Operation MENACE: The British fleet bombarded Dakar in French West Africa in the morning. At 0900 hours, French submarine Beveziers attacked British battleship HMS Resolution, damaging her; she had to be towed back by battleship HMS Barham while the rest of the British warships fell back. The British War Cabinet decided to cancel the operation after all attempts to enter Dakar failed. The Battle of Dakar ended in Vichy French victory. Meanwhile, Vichy French bombers from Algeria and Morocco again bombed Gibraltar in retaliation to the British and Free French attacks on Dakar, lighting damaging port facilities and sinking British anti-submarine trawler Stella Sirius.
With the British/Free French invasion frustrated, the French turn to the attack on 25 September 1940. The Vichy French Air Force (Armée de l’Air de Vichy), based in Morocco and Algeria, launches another, larger strike on Gibraltar than on the 24th. This is in retaliation for the Operation MENACE attack on Dakar by the British and Free French. It is even larger than the attack on 24 September, this time including 80-100 aircraft dropping some 300 bombs. This is the largest air raid of the war to date on Gibraltar, causing extensive damage to the dockyard facilities. British 550 ton anti-submarine trawler HMT Stella Sirius is sunk by direct hits in the harbor with 12 deaths. Some accounts state that four Vichy French destroyers also bombard the port.
The British fleet again bombards Dakar at first light. French submarine Bévéziers, the only one remaining at Dakar after two have been sunk, manages at 09:00 to evade detection by the assembled fleet and torpedoes British battleship HMS Resolution. It loses power and must be towed back to Freetown, Sierra Leone, by HMS Barham, which also takes damage from the French battleship Richelieu. This forces the Royal Navy to end the operation, which has been accomplishing nothing anyway.
The affair has been a fiasco for the Allies. Long in the planning, involving extensive Royal Navy movements throughout September, Operation MENACE accomplishes nothing but further poison relations with the Vichy French. General Charles de Gaulle suffers a huge loss in prestige, as his assumption of the mantle of resistance to his former French bosses turns out to have less appeal than he has claimed. It is easier now to portray de Gaulle as nothing but a tool of British interests. The Royal Navy itself does not come off well, either.
In a wider sense, Operation MENACE is a learning experience. It is the first in a series of Allied raids along the length of the Atlantic Coast that will grow in intensity over the coming years. While a shaky start, it sets the foundation for later efforts at Dieppe, in Norway, and ultimately at Normandy. However, there is no question whatsoever that, in the short run, this is a major Vichy French victory.
The British prepare Operation LUCID, which is designed to use obsolete warships as fire ships against the invasion barges in Channel ports. The operation is set for the 26th. It is a throwback to the use of fireships against the Spanish Armada and during the Napoleonic Wars. Escorted by destroyer forces, the fire ships are old tankers Nizam and Nawab. The tankers are packed with various flammables including heavy fuel oil, gasoline, and diesel oil. The force leaves port today (Sheerness and Portsmouth) — the old fire ships are very slow. En route, the Nizam breaks down less than 10 miles from Boulogne Harbor and the operation is canceled.
Adolf Hitler meets with Spanish Interior Minister — and Franco’s brother-in-law — Serrano Suner. It is likely that the topics discussed include arranging a meeting between Hitler and Franco. Hitler’s objective is to bring Spain into the war on his side in order to capture the British naval base at Gibraltar, while Franco demands an exorbitant price for his cooperation.
Josef Terboven, the German Reich-Commissar for Norway, formally deposed the King of Norway, reorganized the country’s political administration, dissolved all political parties with the exception of Vidkun Quisling’s Nasjonal Samling, and appointed 13 commissars to govern the country.
Vichy France instituted a court-martial body for crimes committed against the state. There was no appeal, and sentence was to be carried out within 24 hours.
Joachim von Ribbentrop alerted the German embassy in the Soviet Union that Japan was likely to join Germany and Italy in an alliance. Should this happen, the ambassador was to alert the Soviet Union of this news, and to ensure the USSR that this alliance was meant to deter the United States from entering the war and in no way was meant to be formed against Soviet interests.
The future of the Jews is closely allied with the victory or defeat of Great Britain in the present war, Lord Marley, Deputy Speaker of the British House of Lords, declared last night in an address in Town Hall. He sees “mass slavery” for them if Britain loses.
At 1145 hours, 27 German bombers escorted by 30 fighters attacked the Bristol Aeroplane Company factory at Filton in southwestern England, United Kingdom; construction sheds and 8 newly-built aircraft were destroyed, while 132 were killed and 315 were wounded; the Germans lost 6 aircraft (8 killed, 10 taken prisoner), while the British lost 4 fighters (1 killed). At 1647 hours, 24 German bombers escorted by 12 Bf 110 fighters attacked Plymouth in southern England, losing 1 bomber.
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring continues fine-tuning his aerial assault on England. This time, he cuts back on raids against London and shifts his focus toward British aircraft factories. These are primarily located in the western half of Britain, and Luftlotte 3 (Sperrle) is given primary responsibility. While perhaps justified by changing priorities, these types of changes are demoralizing to Luftwaffe crews who see no lasting results from all their efforts. These changes do, however, catch the RAF off guard now and then, and this happens today, to England’s detriment.
The weather is good, but nothing much happens until about noontime. Then, a large raid targets the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton, a favorite target of the Luftwaffe which it has attacked over and over. About 80 bombers of KG 55 cross at Weymouth and bomb the factory and also oil installations at Portland. Fighter Command vectors its fighters to an expected target that turns out to be wrong, and thus the defending fighters get a late start on the Heinkel He 111s escorted by 52 Bf 110s of ZG 26.
The bombers reach their targets without much interference aside from anti-aircraft fire, even if the ride home is hot. RAF Nos. 152, 229, 234 and 238 Squadrons defend and bring down eight bombers, most on the way back to France. Canadian pilot John Urwin-Mann gets two of the planes. The raid causes extensive damage, including to shelters hit by bombs that kill and injure many inside. The Luftwaffe also destroys 8 fighters on the ground, including two Beaufighter night-fighters. There are 132 deaths, 91 of them factory workers, and 315 other casualties. It is a major Luftwaffe victory.
The Germans are fully aware of their success after reconnaissance flights confirm it, and KG 55 Gruppenkommandeur Major Friedrich Kless later is awarded the Ritterkreuz for it. The British are alarmed and shifts RAF No. 504 Squadron from Hendon to Filton to guard against future attacks.
The next big raid is at 16:00, and it targets the Isle of Wight area. Fighter Command does a better job of intercepting this raid, shooting down a bomber at no cost, but the bombers drop their bombs at random and destroy a lot of homes and underground infrastructure.
Overnight, London and other cities were bombed, while other German bombers laid mines in the Thames Estuary. The night-time raids begin around 19:30, and as usual, they focus on London. Later raids from Luftflotte 3 target Liverpool, South Wales, and the Midlands. Several hits on the rail lines around London destroy the railway bridge across Thames Road, Chiswick and the yards at Kensington. Large fires are started in the Wandsworth, Edmonton, Tottenham, Old Kent Road and Hammersmith areas of London. The raids continue all night and only end just before first light at 05:30.
Losses for the day are usually given as 13 for the Luftwaffe and 4 for the RAF. These figures, however, do not include the numerous brand new RAF fighters destroyed on the ground at Filton. Once those are factored in, it is a roughly even day.
The Tubes set an all-time record for people sheltering in them from the Blitz.
The Italians are fulfilling Mussolini’s promise to participate in the Battle of Britain — even though it is virtually over. They are transferring 2 Gruppos to Melsbroek airbase in Belgium northeast of Brussels. The total projected Italian force:
36 CR 42 Falco (“Falcon”) biplane fighters;
36 Fiat G.50 Freccia (“Arrow”) fighters;
72 Fiat BR.20 Cicogna (“Stork”) bombers;
5 Cant Z 1007 Alcione (“Kingfisher”) bombers.
While it is a large number of planes, the Italian models are mid-1930s designs (or earlier) which set records during that decade, but now are deathtraps on the highly competitive Channel front. The bombers are slow, ponderous and poorly armed, while the fighters are completely outclassed by much faster Spitfires and Hurricanes.
Feldwebel Walter Scherer of III,/ZG 26, with 7 victory claims, is shot down and he becomes a POW during the Filton raid.
Adolf Galland was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross by Adolf Hitler for achieving 40 kills.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 13 Blenheims on daylight sea and coastal sweeps; 2 aircraft bombed ships off the Dutch coast without scoring hits. No losses.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 117 aircraft overnight to Channel ports, Kiel docks and to 6 other German targets. No losses. It targets Tempelhof Airport, a munitions factory, power stations, and the railway. Other raids are launched on Kiel, warehouses at Osnabruck, Ehrang, Hamm, Mannheim and Hanover, and invasion ports including Flushing and Antwerp. Coastal Command chips in with a raid on Brest, which sets the oil tanks there alight.
At Malta, there is an air raid around noontime which drops some bombs on the countryside. The Italians lose one Macchi C. 200 Saetta (“Arrow”) fighter. The soldiers at Malta already are occupied defusing unexploded bombs at Hal Far and Luqa airfields which have been dropped over the previous two weeks.
U-29, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart, badly damaged British steamer Eurymedon (6223grt) from the dispersed OB.217 convoy in 53-34N, 20-23W. At 1402 hours the unescorted Eurymedon (Master John Faulkner Webster), dispersed from convoy OB.217, was hit aft by one torpedo from U-29 about 366 miles west of Achill Head. At 1600 hours the ship was hit amidships by a coup de grâce, but remained afloat until she foundered two days later in 53°24N/18°37W. 20 crew members and nine passengers were lost. The master, 41 crew members and 22 passengers were picked up by HMCS Ottawa (H 60) (Cdr E.R. Mainguy, RCN) and landed at Greenock on 27 September, where one crew member later died of injuries. The master John Faulkner Webster was awarded the Lloyd’s War Medal for bravery at sea. The 6,223-ton Eurymedon was carrying general cargo and passengers and was headed for Java.
U-32, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Hans Jenisch, sank British steamer Mabriton (6694grt) in 56-12N, 23-00W. At 0325 hours the unescorted Mabriton (Master Reginald Patrick), dispersed on 23 September from convoy OB.216, was hit by one torpedo from U-32 in the stern, broke in two and sank west-southwest of Rockall. Twelve crew members were lost. The master, 23 crew members and one gunner were rescued: the master and 17 survivors by HMS Jason (J 99) (LtCdr R.E. Terry, RN) and seven others on 30 September by HMS Rochester (L 50) (Cdr G.F. Renwick, RN) and landed at Londonderry. The 6,694-ton Mabriton was carrying ballast and was headed for Father Point, New Brunswick.
U-43, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Ambrosius, sank British steamer Sulairia (5802grt) from the dispersed OB.217 convoy in 53-43N, 20-10W. At 1330 hours the unescorted Sulairia (Master Robert Clarke Young), dispersed from convoy OB.217 on 25 September, was hit in the stern by one G7e torpedo from U-43 and sank slowly about 356 miles west of Achill Head, Co. Mayo. One crew member was lost. The master and 55 crew members were picked up by HMCS Ottawa (H 60) (Cdr E.R. Mainguy, RCN) and landed at Gourock on 27 September. The 5,802-ton Sulairia was carrying general cargo and livestock and was headed for Montreal, Canada.
U-138, leaving Lorient, was attacked off Penmarch in 46-58N, 05-56W by Submarine HMS Cachalot.
Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Cairo arrived at Scapa Flow at 1006 after covering convoy OA.219 on the east coast of Scotland.
Destroyer HMS Versatile departed Scapa Flow for Middlesbrough to refit and correct defects. Destroyer Versatile arrived at 0930/26th, but was ordered to return to Rosyth, arriving at 1700/26th.
Destroyers HMS Somali and HMS Eskimo departed Scapa Flow at 0220 to search for a German plane, which crashed in the sea at 2000/24th, 22 miles 90° from Kinnaird Head. A German safety boat departed Stavanger at 2100/24th. The German crew was rescued before the British ships arrived and the destroyers arrived back at Scapa Flow at 2300/25thconscious
In operation LUCID, sending fire ships to French ports to destroy German landing craft, forces departed on the 25th.
Force A, old tanker War Nizam (5605grt) and destroyers HMS Campbell (Captain A W. S. Agar embarked) and HMS Garth, minesweepers HMS Sutton, HMS Salamander, and HMS Selkirk, and MTBs departed Sheerness.
Force B, old tanker War Nawab (5516grt), destroyers HMS Beagle and HMS Wolverine, minesweepers HMS Niger and HMS Elgin, and MTBs departed Portsmouth early on the 25th, but was recalled when War Nawab was found unfit for the trip.
Force C was a covering force of destroyers HMS Veteran, HMS Venomous, and HMS Wild Swan which departed Sheerness.
The operation was cancelled late on the 25th when the second tanker, War Nizam, broke down.
For British minefield MU, minelayers HMS Plover and HNLMS Willem Van Der Zaan departed Immingham and arrived at Sheerness at noon on the 26th. At 2200/26th, the minelayers departed Sheerness for MU. However, en route both minelayers ran aground at the northern end of the Goodwins. Tug HMS Lady Brassey got the minelayers off and they arrived back at Sheerness at 0600/27th.
Submarine HMS Utmost departed Portsmouth for patrol in Biscay. The submarine arrived back on 5 October with propeller defects. The submarine was under repair from 6 October to 26 October.
British drifter White Daisy (79grt) was lost near Lerwick in heavy weather.
French trawler Findlande (1344grt) was seized by Canadian forces in the Newfoundland area. The trawler was intended for use by Free French forces, but she was laid up until April 1941 when she was transferred to the Ministry of War Transportation.
In MENACE operations, Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia was damaged by two six-inch shell hits, but the damage did not require her withdrawal from the operation.
Battleship HMS Barham was hit by a 15 inch shell.
A Walrus from heavy cruiser Australia was shot down astern of battleship Barham by French fighters. Flight Lt G. J. I. Clarke, RAAF, Lt Cdr W. G. Fogarty, RAN, and Petty Officer Telegraphist C. K. Bunnett were killed. Destroyer HMS Forester was sent to pick up the survivors, but came under heavy shore fire and was forced to withdraw.
After MENACE, cruiser Australia proceeded to Liverpool to correct defects. She was in the Clyde at the end of October with turbine problems. She was refitting at the Clyde from 22 November to 29 December.
French Vichy submarine Beveziers torpedoed battleship HMS Resolution off Dakar. There were no crewmen killed in the battleship. Destroyers HMS Forester and HMS Inglefield laid a smoke screen. Battleship Resolution was taken in tow late on the 26th by Battleship Barham to Freetown arriving early on the 29th.
French submarine Sidi Ferruch from Konakry tried to intercept the British ships, but HMS Ark Royal air forced the submarine to submerge ten miles short of the British ships.
After temporary repairs at Freetown, battleship HMS Resolution arrived at Gibraltar on 16 December. She departed Gibraltar in March 1941 for Portsmouth, but due to heavy bombing on Portsmouth, she was sent on to the United States. Battleship Resolution was repaired at Philadelphia from April to September 1941.
In a French air attack on Gibraltar on the 25th, three bombs fell in the Dockyard. Paymaster Cdr J. E. Davie — Smith and a rating of HMS Cormorant were killed.
Anti-submarine trawler HMS Stella Sirius (550grt, Lt Cdr A N. Benson RNVR) of 7th Anti Submarine Group was sunk by French bombing at Gibraltar. The survivors were rescued by anti-submarine trawler HMS Arctic Ranger (493grt). One rating was killed in trawler Arctic Ranger. Temporary S/Lt K. F. W. Wilcox RNVR, and eleven ratings of trawler Stella Sirius, was killed.
Aircraft carrier HMS Argus departed Freetown for the UK, escorted by armed merchant cruiser HMS Cicilia. On 28 September, the aircraft carrier was escorted by destroyer HMS Wishart. The destroyer was detached to hunt a submarine in 36-04N, 8-06W.
Destroyers HMS Hereward, HMS Hyperion, HMS Juno, and HMS Mohawk, which departed Alexandria on the 24th for Mersa Matruh, bombarded a motor convoy west of Sidi Barrani at 0336.
Italian steamer Rina Croce (569grt) was lost on a mine two and half mines off Brindisi on a mine laid by submarine HMS Rorqual on 14 June.
Convoy OB.219 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer HMS Winchelsea and corvette HMS Periwinkle. The convoy was joined the next day by corvette HMS Geranium and anti-submarine trawlers HMS Indian Star and HMS St Zeno. The trawlers were detached on the 28th and the remainder of the escort on the 29th.
Convoy FS.290 departed the Tyne, escorted by destroyers HMS Vanity and HMS Wolfhound. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 26th.
Convoy FN.291 departed Methil, escorted by destroyers HMS Vega and HMS Watchman. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 27th.
Convoy SLS.49 departed Freetown escorted by armed merchant cruiser HMS Cilicia to 12 October, when it rendezvoused with convoy SL.49. The convoys arrived at Liverpool on 17 October.
Today in Washington, President Roosevelt called up 35,700 more National Guardsmen for training; received a report on the survey of the proposed naval base on Newfoundland and approved a project to make other surveys in the Bahamas and southward.
The Senate considered the Ramspeck Civil Service Bill and heard Senator Lodge oppose the sale of “flying fortress” airplanes to Britain. Its conferees continued to discuss the Excess ProfitsTax-Amortization Bill and its Military Affairs Committee continued its hearing on the Home Defense Bill. The Senate recessed at 5:23 PM, until noon tomorrow.
The House received the Woodruff resolution asking the War Department for information on the danger confronting the United States and approved the conference report on the Truth in Fabrics Bill. House Democrats elected John W. McCormack of Massachusetts as Majority Leader. The House adjourned at 2:38 PM, until noon tomorrow.
President Roosevelt was reported today to have summoned Vice-President Garner and other high government officials to an important White House conference to consider what steps this government can take in the disturbing far eastern situation. Garner will arrive tomorrow morning from his Uvalde, Texas, home, where he has been since July 24. Informed sources, meantime, said some definite diplomatic move would be made by this government before the weekend with regard to the Japanese invasion of French Indo-China.
National Guard units having a total of 35,700 men, including forces in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, were ordered today by President Roosevelt to report October 15 for a year’s service on active duty.
Eleanor Roosevelt attends the American Newspaper Guild meeting in New York City (of which she is a member, with voting privileges). At issue is whether to approve a report critical of President Roosevelt as trying to force the United States into the European War. She votes against the report, but it passes 140-85. Afterward, she meets with the Guild’s leaders and expresses her disagreement. The incident is an early foray by Mrs. Roosevelt into politics and an indication of the widespread isolationist sentiment in the country.
Secretary Perkins reported today that expanding industrial activity, notably in industries producing national defense needs, boosted August employment to the highest August level on record with the exception of Aug. 1937. She estimated that nearly 36,000,000 workers were employed in August, an increase of 1,130,000 over August, 1939.
Wendell L. Willkie estimated today that he had seen more than 2,000,000 persons since he started his western campaign tour two weeks ago and told reporters he was “completely satisfied” with his reception. The Republican presidential nominee had a relatively light day, making all his talks from the rear platform of his special train. While traveling eastward, he worked on details of an October trip through Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New England.
The American Legion voted overwhelmingly today in favor of giving “all practicable aid to Great Britain” in conjunction with a defense program designed to make America “strong enough to meet and defeat any invasion before it arrives.”
Wilhelm Jakob Muhlonbroich, accused kidnaper of three year old Marc de Tristan Jr., was transferred from federal hands into state custody tonight and brought to Redwood City, California under heavy guard to stand trial. Muhlenbroich, 40-year-old German alien, was speeded down the Bayshore Highway guarded by seven carloads of officers, booked at the San Mateo county jail and assigned a cell in a new tier on the third floor. The county grand jury was ordered to meet Friday to consider an indictment under the California “little Lindbergh” law, providing life imprisonment for kidnaping. The F.B.I, had held the man since ho was captured Sunday by Cecil Wetzel, El Dorado county mill operator, two days after the boy was stolen from his nurse in exclusive Hillsborough.
The bullet-riddled body of an 18-year-old University of Pennsylvania sophomore who was in the habit of picking up hitchhikers was found today in the rear seat of his automobile on a lonely bridle path. Sheriff Albert W. Skinner said the victim, Robert L. Forman of suburban Pittsford, apparently was shot at least five times from the light hand front seat of the car in which two .32 caliber shells were found.
Army, coast guard and civilian salvage crews today recovered the bodies of three army men who hurtled to death in a plane crash near Woodbine, Ga last Friday night. The victims were Brigadier General Francis W. Honeycutt, commandant of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Captain George F, Kehoe, pilot of the observation plane, and Corporal Robert J. Schmitz, radioman and mechanic.
The light cruiser USS St. Louis (CL-49) arrived at Norfolk, Virginia with the Greenslade Board aboard. The Greenslade Board was a committee formed “to make a comprehensive study of the shore establishment (naval and commercial) necessary to support the Fleet in peace and war.” With the strategic requirements of the fleet in mind, the board was instructed to make recommendations for additional facilities in new locations and as to the expansion, limitation, contraction, abandonment, or conversion of existing shore facilities. The board was known by its senior member, Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade. The board, headed by Rear Admiral John F. Greenslade, which would evaluate base sites acquired from the British on September 5 in the destroyers-for-bases agreement.
The first fully intelligible message of the Japanese “purple” cipher was recovered by U.S. cryptanalysts.
Major League Baseball:
In Chicago’s 2–1 and 6–4 sweep over the Pirates, Debs Garms takes over in LF in game 2 for the Bucs. For Garms, who was 0–for-5 in game 1, it is his 100th game, qualifying him for the batting title. Garms will play in 103 games and lead the National League in hitting with a .355 average in 358 at bats. The National League ruled in early September that there was no rule stating that a player had to be up 400 times to qualify for the title and 100 games would qualify. Garms wins the batting title despite going 0–for-last 23 at bats.
Walker Cooper, recently called up from Columbus (AA), and Mort Cooper, pitching in relief, make up a brother battery in the Cards, 4–3 win over the Reds in the 2nd game of a twinbill. In the opener, Junior Thompson 2–hits the Cards to win, 5–0. Both hits are by Enos Slaughter.
The Indians Al Milnar stops the Browns, 4–2, his 5th straight win over St. Louis. Milnar has won seventeen games this season. Ben Chapman’s two-run single in the fourth provided the winning margin.
In Detroit, Bobo Newsom wins a clutch doubleheader for the Tigers, pitching 2 innings of relief in the opener against the White Sox for his 20th win. Detroit wins 10–9 in 10 innings on Rudy York’s double. Bobo goes the distance in the nightcap for his 21st win, a 3–2 triumph. Greenberg contributes his 41st homer and 150th RBI in the 2nd game. Detroit now leads by 2 games.
Pittsburgh Pirates 1, Chicago Cubs 2
Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Chicago Cubs 6
St. Louis Browns 2, Cleveland Indians 4
Chicago White Sox 9, Detroit Tigers 10
Chicago White Sox 2, Detroit Tigers 3
Cincinnati Reds 5, St. Louis Cardinals 0
Cincinnati Reds 3, St. Louis Cardinals 4
The U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Louisville (CA-28) departed Colon, Panama Canal Zone, for Recife, Brazil, on the first leg of her goodwill cruise to Latin American ports.
The United States loaned China $25 million to stabilize Chinese currency and the Chinese government.
The Japanese invasion of French Indochina continues. The Japanese have aircraft carriers off the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin that are launching raids on French bases. The French shore batteries remain under orders to repel any invasion. The French have sent a special envoy to Tokyo to negotiate. The Japanese are primarily interested in northern Indochina in the Haiphong area, not as much in the area further south by Saigon. The Japanese 5th Infantry Division consolidates its hold on Lang Son, site of a key airfield.
United States Ambassador Joseph C. Grew is likely to be recalled from Japan as a preiude to a new Far Eastern policy that the United States is adopting, according to reports from the newspaper Miyako’s Washington correspondent.
Light cruiser HMS Danae arrived at Penang.
German steamer Saarland (6725grt) at Dairen was sold to Japan as Teiyo Maru.
The French port of Noumea, New Caledonia, sided with Free France.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 134.15 (-0.29)
Born:
Sam Silas, NFL defensive tackle (Pro Bowl, 1965; St. Louis Cardianls, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers), in Homeland, Florida (d. 2023).
Kenny Adams, American International Boxing HOF trainer (26 x pro World champions), in Springfield, Missouri (d. 2025).
Tim Severin, British author and explorer who replicated historic voyages, in Assam, British India (d. 2020).
Died:
Marguerite Clark, 57, American stage and silent film actress (“Snow White”).
Naval Construction:
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boats U-581 and U-582 are laid down by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 557 and 558).
The Royal Navy “Q”-class destroyer HMS Quentin (G 78) is laid down by J.S. White & Co. (Cowes, U.K.).
The Svenska Marinen (Royal Swedish Navy) Göteborg-class destroyer HSwMS Gävle (J9) is launched by Götaverken, Gothenburg, Sweden.
The U.S. Navy McCawley-class transport USS Barnett (AP-11; later APA-5) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Captain Lyell St. Louis Pamperin, USN.
The U.S. Navy prototype (110-foot wooden hull) submarine chaser USS SC-449 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant (j.g.) William Squire Maddox, USN.
History Diaries 