The day before the annual two-week autumn vacation, school children in Berlin were told that they would be granted extra vacation time if their parents wanted them to go to the country or accept invitations from relatives in rural areas.
Georg von Bismarck, the commander of the 7th Schützen-Regiment (motorized infantry regiment) of Erwin Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division during the famous Channel Dash, receives the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.
Richard-Walther Darre, Minister of Agriculture, declared today that Germany’s war year bread grains harvest would be only 2 percent under the peacetime average and would “ensure the stability of bread rations in Germany for a long time to come.”
While it is easy to say at this distant point that all invasion worries have dissipated in England by now. However, the facts suggest otherwise. For instance, the Admiralty orders the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow to remain on four-hours notice throughout the night. In addition, aircraft carrier Ark Royal and cruiser HMAS Australia, escorted by destroyers, depart Freetown bound for the Clyde. There also are rampant invasion rumors regarding the Azores and Canary Islands, which these ships will investigate along the way.
The British Government announces that 50 London firemen have perished during the month of September 1940.
Already a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order since 23 January 1937, Air Marshal Hugh Dowding becomes a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (investiture 8 October 1940).
At Malta, cruisers HMS Gloucester and Liverpool make port at Grand Harbour at 22:00. They carry 1000+ troops, primarily anti-aircraft gunners and infantry, and general cargo, including anti-aircraft guns and munitions. Furious unloading begins immediately so that the ships can clear out on the 1st. The troops have been at sea for weeks on the long way around the Cape of Good Hope. This completes Operation MB 5 (once they unload and sail).
The French Petain government today decided to bolster the naval defense of French Martinique in the Caribbean, now under British blockade, and announced that it will retain full military and civil control of all overseas possessions. An official statement said that Marshal Henri Philippe Petain and his ministers had decided to proceed with improvements at Fort De France on Martinique for French warships based in the Antilles.
During the night of September 29th/30th, the Germans implement a key part of Operation Lobster (Unternehmen Hummer), which encompasses the collection of military data about Great Britain. This particular part of Operation Lobster has been planned in early September 1940 to coincide with Operation Sealion and proceeds despite the latter operation’s suspension. This particular sub-operation is part of Operation Lena, the infiltration of spies (“HUMINT”) into England and Scotland. Major Klug in the Abwehr Office WN 2 (Section 2), under the general direction of Admiral Canaris, gives the final go-ahead.
At 02:30, three Abwehr agents board a Heinkel He 115 seaplane in Stavanger, Norway. They fly across the Channel to the west of Scotland and land just off the Banff coast, paddling ashore. The agents are (they all have multiple names and variations of those names, which, if any, are real is a little unclear):
Vera de Witte (alias for Vera Schaburg aka Vera Erikson aka Vera de Cottany-Chalbur),
Theodore Drueke (aka Karl Druecke aka Karl Drucke, his name is spelled differently in every source) and
Werner Waelt (aka Robert Petter).
It is a favorite subject of historical conjecture to posit that the entire operation has been designed to fail (through poor choices of agents etc.) by anti-German officials within the Abwehr. That is based on general anti-German attitudes of those officers, not on actual proof. The entire affair is murky, including some of its outcomes.
The three agents are to observe military bases and airfields and report back to Germany using wireless in order to facilitate Operation Sealion. They carry in their luggage bundles of cash, lists of RAF airfields to observe, and 19 magazines of ammunition. It is widely believed by historians that Vera Schaburg is a double agent, but this has never been proved conclusively. This incident was made into a German television movie, “The Beautiful Spy” (2013), directed by Miguel Alexandre.
The agents attempt to act like normal train travelers. However, they are spotted at Port Gordon and two, Schaburg and Drucke, are arrested at Buckle on the Moray Firth. The third agent, named Petter, is arrested around the same time in Edinburgh after he deposits a disguised wireless set at the train baggage claim area. The two men are executed as spies at Wandsworth Prison on 6 August 1941, while Vera Schaburg disappears from history. She is presumed by many to be a double-agent whisked away to parts unknown by MI5/MI6 — or perhaps they found another use for her.
Many rumors float around about this woman, a notorious spy both in Russia/Soviet Union and Germany on a par with Mata Hari, but very few facts. Let’s just say that you could trust her about as far as you could throw her. The last hint of her fate is that she returned to Germany after the war.
Four German raids, each consisting of 60 to 200 bombers and escorted by large numbers of fighters, crossed into southern England, United Kingdom at 0900, 1000, 1300, and 1600 hours; some got through to London, but some did not drop their bombs as they had little visibility due to low clouds, overshooting their targets as radar operators misread the Knickebein radio beacon signals. Meanwhile, 2 groups of about 100 bombers each attacked cities on the southern coast. On this day, the Germans lost 14 bombers, 28 Bf 109 fighters, and 1 Bf 110 fighter, while the British lost 19 fighters with 8 pilots killed. Today’s daylight attacks would represent the last major raids of such type conducted by the Luftwaffe.
There is fine flying weather again on 30 September 1940, which taunts the Germans whose grand plans over the summer came crashing down to earth due to erratically poor weather. The Luftwaffe shows once again that it has no plan when it alters tactics once again, returning to the close-escort formula which annoys the fighter pilots and tends to shift losses from the bombers to fighters. The attacks once again are heavy, continuing the on-again, off-again pattern that the Luftwaffe has set throughout the battle.
The first large attack is at 09:00 when about 60 aircraft (only twelve bombers) cross the coastline and attack RAF Biggin Hill and Kenley. It apparently is an attempt to bait Fighter Command into a pointless dogfight, but fails.
At 10:10, another, slightly larger formation of 75 planes follows the first. This time, Fighter Command intervenes and disperses the bombers, which cause little damage. However, it loses five Hurricanes to JG 26, the premiere Luftwaffe fighter squadron at the time.
Around 11:00, an even larger formation of 100 aircraft heads north from Cherbourg. RAF No. 10 Group intervenes, and fierce dogfights erupt. Once again, the bombers turn back before reaching any important targets.
The usual break for lunch hour takes place, and then another raid appears at 13:10 with 100 planes, followed closely by another 80 planes. Along with fighters making sweeps over the Channel, the total number of Luftwaffe planes in the air is well over 200. The raid aims for London, and many of the bombers make it there. RAF No. 12 Group sends up its Duxford “Big Wing,” and they chase the bombers and the few escorting fighters back to France, getting several kills. Once again, the “Big Wing” is effective once in operation, but very slow off the mark, allowing many bombers to escape that might have been caught with a more timely interception.
At 16:00, another raid of 200 aircraft heads across at Dungeness. The target once again is Biggin Hill and other airfields in the general East Kent vicinity. Weymouth and Yeovil take the most damage. RAF No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, RAF No. 1 (Canadian) Squadron, and No. 229 Squadron attempt to form a “Big Wing” but get separated. However, they all stumble upon a huge formation of Bf 109s and Bf 110s and can only take some potshots before escaping into the clouds. Overall, the British fighters feast on this bomber attack, shooting down numerous planes. This is the most memorable action of the day, with bombers crashing to earth regularly, and the pilots of JG 2 also claiming several victories. Sgt. Franciszek, the Czech ace flying with the Poles, gets a Bf 109 before also escaping into the clouds for the final victory of his career.
As is usually the case when the Luftwaffe launches repeated attacks, it is a massively bad day for its planes and pilots. The figures are usually given as 47 Luftwaffe losses and 20 RAF losses. Such high losses are unsustainable, and it is becoming unclear why the Luftwaffe insists on these large daylight raids when night-time operations are productive and incur far fewer losses.
Overnight, London, Liverpool, and several others cities were bombed; the aircraft factory at Yeovil was attacked but was only lightly damaged as most bombs fell on the town instead.
Unofficial estimates today of London’s casualties in almost incessant air raids during September placed the number of dead at about 5,000 and the injured about 8,000. The official casualty report for August was 1,075 dead and 1,261 injured.
For the month of September 1940, some ballpark estimates on the outcomes for both sides in the Battle of Britain:
Luftwaffe plane losses: 433
British fighter losses: 242
Luftwaffe bombs on London: 6532 tons
6954 killed and 10,615 other casualties — not counting those made homeless.
All figures should be taken with a grain of salt. Even if historians have all the contemporary records available (many are lost or incomplete), disagreements about what constitutes a “loss” will never be resolved (many planes are badly damaged, some return to service, others are scavenged for parts, some spend long periods unavailable before receiving repairs, etc.). These figures also do not reflect the human cost, either in the air or on the ground. Further, planes lost on the ground and RAF bombs dropped on European targets make the score much more even. There is no question that at this stage of the conflict, the Luftwaffe is losing more planes and pilots, while England is suffering more in numerous ways (bombing, rationing, shipping losses) than the Continent.
Wing Commander Laurence Frank Sinclair drags an airman from a crashed, burning plane, and for this later is awarded the George Cross. British Air Raid Precaution Officer Thomas Adlerson is awarded the George Cross for actions in saving civilians in Bridlington in August 1940. It is worth pointing out that the George Cross, in theory, is supposed to be oriented toward civilian heroism, as it is the “equivalent” of the VC, but in practice, it usually goes to men acting in their official capacity on the home front (loosely defined).
F/O Urbanowicz of No. 303 Squadron claims two Bf109s and a Dornier Do 215 near the French coast. Dornier Do 215s are the German search and rescue planes, but the RAF considers them fair game despite that being of highly questionable legality. Pilot/Officer Radomski also shoots down a Do 215. Despite shooting down the German rescue planes, they remain effective at rescuing downed airmen from the Channel.
Oblt. Werner Machold of 9./JG 2 gets his 24th, 25th, and 26th victories. Hptm. Helmut Wick of Stab I./JG 2 claims a Hurricane and a Spitfire for his 33rd and 34th claims.
James Lacey damaged a German Ju 88 aircraft over Britain.
Over Britain, Josef Frantisek scored his final kill as a fighter pilot.
Between September 7th and September 30th, RAF Fighter Command had lost 242 aircraft compared with the Luftwaffe loss of 433.
Hugh Dowding was made Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Bath.
Georg von Bismarck was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.
Thomas Adlerson of British Air Raid Precautions was gazetted for a George Cross award for the daring and skillful rescue of many civilians in Bridlington in Aug 1940.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 9 Blenheims on uneventful daylight sweeps. Bomber Command Headquarters was informed on this day that the imminent danger of German invasion had passed.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 104 Blenheims, Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys overnight to many targets and minelaying in the River Elbe. A force of bombers attacking Berlin on this night was given the German Air Ministry building, the Reichsluftfahrt-Ministerium, in the Leipzigstrasse, as their target. 17 aircraft claimed to have found this single building and aimed bombs at it. 3 Wellingtons and 2 Whitleys lost. Only 6 bombs fell in the whole of Berlin on this night, mostly in the western suburbs. The Air Ministry was not hit until 1944 when it sustained light damage in American raids.
Coastal Command and the Fleet Air Arm chip in with attacks on the port of Rotterdam and Ostend, along with other ports on the Channel. During a raid on Vlaardingen, the Fleet Air Arm loses an Albacore. Overall, the RAF loses five planes.
The RAF in the Med continues to focus on Italian supply lines. It bombs Marawa, Libya, a key crossroads about 65 km south of Bayda.
At 1502 hours the unescorted Haulerwijk (Master J.J.A. Oepkes), a straggler from station #13 in convoy OB.219 since 26 September due to dense fog, was missed by a torpedo from U-32 that passed underneath the hull without detonating about 660 miles west of Ireland in position 54°28N/26°33W. The U-boat was already chasing the ship for seven hours after a first attack went wrong when a torpedo wasn’t fired due to a handling error of a crew member at 0844 hours. Because the armed ship was now alarmed and zigzagging, Jenisch decided to wait for the night and at 2251 hours gave the order to open fire with the deck and AA guns from her port side until the target stopped. When the ship moved again after twelve minutes, the U-boat once more shelled her with all weapons until she stopped and then carried out a third attack. The Germans ceased fire as they were low on ammunition and soon thereafter two lifeboats were spotted nearby. They questioned the master, who spoke German, gave him the course to the nearest land and helped some survivors who had been wounded during the attacks. At 1035 hours on 1 October, U-32 returned to the wreck of Haulerwijk and fired four well aimed rounds with the deck gun into the waterline. Shortly thereafter the ship sank vertically by the bow, causing the round still loaded in her stern gun to be fired high into the sky.
U-37, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Victor Oehrn, sank British steamer Samala (5390grt) in 46-00N, 33-00W. There were no survivors from the steamer. At 1013 hours the unescorted Samala (Master Albert Edward Harvey) was hit amidships by one torpedo from U-37 west of Ireland. The U-boat did not wait until the ship sank to operate on a reported convoy, but fired a few rounds from the deck gun into the side to make sure that the ship will sink. The master, 64 crew members, one gunner and two passengers were lost. The 5,390 ton Samala was carrying bananas and was headed for Garston, England.
U-37 later sank British steamer Heminge (2499grt) in 53-26N, 18-33W. At 2156 hours the Heminge (Master Trevor Thomas), a straggler from convoy OB.220, was torpedoed and sunk by U-37 west of Ireland. One crew member was lost. The master, 23 crew members and one gunner were picked up by the British merchant Clan Cumming and landed at Liverpool. The 2,499 ton Heminge was carrying coal and was headed for Tenerife, Spain.
Minelayers HMS Southern Prince, HMS Menestheus, HMS Port Napier, and HMS Port Quebec escorted by destroyers HMS Viscount, HMS Witherington, HMS Vansittart, and HMS Whitehall departed Loch Alsh to lay mines in SN 42 north of the British Isles. All ships involved arrived back at Loch Alsh on 1 October.
Destroyer HMS Vansittart was sailed to Liverpool for boiler cleaning.
There were no minelaying operations in October due to the lack of escort ships.
In October, Minelayer HMS Adventure arrived at Loch Alsh on 17 October and minelayer HMS Agamemnon departed the Tyne on 30 October for Loch Alsh.
Rear Admiral Destroyers Home Fleet took over administration of anti-aircraft cruisers attached to the Home Fleet.
Home Fleet ships at Scapa Flow were given orders to be daily at four hours’ notice from 0730 to 1930 and one hour’s notice from 1930 to 0730.
Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Dido was completed. Anti-aircraft cruiser Dido departed the Clyde on 1 October and arrived at Scapa Flow on 3 October to work up. She was assigned to the 15th Cruiser Squadron.
Destroyer HMS Kipling departed Rosyth at 0045 for the Humber. The destroyer was in a collision with British steamer Queen Maud (4976grt) in convoy FN.92 at 0301 on the 30th in 56-05-15N, 2-36-52W. The destroyer sustained slight damage and was repaired in the Humber, from 30 September to 2 October. She then proceeded to Plymouth for further repairs from 3 to 10 October.
Destroyer HMS Jupiter arrived at Rosyth to join the Home Fleet temporarily.
Destroyer HMS Quorn arrived at Scapa Flow at 1600 to work up at Scapa Flow prior to joining the Nore Command.
At 2345, destroyers HMS Jaguar, HMS Javelin, HMS Kipling, and HMS Kelvin were detached for the Nore to join the Western Approaches in view of enemy destroyer activity in the area. The destroyers were replaced by three B-class destroyers of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla.
From a position eight miles east of South Goodwin Light Vessel, British monitor HMS Erebus, escorted by destroyers HMS Vesper and HMS Garth, bombarded Calais. Seventeen rounds were fired early in the morning of 30 September in Operation MW. Monitor Erebus had arrived at Dover in late September from Scapa Flow where she had been working up since 12 August. Destroyers HMS Mackay, HMS Witch, HMS Bulldog, and HMS Sardonyx were operating in the area.
During the night of 30 September/1 October, German torpedo boats Greif, Kondor, Falke, and Seeadler of the 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla laid minefield WERNER off Dover. Destroyers HMS Malcolm, HMS Wivern, and HMS Verity and patrol sloops HMS Widgeon and HMS Shearwater had departed Harwich and destroyers HMS Venomous, HMS Wild Swan, and HMS Eglinton departed Sheerness on the 30th and were in patrol in the area, but no contact was made. The ships returned to Harwich on 1 October.
Patrol sloops HMS Mallard and HMS Pintail were operating together off Harwich. Sloop Mallard was badly damaged in a mining off Harwich at 0705. Patrol sloop Mallard, assisted by tug Kenia, arrived at Harwich later that day and was under repair at Chatham until May 1941.
Lt C. S. H. Kennaway, Probationary Temporary Midshipman (A) R. J. Lane RNVR, and Naval Airman G. F. K. How of of 826 Squadron from HMS Peregrine were lost when they failed to return from a raid on Vlaardingen.
British steamer Sussex (11,063grt) was damaged by German bombing in 54-20N, 15-32W.
Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Curacoa departed Scapa Flow to cover convoy SL.47 A from Duncansby Head to Buchan Ness.
German air attacked convoy SL.47 A off Kinnaird Head from 1955 to 2030. The convoy at that time was escorted by Sloop HMS Weston.
British steamer Mountpark (4648grt) was damaged by German bombing in 57-24N, 01-35W.
British steamer Empire Success (6009grt) was damaged by German bombing five miles east of Peterhead.
British steamer Kerma (4333grt) was damaged by German bombing in 57-24N, 01-35W.
At Buchan Ness, cruiser HMS Curacoa transferred to convoy OA.222 which she escorted as far as Pentland Firth before going to convoy WN.19 Fast.
British Acting Leading Airman R. Pennington at 1 SFTS Netheravon was killed when his Hart collided with a Blenheim near Bulford.
British steamer Baron Vernon (3642grt) in convoy HG.44 was damaged by German bombing in 52-40N, 17-56W.
British tanker Henry Dundas (10,448grt) was damaged by German bombing in the Mersey River Anchorage.
Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, and destroyers HMS Fortune, HMS Greyhound, and HMS Forester departed Freetown at 0615for the Clyde. En route, heavy cruiser Australia was detached to investigate a rumor of an invasion force heading for the Azores. She joined light cruiser HMS Sheffield on this patrol. Heavy cruiser Australia arrived at Gibraltar on 14 October. Heavy cruiser Australia proceeded to the Clyde and was in the Clyde on 1 November. She operated with the Home Fleet based at Greenock.
Light cruisers HMS Liverpool and HMS Gloucester landed troops at Malta. The cruisers departed Malta on 1 October with Australian destroyer HMAS Voyager and rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet at sea.
Submarine HMS Regent in the Ionian Sea sighted two Italian battleships which had departed Taranto earlier in the day.
Light cruiser HMS Neptune departed Durban and arrived at Simonstown on 2 October. The light cruiser departed Simonstown on 7 October for Freetown and duty in the South Atlantic Command.
Convoy OA.222 departed Methil escorted by destroyer HMS Duncan, sloop HMS Fleetwood, corvettes HMS Gardenia and HMS Primula. Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Curacoa provided support for the convoy on 1 October. Destroyer HMS Duncan and corvette HMS Gardenia were detached on 1 October. Sloop HMS Fleetwood and corvette HMS Primula were detached on 5 October when the convoy rendezvoused with convoy OB.222.
Convoy FN.295 departed Southend, destroyer HMS Winchester and sloop HMS Londonderry. The convoy arrived at Methil on 2 October.
Convoy FS.296 departed Methil. The convoy arrived at Southend on 2 October.
Convoy HX.77 departed Halifax at 1400 escorted by Canadian destroyers HMCS Assiniboine and HMCS Saguenay and auxiliary patrol boats HMCS Husky and HMCS Reindeer in the Harbor. The destroyers turned the convoy over ocean escort, armed merchant cruiser HMS Ranpura. The armed merchant cruiser was detached on 10 October.
Convoy BHX.77 departed Bermuda on the 28th escorted by ocean escort armed merchant cruiser HMS Laconia. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.77 on 3 October and the armed merchant cruiser was detached. On 11 October, destroyers HMS SHIKARI, HMS Vansittart, and HMS Witherington, sloop HMS Weston, anti-aircraft ship HMS Alynbank, and corvettes HMS Clarkia, HMS Gardenia, and HMS Periwinkle joined. Destroyer Shikari and corvette Periwinkle were detached that day. The anti-aircraft ship was detached on 12 October. Destroyer Vansittart, sloop Weston, and corvette Clarkia were detached on 15 October. Destroyer Witherington and corvette Gardenia arrived at Liverpool with the convoy on 15 October.
At the end of September, the following Royal Navy destroyers were under repair: HMS Achates at Androssan repairing, HMS Acheron at Portsmouth repairing, HMS Active at Glasgow repairing, HMS Anthony at Greenock repairing, HMS Atherstone at Chatham repairing, HMS Boreas at London repairing, HMS Cameron at St Johns repairing, HMS Douglas at Greenock repairing, HMS Express at Humber repairing, HMS Fame at Rosyth repairing, HMS Fearless at Glasgow repairing, HMS Foxhound at London refitting, HMS Hesperus at Liverpool repairing, HMS Holderness at Sheerness repairing, HMS Kelly at Tyne repairing, HMS Mashona at Liverpool repairing, HMS Montrose at Chatham repairing, HMS Vanessa at Chatham repairing, HMS Veteran at Chatham repairing, HMS Vivacious at Humber repairing, HMS Warwick at Liverpool repairing, HMS Westcott at Plymouth refitting, HMS Whitshed at Chatham repairing, HMS Windsor at London repairing, Canadian HMCS Margaree at London repairing, HMCS St Laurent at Liverpool repairing, HMCS Skeena at Liverpool repairing, and French Ouragan at Plymouth refitting.
President Roosevelt left Washington today for a tour of defense works in Maryland.
The Senate rushed through unanimous consent bills, approved a bill creating the post of UnderSecretary of War and received the King bill granting financial aid to Great Britain from loans from the Export-Import Bank and suspension of the Johnson Act. It recessed at 5:46 PM until noon tomorrow.
The House passed a bill authorizing home defense guards, passed a resolution urging the States to prohibit political candidacies by persons advocating forcible overthrow of the government and sent the Ramspeck Civil Service Bill to conference. It adjourned at 4:02 PM until 11 AM tomorrow.
Visible evidence of the growth of the armed forces of the United States, ranging from standardized weapons for the army to barracks to house thousands of trainees soon to be called under the Selective Service Training Act, greeted President Roosevelt today during a rapid tour through the defense operations clustered in Maryland. He saw at close range the new types of the Army’s ordnance gathered at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, viewed some extensions of the huge Glenn L. Martin airplane plant and went on to see great building operations being rushed to completion, ahead of schedule, at Fort Meade. He compressed his tour into less than six hours, but in that time he covered more than 100 miles and conferred with ranking Army officers concerned with the work in hand.
Open financial aid to Great Britain through loans from the Export-Import Bank, a scaling down of the British war debt and suspension of the credit limitations of the Johnson Act and Neutrality law so far as they apply to the United Kingdom were proposed in a bill introduced in the Senate late today by Senator King of Utah. Coming at the end of a day in which both houses rushed through numerous bills dealing with the national defense program, the King Bill put squarely up to Congress the question of more open and substantial aid to Great Britain in her war with the totalitarian powers. Whether Congress will act upon it one way or another this session was a question that leaders preferred not to discuss, but they regarded the bill as a “highly symptomatic” legislative proposal. The same bill would extend authority to the President to enter into negotiations for acquisition or lease of British island bases in or bordering on the Pacific. The President would receive power to procure the necessary funds from the Export-Import Bank, or any other governmental source he might desire, and, in connection with the negotiations, to extend loans directly to the British Government.
Wendell L. Willkie told an audience of Republican women tonight that the new deal is pushing the nation “ever closer and closer to war,” and added: “The closer Mr. Roosevelt gets us to war, the more people say we ought not to change horses in the middle of the stream. How did we get there ? The man who got us in is not the right one to get us out.”
Henry A. Wallace, Democratic vice-presidential nominee, tonight defended farm and conservation policies inaugurated while he was secretary of agriculture and pledged the Democratic administration would maintain its attitude “that spending a million to save twenty is not an extravagance.”
A government suit charging that the American Petroleum Institute and 22 oil companies held monopolistic control of virtually all the crude oil available for refining and fixed prices in the industry, was filed today in federal district court here. The justice department’s suit, charging monopoly, price-fixing and conspiracy in violation of the Sherman anti-trust act, was the second major action against oil companies within the last year. The U.S. Supreme Court last spring sustained a lower court which held that 12 major oil companies and five individuals conspired to control gasoline prices In 10 Midwestern states.
The German-American bund and other alleged subversive groups in the East will be under fire in hearings conducted by the Dies Committee investigating un-American activities that will open tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock in the Post Office Building, Federal Square, in New York.
The army and congress took new strides today to strengthen the nation’s ramparts as President Roosevelt made a day-long inspection tour of defense establishments and production facilities in Maryland. Most significant defense development was the announcement by General George C. Marshall, chief of staff, that the army would be reorganized to provide real fighting units in each of the nine corps areas. Marshall revealed that the order will create tactical corps embodying regular army and mobilized National Guard divisions whose commands will deal with fighting and combat organization. Present corps area commanders will be left with supply and housing functions.
The United States fleet was in at San Pedro, Long Beach and San Diego tonight for the first time in six months and thousands of sailors swarmed ashore from the unexpectedly prolonged mid-Pacific battle maneuvers. At intervals during the day the sleek, gray-painted warships poked into the harbors and dropped anchor, bringing home approximately a third of the navy personnel and ships from Hawaii. No official statement was given but the return spiked rumors that tension over the Japanese-axis alliance in the Orient had caused the fleet to be ordered back to the Pearl Harbor stronghold. Admiral J. O. Richardson, commander-in-chief, personally led the warships home aboard his temporary flagship, the U. S. S. New Mexico. “The purpose for the return of the fleet,” Admiral Richardson announced, “is to give crews of the ships leave at ports where they normally reside and to obtain additional men. “The fleet will lose very little training as men who are not on shore leave will carry out the upkeep and repair of ships. We have had one very excellent week of tactical exercises and training en route to the coast and we anticipate another such week during the return to Hawaii.”
Major League Baseball:
The Detroit Tigers are held to be 10–13 favorites in the World Series, which is to begin Wednesday in Cincinnati.
The Communist Chinese New 4th Army withdrew from Jiangyan (now a district of Taizhou), Jiangsu Province, China and moved toward nearby town of Huangqiao (“Yellow Bridge”), where it intended on fighting against the detected Nationalist attack.
Japanese forces, now firmly established at the southern terminus of the Haiphong-Kunming Railway, struck at the northern end today with a heavy aerial bombardment of Kunming, China.
The Japanese defense of the Berlin-Tokyo-Rome alliance took a new form tonight. There was a bitter press attack on the United States for having “forced” Japan into the alliance and for having “betrayed” Britain.
Convoy US.5A departed Sydney on the 30th Dutch liners Nieuw Zeeland (11069grt) and Johan De Witt (10474grt) with 1908 troops, escorted by heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra and light cruiser HMAS Perth. British steamers Ulster Prince (3791grt), which carried naval ammunition, Varsova (4701grt), and Clan Campbell (7255grt) were also in the convoy. The convoy departed Fremantle on 7 October. The light cruiser escorted the convoy until 9 October. The heavy cruiser continued with the convoy until 17 October, when the convoy arrived at Colombo. The convoy departed Colombo on 21 October. Light cruiser HMS Caledon escorted the convoy from 21 to 28 October. Heavy cruiser HMS Shropshire, anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Carlisle, destroyer HMS Kandahar, sloops HMS Flamingo and HMAS Parramatta, and British steamer City of Cape Town (8046grt) joined at Aden. Steamer Ulster Prince called at Port Sudan on 30 and 31 October. The convoy arrived at Suez on 2 November.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 132.64 (+0.32)
Born:
Harry Winston Jerome, Canadian 100m runner (Olympic bronze medal, 1964), in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada (d. 1982 of a brain aneurysm).
Dewey Martin, rock drummer (Buffalo Springfield), in Chesterville, Ontario, Canada (d. 2009).
Lori Burton [Dolores Squeglia], American singer, songwriter and record producer, in New Haven, Connecticut.
Naval Construction:
The Вое́нно-морско́й флот СССР (ВМФ) (Soviet Navy) “M” (Malyutka)-class (3rd group, Type XII) submarine M-104 is laid down by Krasnoye Sormovo (Gorkiy, U.S.S.R) / Yard 112.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-408 is laid down by Danziger Werft AG, Danzig (werk 109).
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Battleford (K 165) is laid down by the Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. (Collingwood, Ontario, Canada).
The Royal Navy “Q”-class destroyer HMS Quail (G 45) is laid down by Hawthorn Leslie & Co. (Hebburn-on-Tyne, U.K.).
The Royal Navy “U”-class (Second Group) submarine HMS Urchin (N 97) is launched by Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.). In January 1941 she will be transferred to the Polish Navy due to a lack of experienced submarine crews and enters service as Polish navy submarine ORP Sokol.
The Royal Navy Hunt-class (Type II) escort destroyer HMS Brocklesby (L 42) is launched by the Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, U.K.).
The Royal Navy Hunt-class (Type II) escort destroyer HMS Farndale (L 70) is laid down by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. (Wallsend-on-Tyne, U.K.); completed by Wallsend.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIB U-boat U-73 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Helmut Rosenbaum.
The Nihon Kaigun (Imperial Japanese Navy) B1 type submarine I-15 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Commander Oyama Toyojiro.
The Royal Navy Flower-class corvette HMS Cyclamen (K 83) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant Hamish Napier Lawson, RNR.
The Royal Navy Dido-class light cruiser HMS Dido (37) is commissioned. Her commanding officer is Captain Henry William Urquhart McCall, RN.
The Royal Navy Dido-class light cruiser HMS Phoebe (43) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Captain Guy Grantham, RN.
The Royal Navy Fiji-class (Crown Colony-class) light cruiser HMS Nigeria (60) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Captain John George Lawrence Dundas, RN.
For the month of September 1940, German U-boats sank 57 Allied ships (285,152 tons) and damaged 7 more ships (42,636 tons). The pace of sinkings is beginning to accelerate. Early in the month the first wolf pack attacks are directed by Adm Donitz against the convoy SC.2. Five of the 53 ships are sunk. A similar operation is mounted two weeks later against the 40 ships of HX.72. The U-boats present include those commanded by the aces Kretschmer, Prien and Schepke. Eleven ships are lost, seven to Schepke’s U-100 in one night. The German B-Service is instrumental in directing U-boats to many convoys, where they hold the advantage as they maneuver on the surface between the merchantmen and escorts.
Total Allied Shipping Losses for the month of September 1940 total approximately 403,504 tons sunk in the Atlantic and about 450,000 tons overall.
Overall, 92 Allied ships sunk in the Atlantic:
295,335 tons sunk by U-boat;
56,328 tons sunk by aircraft;
96,288 tons sunk by raiders;
8,269 tons sunk by mines.
In addition, there were 6 Axis ships sunk in the Mediterranean totaling 21,466 tons. Elsewhere, there were 8 Allied ships sunk, primarily in the Indian Ocean, totaling 45,117 tons (overall figures may not exactly add up as taken from different sources). The Axis loses one U-boat during the month and has 28 ready for duty in the Atlantic. Italy continues to transfer submarines to its new base at Bordeaux and will focus on the area of Spain and to the south.
History Diaries 