This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

[parsifal]

13 September
Neutral New ships
USN DD402 MAYRANT (Benham class)

UBOATS

arrivals

Kiel: U-6 (Kptlt. Ludwig Mathes).

departures

U-14*(Kptlt. Horst Wellner), U-16 (KvtKptn Hannes Weingärtner) , U-24 (KvtKptn Udo Behrens)
From Wilhelmshaven: U-3 (Ace Joachim Schepke)...

Baltic

Greek steamer KATINGO HAJIPATERA (3661grt) was damaged on a mine off Falsterbo, Sweden and ran aground. She was refloated and proceeded the same day to Copenhagen escorted by a Swedish MS.

During the night of the 13th/14th, Polish MS JASKOLKA, RYBITWA, CZAJKA laid 60 mines south of Hela to prevent KM BB SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN shelling the Hela Peninsula.

North Sea .

German trawler STOLP (122grt) was sunk in accidental collision with TB LUCHS in the North Sea.

Nor MV RONDA (5136grt) was mined and sunk off Terschelling , with 17 crew lost. The survivors were rescued by Italian steamer PROVVIDENZA (8459grt).

British East Coast

U-boat operations, Scottish east coast - the last three Type IIB submarines departed Germany to operate off the Scottish coast against British warships (U-3, U-14 and 24). Previously on the 7th, U.36 had left Kiel for Wilhelmshaven, and then with U.21, U.23, U.31 and U.35 left that port on the 9th. On the same day, U.36 sighted submarine SEAHORSE.

On the 13th, both U.14 and U.24 left Kiel, initially for operations in the Moray Firth area. U.14 went on to reconnoitre Scapa until the 25th and U.24 stayed in the Moray Firth area until the 27th. By then, of the total seven U-boats– three were deployed off the Firth of Forth, one east and one southeast of Moray Firth, one in the North Sea between Shetlands and Norway, and U.24 in the Moray Firth area.

U.21 attacked a DD off the Firth of Forth on the 22nd, U.14 a submarine off Duncansby Head on the 24th, and U.24 DD FORESIGHT off the Shetlands, also on the 24th, but all failed due to torpedo defects.

Northern Patrol - .

CL DELHI joined CruSqn12 on Nthn Patrol.

British Northern Waters

DD MATABELE escort tanker MIXOL dep Rosyth for Scapa. SS OBERON proceeded in company and was detached at Dundee. MATABELE and MIXOL arrived at Scapa on the 14th.

UK-France convoys .

DDs VENOMOUS, WREN escorted MB.2 from Southampton to Brest from the 13th to 14th. The following convoy, MB.3 was cancelled.

English Channel

DD MALCOLM attacked a submarine contact 22 miles east of Guernsey.

DD WALLACE was badly damaged in a collision with steamer REDRIFF (1577grt) off Lowestoft and reported in danger of sinking. WALLACE was attended by DD WANDERER and met by tugs, temporarily repaired at Yarmouth, then taken to Hull where repairs were completed on 23 October.

Sloop WESTON ran aground on the Shipwash, was refloated without assistance and was able to proceed to Rosyth. The only damage was to her anti-submarine dome and she was soon back to duty.

Convoy FN.4 dep Southend and arrived at Methil on the 14th.

DD SHIKARI departed Portsmouth and arrived at Devonport the same day to begin rearming

Dover Straits

DDs JAVELIN, JERSEY , attacked suspected submarine contact near the East Goodwin Light Vessel.

DD BLANCHE attacked a submarine contact five miles east of Dungeness.
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UK-outbound convoys

OA.4 and OB.4A of 31 ships, cleared Southend. DDs ANTELOPE and ACASTA cleared Plymouth and escorted the convoys from North Foreland from the 13th to 16th, before arriving back at Plymouth on the 17th.

Convoy OB.4 departed Liverpool escorted by DDs WHIRLWIND and WARWICK until the 16th.

Southwestern Approaches

U.35 (Kptlt. Werner Lott) was attacked by a British aircraft which dropped three bombs west of Ireland. No damage was done.

U.29 (Ace . Otto Schuhart (Knights Cross)) sank tug NEPTUNIA (798grt) SW of Ireland at 49‑20N, 14‑40W. She was en route to tow DD WALKER. Her 21 man crew was rescued by steamer BRINKBURN (1598grt) after spending 28-30 hours in the ship's boat.

U.26 (Kpt Klaus Ewerth) sighted a submarine, presumably French, south of Ireland, but was not able to attack. U-26 was carrying out Minelaying Operations at the time

Med/Biscay

Casablanca
Fr ML cruiser LA TOUR D'AUVERGNE was offloading mines at Casablanca when a mine being disarmed accidently exploded, setting off a chain reaction that blew up and destroyed the ship at anchor.

EV 1/c A E H Pugliesi-Conti was killed and CV Dubois, LV H G E O L'Hertier, Commander of Marine Detachment Lt Marc, Doctor 1/c Tarello CH MO, Reserve Officer EV 1/c Merlen, IGM 2/c Salle, Supply Officer 2/c Levaique, Reserve Officer EV 1/c Lepeque and Doctor 3/c F Brunet went missing. Two officers were wounded and some two hundred ratings killed or missing. Many of the rest of her crew of 17 officers and 407 ratings were wounded.

Trawlers ETOILE DU MATIN, SULTAN, MARIE MERVEILLEUSE were lost and a number of other ships in the harbour damaged by the explosion. Auxiliary MS CHELLAH (70grt), GOSSE (300grt), and CHARCOT were badly damaged and not repaired. ALCOR and GRODIN were damaged.

DDs GRENADE, GRIFFIN, GARLAND, GIPSY, of the Desflot1 dep Malta to escort Convoy Green 1 en route to Alex. On the 16th, GARLAND was damaged by the explosion of one of her depth charges dropped while steaming. The explosion not only damaged her stern but wrenched loose another depth charge on the DC thrower. The second DC was thrown into the water and exploded under the ship. GARLAND was towed to Alex by GRIFFIN, arriving on the 17th. Additionally, four of GARLAND's more seriously wounded crewmen were transferred to CL GALATEA which also arrived at Alex on the 17th. GARLAND was taken to Malta in October for repair, which lasted until 16 May 1940.

CA SUSSEX struck a submerged wreck with her propeller in the Ionian Sea and docked at Malta on the 13th.

North Atlantic

U.27 (Oberlt Johannes Franz) sank British trawler DAVANA (291grt) 21 miles NNW of Tory Island. Survivors were rescued by steamer WILLOWPOOL (4815grt).


China Station

CA KENT departed Hong Kong on patrol, and arrived back on the 28th.

HMS kent as she appeared in 1942

Joachim Schepke Bio: Joachim Schepke began his naval career in April 1930. He spent two years on the cruiser Deutschland before, like Günther Prien, he transferred to the U-boat force in October 1935. Later he spent 18 months as an instructor in the torpedo-school at Flensburg, but in 1938 he became commander of the training U-boat U-3. With U-3 he achieved his first successes, before leaving the U-boat in January 1940.

He then took command of U-19 and sank nine ships with a total of 15,715 tons.

In May 1940 he commissioned U-100, a Type VIIB U-boat. On his first patrol from Kiel to Lorient in August 1940, he sank six ships with a total of 25,812 tons and damaged one ship.

But Kapitänleutnant Schepke became well known as commander of U-100 in September 1940. On his second patrol with this boat, in two days he sank seven ships with a total of 50,340 tons. Two days later he received the Knights Cross.

Also outstanding was the day of 23 November, 1940, when Schepke sank seven ships totaling 24,601 tons. One week later he was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knights Cross.

In 1940 he published a book, U-Boot Fahrer von heute (U-boat men of today), describing life on a U-boat in simple terms. This book is illustrated with his own paintings.

Schepke, a handsome young man, was nicknamed Ihrer Majestät bestaussehender Offizier (Her Majesty's best-looking officer. The expression Ihrer Majestät is used to indicate the country's leader, and is not referring to royalty in this case!).

In February 1941 he spoke in the Berlin Sportpalast to thousands of young Germans about the U-boat war.

Joachim Schepke was killed when U-100 was sunk at 0318hrs on 17 March, 1941 southeast of Iceland in approximate position 61N, 12W after being rammed and depth charged by the British destroyers HMS Walker and HMS Vanoc (Niestlé, 1998 ). Vanoc spotted U-100 with her early radar in heavy fog and chased the contact. 38 men were killed, including Schepke, who is said to have been caught on the bridge when the boat was rammed. Six crew members survived.

Otto Schuhart Bio:Otto Schuhart began his naval career in April 1929. Later he spent two years on the battleship Schleswig-Holstein. In 1936 he joined the U-boat force. On his first war patrol he sank the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous . This was the first outstanding sinking of the U-boat arm, and the whole crew received the EK II (Iron Cross) and as commander Schuhart received both the EK I and the EK II.
In 1941 he became an instructor in the 1st ULD (Unterseeboots-Lehr-Division), and in June 1943 became commander of the 21st Flotilla. The last months of the war he spent in the Marineschule Flensburg-Mürwik.

Otto Schuhart joined the Bundesmarine in 1955, retiring in 1967 with a rank of Kapitän zur See.

 

[Marcel]

At the risk of upsetting Chris, we need some specialists for the RAF, Italy, France, Greece and the neutrals. ive got a basic working knowledge, but I wouldn't like to do a day to day, hands get dirty type account for these nations.

Any volunteers?

I could of course provide some info from the Netherlands, but I cannot promise to provide info every day.

 

[Wurger]

On the 13th September 1939 Hitler visited Lódź city. He came there by his Ju-52 that possible landed at the Lublinek airfield.

On the same day the Nazi Luftwaffe bombed Frampol town. There weren't any military targets in the town. However the layout of it allowed to rate the bombing accuracy. Just for training.... incredible.

PZL 37 Łoś damaged at the Mielec airfield.

 

[parsifal]

I could of course provide some info from the Netherlands, but I cannot promise to provide info every day.

Whatever you would like to contribute would be appreciated marcel. For the RAF Ive got Foremans books for February to July 1941 and January 1942 to July 1943. Doesnt cover the med....just ETO....and then we still have gaps in both time and also geographically . Chris might have it covered......i know he did a fantastic piece on the BOB. Plus, this stuff is a fair bit of work. So the trick is not to overcommit and try and cover everything......

For me naval stuff is reasonably straight forward. Ive got pre-written notes, and there are plenty of electronic sources. other stuff is not so straight forward.

The up side is that you get to contribute to a really cool project, and you can have your say on your piece of history. You get the editorial control over that piece of the project....hopefully the information is good though.

 

[Njaco]

13 September 1939 Wednesday
POLAND: The 60,000 survivors in the Radom Pocket in Poland surrendered. A small German infantry force begins to cross the Vistula just south of Warsaw. The Bzura battles are now going badly for the Polish forces. The heaviest fighting will be over by September 15th but some engagements will continue until the 19th. Although the Germans will take their largest single haul of 150,000 prisoners in this battle, by September 19th, units of two Polish brigades and elements of others will manage to escape to Warsaw.

In the morning, a Luftwaffe reconnaissance plane circles the JGr 102 airfield at Debrica and finally drops a bundle of two handkerchiefs tied with a message:

"Airfield at Brody full of enemy aircraft."

All the available aircraft are scrambled along with Oblt. Josef Kellner-Steinmetz's 3./JGr 102 returning from a patrol. Approaching the airfield near the Soviet border, Hptm. Hannes Gentzen finds a flight of eight Polish bombers flying at tree-top level. Diving to the attack, Hptm. Gentzen destroys four of the bombers as the rest of the Gruppe shoots down the rest of the formation.

But the attack on the bombers alerts the Polish airfield and the anti-aircraft guns open fire on JGr 106 as they strafe the ground. Uffz. Fritz Linder is shot down but escapes to friendly territory. Several Polish aircraft including a number of P-37 'Los' bombers are destroyed on the airfield.

'Operation SEASIDE' is ordered to commence on 17 September by Generalfeldmarschall Göring. The directive reads: "Priority of attack shall be given to public utilities (water, gas, and power sources), barracks and ammunition dumps, the Woywod building, citadel, ministry of war, inspectorate general, traffic centers and known battery positions." Generalmajor Freiherr von Richthofen is ordered to use all his Stuka Gruppen as well as the bomber Gruppen. The US ambassador to Poland, Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr., reports that German bombers are attacking the civilian population. He says;

"..they are releasing bombs they carry even when they are in no doubt as to the identity of their objectives."

A He 111 from Stab./ KG 55 flown by Uffz. Karl Rathmann is shot down.

Hptm. Johannes Janke's I./JG 77 move yet again from its base outside Krakau to an airfield at Krosno.

WESTERN FRONT: The crew and pilots of 1./JG 2 return to Döberitz from Lyck and rejoin the Gruppe.

The French Prime Minister, Edouard Daladier, forms a War Cabinet in which he is responsible for foreign affairs as well as retaining the portfolios of war and national defense. The former foreign minister, Georges Bonnet, is appointed Minister of Justice. Raoul Dautry is appointed Minister of Armaments and Georges Pernot is appointed Minister of Blockade, both are new portfolios related to the war effort. Daladier is keen to have a war cabinet that will enable France to put recent divisions aside and fight the war with a spirit of national unity.

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[Marcel]

Okay, I don't have extensive day-by-day source about the mobilisation time in The Netherlands ( I don't think there is any ), but I'll do my best. By fortunate accident, this is an interesting day:

13 September
Incident with the R-5
around 14.00h a group of 6 He115's of I./106 started from Nordeney for reconnaissance over the North Sea. At 14.20h He M2 + LH flies 5 miles north of Ameland (own claim) when suddenly an unknown aircraft approached. This actually was Fokker T-VIIIW R-5 of the Dutch Navy. It was doing a neutrality patrol over territorial waters. The Dutch had had the He115 in their sight for some time. When they identified it as a German floatplane, they turned back to the mainland. The He115 M2 + LH however opened fire and damaged the T-VIIIW. The Dutch floatplane did and emergency landing on the water where it toppled over because of the heavy seas. Being wounded, the crew climbed on the wing to save themselves. The He115, still oblivious of the nationality of their victim, landed to capture the crew. One of the floats however was damaged, so the He115 could not take of again. They radioed for help. A Do18D of 2./106 tried to help, but they got a leak when landing and floated to the Dutch coast. At 16.55h, He59 D-APIE came to the rescue, but the He115 already was able to take off again. The resue aircraft was called back. At 17.17h, the He115 M2 + LH arrived at Nordeney with the 4 Dutch crew members as passengers.

The incident however was not over. 3 D-XXI's from Eelde had taken off and intercepted the Do18, which was trying to take off. Warning shots were given, injuring one of the crew and the Do18 turned back to Ameland. There, crew was taken prison.

This incident caused the Dutch to abandon the roundel for orange triangles in order to prevent confusion with the British roundel in future.

Do18D on the beach of Ameland.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

Great reading guys.

 

[Njaco]

14 September 1939 Thursday

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The new aircraft carrier, HMS "Ark Royal", was operating west of the Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom when lookouts spotted the tracks of torpedoes passing astern. Her escorting destroyers counter-attacked and sank the German submarine U-39. 43 German crewmen are captured.

POLAND: German troops enter Gdynia (the only Polish seaport), west of Danzig. Its port includes Gdansk and Sopot. Originally a small German fishing, Gdynia was transferred to Poland after World War I. Since then it was developed into an important rail center including industries producing metal and machinery. It has become a leading Baltic port, main naval base and shipbuilding center for Poland. German authorities have renamed the port Gotenhafen. Polish mayor Skupien surrenders Gydnia to German General Magnus Eberhardt.

German forces attacking from East Prussia reach open country when they cross the Narew River near Modlin and sweep around Warsaw to begin the encirclement of the Polish capital. The Polish units under General Zulauf which have just reached Warsaw, have been incorporated as the core of the defence forces of the burough of Praga. The German IV.Panzerdivision positioned just outside Warsaw has retreated. Alerted to a possible threat, General Wladyslaw Bortonowski ordered an immediate retreat of the 26th Infantry division after they had just crossed the Bzura near Lowicz. The Polish 4th Infantry reached the road linking Lowicz with Glowno while the 16th Infantry crossed the Bzura near Lowicz.

Lwow is cut off by German attacks. The German XIX Panzerkorps (Guderian) reaches Brest-Litovsk. Ethnic Ukrainians begin an uprising in Lwow and Stanislawow, attacking small Polish army units in the vicinity.

A He 111 from 1./KG 55 force lands near Radow, southeast of Warsaw. Stukas sink the Polish minesweepers 'Czapla' and 'Jaskolka' in the harbour at Hela.

Soviet news agency Tass reports repeated violations by Polish military airplanes over Soviet land. Some chased out, some are forced down.

Over the Brody airfield, Bf 109s of JGr 102 return and destroy more Polish aircraft on the ground. During the two days of attacks, JGr 102 destroys twenty-six Polish aircraft in the air and on the ground at the airfield.

The Hungarian government refrains from declaring its neutrality on the grounds that it is not threatened by Hitler.

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[Wurger]

A destroyed German tank during the Battle of Bzura.

The Polish 37 mm wz 1936 Bofors armor-piercing gun was able to destroy all German tanks used by them during the September Campaign 1939.

A revenge... a damaged Polish light 7TP tank.

 

[parsifal]

The Fleet Air Arm

Britain went to war with one priceless advantage relative to the KM. it possessed a viable fleet air arm, with multiple carriers to support the main fleet. but in 1939, and for a very long time after that this advantage was theoretical rather than real.

Great Britain went to war with seven carriers in service, and six more in various stages of construction. when the war broke out the brand new CV ARK ROYAL and the veteran Carrier FURIOUS (equivalent to a CVL) were with the Home Flt, CV GLORIOUS was assigned to the Med, EAGLE was in the Far East. HERMES and COURAGEOUS were still in reserve. ARGUS was assigned the Training role. All but the ARK ROYAL had been launched more than 20 years previously, and most had limits in their spot rates (rate that aircraft could be launched or recovered) and refuel capabilities. They were all rather vulnerable, except the ARK ROYAL. All, including the Ark Royal were very limited by the number and capability of the aircraft they carried, though the Swordfish, affectionately known as the "Stringbag" was to carve an enviable record over the next six years.

Britsh Carriers went to war with the following complements

ARK ROYAL: 18 Skua, 42 Swordfish GLORIOUS: 12 Sea Gladiators 36 Swordfish COURAGEOUS: (On return from Reserve) 24 Swordfish FURIOUS: 18 Swordfish HERMES: (On return from Reserves) 9 Swordfish EAGLE 18 Swordfish (when she transferred to the Med in 1940, she received 3 Gladiators hurriedly transferred and converted from RAF reserves)

The RNAS was receiving the pitiful total of 16 new pilots per year in 1939, so rapid change to this situation would take some time to rectify.

The FAA did enjoy some advantages. in 1939, it was one of only two nations with a viable air launched torpedo. Long aware of the shortcomings of its strike aircraft, the Fleet Air Arm had received training in the difficult night strike area. Swordfish were also credible dive bombers and possessed excellent rough weather capability. conversely ther was no ASV, and no specialised ASW capability, and no refined methodologies to work with ASW escorts

HMS Ark Royal 1939

HMS Glorious early 1930's

XX

HMS Courageous 1935

HMS Furious 1935

HMS Eagle prewar

HMS Hermes

XX

HMS Argus 1939

 

[parsifal]

14th September 1939
Allied New Ships
Fr MSW CHEVRUIL, RN DD KINGSTON

North Sea - British trawler HAWARDEN CASTLE (210grt) was lost to the 20mm gunfire of U.17 (Korvettenkapitan Harald Jeppener-Haltenhoff) (believe that the ship was set alight and then sank)

U-30 (Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp) (Type VIIa). After stopping the British freighter Fanad Head, the boat was attacked by three British Blackburn Skua aircraft (FAA-Sqdn 803) from HMS ARK ROYAL, but two of them were lost to their own bombs. Three crew members were wounded by splinters (according to one source).

other sources say that when U-30 attacked steamer FANAD HEAD (5200grt) 280 miles WNW of Malin Head in 56‑43N, 15‑21W, the Steamer gave a contact report that was received and responded to by ARK ROYA and her escortL launched the three Skuas of 803 Squadron at 1440 and dispatched TARTAR, BEDOUIN, PUNJABI to assist. FANAD HEAD was sunk before help arrived.

The Skuas attacked U.30, but two of them were lost from the explosion of their own bombs in the sea. Both gunners, PO Airman J Simpson (Griffiths' aircraft) and PO Airman G V McKay (of Thurston's) were killed, but both 803 Squadron pilots, Lt R P Thurston (aircraft L 2957) and Lt G B K Griffiths RM (L 2873), were picked up by U.30 and made prisoners.

U.30 was damaged, headed for Reykavik while making emergency repairs and arrived on the 19th, landing a wounded crewman. Next day, the 20th September, she departed for Germany.

TARTAR picked up the survivors from the steamer and ARK ROYAL launched six more Swordfish at 1655 - three each from Nos 818 and 821 Squadrons. One of 821's aircraft attacked a submarine contact. Destroyers FAME and FORESTER later arrived on the scene after the survivors of FANAD HEAD had already been rescued.

Steaming towards FANAD HEAD's position, ARK ROYAL escorted by destroyers FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND, FORTUNE, FIREDRAKE was attacked by U.39 NW of Ireland at 1507, but the torpedoes exploded prematurely. FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND, FIREDRAKE counter-attacked and sank U.39 at 1546 in 58‑29N, 11‑50W. FAULKNOR picked all the submarine's 42 man crew.

U-30. After sinking the British freighter Fanad Head, the boat was bombed by six Swordfish aircraft (FAA-Sqdn 810 and 821) from HMS ARK ROYAL and depth charged by HMS BEDOUIN and HMS PUNJABI for 4 hours before Lemp managed to escape according to german sources). However this is at odds with British sources, and we do know that U-39 was sunk in that same area, after being attacked by Swordfish and depth Charged by ARK ROYALs screen

U.28 (Kptlt. Günter Kuhnke (Knights Cross)) sank steamer VANCOUVER CITY (4955grt) SW of Ireland in 51‑23N, 07‑03W, with three crew lost. American steamer PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT (13,869grt) headed for her to rescue survivors, but received a signal that a Dutch tanker had picked them up and continued on her way.

U.29 sank steamer BRITISH INFLUENCE (8431grt) SW of Ireland in 49‑43N, 12‑49W. Norwegian steamer IDA BAKKE (5455grt) rescued her crew.

U-39 (Kptlt. Gerhard Glattes) sunk 14 Sept 1939 north-west of Ireland, in position 58.32N, 11.49W, by depth charges from the British DDs FAULKNOR, FOXHOUND and FIREDRAKE assisted by a/c from ARK ROYAL 44 survivors (no casualties). U-39 was the first U-boat sunk in the war, after an unsuccessful attack against the British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (premature magnetic-pistol torpedo explosions).

KTB/SKL* TRANSLATED DIARY ENTRY 22nd September;

"U-53, U-32 heading back. Only two U-boats (U 31, U 35) remain in the operational area. There has been no word from U-39. According to plan, this U-boat should have returned home by now; the lack of response from U-39 (Commander Kapitänleutnant Glattes) in spite of multiple requests to transmit location is cause for grave concern. The fate of the U-boat may well be linked to a British radio transmission regarding the arrival of the first German Navy prisoner at a London railway station".

* SKL = Seekriegsleitung = German Supreme Naval Command


Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp was the central figure of one of the most controversial incidents of the Battle of the Atlantic when, as commander of U-30, he spotted a large blacked-out ship zig-zagging at high speed on 3 September 1939. Lemp took an educated guess that this vessel was an armed merchant cruiser (an AMC, a converted liner fitted with deck guns to protect merchants), as passenger liners were not supposed to be zig-zagging like this one was, and he managed to hit it with two torpedoes, sinking the ship. The vessel turned out to be the passenger liner Athenia; 112 of her passengers died in the sinking.

Lemp achieved great success in U-30, sinking 17 ships and damaging two, including the British battleship HMS Barham (04). She was the first U-boat to make use of the French bases in July 1940, and on 14 August 1940 Lemp, aged 26, was the seventh U-boat commander to be awarded the Knights Cross.

Lemp's first patrol in the newly-commisioned U-110 was a disappointment after his previous success, and the second proved disastrous. The boat was captured east of Cape Farewell, Greenland in position 60N, 33W by the British destroyers HMS Bulldog, HMS Broadway and the British corvette HMS Aubretia. (Niestlé, 1998). The boat's Enigma machine and current code books were captured, with grave consequences for the Germans. Kptlt. Lemp was killed in action.

Kptlt. Günter Kuhnke: Günter Kuhnke joined the Reichsmarine in April 1931. After some months on the cruiser Admiral Scheer, he transferred in September 1935 to the newly formed U-boat arm and received the intensive prewar U-boat officer training. In October 1938 he took command of the Type VIIA U-boat U-28.

After the start of the war in September 1939, he made seven mostly successful patrols including some minelaying operations. He left U-28 in January 1941 and two months later commissioned the Type IXC U-boat U-125. After two patrols he turned the boat over in December 1941 to Kptlt. Ulrich Folkers, who took part with U-125 in operation Paukenschlag a month later.

In January 1942 Günter Kuhnke became the commander of the 10th flotilla based in Lorient. In August 1944 he left Lorient with one of the last flotilla U-boats and headed back to Flensburg, where he arrived in October 1944. In Flensburg he took command of the 33rd flotilla and served in this position to the end of the war.

In 1955 he joined the Bundesmarine, commanding the destroyer Z-2 and in 1966 becoming Chef des Marineamtes (chief of Navy department). He retired in 1972 as Konteradmiral and was highly decorated after the war with the Star of the Great Federal Merit Cross.

DD KINGSTON – commanded by Lt Cdr P Somerville completed, and after working up at Portland, joined the Desflot 5 19 October.

United States - 68 Four Piper DDs ordered recommissioned from mothball reserve status for Neutrality Patrol duties.

British northern waters - BB RODNEY, BC HOOD, DDs TARTAR, ESKIMO, BEDOUIN, PUNJABI dep Scapa evening of the 14th and arrived at Loch Ewe next morning. En route, three of the destroyers detached to join ARK ROYAL (see above).

DD MATABELE dep Scapa and arrived at Loch Ewe later the same day.

ARK ROYAL group, NW approaches - TARTAR, BEDOUIN, PUNJABI joined the screen of aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL at daylight on the 14th.

British east coast - Convoy FS.5 dep Methil and arrived at Southend on the 16th.

Norwegian waters - on patrol off Norway at 56-22N, 1-28W, submarine STURGEON sighted SWORDFISH, which like OXLEY on the 10th, was off station. Failing to identify SWORDFISH as friendly, STURGEON fired three torpedoes at 0043 which all missed. As a result of these potentially fatal problems, the distance between patrol stations was increased to 16 miles.

Baltic - German Stuka bombers attacked Jastarnia Harbour and sank Polish MSW JASKOLKA, damaged MSW CZAPLA and RYBITWA, and caused minor splinter damage to MSW CZAJKA and ZURAW.

Polish SS ORZEL arrived at Tallinn, Estonia, escorted by Estonian TB SULEV, to land Lt Cdr Kloczkowski to hospital. The submarine was interned by confisdcation of ships charts, but the estonians neglect to undertake any further precautiuons.

English Channel - CL CARADOC departed Plymouth on patrol and arrived back on the 16th. DDs KEMPENFELT and ECHO dep Plymouth on escort duties at 0703 on the 14th.

DD SKATE arrived at Cherbourg.

SW approaches - CVL HERMES dep Plymouth with DDs IMOGEN and ISIS for ASW patrols in the Western Approaches west of 12-00W and south of 250° from Land's End. They were joined on the 16th by DDs IMPERIAL and ILEX. On the 17th, IMOGEN attacked a suspected submarine contact. The group returned to Plymouth on the 18th when these operations were suspended.

Sierra Leone-UK (SL) convoys - the first of the convoys, SL.1, dep Freetown, escorted by CL DAUNTLESS, then by CL CAPETOWN, which had departed Gib on the 17th. until the 24th when she returned to Gib. .

Central and Sth Atlantic - from 14 September to 12 October, French SSs PERSÉE and PONCELET, (Subdiv6) and AGOSTA and OUESSANT, (Subdiv 8) from det from Admiral West and patrolled the Azores area for German blockade runners. Following this operation, PERSÉE and PONCELET headed for Cherbourg for long overhauls lasting until mid-June 1940, while AGOSTA and OUESSANT proceeded to Martinique, arriving on the 29th.

CL DANAE dep Simonstown .

Indian Ocean - DD DARING arrived at Singapore on the 3rd while sister ships DUNCAN and DAINTY, which had departed Hong Kong on the 10th, arrived on the 13th. All three departed Singapore on the 14th to join the Med Flt.

HMAS Perth in Culbra Cut Panama Canal 29 November 1939

 

[parsifal]

RAN - HMAS PERTH Before the outbreak of war, it had been intended that Perth would be sailed to Australia before the end of 1939. When war appeared imminent at the end of August the ship was in the West Indies. Pending the arrival of RN ships, she was ordered to protect oil tankers operating between Trinidad and Venezuela. For the next two and a half months Perth carried out escort and patrol duties in the West Indies and Western Atlantic.

Late in November 1939 the ship passed through the Panama Canal and proceeded to Cocos Island with orders to fuel the Royal Canadian Navy destroyers Ottawa and Restigouche. At the end of the month Perth returned to the Atlantic and proceeded for Kingston, Jamaica. Escort and patrol duties continued until early March 1940. The ship again passed through the Canal on 2 March 1940 and sailed for Sydney the following day. She secured alongside at Garden Island on 31 March.

14 - 15 September 1939

Khalkin Gol Ceasefire

Local Lieutenant General Komatsubara gathered his forces for a counterattack in early September, but he was frustrated by messages from Tokyo requesting him to hold his position. Concerned not only at the sharp military reverses, but also at the apparent collaboration between Germany and the Soviets, Japan sought peaceful solution to this bitter border dispute. In early Sep, politicians of the two nations successfully negotiated an agreement, and a ceasefire was signed in Moscow, Russia on 15 Sep 1939. The Soviet Union and Japan agreed that the border between the break-away state of Mongolia and the puppet state of Manchukuo was to be at Nomonhan, which was what the Mongolians perceived as the border at the start of the conflict. Japanese Army claimed that it had suffered 8,440 killed and 8,766 wounded in series of engagements out of the 75,000 men committed, but actual number of troops killed might be in the 20,000s or 30,000s. The Soviet Union claimed that it had suffered 9,284 casualties out of the 57,000 men committed, but the Soviets might had understated the figure as well; the actual number of casualties might be between 21,000 and 24,000. For his success, Georgy Zhukov was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union and was promoted to the rank of general.

This battle was known in Japan as the Nomonhan Incident, Battle of Khalkhin Gol in the Soviet Union, and the Battle of Halhin Gol in Mongolia.

The result of the battle significantly influenced the future direction of Japanese expansion.

 

[Njaco]

15 September 1939 Friday
POLAND: German troops captured Gdynia, Poland. Meanwhile, Polish troops failed to break out of the Kutno Pocket. German troops are reducing the Polish Poznan Army encircled at Kutno. Brest-Litovsk, 120 miles east of Warsaw, is surrounded. Only a strip of land connecting Kampinos Forest and Modlin Fortress remain in Polish hands. The relentless bombing of the city has left it in complete ruin. Great exoduses of people have fled the city yet many are trapped and unable to escape. The Warsaw military commander, Polish Major General Juliusz Rommel, refuses to discuss a surrender proposal from the Germans.

With Warsaw surrounded by German troops, the Polish Army was ordered to the Romanian border to hold out until the Allies arrive; the Romanian government offered asylum to all Polish civilians who could make it across the border; Polish military personnel who crossed the border, however, would be interned. Polish infantry units were immediately disarmed and interned by the Romanians. Poland and Romania had been allies since 1921, having ratified the Polish-Romanian Alliance Pact, which was presumed to be valid. The Polish government had recently transferred the treasury of the National Bank of Poland to the Romanian government for safe-keeping. The first shipment consisted of 1,261 crates containing 82,402 kilograms of gold while the second shipment totaled 3,057,450 kilograms, both escorted by the Romanian Navy.

Battle of Bzura continues with heavy losses on both sides. Polish Army Pomorze took up defensive positions at Kutno, Zychlin, Gabin and Sochaczew on the northern bank of the Bzura River. General Stanislaw Grzot-Skotnicki's unit was between Kutno and Zychlin. General Michal Karaczewicz -Tokaczewski's unit was near Gabin. And parts of the Army Poznan by the Bzura near Sochaczew. From there they commenced their drive towards Warsaw. The Germans engaged most of the 10.Armee to encircle the Poles. The Germans deployed 2 armored, 1 motorized and 3 light divisions, totaling 800 tanks. The Poles were forced out of Sochaczew and trapped in a triangle of Bzura, Vistula and German forces. After crossing the Bzura (between Sochaczew and Brochow), the German Panzer Division engaged the Polish 25th infantry and managed to capture Ruszki, and after a bloody battle they stopped their advance. The Polish 25th unit had crossed the Bzura near Vistula north of Sochaczew and and are heading towards Warsaw. In the process however, they had to abandon most of their heavy artillery. Meanwhile, the Poznan Army at Kutno has reported extensive casualties.

Four crewmembers of an He 111 from 1./KG 55 are killed when the bomber crash-lands near Chyrov. In order to keep pace with the advancing German Armies the Luftwaffe continues with moving air units forward. Major Hanns Trübenbach's I(J)./LG 2 is moved yet again to Pultusk, only fifty kilometers from Warsaw.

GERMANY: A new Gruppe I./JG 54 is formed from the old I./JG 70 and is led by Major Hans-Jurgen von Cramon-Taubadel. Along with a new Gruppenkommandeur, the Gruppe trade in their old Bf 109Ds for new Bf 109Es. The Gruppe is based at Herzogenaurach.

In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop asked the Soviet Union for a definite date and time when Soviet forces would attack Poland.

German radio broadcasted today interviews with British and New Zealander aircrew captured during the Wilhelmshaven raid on September 4th.

NORTH AMERICA: The first British trans-Atlantic convoy sets sail from Halifax, Nova Scotia. From now on all ships carrying vital supplies of Canadian wheat and US munitions are to travel in convoys scheduled and protected by the British and Canadian navies. The first convoy organized during the war sailed from Gibraltar on September 2nd. The vital Glasgow-Thames coastal trade is now moving in convoys as well.

EASTERN FRONT: An armistice agreement is signed between Japan and the USSR ending their four-month-old "Nomonhan Incident" consisting of protracted fighting on the borders of Manchukuo (Manchuria) and Mongolia. Both sides have been under pressure from Germany to settle the dispute since the signing of the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. Peace talks were initiated by the new Japanese cabinet, appointed two weeks ago, after Japan lost 17,000 troops in one battle.

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[parsifal]

15 September 1939
Allied New Ships
Fr MSW COMMANDANT RIVIERE (Elan Class)

Neutral New ships[/U
USS DD 413 (MUSTIN) SIMS CLASS

Kiel: U-9 , U-19 (Fregattenkapitän Hans Meckel), U-45 (Kptlt. Alexander Gelhaar), U-46 (Korvettenkapitän Herbert Sohler), U-47
Wilhelmshaven: U-37 (Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Schuch)

At Sea 15 September
U-3, U-10, U-13, U-14, U-16, U-18, U-20, U-21, U-23, U-24, U-26, U-27 (+), U-28, U-29, U-30 (damaged), U-31, U-32, U-33, U-34, U-35, U-36, U-38, U-40, U-41, U-48, U-52, U-53, U-56, U-57.
29 boats at sea.
+ lost during patrol

North Sea – U.36 sank steamer TRURO (974grt) 130 miles ENE of Rattray Head in 58‑20N, 02‑00E. Survivors were picked up by a Belgian trawler.

U.53 (Korvettenkapitän Ernst-Günter Heinicke) seriously damaged British tanker CHEYENNE (8825grt) 150 miles WSW of Fastnet at 50‑20N, 13‑30W. The crew was picked up by Norwegian steamer IDA BAKKE (5455grt) which was directed to the tanker by U.53. As U.53 was scuttling CHEYENNE with gunfire, destroyer MACKAY, 11th Flotilla arrived and drove her off. Finding CHEYENNE beyond salvage, MACKAY finished off the tanker with gunfire.

Heinicke is worthy to note. In March 1945 he was assigned as Baubelehrung commander of the new Type XXI electroboat U 2561, but the boat was still uncompleted at the end of hostilities, and was afterwards broken up on the stocks.

U-26 unsuccessfully attacked steamer ROTHESAY CASTLE (7016grt) 120 miles SW of Fastnet,

Western Atlantic - After travelling via the Panama Canal Cdn DDs FRASER and ST LAURENT arrived at Halifax for escort duties.

Kingston, Jamaica-UK (KJF) convoys - the first of the series, KJF.1, sailed escorted by CL ORION. this convoy series only continued until 8 October 1939 with three more KJF's leaving Kingston, all unescorted -

Northern Patrol - CL DUNEDIN departed Scapa for Northern Patrol duties ret 18th.

British northern waters - BB NELSON dep Loch Ewe , escorted by DDs SOMALI, MASHONA, MATABELE for Scapa .

DD FURY, joined CV ARK ROYAL at sea on ASW patrol.

CA NORFOLK dep Scapa

CLA CALCUTTA dep Scapa ret on the 16th.

Coastal Command A/C bombed a submarine contact 60 miles east of Aberdeen. DD SABRE was already hunting in the area and was joined by DD FORESIGHT.

DD BROKE attacked a submarine contact off Flamborough Head.

CL NEWCASTLE relieved CL SHEFFIELD for duties with the Humber Force, although SHEFFIELD continued in CruDiv18 for another week.

DDs JERVIS, JAVELIN, JERSEY, JUPITER dep Humber to search for a reported damaged German submarine in the North Sea. There was no contact, and the ships were badly battered by heavy weather. JUPITER and JAVELIN also attacked a submarine contact three miles NE of Flamborough. British trawler SILURIA (207grt) passing between them during their hunt, rode over a submerged object which she reported as a suspected submarine. On return, JERVIS boiler cleaned and repaired at Rosyth from the 17th to 22nd and JERSEY docked at Chatham from the 18th to 20th.

DD VALOROUS attacked a submarine contact 10 miles east of Lowestoft.

Convoy FN.5 dep Southend and arrived at Methil on the 16th.

English Channel - DD WREN made two attacks on a submarine contact off Cherbourg.

Belgian liner ALEX VAN OPSTAL (5965grt) sank on a mine laid by U.26 on the 8th off Shambles Light ½ mile east of Weymouth and Greek steamer ATLANTICOS (5446grt) rescued her survivors.

UK-France convoys - BC.2 dep Barry, escort by DDs WOLVERINE and WAKEFUL, and arrived at Quiberon Bay on the 16th. The convoy was also escorted by French super DDs MOGADOR and VOLTA from 0600 to 2000 on the 16th.

Contre Torpilleur DD Mogador

DB.2 dep Southampton with one personnel ship for Brest, escorted by DDs WREN and VENOMOUS and arrived on the 16th. The following DB.3 was cancelled.

UK-out convoys - OA.5 of two ships, and OA.5A of twelve, departed Southend. DDs JANUS, JACKAL and Polish GROM dep Devonport to escort them until 18th, when the convoy dispersed.

OB.5 departed Liverpool escort by DDs VERSATILE and VIMY and VIVACIOUS


Central and South Atlantic – CL COLOMBO dep Gib for Casablanca ret 17th.

CA CUMBERLAND arrived at Rio de Janiero with DD HAVOCK and HOTSPUR. After refuelling and reprovisioning, the DDs dep that night and CUMBERLAND next day. CUMBERLAND was ordered to commence escort duties with HAVOCK from Rio de Janiero, while CA EXETER with HOTSPUR was to escort outbound shipping from Montevideo.

Chinese waters - sloop SANDWICH dep Tienstin under tow because of low water, ran aground at Taku. She was towed off by five tugs, but a towing line fouled a propeller. With tug ST BREOCK in attendance, SANDWICH left the area.

 

[Njaco]

16 September 1939 Saturday

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The first transatlantic Allied convoy of the war, HX-1, sails from Halifax, Canada, escorted by Royal Canadian Navy destroyers 'Saguenay' and 'St. Laurent' for 350 miles at sea, and British cruisers 'Berwick' and 'York'.

In the first German submarine attack on an Atlantic convoy the merchantman SS 'Aviemore' was sunk off Land's End, England, United Kingdom by U-31.

U-27 attacked British trawler 'Rudyard Kipling' 190 kilometers (120 miles or 100 nautical miles) west of Ireland at 0353 hours. The crew of U-27 boarded 'Rudyard Kipling' and destroyed the ship with scuttling charges. U-27 rescued the survivors, gave them food and warm clothing, and sent them off in lifeboats.

POLAND: Warsaw is now surrounded but a German ultimatum is rejected by the Polish garrison, led by General Czuma, and the civil population. Polish troops counterattacked, destroying 22 tanks of the Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler" regiment. This day is also the eve of the Jewish New Year and Luftwaffe planes dive-bomb the Jewish quarter of the city. In a desperate attempt to encircle and destroy Polish units, German Command allocated most of their own 10.Armee, including 2 armoured, 1 motorized, and 3 light divisions, escorted by 800 tanks and fleets of Luftwaffe. They have been attacking Polish positions continuously on all sides.

German General Blaskowitz attempted to capture Praga today but was repelled by Polish counter-attacks. After intense fighting for the Grochow area, the German 23. Infanterie-Abteilung was completely annihilated by Polish forces of the 21st "Children of the Warsaw" Infantry Regiment under Col. Stanislaw Sosabowski.

Elsewhere in Poland, German troops captured Brest-Litovsk. Part of List's army is still fighting west of Lvov while other units are advancing north to link with Guderian's forces, who are maintaining their attack along the Bug. Polish general Józef Kustron was killed in the village of Ulazow, Poland; he was the second general-rank officer to be killed in action during the European War.

Polish bombers have been intensifying their defense in a desperate attempt to stem the tide of German advancements. With Warsaw surrounded and the refusal of surrender by Polish General Walerian Czuma, German assaults are escalating, leading to greater casualties of Polish infantry and civilians.

In Moscow, Russia, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov proposed that the Soviet Union would enter the war on September 17 to "...protect the Ukranian and Belorussian minorities." Reaction is mixed among Poles. Germany complained that it singled out Germany as the lone aggressor.

A dozen He 111s of I./KG 4 drop a million leaflets over Warsaw asking the population to leave the city in 12 hours through the eastern section the city before the Wehrmacht begins to attack.

The crews and pilots of Hptm. Johannes Janke's I./JG 77 and JGr 102 are transferred from Poland to the Western Front area. They begin the withdraw this date by moving from Krosno to an area near Olmütz.

Adolf Hitler ordered five action squads into Poland, following German armies, with instructions to murder tens of thousands of officials, priests, intellectuals, to deprive Poles of their ruling class.

GERMANY: The small night-fighting unit, 10(Nacht)./ZG 26 moves its Ar 68Fs and Bf 109Ds from Jever to Wunstorf.

Hptm. Hans "Gockel" von Hahn is appointed Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 53.


WESTERN FRONT: German forces begin large counterattacks on French forces at the France-Germany border: in the Moselle Valley, the Nied Valley, around Saarbrüken, and in the Vosges Mountains.

Germany closes the frontier with the Netherlands.

UNITED KINGDOM: The British Government announced the appointment of the Duke of Windsor as liaison officer with the French Army. This has raised eyebrows in many circles if not outrage. In 1937 the Duke and Duchess met - against the advice of Parliament - with Adolf Hitler at his retreat at Obersalzburg, located 120 kilometers southeast of Munich. The Duke was seen giving Nazi salutes. In a letter to Hitler, a fellow Nazi Albert Speer wrote,

"I am certain that through him permanent friendly relations could have been achieved. If he had stayed everything would have been different. His abdication was a severe loss for us."

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[parsifal]

16 September 1939
Axis New Ships
FI SS LEONARDO DA VINCI (Marconi Class), IJN B1 Class Sub I-19

Allied New Ships
RN SS TRIAD (Prewar T Class Group)

Neutral New ships[/U
NE CL HEEMSKERK

Uboats enjoyed success in tonnages sunk, damaged or captured on this day

U-13 City of Paris (damaged) (Mine) 10,902 GRT (br) The Steamer was in convoy FN.6 was damaged 3.5 miles ENE of Aldeburgh hit a a mine laid by U.13 on the 4th, U-27 Rudyard Kipling 333 GRT (br)...the ship was sunk 100 miles west of Donegal. The entire crew were towed in their boats by the submarine to within five miles of the coast. DDs SOMALI and MATABELE and CC a/c were ordered to the area to search for the submarine. U-31 (Kptlt. Johannes Habekost) Aviemore 4,060 GRT (br)......the steamer was sunk at 0815, 350 miles west of Land's End . She was sailing as an independent crossing ahead of convoy OB.4 and not a member of the convoy as frequently reported. 23 crew lost and 11 survivors were rescued by DD WARWICK. Another ship in OB.4 was attacked by U.31 at 0040 but was not damaged. WARWICK was then missed at 0827 by a torpedo from U.31 , but in the counter-attack, the submarine sustained light damage, U-33 (Kptlt. Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky) Arkleside 1,567 (br) ...U.33 sank the steamer 150 miles SW of Land's End, U-41 (Kptlt. Gustav-Adolf Mugler) Suomen Poika (captured) 1,099 GRT (fin), U-41 Vega 974 GRT (captured) (fin)

Halifax, Nova Scotia-UK (HX) convoys - the first of the convoys, HX 1, departed Halifax at 1400 with Canadian DDs ST LAURENT and SAGUENAY as local escorts. On the 17th, 353 miles east of Halifax, the convoy was turned over to CAs YORK and BERWICK. The cruisers arrived back at Halifax on the 20th, while the convoy reached Liverpool on the 30th.

Scottish west coast - British trawler WELLVALE (271grt) was lost to unknown cause.

British east coast – convoy FS.6 departed Methil and arrived at Southend on the 18th.

DD WANDERER attacked a submarine contact 10 miles E by S of Flamborough Head. Sloop HASTINGS also attacked a contact, but this time 38 miles E by S of Flamborough Head.

DD VALOROUS attacked submarine contacts 10 miles east of Lowestoft and also 32 miles SW of Spurn Point.

Br SS H.34, carrying out experiments off Harwich, was bombed by a friendly aircraft. No damage was done.

Convoy FN.6 departed Southend and arrived at Methil on the 18th.

Humber Force - CL GLASGOW and SOUTHAMPTON departed the Humber and arrived at Rosyth on the 17th. SOUTHAMPTON boiler-cleaned from 17th to 19th, GLASGOW from 19th to 21st.

Dover Straits - steamer BRAMDEN (1594grt), inbound from Dunkirk, was sunk on a British defensive minefield, 3 crew lost.

Southwestern approaches - CV COURAGEOUS dep Plymouth for ASW in the Western Approaches. She was joined outside the breakwater at 0930 by DDs INGLEFIELD, IVANHOE, IMPULSIVE. INTREPID. IMPULSIVE attacked a submarine contact at 2035 and INGLEFIELD went to assist. At 2150, the search was abandoned as a "non-sub" contact.

CL CARADOC and CERES with new DD KELLY dep Plymouth on ASW patrol in the Western Approaches. The cruisers ret on the 18th.

DD WHIRLWIND attacked a submarine contact 330 miles WSW of Land's End.

DDs KEMPENFELT and VESPER attacked a submarine contact ESE of Fastnet.

RFA BACCHUS (5150grt) was missed by a torpedo, 170 miles SW of Fastnet at 2242.

British northern waters - CL DRAGON arrived at Scapa, DD MATABELE dep Scapa Flow and arrived at Loch Ewe on the 17th., DD ESKIMO arrived at Loch Ewe. DD FORESIGHT dep Scapa Flow to assist DD SABRE hunting a submarine reported by CC aircraft. FORESIGHT oiled at Rosyth on the 17th and arrived back at Scapa on the 18th.

CV ARK ROYAL and DDs FAULKNOR, FIREDRAKE, FEARLESS, FURY, FORESTER, FORTUNE arrived at Loch Ewe to refuel. Destroyer FOXHOUND, also with ARK ROYAL's screen, arrived at Scapa Flow for her refuelling.

Med - CA SHROPSHIRE arrived at Malta for docking, dep on the 18th and reached Alex on the 20th.

 

[parsifal]

17 September 1939

Loss of the carrier Courageous

On September 15 1939, a convoy contact was made due west of the English Channel, in an area the British called the Western Approaches. The sea lanes were abuzz with traffic and some successes against British shipping had occurred in the early days of the war. To provide at least some form of protection for these ships, the Admiralty had deployed the old aircraft carrier HMS Courageous with a destroyer escort screen to conduct anti-submarine patrols.

Launched in February 1916 and commissioned in January 1917, the HMS Courageous was originally laid down as a Battle Cruiser, being converted into an aircraft carrier between June 1924 and May 1928. A hangar and flight deck were installed aft of the hull with the original armament of two twin 15-inch guns being removed and replaced with 4.7 inch anti-aircraft guns. The light armament meant that she had to rely on her screening escorts for protection against surface ships.

When Donitz received word of the convoy contact, he ordered all boats in the Western Approaches to converge on the convoy. That included Otto Schuhart in U-29 and Ernst-Gunther Heinicke in U-53. Searching for the convoy on September 17, Heinicke found and attacked the 5,000 ton British freighter, Kafristan with a combination of gunfire and torpedoes. The ASW fleet of the HMS Courageous was close by. Two of her destroyer escorts (out of four) and Swordfish biplanes from the Courageous were dispatched to the area of the Kafristan sinking to hunt Heinicke.

Meanwhile to the east, Schuhart in U-29 was still searching for the convoy. While running submerged, he spotted a Swordfish biplane instead. A Swordfish 300 miles out in the open sea could only mean one thing – that an aircraft carrier had to be close by. Keeping a sharp watch, at 1800 hours a puff of smoke was spotted on the horizon. It was the carrier Courageous. Schuhart sent his crew to battle stations and adjusted for an interception course.

But he could not mount an attack. Planes were circling over the carrier and the two remaining destroyer escorts were clearly visible. He later wrote in his log "At that time it looked like a hopeless operation. Because of the aircraft, I could not surface and my underwater speed was less than 8 knots while the carrier could do 26. But we were told during our training to always stay close and that is exactly what I did, following him submerged".

Schuhart trailed on for another one and a half hours, all the while losing distance with the carrier. Then suddenly at 1930 hours, the carrier turned into the wind to launch aircraft, inadvertently placing the ship in perfect position for a torpedo attack. By 1940 hours, U-29 was in position and Schuhart fired all three forward torpedoes from less than 3,000 yards. Schuhart logged "the vast size of the target upset all normal calculations and in any case, I was looking straight into the sun".

ust 500 yards away, while the torpedoes were still making its run, Schuhart observed through his periscope lens as one of the destroyers sailed by, still unaware of the impending attack. To evade, he dived deep – to a depth of 180 feet, the deepest he had ever dived. Then, in the creaking silence of U-boat's pressure hull, the crew heard two resounding explosions. Two torpedoes had it the target and exploded with such force that Schuhart thought he had been attacked. The crew cheered, although they all knew what was to follow next – an impending depth charge attack.

They braced themselves for the attack and minutes later, one of the destroyers picked up the U-29 on sonar. The second destroyer rushed to the location to join the hunt and both attacked with such fury and ferocity that during the pounding, Schuhart thought he had lost the U-29. The boat reeled and creaked under the force of the explosion which lasted for hours. Then at 2340 hours, the last depth charge exploded. Both destroyers had expended all depth charges and were now weaponless in attacking the enemy down below. Silently easing away, Schuhart in the U-29 made good his escape. As soon as he surfaced, he radioed to Donitz, "Courageous destroyed. U-29 homebound".

Meanwhile, back at the sinking of the Courageous, a Dutch passenger liner Veendam was passing nearby. Eye witnesses account that a huge white cloud had engulfed the Courageous. They thought it was a smoke screen and paid little attention until two tremendous explosions ripped through the carrier. Pieces of steel and dismembered aircraft shot upwards as with the flames and oil slick which soon followed. The Courageous sank in less than 15 minutes with the loss of 519 lives, including her commander Captain W T Makeig-Jones. Her total complement was 1,260 officers and ratings (including air group), and two squadrons of Fairey Swordfish aircraft (24 planes, she is often reported as carrying 48, but this was her maximum capacity). The Veendam and a British freighter Collingsworth
participated in the rescue, fishing survivors from the oily waters.


By the next morning of September 18, news of the sinking had been broadcasted worldwide. The sinking of the HMS Courageous was the first U-boat offensive against the Royal Navy, and more importantly, Schuhart's victory prompted the Admiralty to withdraw all three remaining carriers from the Western Approaches. The first naval engagement turned out to be a resounding victory, as carriers were not to be seen in those waters for another four years. It was foolhardy in the extreme to use such high value targets as fleet carriers in ASW operations.

This was precisely what Donitz had wanted, as the withdrawal of ASW vessels allowed his U-boats to continue with their sinkings unabated. Politically, Hitler was neither pleased, nor displeased. He was still hopeful of a diplomatic solution with Great Britain and did not want to further antagonize the Western Powers by sinking a major capital warship. However, no specific orders had been issued otherwise and in fact, the Kriegsmarine was ecstatic. Donitz noted gleefully in his diary "A wonderful success".

Schuhart was awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the entire crew the Iron Cross Second Class. In tonnage sunk for a single patrol, his tally was 41,905 tons which was to stand as a record high for a very long time.

The U-29 was a Type VIIA U-boat, an oceangoing boat which had four bow and one stern torpedo tube.

HMS Courageous was sunk on September 17 1939 at 1940 hours at the Western Approaches (Southwest of Ireland), 150nm WSW of Mizen Head, Ireland. Her sister ship, the HMS Glorious and her two escorting destroyers, Ardent and Acasta was to suffer the same fate on June 8 1940, during an attack by two German battle cruisers, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst.

 

[Njaco]

17 September 1939 Sunday
POLAND: Poland is invaded by Russia. Russian armies cross the entire eastern frontier of Poland, claiming the Polish State no longer exists, and "...to protect our own interests and to protect the White Russian and Ukranian minorities". Soviet newspapers have been making claims of "brutal treatment" of national minorities in Poland, especially Ukrainians and Belorussians. The Soviet government promises to respect Finnish neutrality and recognizes Slovakia as an independent state. Naturally because of the German attack there is almost no defense in the east. The Soviets employ two army groups or Fronts. The Poles have only 18 battalions in the east of their country. Just before dawn, the Red Army invades along the entire 800-mile (1300 km) border. Poles are surprised and Soviet forces advance virtually unopposed.

The Polish army is largely defeated; German forces reach the Vistula and encircle Warsaw. St. John's Cathedral is bombed during mass; the dead are buried in public parks because the cemeteries are full. East of Warsaw, Heinz Guderian's XIX Panzerkorps of Heeresgruppe Nord made contact with XXII Panzerkorps of Heeresgruppe Sud, just to the south of Brest-Litovsk; virtually the whole Polish Army (or what remained of it) was now trapped within a gigantic double pincer. Warsaw is completely isolated. Some 40,000 Polish prisoners have been captured by the Germans at Kutno and Brest-Litovsk is taken after a bitter 3-day battle, taking 600 prisoners. German troops are given a stop line because of the Soviet invasion in the east.

'Operation SEASIDE' is again postponed so that negotiations can commence for the evacuation of the city of Warsaw.

Polish President Ignaz Moscicki and a government party of 57 cross into Rumania, evacuating from the border town of Kuty -- the fifth and last temporary seat in the Polish provinces. All surviving Polish aircrew fly to Romania.

The Iron Cross Second Class is awarded to members of I./JG 21 for operations over Poland. Included in the group is Lt. Gustav Rödel.

GERMANY: Fw. Held of II./JG 77 and known as "The Victor Of The Jade Bight", is killed in an airfield accident at Nordholz.

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[Wurger]

On 17th September 1939 , following the secret supplement to the Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact, USSR attacked Poland.

Russian soldiers destroying the Polish boundary post and fortification...

A line of Soviet cars crossing the Polish-Russian border...

The Russian BT tanks and armoured vehicles invading Poland.