The Battle of Britain: The main activity during the day was centered in the Channel. A combat involving approximately 90 aircraft took place at midday off Deal and North Foreland. Convoys and shipping were the main objectives. A few raids penetrated inland and dropped bombs without inflicting any serious damage except near Glasgow where a printing works was practically demolished. [battleofbritain1940 web site]
At 0630 hours, German Luftwaffe aircraft bombed the Rolls Royce factory at Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, but instead the nearby printing works was damaged. At 0730 hours, German Ju 88 bombers attacked shipping in the Bristol Channel, with 1 Ju 88 shot down by British Spitfire fighters of the No. 92 Squadron. At 1200 hours, 18 Do 17 bombers escorted by 40 Bf 109 fighters attacked shipping in the Thames estuary, sinking minesweeping trawler Fleming, killing 19; ensuing dogfight above resulted in 9 Bf 109 fighters and 2 Spitfire fighters shot down. Finally, German bombers sank anti-submarine trawler Kingston Galena (killing 16) and minesweeper Rodino (killing 4) off Dover.
German bombing attacks took place at a number of British towns on the 24th. Houses were damaged in the usually quiet suburb of Walton-on-Thames, the aircraft factories at Weybridge were attacked as was Brooklands airfield by a Ju88 pretending to come into land. But the day will be remembered as the day that the seaside town of Margate had a grandstand view of the Battle of Britain. At 0755 hours, an enemy formation had been detected coming in from the German coast and heading towards a convoy in the Thames Estuary. Fighter Command scrambled 54 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires) that was using Rochford at 0815 hours to make an interception. 64 Squadron Kenley (Spitfires) also intercepted. No German aircraft were shot down, but 54 Squadron had three Spitfires shot down by accurate gunfire from the Dorniers. At about 1100hrs, another enemy formation was detected heading for the Thames Estuary.
Again, 54 Squadron Hornchurch was dispatched. On reaching the formation, F/L A.L.Deere leading one of the sections reported back to his sector controller that the formation consisted of about 18 Do17s and forty plus Bf109s and requested immediate assistance. 65 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires) was scrambled to assist as was 610 Squadron Biggin Hill (Spitfires) that was based at Gravesend. The ensuing battle in the skies took place almost over the town of Margate. Dorniers diving low and pulling out at almost sea level attempting to avoid the Spitfires almost touched the rooftops of seaside hotels, Spitfires being chased by Bf109s weaved about in all directions in the sky above. A Bf109 was shot down by one of the Spitfires and its pilot Bailed out but his parachute failed to open and his pilotless aircraft smashed into a quiet avenue in residential Margate. Another Bf109 of III/JG26 was hit and had to make a forced landing just outside the town, the pilot, seriously injured was taken prisoner. A Spitfire of 54 Squadron was hit by gunfire from a Bf109 and nearly crashed into the town centre of Margate, but the pilot managed to regain a little height and clear the township, but crashed in a ball of flame at nearby Cliftonville. Two other Spitfires, both from 54 Squadron crashed after being hit by gunfire from enemy fighters.
As the melee moved towards Dover, four Bf109s were shot down including Adolph Galland to conclude a disastrous period for the Luftwaffe. Four days earlier, Major Riegel Gruppe Kommandeur of I/JG 27 was killed, as was Staffelkapitaen Oblt Keidel of 8/JG 52, then Major Werner Molders was shot down, and severely wounded and was hospitalized for over a month.
Six Spitfires of 54 Squadron Rochford (Spitfires) attacked a number of Dorniers who were attacking a convoy in the Straits of Dover during the morning but the squadron had to break up to send a couple of flights to the Thames Estuary where another convoy was under attack, but they could claim no victories except to spoil the aim of the bombardiers on the Dorniers. This day was the last day for 54 Squadron at Rochford, they had been there for a month and had now been posted back to Hornchurch. The Operational Record Book of 54 Squadron states that July 24th was the biggest and most successful day of operations since Dunkirk. “B” Flight intercepted a formation of Do215s off Dover and Green Section under P/O Dorian Gribble managed to break up the formation forcing them to jettison their bombs and turn back across the Channel. An early morning raid on shipping in the Bristol Channel by Ju88s with a few ships damaged, but one Ju88 was shot down by 92 Squadron Pembrey (Spitfires). By 1100hrs, more Do17s returned to the Estuary to continue the attack on the shipping.
On a number of previous occasions, pilots had reported that many German bombers, when under attack had started to throw things out of their aircraft, although nothing was actually comfirmed. But in the days Operational Record Book of 54 Squadron, it was noted by “B” Flight that coils of wire, possibly about 50 feet in length were thrown out of enemy bombers that were coming under attack. This seems feasable, when we come to think of the British method of fighter attack. After lining up an enemy aircaft in his sights, then firing a burst of gunfire the pilot of a Hurricane of Spitfire would push his control stick forwards and bank to either port or starboard to go under the target aircaft. This would force the British fighter to either; a) attack at a greater range thus reducing his effectiveness and then diving to clear the cables. b)forcing the British aircraft to climb after an attack thus placing him at the mercy of the main gun armament of the enemy bomber. Because this action by German bomber crews had been officially recorded, Fighter Command HQ were notified and a memorandum was given out to all fighter squadrons and pilots.
18 more Dorniers escorted by 40+ Bf109s were intercepted over the Thames Estuary by the Spitfires of 54 Squadron (Rochford) and 65 Squadron (Hornchurch). As the Dorniers turned and headed back towards home (No shipping was hit), 610 Squadron (Gravesend) was ‘scrambled’ to cut off their retreat. A hectic battle followed, the Bf109s trying desperately to cover the Dorniers, but over the Thames Estuary, the Bf109s had to keep an eye on their fuel. Three Dorniers were shot down over the Estuary, while the RAF lost just one Spitfire and fighter ace Flying Officer Johnny Allen of 54 Squadron. As the melee moved towards Dover, four Bf109s were shot down including Adolph Galland to conclude a disastrous period for the Luftwaffe. Four days earlier, Major Riegel Gruppe Kommandeur of I/JG 27 was killed, as was Staffelkapitaen Oblt Keidel of 8/JG 52, then Major Werner Molders was shot down, and severely wounded and was hospitalized for over a month.
No enemy activity during the night was reported with the exception possible minelaying operation off Bamburgh.
RAF Statistics for the day: 191 patrols were flown involving 591 aircraft. Luftwaffe casualties: Fighters – 9 confirmed, 13 unconfirmed; Bombers – 3 confirmed, 4 unconfirmed. RAF losses: 2 Spitfires 1 Hurricane.
RAF Casualties: July 24th 1940
1230hrs: Margate. Spitfire R6812, 54 Sqn Rochford. (Aircraft destroyed)
F/O J.L. Allen Killed. (Engine damaged in combat with Bf109, but losing height crashed in township)
1410hrs: North Weald. Hurricane P3316, 151 Sqn North Weald. (Aircraft destroyed)
P/O J.R. Hamar Killed. (Stalled aircraft at 500ft and crashed nose first on aerodrome)
Karl Ebbinghausen, a top ace, is promoted to replace the Gruppenkommandeur of II Gruppe, Hauptmann Erich Noack. Hauptmann Adolph Galland of III,/JG26, who gets a victory, remembered this day as the final evidence that “the RAF would prove to be a formidable opponent.” The attrition strategy is wearing on the Germans, too.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 81 aircraft to 7 targets in Germany during the day. 12 Blenheims attacked airfields in France. 6 Battles bombed barges in Dutch ports; these Battles — from 103 and 150 Squadrons — were the first Battle operations under Bomber Command control. 8 Hampdens mine-laying. 5 O.T.U. sorties. This was the largest daylight effort since the fall of France. 1 Whitley lost.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 27 Hampdens and Whitleys overnight against targets in Germany and Holland. These are dispatched in poor weather conditions; only 7 aircraft bombed. No losses.
RAF Bomber Command sends in another attack against the incomplete Tirpitz at Wilhelmshaven. 14 Whitley bombers cause no damage to the ship.
On Malta, there are some minor attacks on Grand Harbour which cause no damage because, as is often the case, the Italian pilots simply drop their bombs in the sea and then scramble for home.
The RAF bombs Bardia and Macaca, causing damage to infrastructure.
Forty-six civilians were officially reported killed and 88 wounded today as 10 enemy planes dropped 80 to 100 bombs into the harbor and on the streets of Haifa, port city of the British-mandated Holy Land. The planes, roaring over the eastern section of the city from the southeast, were driven off finally by anti-aircraft fire. One of the bombs struck a fishing boat and killed two Arabs.
The French passenger liner Meknés departed Southampton for Marseille for repatriation of the 1,277 captured French Navy sailors aboard. The ship was torpedoed in the English Channel by the German torpedo boat S-27 despite the Meknés’ displays of neutrality. Four British destroyers rescued the survivors but 416 perished.
The Meknes is flying the French flag and was sailing with lights on at 22:30, so the attack is either mistaken or misguided. The British lodge a diplomatic protest, and the excuse ultimately given is that the British should have notified the Germans of the ship’s departure.
The true explanation is simply that the German commander, an Oberleutnant Klug, is being overly aggressive. The ship, operating in peacetime conditions, sticks out like a sore thumb, with every other ship operating in darkness. As a surface ship, the S-boot crew must have a good look at the liner, and the night is clear, so there are few valid excuses.
It is highly unlikely that the very traditional and often quite reasonable higher officers of the Kriegsmarine want incidents like this to happen (your opinion may vary). This incident illustrates that the war is being fought by individuals with power to destroy and cause problems on their own initiative, not by governments that always have absolute control over what their people do (and, to be fair, individuals on both sides sometimes act in a humane fashion that their governments disapprove of, see the later Laconia incident for example). A steady succession of incidents like this – and failure by the governments of both sides to take true responsibility – is what turns the war toward an ever-more barbarous course. The French have no way to retaliate against the Reich… yet.
This incident is well-remembered in France, not so much in the English-speaking countries. An association to remember the incident was formed in 2009 and commemorative ceremonies take place in France every 24th of July.
As ex-Premier Daladier and twenty-two other former leaders of France waited under arrest in Marseille the Pétain government deprived them of their citizenship and Interior Minister Marquet broadcast that the nation would severely punish the men who “threw our country into war when they knew we were not ready to fight.”
Reports of the Lancastria disaster (which was sunken by air attack on 17 Jun 1940 with 1,738 killed) were released in London, England, United Kingdom after Winston Churchill lifted the media ban.
Member of Parliament Will Thorpe raises perhaps the most novel approach for ending the war ever proposed. During the Minister’s Question Time, Thorpe remarks that the war would end quickly once “Hitler married a sensible woman.” Eva Braun may be thinking the same thing, and, in point of fact… LOL.
The Roosevelt Administration in Washington has just approved the sale of 3,000 planes a month to Great Britain in addition to the ordinary empire purchasing program, Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, declared in a broadcast tonight.
Louis Einthoven, Linthorst Homan, and Jan de Quay found the Nederlandsche Unie (Dutch Union), an organization which seeks to cooperate with Nazi German occupiers, without abandoning Dutch sovereignty and culture.
Official circles in Rome were watching the Balkan situation closely and it was announced that the Rumanian officials would confer with Premier Mussolini directly following the Salzburg conference.
Authoritative Vatican quarters said tonight that Pope Pius XII had abandoned hope for any peace settlement between Britain and the axis powers as a result of British rejection of Adolf Hitler’s warning to talk peace on his terms or face destruction. According to ecclesiastical circles, feelers made through Vatican channels following Hitler’s speech before the Reichstag Friday brought negative results. The pope, it was expected, soon will deliver a homily of sorrow, exhorting the faithful throughout the world to pray for peace as the only hope of ending the war.
The Sacred Congregation of the Holy See in Rome rules that Catholic nurses in state-run hospitals may assist in sterilization operations if a sufficiently important reason is present.
The Rumanian government nationalizes the British controlled Astra-Romana Oil Company claiming that it failed to give right production data to the Petroleum Commission.
The situation on Malta is growing critical, so the Admiralty sets in motion a convoy to reinforce the dwindling fighter defenses on the island. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Argus sets off from Portland carrying a dozen Hurricane fighters, accompanied by destroyers Gallant and Greyhound, bound for Gibraltar. There, the plan is for them to rendezvous with other ships to form Convoy Hurry bound for Malta. They will bring only the most urgently needed supplies, as they face air attacks from Vichy France and Italy, as well as Italian submarine and surface vessel attacks.
Separately, supply ships set out to make the long trip around Africa to Suez. Aside from the very few and highly risky missions “up the gut” through the Pillars of Hercules, all supplies sent to Malta take the long route, which takes weeks.
The South African 1st Infantry Brigade arrives in Mombasa, Kenya.
Aircraft carrier HMS Argus with destroyers HMS Gallant and HMS Greyhound departed Portland for Gibraltar to participate in Operation HURRY. Armed merchant cruiser HMS Maloja proceeded with these ships. Off Northern Ireland, they were joined by convoy RS.5 of troopship Reina Del Pacifico and steamer Clan Ferguson, escorted by destroyers HMS Encounter and HMS Hotspur, en route to the Mediterranean, via the Cape. Argus and the destroyers arrived at Gibraltar on the 30th. Reina Del Pacifico and Clan Ferguson departed the UK with personnel and stores for the Middle East and Malta, escorted by armed merchant cruiser Maloja, and arrived at Freetown on 4 August. Departing Freetown on 5 August, the convoy was escorted by aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. Light cruiser HMS Dragon, after refueling at Lobito on 8 August and departing on the 9th, joined the convoy on the 11th. RS.5 arrived at the Cape on 17 August.
Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Naiad was completed. Escorted by destroyers HMS Bedouin and HMS Punjabi, she was in the Firth of Forth for gunnery trials. After the trials, the destroyers proceeded to Scapa Flow. En route, they were ordered at 2249 to investigate a U-boat contact reported by aircraft in 59-25N, 00-45W at 2135. Bedouin and Punjabi attacked a submarine contact. They arrived at Scapa Flow on the 25th. Naiad arrived at Scapa Flow on the 26th to work up and joined the 15th Cruiser Squadron.
Destroyer HMS Inglefield departed Greenock at 1700 and destroyers HMS Hambledon, HMS Atherstone, HMS Fernie, and HMS Garth departed Scapa Flow escorting anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Coventry at 2100. All the destroyers arrived at Loch Alsh at 0745 on the 25th for escort duty with the 1st Minelaying Squadron in operation SN 31.
Destroyer HMS Tartar departed Liverpool at 2100 for Scapa Flow after repairs. Destroyer Tartar arrived at Scapa Flow at 2210/25th.
British minefield BS.27 was laid by minelayer HMS Teviotbank, escorted by destroyers HMS Intrepid, HMS Icarus, and HMS Impulsive.
A heavy submarine disposition was ordered off the Norwegian coast. Submarine HMS Taku departed Rosyth to be off Fro Havet by 3 August. Submarine HMS Snapper was to be relieved by submarine HMS Spearfish on 2 August. Submarine HMS Sealion departed Rosyth on the 27th to operate in the Skagerrak along 57-50N, between 8E and 9E. Submarine HMS Triad departed Rosyth on the 27th to patrol off Fejeosen. Submarine HMS Swordfish departed Blyth on the 27th and submarines HMS Tribune and HMS Sunfish departed Rosyth on the 27th to patrol between the German declared mined area and Lister. Submarine HMS Porpoise, after laying mines in operation FD.23 was to be off Lister. Submarine HMS Seawolf was to sail on the 28th to patrol off Skudesnes. Submarine HMS Trident is ordered to leave her patrol area on the 30th to return to base. Submarine H.28 was to be relieved by submarine HMS Sturgeon which in turn was to be relieved by submarine HMS Ursula when available.
Submarine HMS Truant and Polish submarine ORP Wilk arrived at Rosyth. Submarine Wilk reported she had been bombed three times while on patrol, but no damage had been done.
Submarine HMS Porpoise departed Blyth for the Humber. Submarines HMS Spearfish and HMS Ursula departed Blyth for Rosyth. All three submarines arrived at their destinations later the same day.
Submarine HMS Cachalot departed Plymouth for Rothesay.
Minesweeping trawlers HMS Fleming (356grt) and HMS Berberis (540grt) of the 4th Minesweeping Group were sweeping mines in the Thames Estuary. German bombing sank Fleming (Skipper E. G. Gurney RNR). Nineteen ratings were lost, and three survivors rescued by trawler Corena (352grt), also of the 4th Minesweeping Group.
Anti-submarine trawler HMS Kingston Galena (550grt, Skipper S. Jackson RNR) of the 9th Anti-submarine Group and minesweeping trawler HMS Rodino (230grt, Temporary Skipper J. C. Winning RNR) were sunk by German bombing off Dover. Jackson and fifteen ratings were lost on Kingston Galena, and four ratings on Rodino.
French steamer Meknes (6127grt), carrying 1,277 French sailors being repatriated to Marseilles. was sunk by German motor torpedo boat S-27 in 50-04N, 02-14W. Three hundred and eighty three of the passengers died in the sinking, and of the 104 crew, thirty three were missing. Destroyers HMS Viscount, HMS Wolverine, HMS Sabre, and HMS Shikari rescued the survivors.
Finnish steamer Trio (1451grt) was lost on a mine near Borkum. The entire crew was rescued.
Trinity House Vessel steamer Alert (793grt) was damaged by German bombing near South Goodwin Light Vessel.
Italian steamer Celio (3864grt) was sunk 10 miles off Tolmeita on a mine laid by submarine HMS Rorqual on the 21st .
German raider Widder replenishes from supply ship Rekum.
Convoy FN.231 departed Southend, and arrived in the Tyne on the 26th.
Convoy MT.119 departed Methil for the Tyne, and arrived later that day.
There was no convoy MT.120.
Convoy FS.231 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer HMS Wallace, and arrived at Southend on the 26th.
Convoy FS.232 was cancelled.
The War at Sea, Wednesday, 24 July 1940 (naval-history.net)
Aircraft carrier ARGUS with destroyers GALLANT and GREYHOUND departed Portland for Gibraltar to participate in HURRY. Armed merchant cruiser MALOJA proceeded with these ships. Off Northern Ireland, they were joined by convoy RS.5 of troopship REINA DEL PACIFICO and steamer CLAN FERGUSON, escorted by destroyers ENCOUNTER and HOTSPUR, en route to the Mediterranean, via the Cape. ARGUS and the destroyers arrived at Gibraltar on the 30th.
REINA DEL PACIFICO and CLAN FERGUSON departed the UK with personnel and stores for the Middle East and Malta, escorted by armed merchant cruiser MALOJA, and arrived at Freetown on 4 August. Departing Freetown on 5 August, the convoy was escorted by aircraft carrier HERMES.
Light cruiser DRAGON, after refueling at Lobito on 8 August and departing on the 9th, joined the convoy on the 11th. RS.5 arrived at the Cape on 17 August.
Anti-aircraft cruiser NAIAD was completed. Escorted by destroyers BEDOUIN and PUNJABI, she was in the Firth of Forth for gunnery trials.
After the trials, the destroyers proceeded to Scapa Flow. En route, they were ordered at 2249 to investigate a U-boat contact reported by aircraft in 59‑25N, 00‑45W at 2135. BEDOUIN and PUNJABI attacked a submarine contact. They arrived at Scapa Flow on the 25th.
NAIAD arrived at Scapa Flow on the 26th to work up and joined the 15th Cruiser Squadron.
Destroyer INGLEFIELD departed Greenock at 1700 and destroyers HAMBLEDON, ATHERSTONE, FERNIE, and GARTH departed Scapa Flow escorting anti-aircraft cruiser COVENTRY at 2100.
All the destroyers arrived at Loch Alsh at 0745 on the 25th for escort duty with the 1st Minelaying Squadron in operation SN 31.
Destroyer TARTAR departed Liverpool at 2100 for Scapa Flow after repairs. Destroyer TARTAR arrived at Scapa Flow at 2210/25th.
British minefield BS.27 was laid by minelayer TEVIOTBANK, escorted by destroyers INTREPID, ICARUS, and IMPULSIVE.
A heavy submarine disposition was ordered off the Norwegian coast.
Submarine TAKU departed Rosyth to be off Fro Havet by 3 August.
Submarine SNAPPER was to be relieved by submarine SPEARFISH on 2 August.
Submarine SEALION departed Rosyth on the 27th to operate in the Skagerrak along 57-50N, between 8E and 9E.
Submarine TRIAD departed Rosyth on the 27th to patrol off Fejeosen.
Submarine SWORDFISH departed Blyth on the 27th and submarines TRIBUNE and SUNFISH departed Rosyth on the 27th to patrol between the German declared mined area and Lister.
Submarine PORPOISE, after laying mines in operation FD.23 was to be off Lister.
Submarine SEAWOLF was to sail on the 28th to patrol off Skudesnes.
Submarine TRIDENT to leave her patrol area on the 30th to return to base.
Submarine H.28 was to be relieved by submarine STURGEON which in turn was to be relieved by submarine URSULA when available.
Submarine TRUANT and Polish submarine ORP WILK arrived at Rosyth.
Submarine WILK reported she had been bombed three times while on patrol, but no damage had been done.
Submarine PORPOISE departed Blyth for the Humber.
Submarines SPEARFISH and URSULA departed Blyth for Rosyth.
All three submarines arrived at their destinations later the same day.
Submarine CACHALOT departed Plymouth for Rothesay.
Minesweeping trawlers FLEMING (356grt) and BERBERIS (540grt) of the 4th Minesweeping Group were sweeping mines in the Thames Estuary. German bombing sank FLEMING (Skipper E. G. Gurney RNR). Nineteen ratings were lost, and three survivors rescued by trawler CORENA (352grt), also of the 4th Minesweeping Group.
Anti-submarine trawler KINGSTON GALENA (550grt, Skipper S. Jackson RNR) of the 9th Anti-submarine Group and minesweeping trawler RODINO (230grt, Temporary Skipper J. C. Winning RNR) were sunk by German bombing off Dover. Jackson and fifteen ratings were lost on KINGSTON GALENA, and four ratings on RODINO.
Convoy FN.231 departed Southend, and arrived in the Tyne on the 26th.
Convoy MT.119 departed Methil for the Tyne, and arrived later that day.
There was no convoy MT.120.
Convoy FS.231 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer WALLACE, and arrived at Southend on the 26th.
Convoy FS.232 was cancelled.
Midshipman C. G. Mortimer, flying a Battle of RAF 12 Observation Training Unit from Benson, was killed when his aircraft hit a cable and crashed near North Stoke, Oxford.
French steamer MEKNES (6127grt), carrying 1277 French sailors being repatriated to Marseilles. was sunk by German motor torpedo boat S.27 in 50‑04N, 02‑14W. Three hundred and eighty-three of the passengers died in the sinking, and of the 104 crew, thirty-three were missing. Destroyers VISCOUNT, WOLVERINE, SABRE, and SHIKARI rescued the survivors.
Finnish steamer TRIO (1451grt) was lost on a mine near Borkum. The entire crew was rescued.
Trinity House Vessel steamer ALERT (793grt) was damaged by German bombing near South Goodwin Light Vessel.
Italian steamer CELIO (3864grt) was sunk 10 miles off Tolmeita on a mine laid by submarine RORQUAL on the 21st.
The U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, told the House Military Affairs Committee that the Army was prepared to move within twenty-four hours after the Military Conscription Bill was passed. The committee also heard that the Army planned to draft no married men during peacetime.
At the same time Assistant Secretary of War Johnson testified before the House Appropriations Committee that the goal now set by the country’s defense chiefs was a productive capacity to arm and equip 1,000,000 men every three months. He added that plans were being set for aircraft production of 26,000 planes by the end of this year, with a goal of 35,000 set for each succeeding year.
Men with dependents were assured today they would not be drafted for military training in time of peace under the army’s conscription program, while the senate military committee virtually decided to exempt “conscientious objectors” from combat training. The assurance to men with dependents was given by Brigadier General William E, Shedd, assistant chief of staff, while testifying before the house military .committee in support of the Burke-Wadsworth compulsory training bill. This measure was approved with revisions by the senate committee yesterday. General Shedd also said provision had been made to place in a “deferred” classification all men “essential to industry.”
The Navy Department, in cooperation with the National Defense Commission, will transfer unemployed skilled workers from interior cities to work in private coastal yards constructing ships for the Navy, Secretary Knox announced today. With the Navy expansion program certain to tax the capacities of such yards to the utmost, Secretary Knox told a press conference today that a shortage of skilled men was inevitable, particularly on the East Coast, and that the Navy preferred to obtain trained mechanics, plumbers and other experts from interior parts of the country instead of trying to train “green” men. To work out tactics in executing this program he had conferred with Sidney Hillman, labor expert on the Defense Commission, Colonel Knox said. Contractors building Navy vessels, he added, had been requested to provide detailed surveys of prospective skilled labor shortages.
So far as the Navy’s own yards were concerned, the Secretary asserted, the law required that workers must have civil service status. It was hoped, nevertheless, he added, that arrangements would be. worked out by which unemployed skilled workers in the same categories who were capable of passing civil service examinations would receive jobs.
A two-fold warning not to expect “miracles’ ‘in carrying out the national defense program of the United States and not to sacrifice normal production to the rearmament program is contained in a special message sent today to stockholders of the General Motors Corporation by Alfred P. Sloan Jr., chairman of the company.
The perfection of campaign strategy for his third-term race faced President Roosevelt as an immediate problem as he departed tonight for Washington after spending a threeday holiday at Hyde Park House, his mother’s home.
Wendell L. Willkie, attending a Utah pioneer celebration in this city founded by the Mormons, expressed himself today as “very proud of the type of Democrats” supporting him for the presidency. The Republican nominee made the assertion at a press conference in his hotel suite shortly after he sat in a torrid sun watching a two-hour parade. Willkie said President Roosevelt, in criticizing Democrats who have announced their support of the Republican candidate “is climbing down just slightly from his lofty pedestal.”
General plans for a nation-wide organization of Democrats, Republicans and independents to fight the third-term candidacy of President Roosevelt were announced today by Senator Edward R. Burke of Nebraska.
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted 24 members of the “I AM” Movement for mail fraud.
A young Swiss radiologist, Walter Minder, announced today he had discovered the last of the world’s missing known elements — tiny particles left in the residue from radium — to complete a list of ninety-two. The element is No. 85 on the Periodic Table. Berta Karlik and Traude Bernert would be unsuccessful in reproducing his experiments, and subsequently attributed Minder’s results to contamination of his radon stream (radon-222 is the parent isotope of polonium-218). Element 85 will be named Astatine (At). It is a radioactive halogen element, the heaviest of the halogens, and is incredibly rare, with all its isotopes being highly unstable. Later in 1940, Dale R. Corson, Kenneth Ross MacKenzie, and Emilio Segrè isolated the element at the University of California, Berkeley. Instead of searching for the element in nature, the scientists created it by bombarding bismuth-209 with alpha particles in a cyclotron (particle accelerator) to produce, after emission of two neutrons, astatine-211.
Lon Chaney Jr., film actor, his wife and three friends were sighted from an airplane today after drifting for nearly 24 hours in their disabled motor boat. The Chaneys, with Mr. and Mrs. L, Wiesen of Hollywood and Yo-landa, motion picture studio fashion designer, were swordfishing aboard a 32-foot boat off the Catalina Isthmus when their motor broke down.
Major League Baseball:
The Dodgers had the misfortune to run into Bucky Walters and the Cincinnati Reds under the lights at Ebbets Field tonight. Routing Tex Carleton in the second, the red-hot Reds piled up an early lead and Walters coasted to a 6–3 victory, his fifteenth of the season. Walters limited the Dodgers to seven hits in going the distance. Carleton also allowed seven hits – and five runs — in just 1 ⅔ innings.
The Boston Bees snapped a six-game losing streak today by coming from behind twice to nip the Cubs, 4–3. The triumph, insured when Carvel Rowell tripled in Buddy Hassett in the seventh inning, was the third Dick Errickson gained over the Cubs this season.
The game between the Cardinals and the Phillies in Philadelphia is rained out.
The Tigers’ $70,000 rookie, Pitcher Freddie Hutchinson, chalked up his first American League victory of the season today at the expense of the Senators, but the league leaders owed no small part of their 7–5 triumph to the relief pitching of Alton Benton. Hutchinson shut out Washington with three hits for the first five innings, but he yielded four hits and two runs in the sixth and three consecutive singles to load the bases before he was removed from the mound in the seventh. Hank Greenberg’s eighteenth home run of the season drove in two Detroit runs in the first inning. Pinky Higgins cut loose a round-tripper with two men on base in the third.
Roy Weatherly’s two-run homer was the decisive factor today as the Indians gained their fifth straight triumph to stay a half-game behind the league-leading Tigers. Southpaw Al Smith received credit for the 7–6 victory over Philadelphia. Neither Chubby Dean, the Athletics’ starter, nor Smith, who posted his tenth triumph, went the distance. The Tribe gained a 7–1 lead off Dean and Herman Besse before the Athletics rallied for five runs in the sixth, sending Smith to the showers. Reliever Harry Eisenstat stopped the Philadelphia scoring.
The Yankees (6) and Browns (5) tie a Major League record for most pitchers in a 9–inning game. The Browns pound out a 14–12 win as Howie Judnich hits a home run, 2 doubles and 2 singles. His homer, off Steve Sundra, breaks a 12–12 tie. He had 2 homers in yesterday’s win over NY, also homering off Sundra, who lost. The Yanks counter with homers by DiMaggio, Dickey, Gordon, and Henrich. Dickey’s is a grand slam.
The White Sox and the Red Sox got hot in their own right today and, in better than 100-degree temperature, boomed out thirty-four hits. Chicago got the decision, its sixth in a row, 12–10. The barrage included six home runs, three triples and six doubles, and brought into action seven pitchers, three by the White Sox. Starting Pitcher Bill Dietrich, Julius Solters, Joe Kuhel and Bob Kennedy contributed homers in the White Sox twenty-hit attack. It was the seventeenth circuit blow for Kuhel, who also got a double and two singles. Manager Joe Cronin and Ted Williams hit the Boston homers.
Cincinnati Reds 6, Brooklyn Dodgers 3
Chicago Cubs 3, Boston Bees 4
Boston Red Sox 10, Chicago White Sox 12
Philadelphia Athletics 6, Cleveland Indians 7
Washington Senators 5, Detroit Tigers 7
New York Yankees 12, St. Louis Browns 14
Protective measures against subversive activities within the Western Hemisphere were proposed to the Havana Conference by the United States and other delegations. They would bar attempts by non-American governments to alter or affect the national institutions of any American republic.
A proposal that the neutrality zone, defined at the Panama Conference last Fall, be incorporated in a treaty, was recommended to the Havana conferees. A recommendation that a convention be drawn up on the American neutrality zone defined in the Panama Declaration last year has been made by the subcommittee on neutrality to the conference of American Foreign Ministers.
An appeal to the nations of the Western Hemisphere to open their doors to about 6,000 anti-fascist refugees in France will be laid hefor the Inter-American Conference of Foreign Ministers in Havana, according to an announcement yesterday by Professor Walter Rautenstrauch of Columbia University.
Steel manufactured in Brazil, using 100 per cent Brazilian raw material, is on the eve of realization. Brazil aims to kill two birds with one stone in solving her steel problem, for the plan under way would keep the monopoly out of the hands of foreign elements and also realize a national dream more than 100 years old.
The Japanese Embassy spokesman denied today that any anti-American movement was growing in Shanghai. He brought up, first, the cablegram that the American Association had sent to Washington, urging a firmer American attitude in the Far East and citing the reign of terrorism against American newsmen in China. From this cable, he said, it would seem that the impression prevailed that anti-American sentiment was growing in this city. He then cited the many Japanese-American clashes since July 7, the cases of violence and Nanking’s order for the deportation of six American newsmen. But, he sald, the mere fact that these cases occurred in rapid succession does not mean anti-Americanism and each case should be considered separately on its own merits. “It would be too rash,” he declared, “to conclude from these, that anti-Americanism is growing — too rash, too agitated. Particularly we who are connected with the world’s press must keep a cool and calm attitude.”
Chinese fighters shot down ten of thirty-six Japanese planes that bombed Chengtu, capital of Szechwan Province, it was announced officially today.
Chinese guerrillas and regulars fought a pitched battle today with the Japanese forces that a month ago occupied a strip of mainland adjacent to the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. The Chinese attacked in force at dawn. Observers on hilltops within British territory saw the Chinese engage the Japanese force, which was estimated at 900 Japanese and 3,000 Chinese mercenaries. By mid-afternoon, witnesses said, the superiority of Japanese artillery had forced the attackers to retreat, but the fighting continued twenty miles north of the center of Hong Kong. The Japanese forces were those that had moved in and blocked the colony’s trade and communication with the interior of China.
Supplies for the United States Embassy in Chungking are among the shipments held up in French Indo-China because of the French-Japanese agreement for a cessation of all shipments of militarily valuable goods from Indo-China into Nationalist China, it was learned today.
Business in Japan has been virtually stopped pending clarification of the aims of the new party in power, Bruce Berckmans, acting director of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, announced today.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 121.64 (-0.59)
Born:
Carroll A. Campbell Jr., American politician (Governor of South Carolina 1987-1995, Rep-R-SC, 1979-1987), in Greenville, South Carolina (d. 2005).
Dan Hedaya, American actor (‘Nick Tortelli’-“Cheers”; “Marvin’s Room”; “Clueless”; “Dick”), in Brooklyn, New York, New York.
Stanley Hauerwas, theologian, ethicist and public intellectual, in Dallas, Texas.
Ethan Blackaby, MLB outfielder and pinch hitter (Milwaukee Braves), in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2022).
Naval Construction:
The Royal Navy Bangor-class (Turbine-engined) minesweeper HMS Whitehaven (J 121) is laid down by George Philip & Sons Ltd. (Dartmouth, UK); completed by B.T.H.
The Royal Australian Navy Bathurst-class minesweeper-corvette HMAS Whyalla (J 153) is laid down by Broken Hill Pty. Ltd. (Whyalla, South Australia, Australia).
The Royal Navy Shakespeare-class minesweeping trawler HMS Hamlet (T 167) is launched by Cook, Welton & Gemmill (Beverley, U.K.); completed by Holmes.
The Royal Navy Dido-class light cruiser HMS Scylla (98) is launched by the Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Greenock, Scotland).
The Royal Navy Fairmile A-class motor launch HMS ML 110 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant William Brown Watson, RNVR
The Royal Navy Vosper 70-foot-class motor torpedo boat HMS MTB 32 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant R A Ellis, RN.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type IID U-boat U-139 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Oberleutnant zur See Robert Bartels.
The Royal Navy Dido-class light cruiser HMS Naiad (93) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Captain Marcel Harcourt Attwood Kelsey, DSC, RN.
History Diaries 