Hitler postponed Operation SEA LION to September 27. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler decided that Reichsmarschall and chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann W. Göring needed four or five consecutive days of fine weather to gain air superiority of Great Britain. Accordingly, Hitler postponed Operation SEA LION until September 27, 1940.
Hitler is enthusiastic about Operation Sealion. However, he decides that the Luftwaffe just needs another four or five days of good weather to finish off the RAF. Thus, he gives Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring carte blanche to act as necessary to eliminate the RAF as a bar to the operation. However, time also is limited because the tides will be best only on the 27th, and the invasion forces need 10 days to prepare. Unless Hitler is willing to risk beginning the operation deep in autumn, September 17, 1940, will be the drop-dead date for Operation Sealion. There are two main problems:
Winter is approaching;
The Luftwaffe has not achieved air superiority.
In a sense, the two problems are related. The weather has been miserable all summer long, and the Luftwaffe’s equipment requires good weather to achieve its objectives. Obviously, nobody can blame the weather alone for the Luftwaffe’s issues, but this shows that the state of the art of airpower — at least in the Luftwaffe, but everywhere else as well — is not advanced enough to achieve the German objectives with the tactics that the Luftwaffe has adopted.
The only time the Luftwaffe seemed to be making progress was when it was attacking RAF airfields and infrastructure exclusively in early September. Hitler and Göring, however, ruined the momentum with the switch to bombing London on 7 September. Now that Hitler has given Goering freedom of action, he may have one last chance to vanquish the RAF, but only by learning from experience and returning to the earlier tactics.
Looking at this incident in retrospect, it is easy to be cynical. Hitler appears to be putting on an act for his own hidden purposes. While he in effect gives the service chiefs a pep talk, in fact, he is not enthusiastic about the invasion at all (as we know from subsequent events). It is impossible to read motivations based on the thin evidence and at this distance, but one can always make some guesses. Hitler may be “playing” Göring and the other commanders to get one last good effort from them before he shelves Sealion for good — at which point they will almost certainly slack off. However, he has a few more days before he has to decide anything.
Weather over Great Britain: Again no sign in an improvement in the weather, and it was expected to remain unsettled with rain periods and a chance of thunderstorms in all areas. Over the Channel, the heavy cloud and rain should give way to lighter higher cloud during the day, but the chance of showers should persist.
Keith Park and Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding confer (by telephone as there is no record of any meeting between them on this day) and they discuss the constant postponements of the intended invasion by Germany. Park again points out that he could not understand why the switch to bombing London was made when the situation at the time was a critical one for Fighter Command, and there was every chance that the Luftwaffe could have finished off with the continued bombing of the airfields. The only thing standing in the way between Germany and the invasion was Fighter Command, now, Fighter Command was almost back to full operational strength and Göring would have to start all over again if he wants to destroy the Command. Dowding mentions, that the bombing of London was his biggest mistake, and one that could cost him the war.
By mid-September the Germans had assembled about 1,000 assorted invasion craft in the Channel ports, with some 600 more in the Scheldt. RAF bombing crippled about 12 per cent of this armada; what remained was still sufficient for the first stage of invasion as planned, but the combination of the bombing, and a sharp riposte by Fighter Command to a renewed attempt at a daylight attack on London on September 9, forced Hitler to yet another postponement of SEALION. It was deferred until the 24th, which meant that a final decision should have been made on September 14 (ten days’ notice was the German Navy’s very reasonable stipulation). With Hider, however, nothing was ever normal; the decision he actually took on that day was to bring forward SEALION to the 17th. He had been misled again by Göring, himself in turn misled by the Luftwaffe’s faulty Intelligence.
It was not so much the evidence that was at fault — rather the ability to interpret it correctly. The 9th had shown that Fighter Command was still very much a force to be reckoned with; the 11th & 14th, however, spoke with equivocal voices. On each of these days Fighter Command and Luftwaffe losses were equal, though this was not appreciated by the Air Ministry at the time. On the 14th, particularly, to the Luftwaffe the opposition appeared scrappy and uncoordinated, and they felt that during the last few days Fighter Command had begun to collapse. This news was, of course, conveyed to the Reichsmarschall, and via the situation reports to Hitler. Both felt that the hour of destiny was approaching.
- John Terraine The Right of the Line Hodder & Stoughton 1985 p210
In Berlin, Hitler called a rush conference ordering all his naval, air force and army commanders-in-chiefs to attend. This time, he made little mention on the bombing of London of the last seven days. Instead, he presented to them his plans for the all-out invasion of Britain. At last, Operation Sealion looked as though it was all systems go. The Führer was excited and full of eagerness, but nothing was said that was not already known…..except the exact date of any planned invasion.
Hitler pointed out that the naval preparations for “Operation Sealion” was now almost complete. “All our barges are now in place, and we have more held in reserve along river banks,” he said which was borne out by one of the British Observer Groups which had the day previous seen up to ten large enemy transport ships town a number of barges from Calais to Cape Griz Nez. Spitfires of the PRU had also flown over the belgian and Dutch coasts and had also reported and photographed the collection of barges. But there again, based on the PRU intelligence, Bomber Command had bombed many of the barge installations at an average of every second night, so what ws Hitler trying to pull when he said that “All our barges are in place.” Maybe he forgot to add that at least one third of them were submerged at their moorings.
“If we plan now,” he went on, “…..the invasion date can be set for one week from now, given that we need five days of good weather to achieve the desired results.” But then, haven’t we heard that before, from Hermann Göring just prior to Adler Tag in early August. “All I need,” he said, “….was five days preparation and we will be ready for the day of the Eagle.”
Hitler then went on to state that in the preparation we must make sure that the Luftwaffe has complete air superiority over the Channel and over southern England. But again, a remark that had been heard before, when issuing the order to Göring prior to Adler Tag, “Before any invasion can be mounted against England, we must first destroy the RAF both in the air and on the ground.” This was the whole concept of the task given to Göring, to eliminate the British Royal Air Force.
Finally, the on again, off again “Operation Sealion” was at last given as September 17th, which again, if we want to be critical, should have been September 19th if Hitler estimated that it would take five days of preparation. Orders were given for a full scale attack to be made prior to the lead up of the invasion, and again this was placed in the hands of Hermann Göring. An alternative date, as was mentioned earlier by the Führer could be given as September 27th. But is does seem that there was a chain of misleading eventsas shown above from the work by John Terraine.
1200 Hours: The Germans do what they could in an attempt to jam the British radar with electronic interference. A few aircraft managed to cross the Channel on weather reconnaissance missions. One or two raiders bombed some of the coastal resorts in the vicinity of Eastbourne and Brighton where some sixty civilians were either killed or seriously hurt. A small formation was detected over Selsey Bill and one German aircraft is reported to have been shot down. Others probed the areas of South London and bombs fell on residential areas of Croydon and Mitcham killing over fifty people.
1515 Hours: German raiders were detected crossing the coast at both the Thames Estuary and in the Deal and Folkestone areas. Bf 109s escorting Do 17s, He 111 and Ju 88 bombers. The enemy strength did not exceed 100 in both areas and a mini aerial combat session developed within 30 minutes.
1545 Hours: Again, as was becoming a common occurrence, people along the coastal stretches from Folkestone, round ‘Hell Corner’ to Margate saw the twisting and snaking black dots against the grey overcast with many cheered if they recognized a German plane spiral down into the sea.
Park had reshuffled a number of his squadrons during the lull of the last few days so that Hurricanes and Spitfires could work in pairs. With most of the German raids following a similar pattern whenever crossing the Channel on a bombing mission, Park was now better prepared than ever for any raid coming in from the Thames Estuary or over the Channel between Dungeness and Ramsgate. This, coupled with the fact that most aerodromes had now been repaired and were 95% operational, radar stations were all back to normal, and all telephone lines connecting the radar stations, Observer Corps, Fighter Command HQ and 11 Group HQ were all repaired and functioning properly.
Vectored to the Thames Estuary were 41 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires), 66 Squadron Gravesend (Spitfires), 73 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes), 222 Squadron Hornchurch (Spitfires), 504 Squadron Hendon (Hurricanes) and 1RCAF Northolt (Hurricanes).
Vectored to the Kent coast near Deal were 72 Squadron Biggin Hill (Spitfires), 92 Squadron Biggin Hill (Spitfires), 229 Squadron Northolt (Hurricanes) and 253 Squadron Kenley (Hurricanes).
1600 Hours: Most of the action took place over the Estuary or over north Kent near Maidstone by the time that the British fighters made contact with the enemy. Even though the raids were small by previous standards, it was noticed that there were more Bf 109s than usual indicating that the Luftwaffe were trying to draw as many fighters in the air as possible. A number of Do 17s were shot down but also quite a few Bf 109s also suffered. I/KGr.606 was to suffer most when two Dorniers were classed as write offs, while two others were damaged.
For Fighter Command, 73 Squadron Debden (Hurricanes) was to suffer most after losing three aircraft and four others were damaged but were repairable, but only one pilot was killed. There were casualties amongst other squadrons.
1800 Hours: There had been a sighting over Bournmouth just prior to the evening attack, but they turned back before any British fighters could intercept. Now a number of separate raids seemed to be approaching the coast in formations of 10+, 12+, 15+, 20+ and 30+. All aircraft were detected at between 17,000 and 20,000 feet. Many of Fighter Commands squadrons had only been back a short while after the afternoon raids when they were scrambled again. The formations were intercepted just as they crossed the southern coastline and a running battle took place as far as London, but many of the raiders had turned back before their destination had been reached.
RAF Casualties:
1605 Hours: Tonbridge. Hurricane P2542. 73 Squadron Debden
Sgt J.J. Brimble killed. (Shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed at Parkhurst Farm Chart Sutton)
1615 Hours: Rochford. Spitfire X4275. 222 Squadron Hornchurch
Sgt S. Baxter killed.(Badly damaged by gunfire from Bf 109s and crashed attempting to land)
1620 Hours: Orsett (Essex). Spitfire R6625. 19 Squadron Duxford
Sgt F. Marek killed. (Crashed during routine patrol. Possibly oxygen failure. No other details)
1800 Hours: Bredgar. Hurricane P5184. 253 Squadron Kenley
Sgt W.B. Higgins killed. (Shot down in flames after combat with Bf 109. Pilot did not bail out)
Two Hurricanes of 253 and 610 Squadrons shot down but no details are known except that the pilot of the Hurricane of 610 Squadron is listed as missing. The Hurricane of 253 Squadron was shot down near Faversham Kent.
Douglas Bader was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
Walter Grabmann was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross medal.
Overnight, there was light bombing of London.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 14 Blenheims on daylight sea and coastal sweeps. 1 aircraft bombed Haamstede airfield and a U-boat at sea but no hits were scored on the U-boat. No losses.
The RAF conducted a particularly heavy bombing raid on Antwerp. RAF Bomber Command dispatches 157 aircraft of all types overnight to an oil depot at Antwerp (the biggest raid, by 43 Wellingtons), railway yards at Brussels and in Germany, and barges in the Channel ports. 2 Whitleys lost.
Great Britain has no intention of lifting its blockade against the countries under German domination because it is convinced that food sent in by generous sympathizers would merely give the Nazi regime an excuse to strip its victims of more of their existing supplies, Lor Lothian British Ambassador to the United States, told a cheering World’s Fair crowd in New York today.
The work of the London docks is transferred to the Clyde in Scotland.
A German program to take over control of Europe’s second largest river before the Balkan Winter sets in crystallized today with D.N.B., official German news agency, declaring that the international Danubian commission controlling the River Danube “no longer exists.”
A formal understanding between the Rumanian Legionary Movement and General Ion Antonescu is sanctioned by King Michael and a National Legionary State is proclaimed. Ion Antonescu becomes President; Horia Sima, Vice President and Commandant of the Legionary Movement and Prince Michael Sturdza, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
158 ethnic Rumanians were killed in the Ip massacre in Northern Transylvania. In Northern Transylvania, the Hungarians have completed their occupation of the territory ceded by Romania. At the village of Ip, Sălaj, Hungarian troops kill 55 civilians in the forest at Felsőkaznacs and Szilágcseres (present-day Cosniciu de Sus and Cerișa). The reason given is reprisals for guerrilla attacks on the occupying troops. Reports indicate that, in addition to the specific instances such as this one at Ip, the Hungarian soldiers simply march through towns killing people indiscriminately — and they do indeed find some guerillas, though only a fraction of the people killed. The number of people murdered will never be known, but it is assumed to be in the mid-hundreds. While there are killings throughout the region, this is generically known as the Ip Massacre.
This is one of a string of incidents in the region that inflame tensions between the Rumanian inhabitants and the occupying force. Reports suggest that the troops are supported by local “vigilante groups” settling old scores with the Rumanians who remain. This is a common theme throughout World War II, and not just in this region, with changes in control unleashing buried hatreds and resentments.
The Italian units in Halfaya Pass descend down to meet the Italians advancing along the coast. The British (11th Hussar squadron, the 2nd Rifle Brigade and cruiser tanks of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment (1st RTR)) delay the Italians as much as possible. The Italians on the coast make progress, pushing the British back to Buq Buq, where the British get reinforcements. The British establish a major fallback position at the railhead of Mersa Matruh, which is a major destination for both sides throughout World War II (during fluid battles, a standing joke amongst the British is that the latest “Mersa Matruh stakes” is on). Halfaya Pass, too, we will be reading more about.
At Malta, there is an air raid alert around 2030. However, the bomber over Grand Harbour drops its bombs in the water and flees, while scattered bombs drop in the north. Meanwhile, the army has been installing beach obstacles to deter invasion. They are concrete pyramid blocks set at the one-fathom mark in two staggered rows. However, there now is a shortage of concrete, and the weather is making installation difficult.
Cruisers Montcalm and Georges Leygues arrived at Dakar, French West Africa.
General de Gaulle receives more potential followers when the Ex-Servicemen’s General Assembly of Saint Pierre and Miquelon — two small islands off Newfoundland that contain French bases — pledge their support. However, the local Vichy authorities quickly crush the group. The islands remain outposts of Vichy France in the Western Hemisphere, along with bases in the Caribbean.
Rear Admiral (Destroyers) Home Fleet transferred his flag to battlecruiser HMS Repulse at 0800.
Destroyers HMS Eskimo and HMS Matabele arrived at 1200/14th at Scapa Flow escorting depot ship HMS Maidstone. They then departed at 1600 to search for a submarine reported by aircraft 20 miles north of Cape Wrath. Destroyer HMS Eglinton departed Scapa Flow at 1630 to join them. All three destroyers returned to Scapa Flow on the 15th without making contact.
Battleship HMS Revenge and light cruiser HMS Emerald departed the Clyde to come under the command of Western Approaches. The ships were escorted from the Clyde by destroyers HMS Mackay, HMS Westcott, HMS Scimitar and HMS Skate, and HMS Revenge arrived at Plymouth on the 15th.
Minelayer HMS Teviotbank departed Immingham to lay minefield ZMD (A) in channels in the Faroes Islands. Escorted by anti-submarine whalers HMS Wastwater, HMS Buttermere, and HMS Thirlmere, she laid mines in Hestofjord, Dimonfjord and Skuofjord, and then proceeded to Loch Alsh after the minelay was completed.
German anti-submarine trawler UJ.173 (trawler Hinrich Wesselhoft (510grt)) was lost by stranding at Hardangersfjord.
Italian submarine Emo sank steamer Saint Agnes (5199grt) from dispersed convoy SLS.46 in 41-27N, 21-50W, but the entire crew was rescued.
Battlecruiser HMS Renown and her destroyers arrived back at Gibraltar at 2014 for refueling. Destroyers HMS Velox and HMS Vidette had been detached earlier to refuel there. Destroyer HMS Encounter, which had been searching for a London flying boat shot down by French fighters, arrived at Gibraltar the next morning.
Submarines HMS Triton and HMS Tetrarch arrived at Gibraltar from Home Waters for duty with the 8th Submarine Flotilla, escorted by destroyer HMS Wrestler, which departed to join them on the 12th.
At 0730/14th, destroyers HMS Inglefield, HMS Echo, HMS Greyhound, HMS Fortune, HMS Escapade, and HMS Eclipse from aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal’s screen arrived at Freetown to refuel. At 0900, destroyers HMS Faulknor, HMS Foresight, HMS Forester, and HMS Fury arrived at Freetown to refuel. At 1215, convoy MP escorted by French sloops Commandant Domine and Commandant Duboc arrived at Freetown. At 1230, battleships HMS Barham and HMS Resolution arrived at Freetown. At 1350, HMS Inglefield, HMS Echo, HMS Fortune, HMS Escapade, HMS Eclipse, and HMS Fury departed Freetown. HMS Eclipse had mechanical problems and reported at 0015 on the 15th that she was returning to Freetown. At 0515 on the 15th, HMS Faulknor, HMS Foresight, and HMS Forester and at 0530, battleships HMS Barham and HMS Resolution and destroyers departed Freetown. These ships were recalled to Freetown at 1621 on the 15th to refuel destroyers, arriving at 2300 that night.
Sloop HMS Bridgewater departed Freetown on patrol, but was recalled later in the day to return for anti-submarine duties off Freetown.
Polish destroyer ORP Garland departed Gibraltar to return to England. On the 15th, she made two attacks on submarine contacts in 37-08N, 10-42W, arrived at Belfast for refueling on the 18th, and reached Plymouth on the 22nd.
Convoy OL.1 departed Liverpool, but no escorts were listed. The convoy dispersed on the 19th. Convoy OL.2 did not sail.
Convoy OA.214 departed Methil escorted by sloop HMS Sandwich and corvette HMS Gardenia from the 14th to 19th.
Convoy FN.280 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers HMS Vivacious and HMS Woolston, and arrived in the Tyne on the 16th.
Convoy MT.169 departed Methil, and arrived in the Tyne the next day.
Convoy FS.281 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers HMS Vanity, HMS Vimiera, and HMS Wolsey, and arrived at Southend on the 16th.
Convoy SHX.73 departed Sydney, CB escorted by Canadian auxiliary patrol vessel HMCS Laurier and armed yacht HMCS Reindeer.
Convoy BS.4A departed Suez, was joined on the 17th by sloop HMS Shoreham, and arrived at Port Sudan on the 18th.
Convoy BS.4C departed Port Sudan, was joined on the 15th by heavy cruiser HMS Shropshire, anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Coventry, destroyers HMS Kimberley and HMS Kingston, plus sloop HMS Flamingo, and arrived at Aden on the 18th
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burk-Wadsworth Act, was passed by the Congress of the United States. The act required men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards. The act introduced the first peacetime conscription in United States history when U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law two days later. Seventy-five thousand men are expected to be mustered into service In November for a year’s training. A total of 400,000 conscripts are due to be in training early In January, 1941, others later. The bill places a 900,000 limit on the number, of conscripts in the army at any one time. Exemptions and deferments to be granted to men with dependents, ministers, theological students, men in essential occupations, certain government officers, aliens, the physically unfit and conscientious objectors. The latter are liable for non-combatant training. Draftees are to receive $21 a month for the first four months and $30 subsequently, with opportunity for raises.
One of the little-remembered portions of the Selective Service Act of 1940 is that, for the first time, African Americans are permitted to join any branch of the military. This is a key and little-noted moment in civil rights history and has widespread and unexpected effects on society. It arguably begins the Civil Rights movement.
Speaker of the House of Representatives William B. Bankhead of Alabama died at 1:35 AM Eastern standard tim) today in Naval Hospital. He was 66 years old. His death was due to a ruptured artery in the abdomen. He had been unconscious for four hours before his death. He served as the 42nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940, representing Alabama’s 10th and later 7th congressional districts as a Democrat from 1917 to 1940. Bankhead was a strong liberal and a prominent supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal of pro-labor union legislation, thus clashing with most other Southern Democrats in Congress at the time. At the 1940 Democratic National Convention (three months before his death), he finished second to Henry A. Wallace on the vice presidential ticket, losing the delegate count 626–329. Bankhead described himself as proud to be a politician, by which he meant that he did not neglect matters that concerned his district or reelection. He was the father of actress Tallulah Bankhead.
The Senate agreed late today to limit debate in order to rush through the Excess Profits Tax and Amortization Bill, rated by the Administration as the most important defense measure awaiting enactment by Congress.
In a voice so hoarse that aides summoned throat specialists from Chicago and California, Wendell L. Willkie charged today that President Roosevelt “has been one of the principal contributors to the breakdown in Europe.” Speaking in Peoria, Illinois alter a series of rear platform addresses had strained his voice, Willkie said huskily: “Where was Franklin Roosevelt, this great, indispensable man, when Germany was reaching out? If he had given encouragement, this thing would never have happened. “Franklin Roosevelt, Instead of being one factor for the preservation of the democratic way, has been one of the principal factors in the destruction of the democratic way.”
Newly completed surveys by the American Institute of Public Opinion in five “border” States — Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware — indicate that Wendell Willkie has lost more than he has gained in these States since the last reported State-by-State survey of August 25, Dr. George Gallup, director of the institute, reports.
Members of the Senate Campaign Investigating Committee decided today to study President Roosevelt’s Labor Day speeches before passing on a Republican contention that the speeches were “political” and involved expenses subject to the Hatch act.
Intensive study of the United States fleet in action has convinced Secretary Knox that it is the “greatest” in the world. Seated last night in a hotel room from whose window he could see a portion of the fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor, the Secretary said: “The United States has the greatest, the most powerful and the most effective fleet on the high seas anywhere in the world.” The Secretary had just returned from a five-day inspection of the fleet during war exercises far at sea.
A preparatory flight completed at La Guardia Field yesterday brought Pan American Airways a step closer to the projected “non-stop air service between New York and Europe, perhaps by the end of the year.” Realization of the pan would establish the first transatlantic non-stop service by airplane.
General Jonathan Mayhew “Skinny” Wainwright IV, just promoted to Major General (temporary) departs New York City aboard US Army Transport Grant for the Philippines. He is taking up his new command there as the commander of the Philippine Detachment. He is or becomes one of General MacArthur’s favorite Generals, and, while MacArthur at this time is in retirement, he is a Field Marshal in the Philippine Army and his opinion matters.
Georgia Coleman, once acclaimed as the world’s greatest diving champion, died in a hospital tonight of a liver ailment. She had been unconscious since Tuesday. Miss Coleman, who was 28, was stricken with infantile paralysis on Thanksgiving Day, 1937, and had never completely recovered although she fought with a cheerful spirit to regain her health. She first competed in the Olympic games at Amsterdam in 1928 and won honors for the United States in both the springboard and tower diving. In the 1932 Olympics she took the three-meter event and placed second in the high diving. The former aquatic star was born at Saint Maries, Idaho, and first learned to swim at Catalina island at the age of 6.
The United States, Hawaii, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico meet in the 3rd annual World Amateur Baseball Championship tourney, the first championship series to feature more than 3 participants. Cuba, the host country, is the victor for the 2nd consecutive year. The initial tourney had been held in England in 1939 and was also won by the host country, Great Britain.
Major League Baseball:
The Brooklyn Dodgers swept a doubleheader from the Pirates, 5–0 and 4–2. Joe Medwick, Dolf Camilli and Blimp Phelps each hit home runs, while Camilli added a triple and Medwick a double. Freddy Fitzsimmons and Tex Carleton were the winnning pitchers.
The Cincinnati Reds edged the New York Giants, 3–2. Jimmy Ripple, sold to the Dodgers last year by the Giant skipper and picked up less than a month ago by Bill McKechnie, hit his second home run in the interests of the Reds in the ninth inning to break a 2–2 deadlock.
The Cardinals climbed back into third place in the National League today by winning the fourth game of a series with the Bees, 6–5, giving hard-working Clyde Shoun his thirteenth victory of the campaign. A five-run outburst by Boston in the eighth inning tied the game, but a bobble by Eddie Miller in the ninth gave the fighting Cardinals the margin of victory.
The power behind 39-year-old Sylvester Johnson’s fast ball held the Cubs to five hits today as the Phillies capitalized on a triple and a homer for a 5–3 triumph. With the bases loaded and his team-mates trailing 2–0, Chuck Klein went to bat as a pinch hitter. in the sixth and smashed out a three-bagger that was good for three runs. In the seventh Danny Litwhiler hit a homer with one on to put the game on ice.
The Yankees finally erupt against Detroit pitching, bombarding Bobo Newsom for a 16–7 win. Joe Gordon clouts two homers and Joe DiMaggio has two doubles among his 4 hits as he takes over the American League hitting lead from Rip Radcliff. The Tigers lead the American League by a half game as Red Sox rookie Earl Johnson stops the Indians, 2–1. The Yankees trail the Tigers by two games.
Earl Johnson, a tall 21-year-old Red Sox rookie, stalled off the second-place Indians with four scattered singles today for a 6-to-1 victory, preventing Cleveland from taking the league lead. Trailing 1–0 in the sixth, the Red Sox explode for six runs.
The White Sox racked up their sixth straight victory today with a 6–3 decision over the Athletics before a slim crowd of 1,875. The triumph was Chicago’s thirteenth in sixteen contests, advancing Jimmy Dykes’s fourth-place club within four and a half games of the lead.
The St. Louis Browns moved to within a game and a half of the sixth-place Senators today by defeating them, 5–2. Bob Harris prevailed over Ken Chase in a pitchers’ duel, with Harris giving up six hits and Chase seven.
Pittsburgh Pirates 0, Brooklyn Dodgers 5
Pittsburgh Pirates 2, Brooklyn Dodgers 4
St. Louis Cardinals 6, Boston Bees 5
Philadelphia Athletics 3, Chicago White Sox 6
Boston Red Sox 6, Cleveland Indians 1
New York Yankees 16, Detroit Tigers 7
Cincinnati Reds 3, New York Giants 2
Chicago Cubs 3, Philadelphia Phillies 5
Washington Senators 2, St. Louis Browns 5
The Mexican political situation was further complicated today when six of the thirty-two sections of the Petroleum Workers Syndicate decided to call a strike to register their disapproval of the reorganization of the oil industry ordered by President Lazaro Cardenas.
With the French stalling negotiations in protest at Japanese incursions into French Indochina, the Japanese decide to take advantage of Vichy French weakness. The Imperial General Headquarters issues orders for troops to move into French Indochina beginning on 22 September. The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters gave the orders for troops to move into Indochina on 22 September 1940 regardless of the state of the Franco-Japanese negotiations. British intelligence intercepted this message, but it would not be deciphered until 20 September 1940.
Preliminary plans for giving Japan a new nation-wide political organization somewhat resembling the Italian Fascist party have been nearly completed by the preparatory committee appointed by Premier Prince Fumimaro Konoye on Aug. 27.
The Government of Thailand has opened diplomatic negotiations for the return of former Thai territory from French Indo-China, the Premier Foreign Minister, General Luang Bipul Songgram, disclosed at a press conference today. Memoranda have been handed simultaneously to the French Minister here and to the French Government at Vichy, he said, and unless a territorial adjustment is made, Thailand may not ratify a recently concluded non-aggression pact.
Troop Convoy US 5 departs Australia for the Middle East.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 128.38 (+0.64)
Born:
Larry Brown, ABA point guard (ABA Champions-Oaks, 1969; ABA All-Star, 1968-1970; New Orleans Buccaneers, Oakland Oaks, Washington Capitols, Virginia Squires, Denver Rockets) and NBA Hall of Fame basketball coach (NBA Championship, 2004-Detroit Pistons; NBA Coach of the Year, 2001-Philadelphia 76ers), in Brooklyn, New York, New York.
Ventseslav Konstantinov, Bulgarian writer and translator.
Naval Construction:
The Royal Navy “M”-class destroyers HMS Matchless (G 52) and HMS Meteor (G 73) are laid down by A. Stephen & Sons Ltd. (Glasgow, Scotland).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type IXB U-boat U-109 is launched by AG Weser, Bremen (werk 972).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boats U-551 and U-552 are launched by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 527 and 528).
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Matapedia (K 112) is launched by the Morton Engineering and Dry Dock Co. (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada).
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Chilliwack (K 131) is launched by the Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd. (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada).
The Nihon Kaigun (Imperial Japanese Navy) Shimushu-class kaibōkan (escort ship) HIJMS Ishigaki (石垣) is launched by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding (Tamano, Japan).
The U.S. Navy Gleaves-class destroyer USS Eberle (DD-430) is launched by the Bath Iron Works (Bath, Maine, U.S.A.).
The Royal Navy Fairmile B-class motor launch HMS ML 116 is commissioned.
The Royal Navy Dance-class ASW trawler HMS Hornpipe (T 120) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is T/Lieutenant John Russell Symon, RNR.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-96 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock.
The Royal Navy Flower-class corvette HMS Honeysuckle (K 27) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant George Windsor Gregorie, RNR
History Diaries 