The Battle of Britain: During the day several raids attacked shipping and naval units. [battleofbritain1940 web site]
The summer of 1940 was as unpredictable as ever, as again by July 27th 1940 the weather partially cleared although the cloud base remained over the English Channel. Fliegerkorps VIII again made attacks along the southern coast. Radar had detected them over the Channel 0925 hours and 609 Squadron was ordered to the Portland area to cover a medium convoy (Codenamed Bacon) off the coast at Swanage. One enemy aircraft was destroyed and another limped away to the south trailing smoke. 609 Squadron lost one aircraft in the combat off the coast at Weymouth. Other attacks were made on convoys off the east coast near Harwich and later in the afternoon, Dover Harbor again came under attack as German raiders bombed naval destroyers and the barracks.
The British destroyer Codrington was bombed and sunk in Dover by the Germans. German aircraft bombed Dover in southern England, sinking destroyer HMS Codrington who was undergoing boiler cleaning (wounding 3). At the end of the day, the Germans lost 2 fighters and 1 Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber, while the British lost 1 Spitfire fighter and 1 Hurricane fighter.
The RFA War Sepoy, which has been converted into a blockship at Dover after its extensive damage on the 19th by the Luftwaffe, is still very visible. The Luftwaffe pilots see it and, perhaps thinking it is still operational, pound it repeatedly.
15 German dive bombers attacked 6 British minesweeping trawlers and escort destroyers in the English Channel 20 miles off Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England. Destroyer HMS Wren sank after one of the several near misses she suffered made a large hole below the waterline (killing 37), while destoyer HMS Montrose lost her bow and had to be towed to Harwich, Essex.
With the navy losing three destroyers this day, the Admiralty decided to withdraw all naval ships from Dover and cease using the Harbor as an advanced base. This was to place a further burden on the RAF as they would have to provide additional protection of the Channel convoys, something that Dowding and Park did not want to do, but with convoys having no destroyer protection the task was presented to the RAF.
During the night the Luftwaffe appeared to be carrying out minelaying operations.
RAF Statistics for the day: 141 patrols were flown involving 522 aircraft. Luftwaffe casualties: Fighters – 2 confirmed; Bombers – 1 confirmed 1 unconfirmed. 1 seaplane also confirmed as shot down. RAF casualties: 1 Spitfire, 1 Hurricane.
RAF Casualties: July 27th 1940
F/O P.A.N. Cox. 501 Sqn Gravesend. Hurricane P3808. Shot down over Dover. Killed.
P/O J.R. Buchanan. 609 Sqn Warmwell. Spitfire N3023. Shot down Weymouth. Missing.
The Luftwaffe gets a little more coordinated by the appointment of a “fighter leader” of Luftflotte 2, the main formation facing England. Luftflotte 2 has the following fighter formations in action:
JG 3
JG 26
JG 51
JG 52
JG 54
ZG 26
Generalmajor Theo Osterkamp takes on the job, giving up his leadership of JG 51. Major Werner Mölders takes over command of JG 51, and Mölders is replaced as Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 53 by Hauptman Harro Harder.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 15 Blenheims to Germany and Holland; 14 bombed various naval targets along the coast of Germany and the Netherlands. No losses.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 24 Wellingtons and 19 Hampdens to bomb Hamburg, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven and Borkum. No losses. 8 O.T.U. sorties, 1 Wellington lost.
The first five Beaufighter IF fighters were handed over to the RAF for evaluation.
Malta needs better air defenses, so Whitehall begins plans to send a dozen heavy guns and ten light anti-aircraft batteries to the island via the Suez Canal. Operation HURRY, the convoy past Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, is confined to the transport of Hurricane fighters and is not carrying any extraneous materials. The ships are not intended to actually dock at the island, but rather to fly the Hurricanes off once within range.
The Italians send a reconnaissance raid over the island at 11:10, losing a fighter to anti-aircraft fire. At 16:40, a couple of Short Sunderland flying boats on patrol find some enemy fighters and shoots down three of the Italian planes. One of the Sunderlands is damaged but makes it back to base.
The incessant air raids are seriously affecting productivity in the dockyard. The government begins pondering moving some operations underground so that the workers do not have to stop for each air raid alert, many of which are either false alarms or for enemy planes that wind up not attacking.
Another victory parade for the defeat of France is scheduled for today in Paris. Count FritzDietlof von der Schulenberg, a member of the German Resistance, later claims to have had plans to shoot Hitler at the event. In addition, Captain Graf Schwerin Von Schwanenfeld, Major Hans Alexander Von Voss, and Captain Graf Von Waldersee have plans to both shoot Hitler and also toss a grenade at him. Hitler, however, cancels the parade.
Adolf Hitler meets with the Bulgarian Premier and Foreign Minister at Berchtesgaden. Hitler tells them that he supports their claim on Rumania in southern Dobruja province.
The Rumanian Premier and Foreign Minister, having talked with Hitler on the 26th, meet with Mussolini and Italian Foreign Minister Ciano in Rome.
While there is not much enthusiasm on the Spanish side, the two countries’ military staffs begin preliminary planning for Operation FELIX: the invasion of Gibraltar. Taking Gibraltar would effectively bottle up the Mediterranean and force all British ships to take the long way around Africa to supply British forces in Egypt.
A Royal Navy Board of Enquiry was held regarding the sinking of HMS Effingham two months prior.
Barrage balloons and Home Guard observers now cover London. The balloons are raised from parks and other open spaces.
The Illustrated London News publishes a pictorial guide to German bombing and how to survive it. This is quite timely, because, while London has not yet been bombed, it soon will be.
The British Government imposes a curfew in the restricted zone on the south coast: everyone must be indoors from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise. Cars are allowed only one headlight, the other must be covered.
Hundreds of refugees continue to arrive daily from all parts of Europe to swell the foreign population already in Portugal. Hotel accommodations in Lisbon are taxed almost to the limit and 2,000 or 3,000 persons awaiting proper traveling documents, visas, money or others of their kin are being quartered in towns and cities near Lisbon.
Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov, Commissar of the Navy, disclosed tonight that Soviet Russia would add 168 warships to her fleet this year, and urged that Russian naval power be stepped up to parity with the country’s army and air strength.
Italian High Command sets 3 August as the date for invading British Somaliland.
Vichy French forces withdraw from Jirre pass and open route into British Somaliland for Italian forces.
U-34, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann, sank steamers Sambre (5260grt) in 56-37N, 17-53W and Thiara (10,364grt) in 56-37N, 17-56W, and attacked another steamer traveling with Sambre without success. Both ships were dispersed from convoy OB.188.
At 0258 hours the Sambre (Master E. Bertie Ingram) in convoy OB.188 was hit in the stern by one torpedo from U-34 and sank slowly south-southwest of Rockall. The master and 47 crew members were picked up by HMS Winchelsea (D 46) (LtCdr W.A.F. Hawkins) and landed at Liverpool. The 5,260-ton Sambre was carrying general cargo and was headed for Philadelphia, Philadelphia.
At 0313 hours the Thiara (Master Robert William Thompson) in convoy OB.188 was hit in the bow by a G7e torpedo from U-34 and sank about 170 miles southwest of Rockall. 25 crew members were lost. The master, 31 crew members and four passengers were picked up by HMS Winchelsea (D 46) (LtCdr W.A.F. Hawkins) and landed at Liverpool. The 10,364-ton Thiara was carrying ballast and was headed for Curaçao.
At 1248, the battlecruisers, cruisers, and destroyers at Scapa Flow were brought to two and a half-hour’s notice. At 1628, eight destroyers were brought to immediate notice and the remaining destroyers to one hour’s notice. Force A, battlecruisers HMS Renown (Vice Admiral Battlecruisers) and HMS Repulse, heavy cruisers HMS York, HMS Devonshire, and HMAS Australia of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, light cruiser HMS Sheffield, with destroyers HMS Ashanti, HMS Mashona, HMS Tartar, HMS Punjabi, HMS Firedrake, HMS Fortune, HMS Arrow, HMS Anthony, and HMS Achates departed Scapa Flow at 1915 in response to reports that German battlecruiser Gneisenau was breaking back to Germany. Devonshire was detached to join heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk escorting an Icelandic convoy. The cruisers with Ashanti and Mashona acted as an independent striking force. Destroyers HMS Fortune and HMS Fury were recalled from escort duty with convoy WN.3 and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1800. Destroyers HMS Zulu and HMS Maori, on anti-submarine patrol northeast of the Shetlands, were ordered at 2201 to rendezvous with Force A in 60-00N, 01-50E at 0400/28th. No contact was made and the forces arrived back at Scapa Flow at 0620/29th. Devonshire and Norfolk arrived at Scapa Flow on 2 August.
Destroyer HMS Keppel, on passage from the Western Approaches to Scapa Flow, was diverted at 0827 to the Clyde for escort duties. The destroyer arrived in the Clyde at 1600.
British minefield BS.28 was laid on 27/28 July by destroyers HMS Express, HMS Esk, HMS Intrepid, HMS Icarus, and HMS Impulsive.
Polish submarine ORP Wilk was docked at Rosyth.
Submarine HMS Swordfish departed Blyth on patrol at the mouth of the Skagerrak.
German aircraft launched heavy air attacks on the Dover area. Destroyer HMS Codrington (Captain G. F. Stevens-Guille DSO, OBE, D.1), under refit, was badly hit in Dover Harbor and run aground with a broken back, but was damaged beyond repair. Three ratings were wounded. Destroyer HMS Walpole alongside depot ship Sandhurst in Dover Harbor was badly damaged. She was towed to Chatham by tug HMS Lady Brassey, escorted by destroyers HMS Vivacious and damaged HMS Brilliant and later moved to London for repairs completed in March 1941. Sandhurst was also badly damaged. She was further damaged in another raid on the 29th and was towed from Dover on 1 August for Portsmouth and then eventually Liverpool. Following the loss of Codrington, all destroyers were temporarily withdrawn from Dover.
Destroyers HMS Montrose and HMS Wren of the 18th Destroyer Flotilla were escorting six minesweeper trawlers off Aldeburgh when they were attacked by He111 aircraft from KG.53. Wren (Cdr F. W. G. Harker) was sunk in 52-10N, 02-06E and Montrose badly damaged by near misses. Wren’s survivors were picked up by Montrose and minesweeper HMS Halcyon. Cdr Harker, S/Lt G. D. Astley-Cooper, Temporary S/Lt E. A. Dicks RNVR, Warrant Engineer V. S. T. Hunt, and thirty one ratings were lost. Temporary Surgeon Lt D. L. P. de Courcey RNVR, Lt G. K. Horsey, and six ratings were wounded. Montrose was towed to Harwich and repaired at Chatham completing in June 1941.
Light cruiser HMS Galatea arrived at Rosyth.
Sand dredger Durdham (477grt) was sunk on a mine 1.54 miles 140.5° from Lavernock, Bristol Channel, 51-23-18N, 3-08-48W. Eight crewmen were lost.
Tanker Salvestria (11,938grt) was sunk on a mine 2.8 miles 42° from Inchkeith Light House. Ten crewmen were lost.
Belgian fishing vessel Charles Madeleine (99grt) was lost, cause unknown.
Steamer Westavon (2842grt) was damaged by German bombing in 52-01N, 01-51E.
Greek destroyers and submarines on neutrality patrol in the Gulf of Patras were attacked by Italian bombers.
Convoy AS.2 of four steamers started its voyage south with light cruiser HMS Capetown and destroyers HMS Defender and HMAS Stuart. On the 28th, the convoy rendezvoused with light cruiser HMS Liverpool, destroyers HMS Dainty and HMS Diamond and passed through Kithera Strait. Battleships HMS Malaya, HMS Warspite, and HMS Ramillies, aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, and destroyers HMS Jervis, HMS Juno, HMS Nubian, HMS Mohawk, HMS Hyperion, HMS Ilex, HMS Hero, HMS Hereward, HMS Imperial, and HMS Decoy departed Alexandria at 0300 to cover the convoy movement. Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and light cruiser HMS Neptune departed Alexandria to meet the Mediterranean Fleet south of Crete. Mohawk operated off Derna during the night of 28 July to pass wireless messages, and rejoined the main force during the morning of 29 July.
HMS Warspite, HMS Ilex, HMS Imperial, and HMS Hyperion proceeded ahead of the Fleet and were joined by destroyers HMS Hostile and HMS Janus from Alexandria. The ships arrived at Alexandria at 2000/29th. HMS Malaya, HMS Ramillies, HMS Eagle, and escorting destroyers HMAS Stuart, HMS Defender, HMS Jervis, HMS Juno, HMS Nubian, HMS Mohawk, HMS Hero, HMS Hereward and convoy AS.2 with HMS Liverpool arrived at Alexandria on the 30th. HMS Capetown and destroyers HMS Dainty and HMS Diamond proceeded with the convoy to Port Said.
Submarine HMS Parthian attacked two steamers southeast of Sicily without result.
Italian convoy Operation TVL began when steamers Maria Eugenio, Gloria Stella, Mauly, Gbainsizza, Col Di Lana, Francesco Barbaro, and Citta Di Bari departed Naples, escorted by torpedo boats Procione, Orione, Orsa, and Pegaso of the 4th Torpedo Boat Division. From Catania, destroyers of the 10th Destroyer Division with Maestrale, Libeccio, Grecale, and Scirocco joined the convoy escort, and arrived at Tripoli on 1 August, despite an attack by submarine HMS Oswald. On 29 August, steamers Marco Polo, Citta Di Napoli, and Citta Di Palermo departed Naples for Benghazi. The convoy was escorted from Naples to Messina by torpedo boats Circe, Clio, Climene, and Centauro of the 13th Torpedo Boat Division. From Messina, the convoy was joined by torpedo boats Airone, Ariel, Alcione, and Aretusa of the 1st Torpedo Boat Division.
Providing distance support on the 30th and 1 August, heavy cruiser Pola (Flagship of 1st Cruiser Division), Zara, Fiume, Gorizia, and Trento of the 1st Cruiser Division with destroyers Alfieri, Oriani, Carducci, and Gioberti of the 9th Destroyer Division, Lanciere, Carabinere, Corzziere, and Alpino of the 12th Destroyer Division, Light cruisers Da Barbiano, and Di Guissano of the 4th Cruiser Division, destroyers Pigafetta, Zeno, and Malocello of the 15th Destroyer Division, light cruisers Eugenio Di Savioa, Duca Degli Abruzzi, Attendolo, and Montecuccoli of the 7th Cruiser Division, and destroyers Granatiere, Fucliere, Bersagliere, and Ascari of the 13th Destroyer Division, and arrived at Benghasi at midnight on the 31st.
Convoy OB.190 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer HMS Warwick and corvette HMS Heartsease from 27 to 30 July. The escort was detached to inbound convoy HX.59.
Convoy FN.234 departed Southend, and arrived at the Tyne on the 29th.
Convoy FN.235 did not sail.
Convoy MT.122 departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne later that day.
Convoy FS.234 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer HMS Vivien and sloop HMS Lowestoft, and arrived at Southend on the 29th.
Convoy HX.61 departed Halifax at 1000 escorted by Canadian destroyers HMCS Ottawa and HMCS Saguenay. Destroyer Ottawa was detached on other duties on the 28th and did not return immediately to Halifax. The Canadian destroyers turned the convoy over to the ocean escort, armed merchant cruiser HMS Laconia, and destroyer Saguenay returned to Halifax early on the 28th. The armed merchant cruiser was detached on 8 August.
Convoy BHX.61 departed Bermuda on the 26th escorted locally by sloop HMS Penzance and an ocean escort of armed merchant cruiser HMS Rajputana. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.61 on the 31st and the armed merchant cruiser was detached. Destroyers HMS Vanquisher, and HMS Viscount, sloop HMS Deptford, and corvette HMS Mallow joined on 8 August. Destroyers HMS Achates and HMS Anthony joined on 9 August. On 10 August, Achates, Anthony and Mallow were detached. The remaining escorts arrived with the convoy at Liverpool on 11 August.
Convoy HG.40F of three ships departed Gibraltar with a local escort of destroyer HMS Vidette from the 27th to 31st. Destroyer HMS Mackay escorted the convoy from 31 July to 3 August. Vidette arrived at Plymouth on 2 August for refueling, and the convoy reached Liverpool on the 3rd.
The War at Sea, Saturday, 27 July 1940 (naval-history.net)
At 1248, the battlecruisers, cruisers, and destroyers at Scapa Flow were brought to two and a half hour’s notice. At 1628, eight destroyers were brought to immediate notice and the remaining destroyers to one hour’s notice.
Force A, battlecruisers RENOWN (Vice Admiral Battlecruisers) and REPULSE, heavy cruisers YORK, DEVONSHIRE, and AUSTRALIA of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, light cruiser SHEFFIELD, with destroyers ASHANTI, MASHONA, TARTAR, PUNJABI, FIREDRAKE, FORTUNE, ARROW, ANTHONY, and ACHATES departed Scapa Flow at 1915 in response to reports that German battlecruiser GNEISENAU was breaking back to Germany.
DEVONSHIRE was detached to join heavy cruiser NORFOLK escorting an Icelandic convoy.
The cruisers with ASHANTI and MASHONA acted as an independent striking force.
Destroyers FORTUNE and FURY were recalled from escort duty with convoy WN.3 and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1800.
Destroyers ZULU and MAORI, on anti-submarine patrol northeast of the Shetlands, were ordered at 2201 to rendezvous with Force A in 60‑00N, 01‑50E at 0400/28th.
No contact was made and the forces arrived back at Scapa Flow at 0620/29th.
DEVONSHIRE and NORFOLK arrived at Scapa Flow on 2 August.
Destroyer KEPPEL, on passage from the Western Approaches to Scapa Flow, was diverted at 0827 to the Clyde for escort duties.
The destroyer arrived in the Clyde at 1600.
British minefield BS.28 was laid on 27/28 July by destroyers EXPRESS, ESK, INTREPID, ICARUS, and IMPULSIVE.
Polish submarine ORP WILK was docked at Rosyth.
Submarine SWORDFISH departed Blyth on patrol at the mouth of the Skagerrak.
German aircraft launched heavy air attacks on the Dover area.
Destroyer CODRINGTON (Captain G. F. Stevens-Guille DSO, OBE, D.1), under refit, was badly hit in Dover Harbour and run aground with a broken back, but was damaged beyond repair. Three ratings were wounded.
Destroyer WALPOLE alongside depot ship SANDHURST in Dover Harbour was badly damaged. She was towed to Chatham by tug LADY BRASSEY, escorted by destroyers VIVACIOUS and damaged BRILLIANT and later moved to London for repairs completed in March 1941. SANDHURST was also badly damaged. She was further damaged in another raid on the 29th and was towed from Dover on 1 August for Portsmouth and then eventually Liverpool.
Following the loss of CODRINGTON, all destroyers were temporarily withdrawn from Dover.
Destroyers MONTROSE and WREN of the 18th Destroyer Flotilla were escorting six minesweeper trawlers off Aldeburgh when they were attacked by He111 aircraft from KG.53. WREN (Cdr F. W. G. Harker) was sunk in 52‑10N, 02‑06E and MONTROSE badly damaged by near misses. WREN’s survivors were picked up by MONTROSE and minesweeper HALCYON. Cdr Harker, S/Lt G. D. Astley-Cooper, Temporary S/Lt E. A. Dicks RNVR, Warrant Engineer V. S. T. Hunt, and thirty-one ratings were lost. Temporary Surgeon Lt D. L. P. de Courcey RNVR, Lt G. K. Horsey, and six ratings were wounded. MONTROSE was towed to Harwich and repaired at Chatham completing in June 1941.
Light cruiser GALATEA arrived at Rosyth.
Convoy OB.190 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer WARWICK and corvette HEARTSEASE from 27 to 30 July. The escort was detached to inbound convoy HX.59.
Convoy FN.234 departed Southend, and arrived at the Tyne on the 29th.
Convoy FN.235 did not sail.
Convoy MT.122 departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne later that day.
Convoy FS.234 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyer VIVIEN and sloop LOWESTOFT, and arrived at Southend on the 29th.
Convoy HX.61 departed Halifax at 1000 escorted by Canadian destroyers HMCS OTTAWA and HMCS SAGUENAY.
Destroyer HMCS OTTAWA was detached on other duties on the 28th and did not return immediately to Halifax.
The Canadian destroyers turned the convoy over to the ocean escort, armed merchant cruiser LACONIA and destroyer HMCS SAGUENAY returned to Halifax early on the 28th. The armed merchant cruiser was detached on 8 August.
Convoy BHX.61 departed Bermuda on the 26th escorted locally by sloop PENZANCE and an ocean escort of armed merchant cruiser RAJPUTANA. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.61 on the 31st and the armed merchant cruiser was detached.
Destroyers VANQUISHER, VISCOUNT, sloop DEPTFORD, and corvette MALLOW joined on 8 August. Destroyers ACHATES and ANTHONY joined on 9 August. On 10 August, ACHATES, ANTHONY and MALLOW were detached. The remaining escorts arrived with the convoy at Liverpool on 11 August.
U-34 sank steamers SAMBRE (5260grt) in 56‑37N, 17‑53W and THIARA (10,364grt) in 56‑37N, 17‑56W, and attacked another steamer traveling with SAMBRE without success. Both ships were dispersed from convoy OB.188. Destroyer WINCHELSEA rescued the entire crew (48) from SAMBRE, but 25 from THIARA were missing
Sand dredger DURDHAM (477grt) was sunk on a mine 1.54 miles 140.5° from Lavernock, Bristol Channel, 51-23-18N, 3-08-48W. Eight crew were lost.
Tanker SALVESTRIA (11,938grt) was sunk on a mine 2.8 miles 42° from Inchkeith Light House. Ten crew were lost.
Belgian fishing vessel CHARLES MADELEINE (99grt) was lost, cause unknown.
Steamer WESTAVON (2842grt) was damaged by German bombing in 52‑01N, 01‑51E.
Greek destroyers and submarines on neutrality patrol in the Gulf of Patras were attacked by Italian bombers.
Convoy AS.2 of four steamers started its voyage south with light cruiser CAPETOWN and destroyers DEFENDER and HMAS STUART. On the 28th, the convoy rendezvoused with light cruiser LIVERPOOL, destroyers DAINTY and DIAMOND and passed through Kithera Strait.
Battleships MALAYA, WARSPITE, RAMILLIES, aircraft carrier EAGLE, and destroyers JERVIS, JUNO, NUBIAN, MOHAWK, HYPERION, ILEX, HERO, HEREWARD, IMPERIAL, and DECOY departed Alexandria at 0300 to cover the convoy movement.
Australian light cruiser HMAS SYDNEY and light cruiser NEPTUNE departed Alexandria to meet the Mediterranean Fleet south of Crete.
MOHAWK operated off Derna during the night of 28 July to pass wireless messages, and rejoined the main force during the morning of 29 July.
WARSPITE, ILEX, IMPERIAL, and HYPERION proceeded ahead of the Fleet and were joined by destroyers HOSTILE and JANUS from Alexandria. The ships arrived at Alexandria at 2000/29th.
MALAYA, RAMILLIES, EAGLE, and escorting destroyers HMAS STUART, DEFENDER, JERVIS, JUNO, NUBIAN, MOHAWK, HERO, HEREWARD and convoy AS.2 with LIVERPOOL arrived at Alexandria on the 30th.
CAPETOWN and destroyers DAINTY and DIAMOND proceeded with the convoy to Port Said.
Submarine PARTHIAN attacked two steamers southeast of Sicily without result.
Italian convoy Operation TVL began when steamers MARIA EUGENIO, GLORIA STELLA, MAULY, GBAINSIZZA, COL DI LANA, FRANCESCO BARBARO, and CITTA DI BARI departed Naples, escorted by torpedo boats PROCIONE, ORIONE, ORSA, and PEGASO of the 4th Torpedo Boat Division. From Catania, destroyers of the 10th Destroyer Division with MAESTRALE, LIBECCIO, GRECALE, and SCIROCCO joined the convoy escort, and arrived at Tripoli on 1 August, despite an attack by submarine OSWALD.
On 29 August, steamers MARCO POLO, CITTA DI NAPOLI, and CITTA DI PALERMO departed Naples for Benghazi. The convoy was escorted from Naples to Messina by torpedo boats CIRCE, CLIO, CLIMENE, and CENTAURO of the 13th Torpedo Boat Division. From Messina, the convoy was joined by torpedo boats AIRONE, ARIEL, ALCIONE, and ARETUSA of the 1st Torpedo Boat Division.
Providing distance support on the 30th and 1 August, heavy cruiser POLA (Flagship of 1st Cruiser Division), ZARA, FIUME, GORIZIA, and TRENTO of the 1st Cruiser Division with destroyers ALFIERI, ORIANI, CARDUCCI, and GIOBERTI of the 9th Destroyer Division, LANCIERE, CARABINERE, CORZZIERE, and ALPINO of the 12th Destroyer Division,Light cruisers DA BARBIANO, DI GUISSANO of the 4th Cruiser Division, destroyers PIGAFETTA, ZENO, and MALOCELLO of the 15th Destroyer Division, light cruisers EUGENIO DI SAVIOA, DUCA DEGLI ABRUZZI, ATTENDOLO, MONTECUCCOLI of the 7th Cruiser Division, and destroyers GRANATIERE, FUCLIERE, BERSAGLIERE, and ASCARI of the 13th Destroyer Division, and arrived at Benghasi at midnight on the 31st.
Convoy HG.40F of three ships departed Gibraltar with a local escort of destroyer VIDETTE from the 27th to 31st. Destroyer MACKAY escorted the convoy from 31 July to 3 August. VIDETTE arrived at Plymouth on 2 August for refueling, and the convoy reached Liverpool on the 3rd.
Light cruiser DAUNTLESS departed Penang.
President Roosevelt established an organization today to undertake buying $50,000,000 worth of relief supplies, getting them through the British blockade and seeing they reach war refugees instead of falling into German hands. The money for the undertaking was appropriated by congress recently at Mr. Roosevelt’s request. In an executive order, the president designated the secretary of agriculture to purchase farm products and the secretary of the treasury to buy other supplies under the program.
Senator Taft, Ohio Republican, joined opponents of peacetime compulsory military training today as congress approached a showdown fight on the issue. The Ohio senator and recent aspirant for the Republican presidential nomination said he favored trying a “voluntary system” before supporting the first peacetime conscription move in this country’s history. Senate consideration of the compulsory training bill is expected to begin next Wednesday. Chairman Sheppard, Texas Democrat, said the senate military committee would vote formally on its completed bill Tuesday before noon and predicted few If any opposing votes.
U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, and US Congress House of Representatives’ Naval Affairs Committee chairman Carl Vinson departed Washington Navy Yard, Washington DC, United States aboard presidential yacht Potomac for Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, United States.
Colonel George S. Patton, Jr. takes command of the 2nd Armored Brigade at Fort Benning.
“Enlist For Defense Week” proclaimed in San Francisco.
Temperatures soared to record heights along the eastern seaboard Saturday, but the U. S. weather bureau at Chicago said that the oppressive heat would be broken today by arrival of thundershowers which already had cooled sections of the parched Midwestern plains. In the final hours before relief was due, however, temperatures throughout the east reached their highest levels in years. Norfolk, Va., reported a reading of 99, the hottest for the date since 1875. New York City recorded 97, the highest in three years. The temperature hit 99 at Philadelphia by mid-afternoon. Ohio and West Virginia experienced their ninth successive day of 90-degree heat. The Raleigh, N. C, airport reported a reading of 105, a 1940 record. Although temperatures were returning to summer normal throughout the Great Plains states they still were contributing to a death toll from heat prostrations and drownings which already had passed 400.
Bugs Bunny made his official debut in the Warner Bros. animated cartoon “A Wild Hare.” Bugs Bunny gets a chance to introduce his classic catchphrase, “What’s up, Doc?”, which Avery says was just a typical saying back home in Texas, nothing special at all. The short is nominated for an Academy Award (but loses). Earlier incarnations of Bugs actually appeared in several shorts starting in 1938, but everyone considers “A Wild Hare” to be Bugs’ debut as his ultimate character. This is the wabbit’s second meeting with Elmer Fudd, who hunts him down in “A Wild Hare,” unsuccessfully of course.
Incidentally, while he is not yet given a screen name, Bugs in fact already has been named by his creator, though nobody knows it yet. Ben “Bugs” Hardaway first started drawing a generic rabbit in 1938 and, without thinking about it too much, filed him under “Bugs’ Bunny” – as in, his own drawing of a rabbit. The name stuck, and is first used in Bugs’ next film in 1941, “Elmer’s Pet Rabbit.”
Bugs Bunny becomes iconic during World War II for his wiseguy, purely American attitude. He represents freedom and is embraced by Allied servicemen worldwide – and not just Americans. Bugs Bunny later is the official mascot of Kingman Army Air Field in the U.S. and of the 530 Squadron, 380th Bombardment Group of the Royal Australian Air Force, among other outfits. The US Marines make Bugs an honorary Master Sergeant because, at the end of Super-Rabbit (1943), Bugs wears the dress blues of the United States Marine Corps.
In other Hollywood news, Warner Bros. releases the classic “They Drive By Night” starring Humphrey Bogart, George Raft and Anne Sheridan.
This week’s issue of Billboard magazine began publishing a top ten list of the best-selling retail records in the United States. The first official #1 single in Billboard history was “I’ll Never Smile Again” by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. It features Frank Sinatra singing vocals with the Pied Pipers. The song was written by a Canadian woman, Ruth Lowe, who had just lost her husband on the operating table.
Major League Baseball:
The St. Louis Cardinals swept two from the Brooklyn Dodgers, winning 4–2 and 6–3, at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers are now nine games behind the Reds. Stu Martin’s two-run triple off Hugh Casey beat Brooklyn in the opener and Johnny Mize started the Dodgers on the way down in the second inning of the nightcap with his twenty-sixth homer of the year, hit off Curt Davis. Mize tripled to drive in another run in the fourth and scored when Johnny Hudson made a futile fielder’s choice to throw home on Don Padgett’s grounder.
The league-leading Cincinnati Reds lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5–3. Hugh Mulcahy scored his eleventh victory of the season, his fourth in a row, and ended Cincinnati’s sevengame winning streak. The tall right-hander gave up seven hits, two of them scratches, in turning back the Reds for the third time this year. He nearly wilted under 100-degree heat in the fourth inning but revived to go the full distance. The Phils nicked Whitey Moore for four runs in the first on a walk, Johnny Rizzo’s double, Mel Mazzera’s single, and Joe Marty’s second homer in two days. Mazzera’s second single drove Chuck Klein with the last Philadelphia run in the fifth.
On the hottest day in New York in several years, Bill Lohrman spun a three-hit shutout gem at the Polo Grounds to lead the New York Giants over the Chicago Cubs, 1–0. The Giants manage only one run on just four hits off Cubs pitcher Vern Olsen, but Lohrman only needs the one. Roy Joiner comes in with two outs in the ninth for the wilting Lohrman and fans Gabby Hartnett to end the game.
The Pirates trounced the Boston Bees, 10–4, today for their second victory in a row in the current series. Pittsburgh’s 17-hit assault forced Casey Stengel to parade four pitchers, Jim Tobin making his first appearance as a Bee after being out since Spring with a wrenched knee.
In game 1 at Briggs, Schoolboy Rowe (8–2) has single, double and a homer, and drives in 5 runs as his Tigers swamp the Indians, 15–2. In game 2, the Tigers’ Charley Gehringer and Rudy York belt a pair of homers in a 4-run 7th to win, 8–7.
At Comiskey, Moose Solters belts a 12th inning homer off starter Marv Breur to give the White Sox a 6–5 win over the Yankees. Johnny Rigney goes the distance for the decision. Joe DiMaggio has 3 hits and two errors for the 4th place New Yorkers. One of the errors occurs in the 1st inning when Joe catches Joe Kuhel’s routine fly and then, as he starts trotting off the field, drops the ball. Ump Eddie Rommel rules Kuhel safe. DiMaggio, sensing something is wrong when he sees Kuhel continue running, fires to third base, but no Yankee is there. Kuhel scores. The play is similar to one in an earlier Chicago-New York game where umpire Quinn ruled that Solters caught Dickey’s foul ball, a ruling that was reversed by the league.
The St. Louis Browns were in a slugging mood today and found the Red Sox pitchers made to order for limbering up exercises which netted fifteen hits and a 13–5 triumph. In squaring the series at one game apiece, St. Louis victimized four moundsmen for six extra-base blows, including homers by Chet Laabs and Rip Radcliff.
Kendall Chase, Washington southpaw who frequently is a Cleveland jinx, hurled steady seven-hit ball today to give the Senators a 7–1 victory, which cost the second-place Indians ground in their effort to overhaul Detroit.
St. Louis Cardinals 4, Brooklyn Dodgers 2
St. Louis Cardinals 6, Brooklyn Dodgers 3
Pittsburgh Pirates 10, Boston Bees 4
New York Yankees 5, Chicago White Sox 6
Washington Senators 7, Cleveland Indians 1
Philadelphia Athletics 2, Detroit Tigers 15
Philadelphia Athletics 7, Detroit Tigers 8
Chicago Cubs 0, New York Giants 1
Cincinnati Reds 3, Philadelphia Phillies 5
Boston Red Sox 5, St. Louis Browns 13
The Act of Havana: The Pan-American conference in Havana, Cuba results in an agreement to protect any European colonies in the region that are attacked by Axis forces. Complete agreement on steps the Western Hemisphere must take immediately to defend itself against the rapidly developing crisis from Europe and Asia was reached today by the PanAmerican Foreign Ministers gathered at their second consultative meeting since the European war began. The principal points of the Pan-American defense program are:
- A unanimous declaration from Havana, which will recount the threat to the safety and security of the Americas from any attempted transfer of control over European possessions in this hemisphere from the sovereigns of last September 1 to another non-American power, directly or indirectly.
- A draft of a convention setting up machinery to take over regions, in the event of attempted transfer, under the collective administration of at least fourteen American republics.
- A resolution recommending commodity-marketing agreements, including loans to producers, as an inducement to keep stocks off the world markets, if necessary.
- A resolution recommending uniform restriction of the privileges and immunities of diplomats and consuls in an effort to check subversive activities.
The Bolivian Government declared a state of siege in Oruro Department tonight after fighting in which a machinegun was turned on a group of student demonstrators opposing the new leftist-controlled Provincial Congress. One man was killed and two were wounded.
The All-India Congress Committee today ratified, by a vote of 91 to 63, abandonment of the Gandhi creed of non-violence in so far as it concerns external aggression and internal disorder. The action means that the Congress will not oppose an increase in India’s armed forces. It also represents a defeat for Mohandas K. Gandhi and his advocacy of nonviolence in every case.
Eight hundred persons were killed and 400 were injured in the Japanese bombing of Hochuan, a city of 100,000 about 100 miles north of Chungking, on Tuesday, according to members of the medical unit of the American Methodist Mission Hospital that was rushed there after the attack. The unit carried relief funds appropriated by the Chungking subcommittee of New York’s Church Committee for China Relief. Eighty planes were said to have destroyed half the city, causing fires that burned three days. Hochuan is without military or industrial importance. Indifferent because Chungking-bound Japanese bombers have frequently flown over without dropping bombs, Hochuan residents failed to seek safety Tuesday.
Japanese naval units, operating under cover of a bombardment from warships, landed today in Honghai Bay, Chinese territory seventy miles northeast of Hong Kong, Japanese Navy officials announced.
Japanese military authorities today declared the foreign areas of Shanghai “in bounds” to Japanese soldiers on leave, arousing foreign fears of a multiplication of the unpleasant incidents that have disturbed Japanese-American relations in recent weeks. Simultaneously it was reported from Tientsin that Japanese restrictions virtually have halted the activities of American traders in North China. The Central China Daily News, organ of Wang Ching-wei, head of the puppet Chinese regime set up by the Japanese at Nanking, said Mayor Fu Siao-en had asked the United States Consulate in Shanghai to deport “without delay” six American newspapermen recently ordered banished by Premier Wang. Pro-Wang newspapers said the six were “wicked visitors to China who are conspiring with the rebels in an attempt to overthrow the Nanking Government.”
An unrestrained anti-American editorial appears in the Wang Ching-wei-controlled Chinese newspaper Central China Daily News, published in Shanghai. It declares it is “absurd for American officials to declare the American Government will make Japan shoulder all responsibility for actions the Chinese Government may take against Americans residing in China.” It asks if the International Settlement is gambling “with its very destiny.” Otherwise, it asks, why should the Settlement protect the American newspaper men whose deportation Nanking has ordered? “To the United States we cannot but take strong action to force her to realize the situation in the Far East. Very soon Americans in China will receive no protection from Chinese laws, and consequently Chinese friendship for a large number of law-abiding Americans in China will be sacrificed because of the presence of American gangsters who publish newspapers in the Settlement.”
According to a Japanese Foreign Affairs Ministry official report, Melville James Cox and ten other British citizens were arrested on suspicion of military espionage by Japanese military police in six Japanese cities. Two days later, Cox committed suicide by jumping from a window of his prison in Tokyo.
Prince Konoe’s government, in meeting with Army and Navy chiefs, agrees to establish formal military ties with Germany and Italy and pursue expansion in southeast Asia.
Plans for increased defensive armaments, a reoriented foreign policy and a reinforced administrative structure at home were approved by the Japanese Imperial Liaison Conference today.
Light cruiser HMS Dauntless departed Penang.
Australian radio reports that 125,000 men have volunteered for the Royal Australian Air Force.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 122.45 (+0.4)
Born:
Clyde Williams, NFL guard and tackle (St. Louis Cardinals), in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 2019).
Bob Woollard, ABA center (Miami Floridians), in Bloomfield, New Jersey (d. 2024).
Pina Bausch, dancer and ballet director, in Solingen, Germany (d. 2009).
Bharati Mukherjee, Indian-born American writer and professor emerita, in Calcutta, British India (d. 2017).
Naval Construction:
The Royal Australian Navy Bathurst-class minesweeper-corvette HMAS Kalgoorlie (J 192) is laid down by Broken Hill Pty. Ltd. (Whyalla, South Australia, Australia).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIB U-boat U-73 is launched by Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft, Bremen-Vegesack (werk 1).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type IID U-boats U-141 and U-142 are launched by Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel (werk 270 and 271).
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Collingwood (K 180) is launched by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. (Collingwood, Ontario, Canada).
The Royal Navy Fairmile A-class motor launch HMS ML 111 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant A V C Hoadley, RNR.
The Royal Navy Flower-class corvette HMS Clematis (K 36) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Commander York McLeod Cleeves, RNR.
History Diaries 