 French troops.
Destroyer FAULKNOR departed Bogen for Ballengen where she embarked troops to be landed at west of Haavik, near Ankenes.En route she towed Norwegian trawler SOLBIN. The troops were landed without incident.
Destroyers KELLY, MAORI, and IMPERIAL and French destroyer BISON (Capitaine de Vaisseau J.A.R. Bouan) departed Scapa Flow at 2000 with French armed merchant cruisers EL D’JEZAIR (5818grt), EL MANSOUR (5818grt), and EL KANTARA (5079grt) for the evacuation of Namsos. Heavy cruisers DEVONSHIRE (Flagship Vice Admiral John Cunningham) and YORK, French light cruiser MONTCALM (Flagship Contre Amiral Derrien, Capitaine de Vaisseau J. L. de Corbiere), destroyers GRENADE, GRIFFIN, and HASTY departed Scapa Flow at 2100 to support. Destroyers NUBIAN, AFRIDI, and FOUDROYANT departed Scapa Flow later and joined the forces at sea.
Destroyers AMAZON and WITHERINGTON were escorting convoy TM.1 as it returned to Scapa Flow from Aandalsnes. West of the Shetlands, destroyer MOHAWK was detached to Sullom Voe for refueling. Destroyer MOHAWK arrived Sullom Voe at 0900/30th and went on to Scapa Flow arriving at 0600 on 1 May. From 61 35N, 00 36E to 62 54N, 01 56W, destroyers AMAZON and WITHERINGTON, escorting convoy TM.1, attacked at 1445 and claimed sinking U-14, which was returning to Germany. The submarine sustained only light damage. Wooden battens and a small stool came to the surface, but could not be recovered due to German aircraft in the area. Destroyer WITHERINGTON was damaged on the 29th by German bombing. The damage only required three days to repair.
Convoy TM.1 arrived safely at Scapa Flow at 0505 on 1 May.
At 1900/29th, sloop AUCKLAND departed Scapa Flow to relieve sloop FLEETWOOD, out of ammunition, at Romdalsfjord. The Admiralty then ordered anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA to join AUCKLAND and share the anti-aircraft guard in view of the ever-worsening German air attacks. Early on the 30th, sloop FLEETWOOD left Romdalsfjord with 340 troops returning to England.
Sloop STORK departed Rosyth at 1400 for Namsos.
Sloop FLAMINGO departed Scapa Flow at 1530 for Dundee for docking to make good defects to underwater fittings.
Submarine UNITY (Lt F. J. Brooks), departing Blyth on patrol, was sunk in an accidental collision with Norwegian steamer ATLE JARL (1173grt) in convoy MT.61 near Blyth in 55 13N, 1 19W, Lt J.N.A. Low, the first lieutenant, three ratings were lost on UNITY. Twenty-three crew were rescued.
Sloop GRIMSBY assisted and stood by the site. Destroyer WALLACE brought deep sea diving gear from Rosyth. Minesweepers GOSSAMER and LEDA anchored to northward of the rescue sight on 1 May. They departed at 2210 on 2 May to coal in the Tyne. On 1 May, destroyer VALENTINE standing by at the site was relieved by sloop EGRET which was soon relieved by destroyer WHITLEY. On 2 May, the search for survivors still on board the submarine was abandoned.
Submarines SNAPPER departed Harwich for submarine TRIDENT’s station in Bohus Bay.
French submarines CIRCE and CALYPSO departed Harwich on patrol.
Submarine SEVERN departed Dundee on patrol.
Convoy FN.158 departed Southend, escorted by sloops HASTINGS and LONDONDERRY. The convoy was forced to anchor in heavy fog. Destroyers VIMIERA and VIVIEN relieved the sloops and arrived with the convoy in the Tyne. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on 1 May.
Convoy MT.61 departed Methil, escorted by sloops LONDONDERRY and HASTINGS. The convoy was forced to anchor due to fog, but was able to arrive in the Tyne on the 30th.
Sloop FOWEY escorting convoy HG.27 was in a collision with steamer ARLETTA (4870grt), formerly of convoy HG.27, in 48-58N, 6-37W at 0001/29th west of Ushant. The sloop was able to proceed to Plymouth at five knots. The after cabin flat was flooded between 102 and 113. The sloop was repaired at Plymouth from 3 May to 8 June.
Convoy FP.4 consisting of French liners DEGRASSE (18435grt) and MASSILIA (15363grt), departed Brest on the 26th. They arrived at Greenock on the 29th escorted by French destroyers CYCLONE, MISTRAL, and SIROCCO, but the troops were disembarked at Glasgow on 1 May. The French destroyers departed the Clyde the next day to return to Brest.
Convoy FS.4, consisting of French steamers VILLE DE MAJUNA (4792grt), ROSE SCHIAFFINO (3349grt), and CAP HADID (1700grt), departed Brest on the 27th and arrived at Greenock on the 29th escorted by French sloops CHAMOIS and COMMANDANT DELAGE and minelayer POLLUX. The cargo was disembarked on 1 May. Steamers VILLE DE MAJUNA and CAP HADID departed the Clyde for Brest on 22 May escorted by anti-submarine trawler LEEDS UNITED (405grt) and ARSENAL (398grt).
Norwegian steamer ORLAND (1899grt) was sunk by German bombing at Midsund.
Estonian steamer BEGONIA (1591grt) was badly damaged by German bombing at Flaam in Aurlandsfjord. One crewman was killed in the bombing. BEGONIA was sunk by Norwegian military authorities.
Norwegian steamer BRAND IV (343grt), en route from Aalesund to Veblunges, was damaged by German bombing.
Finnish steamer MARTTI RAGNAR (3989grt) ran aground and was stranded while proceeding from Bergen with a prize crew. The steamer had been renamed HERRENWYK for German service.
French destroyers carried out sweeps off the Belgian and Dutch coasts as far as Texel. The destroyers returned to port on the 30th.
Convoy HG.28 departed Gibraltar with twenty-five ships. The convoy was given ocean escort by sloops WELLINGTON and ABERDEEN from 29 April to 6 May. Destroyer WHITEHALL and sloop ROCHESTER were the escorts in Home Waters from 6 to 9 May. On 6 May, the convoy split into HG.28 and HG.28 B. The latter section was escorted by sloop ROCHESTER. Convoy HG.28 arrived at Liverpool on 9 May.
French destroyer MARS, which had arrived at Gibraltar on the 27th to escort British troopship DILWARA, departed Gibraltar on the 29th to return to Toulon. The troopship was ordered to remain at Gibraltar.
Light cruiser LIVERPOOL arrived at Aden to join the Red Sea Force, 4th Cruiser Squadron, East Indies Station.
Following refitting at Singapore, light cruiser CERES departed Singapore for duty in the 4th Cruiser Squadron in the East Indies. Light cruiser COLOMBO likewise departed Singapore about this time being reassigned from the 5th Cruiser Squadron, China Force, to the 4th Cruiser Squadron, East Indies Station.
Australian light cruiser HMAS HOBART escorted the 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla in the Red Sea on its voyage to the Mediterranean from the China Force. The 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla arrived at Alexandria on the 29th for duty with the Mediterranean Fleet.
In Washington today, President Roosevelt conferred with Congressional leaders on the legislative program; discussed the naval personnel bill with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Compton and other naval officials and received a farewell call from Prime Minister Mackenzie King of Canada.
The Senate passed the bill authorizing the freezing of credits held in the United States by citizens and corporations of Norway and Denmark and recessed at 3:36 PM until noon tomorrow.
The House debated proposed amendments to the Wages and Hours Law and adjourned at 5:33 PM until noon tomorrow. The Committee to Investigate the National Labor Relations Board resumed its inquiry, hearing testimony of Heber Blankenhorn, an employee of the NLRB.
U.S. President Roosevelt sends Mussolini a personal telegram that begins, “My dear Signor Mussolini.” President Roosevelt sent Benito Mussolini a telegram that said, “I earnestly hope that the powerful influence of Italy and of the United States — an influence which is very strong so long as they remain at peace — may yet be exercised, when the appropriate opportunity is presented in behalf of the negotiation of a just and stable peace which will permit of the reconstruction of a gravely stricken world.”
With only one justice dissenting, the Supreme Court dismissed today the fight of a group of seven “Little Steel” corporations against the determination by Secretary of Labor Perkins of minimum wages for steel companies filling government contracts under the Walsh-Healey law. In the eight-to-one decision, written by Justice Black, the court held that because no rights of the “Little Steel” group had been damaged by the wage determination, they lacked standing in the courts. Justice McReynolds disagreed.
President Roosevelt will be defeated in the Middle West if he is a candidate for a third term, declared Governor Harold E. Stassen of Minnesota, chosen as temporary chairman of the Republican National Convention, after exchanging views today with party leaders on issues. to be set forth in his keynote speech. He added that in the West the farmers and voters generally were against New Deal policies, opposed to a third term, and especially fearful of the United States becoming involved in the war abroad. Asserting that the West, as in 1916, was against participation in any European conflict and, as after the World War, against any foreign alliances, he said that the section. desired a real isolation policy that would assure keeping the United States aloof from Europe and “out of war.”
Rhode Island Republicans today picked an unpledged delegation at large to the G.O.P. national convention after supporters of Governor William H. Vanderbilt, maintaining a tight control over the state convention, crushed an attempt to line up delegates for Thomas E. Dewey. Leaders of an Insurgent group abandoned a planned attempt to push through a delegation pledged to the New York district attorney.
American Federation of Labor headquarters today announced organizational drive will be started immediately among agricultural workers in Southern California, “so that wage and employment conditions there can be brought to respectable American standard.” A.F.L. spokesmen indicated the drive would be concentrated on cannery, fruit and nut, and citrus by-product workers. A new contract between the A. F.L. cannery workers and the California Processors’ & Growers association, involving about 60,000 northern California cannery workers, was ratified in Oakland.
One man was killed and at least 25 other persons were injured tonight by a tornado which swept across central Illinois farmlands for 60 miles into a section of Pontiac, destroying houses, barns and livestock. Fred Weber, 38, blind, was killed in the farm home of his parents six miles southwest of Pontiac. Damage in the Delavan area was estimated by police at $100,000. Damage in the Pontiac area was estimated at $50,000.
Although the British explanation concerning the removal of German engineers from the Panamanian motor ship Don Juan at Port Said, Egypt on September 5, 1939 failed to satisfy the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Government nevertheless considered the incident closed “on the assumption that similar incidents will not be permitted to occur in the future.”
The three-act play “There Shall Be No Night” by Robert E. Sherwood premiered at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York City.
1st radio broadcast of “Young Dr Malone” on CBS.
Major League Baseball:
At Detroit, Bob Feller walks in the winning run in the 8th inning and loses to the Tigers, 4–3. Cotton Pippen is the winner with 8 1/3 innings of relief. The Indians (7–3) are now tied with the Red Sox for 1st place.
The Red Sox collected nineteen hits, including four each by Lou Finney and Ted Williams, to rout the Athletics, 11–3, before 5,000 fans at Shibe Park today and win the odd contest of the three-game series.
Home runs by Harry Craft and Bill Werber in the seventh and eighth innings nullified five-hit hurling by Max Butcher today as the Reds swept their series of three games with Pittsburgh. The score was 3–2.
Pepper Martin, the Cardinals’ aging Wild Horse, came in as a pinch hitter in the tenth inning today and singled, driving in the run that defeated the Cubs, 6–5.
Budday Rosar’s ninth-inning single brought in the winning run as the New York Yankees edged the Senators, 5–4.
Pittsburgh Pirates 2, Cincinnati Reds 3
Cleveland Indians 3, Detroit Tigers 4
Boston Red Sox 11, Philadelphia Athletics 3
Chicago Cubs 5, St. Louis Cardinals 6
New York Yankees 5, Washington Senators 4
Brazilian economic measures of far-reaching results, including restrictions on imports and trading in raw materials for Brazilian foreign-debt bonds, were discussed by President Getulio D. Vargas last night in a speech at Sao Paulo.
The Chinese assert that they have balked the eleventh Japanese attempt to rout Chinese forces from the Chungtino Mountains in Southwest Shansi. The invaders are said to have been driven out of a number of villages where they had gained footholds in their drive through the mountain area. Meanwhile, the success of the new Japanese offensive in Southeast Shansi remained in the balance as the Chinese assaulted the flanks of the Japanese columns and at some points drove back the Japanese in frontal engagements.
Chinese planes were reported here to have dropped 100 bombs on and near the Peiping-Hankow railway between Sinyang and Wushengkwan this morning, caused much destruction. All the raiders returned safely, the Chinese said.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 148.41 (+0.29)
Born:
Peter Diamond, American economist (Nobel Prize, 2010), in New York, New York.
Sid Blanks, AFL and NFL running back (AFL All-Star, 1964; Houston Oilers, Boston Patriots), in Del Rio, Texas (d. 2021).
George Adams, jazz musician, in Covington, Georgia (d. 1992).
Naval Construction:
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type IXC U-boats U-503 and U-504 are laid down by Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg (werk 293 and 294).
The Royal Navy Flower-class corvette HMS Woodruff (K 53) is laid down by William Simons & Co. Ltd. (Renfrew, Scotland).
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Alberni (K 103) is laid down by Yarrows Ltd. (Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada).
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Agassiz (K 129) is laid down by the Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd. (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada).
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Kamloops (K 176) is laid down by the Victoria Machinery Depot Co. Ltd. (Victoria. British Columbia, Canada).
The Вое́нно-морско́й флот СССР (ВМФ) (Soviet Navy) “L” (Leninec)-class (4th group, Type XIII-modified) submarine L-23 is launched by Marti Yard (Nikolayev, U.S.S.R.) / Yard 198.
The Вое́нно-морско́й флот СССР (ВМФ) (Soviet Navy) Project 7-class (Gnevny-class) destroyer Rezky (Резкий, “Brusque”) is launched by Dalzavod (Vladivostok, U.S.S.R.) / Yard 202.
History Diaries 