This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

[Njaco]

September 27 Friday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post721540.html#post721540

Douglas Bader and James Lacey each shot down a German Bf 109 aircraft.

Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down his 6th kill, a British Hurricane fighter, over London, England. In doing so, he abandoned his duty as wingman to flight leader Staffelkapitän Adolf Buhl, and Buhl would be shot down in combat in this engagement.

UNITED KINGDOM: British newspaper The Daily Herald, on its front page story, reported that six evacuee children from the liner "City of Benares", which had been torpedoed by Kapitanleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt on 17 Sep 1940, had been rescued from a lifeboat in the mid-Atlantic.

Number of Londoners sheltering in 'Underground' stations reaches record total of 177,000.

GERMANY: Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact. Japanese premier Prince Fumimaro Konoye, the Italian foreign minister Duke Ciano and German foreign minister von Ribbentrop and Adolf Hitler sign an agreement promising that each will declare war on any third party which joins the war against one of the three. It is stated that this agreement does not affect either Germany's or Japan's relations with the USSR. This treaty is known as the Tripartite Pact. All the signatories hope that the pact will deter the United States from joining the war in Europe or taking a more active line in the Far East. The Axis pact was eventually extended to include Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia.

Text of the Tripartite Pact of 1940 (English translation)

The Governments of Japan, Germany, and Italy consider it the prerequisite of a lasting peace that every nation in the world shall receive the space to which it is entitled. They have, therefore, decided to stand by and cooperate with one another in their efforts in the regions of Europe and Greater East Asia respectively. In doing this it is their prime purpose to establish and maintain a new order of things, calculated to promote the mutual prosperity and welfare of the peoples concerned. It is, furthermore, the desire of the three Governments to extend cooperation to nations in other spheres of the world that are inclined to direct their efforts along lines similar to their own for the purpose of realizing their ultimate object, world peace. Accordingly, the Governments of Japan, Germany and Italy have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1. Japan recognizes and respects the leadership of Germany and Italy in the establishment of a new order in Europe.

ARTICLE 2. Germany and Italy recognize and respect the leadership of Japan in the establishment of a new order in Greater East Asia.

ARTICLE 3. Japan, Germany, and Italy agree to cooperate in their efforts on aforesaid lines. They further undertake to assist one another with all political, economic and military means if one of the Contracting Powers is attacked by a Power at present not involved in the European War or in the Japanese-Chinese conflict.

ARTICLE 4. With a view to implementing the present pact, joint technical commissions, to be appointed by the respective Governments of Japan, Germany and Italy, will meet without delay.

ARTICLE 5. Japan, Germany and Italy affirm that the above agreement affects in no way the political status existing at present between each of the three Contracting Powers and Soviet Russia.

ARTICLE 6. The present pact shall become valid immediately upon signature and shall remain in force ten years from the date on which it becomes effective. In due time, before the expiration of said term, the High Contracting Parties shall, at the request of any one of them, enter into negotiations for its renewal.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: 300 miles west of Ireland, German submarine U-31 sank Norwegian ship "Vestvard" at 1113 hours (1 killed, 30 survived in one lifeboat) and German submarine U-37 sank Egyptian ship "Georges Mabro" shortly before midnight (all aboard were killed). 500 miles west of Saint-Nazaire, France, German submarine U-46 dove suddenly due to mechanical failure, killing Oberbootsmaat Heinrich Schenk and Matrosenobergefreiter Wilhelm Reh. Control was regained, and the commanding officer aborted the mission to return to Saint-Nazaire for repairs.

NORTH AMERICA: The United States announced that, with effect from 15 October 1940, they would be imposing an embargo on the export of iron and steel scrap to all nations except those in the western hemisphere and Great Britain.

Convention of Havana convenes whereby the Pan American State appoints themselves joint trustees of any European colony or colonies in the Americas which are threatened by Axis Powers.

WESTERN FRONT: France's Vichy government orders all Jews to carry cards identifying them as such.

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[parsifal]

Italian Armour in the Desert - Mechanization, the key to success in the western desert

The Italian Army established itself in five fortified camps. Here they built and maintained their logistics lines of communication and awaited the British counterattack. The British waited for the Italians to resume their offensive. This was not going to happen until the Italians had time recover from the advance, reorganize their units, build a hard surface road and a water pipeline forward to Sidi Barrani. In essence the Italians were building up their logistical supply base and waiting for the enemy counterattack. This pattern followed closely what had occurred on the northern front in
Ethiopia. The British waited for the Italians to advance to their next objective whilst constantly harassing the Italians with their superior recon and armoured elements. Significant reinforcements were enroute to the ME command, in the form orf a full bn of Matilda II tanks, but they would not arrive for some time yet. Some of the 88000 reserves being held in the Delta were nearing some level of competency in their training, but until then the British had to pray and make do.

The Italians meanwhile hesitated as they prepared their defenses. Since the expected italian advance did not materialise and the British lacked the strength to attack in strength, the period of Late September to late November degenerated into a series of localised raids with neither side able to make much headway.

The Italians had suffered badly against the British in a number of small scale tank battles before September, correctly showing them they needed to significantly improve the armoured support at their disposal. they belieed that as a starting point they had to improve the quality of their armour. The Italian medium armor strength was relatively intact after the advance to Sidi Barrani. On 21 September there were still 68 M.11/39 tanks out of the original 72 shipped to
North Africa. From these 68 M. 11 tanks 31 were unserviceable due to maintenance and 37 serviceable between the two tank battalions. 1 medium tank battalion had 9 serviceable and 23 unserviceable tanks. The 2nd medium tank battalion had 28 serviceable and 8 unserviceable. Their medium tank strength would slowly increase because the next generation Italian tank, the M13/40 was beginning to arrive in small numbers at the front. nowhere was the Italian armour properly supported.

The Italian initial response to the medium tank threat was the M11/39. it is not considered a satisfactory tank.


The M 13 tank, was much better in quality and performance than the M. 11 and was equal to the British A9 and A10 Cruiser tanks. The medium M. 13 tank had a hard hitting 47-millimeter gun in a rotating turret with two 8-millimeter machine guns in the hull and had the same chassis as the M 11 medium tank. The II medium tank battalion
with 37 M 13 tanks arrived in Libya during the first days of October, followed by the V Medium Tank battalion equipped with 46 M 13 tanks on 12 December 1940. These armored forces gave the Italians an increasing advantage until mid November of 1940 with 417 medium and light tanks in Libya and Egypt.

The M13/40 was a good all round tank for 1940, with fair reliability, good firepower and decent protection. Early versions had no radio. Rommel rated them as equal to his early Mk IIIs, though this does seem overly generous

But the British were also receiving significant reinforcements, of which a number were virtually immune to any weapons at the disposal of the italians. Additional infantry divisions from the commonwealth were also being made ready and further increase the qualitative disparity between the opposing forces

After the conquest of Sollum, the Comando carri della Libia transformed into the Brigata Corazzata and added some artillery elements. This grouping of units was united west of Bardia, near Mersa Lucch. These elements formed the Babini Armored Brigade. The Babini Armored Brigade was formed on 18th November 1940 utilizing the I
medium tank battalion (M 11) and the II medium Tank battalion (M.13) initially. These medium tank battalions were the medium tank battalion assigned to this newly formed organization and the center of its combat power. The
elements assigned to this organization were I medium tank battalion, M 1 1 tanks, II medium tank battalion M.13 tanks, one motorized bersaglieri regiment, 1 motorcycle battalion, 2 antitank companies, 47/32 antitanks guns mounted on trucks, and 1 artillery regiment, 1 battalion of 75/27 guns, 1 battalion of 100/17 guns, 1 battery of 75 CK antiaircraft guns, and 2 batteries of 20-millimeter anti-aircraft guns. The armor brigade was to become the armored component of the 1st Libyan Armored Division, which never had the opportunity to properly form

 

[Njaco]

September 28 Saturday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post721878.html#post721878

Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down his 7th kill, a British Spitfire fighter, over the English Channel. His fighter received damage in the engagement, but he was able to crash land in France.

UNITED KINGDOM: The first of the purchased US destroyers arrived in Britain.

Nearly half a million mothers and children began evacuating London, England, United Kingdom.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Uffz. Otto Niemeyer of 4./JG 77 gets his fourth victory in the late afternoon when he shoots down a British Hudson bomber north west of Bergen.

GERMANY: German Battleship "Bismarck" departed Kiel for Gotenhafen and then into the Baltic Sea for her trials.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-32 sank British ship "Empire Ocelot" 350 miles west of Ireland at 1609 hours; 2 were killed and 32 were rescued by British destroyer HMS "Havelock". German submarine U-37 sank the already-abandoned British ship "Corrientes" at 2000 hours; she was damaged by U-32 on 26 Sep.

German destroyers "Eckholdt", "Riedel", "Lody", "Galster", "Ihn", and "Steinbrinck" departed Brest, France and laid mines at the end of the English Channel in Falmouth Bay, Cornwall (right under the nose of Royal Navy squadron based at Plymouth). Meanwhile, British anti-submarine trawler "Recoil" hit a mine and sank in the English Channel off Portland Bill in southern England, 25 were killed.

MEDITERRANEAN: Australian destroyer HMAS "Stuart" and British aircraft sank Italian submarine "Gondar" 12 miles off Egypt. "Gondar" was carrying three piloted torpedoes intended for use against the British Mediterranean Fleet, thus this plan to attack on the fleet at Alexandria was thwarted. "Gondar's" entire crew of 43 and the 4 torpedo pilots were rescued by HMAS "Stuart".

British submarine HMS "Pandora" sank Italian ship "Famiglia" 10 miles off Libya between Benghazi and Tobruk. Italian torpedo boat "Enrico Cosenz" counterattacked unsuccessfully.

WESTERN FRONT: German tanker "Shell II" was sunk by British bombers in the River Scheldt in the Netherlands.

NORTH AMERICA: Sumner Welles, US Under-Secretary of State, in a statement said that the overwhelming majority of the American nation was determined to render all material support and assistance to the people of Britain;

"… successfully defending their homes with a heroism which is worthy of the finest traditions of that proud people".

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[parsifal]

28 September 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Rescue Tug HMS ASSURANCE

Bangor Class MSW BRIDLINGTON

Losses
MV EMPIRE OCELOT (UK 5759 grt) Sunk by U-32 (Hans Jenisch) Crew: 34 (2 dead and 32 survivors) Cargo: Empty Route: Liverpool - Baltimore Convoy OB 218 (Dispersed) Sunk in the Nth Atlantic. At 1609 hrs the EMPIRE OCELOT , dispersed from convoy OB-218, was torpedoed and damaged by gunfire by U-32 sw of Rockall. The abandoned vessel sank later. Two crew members were lost. The master and 31 crew members were picked up by the DD HMS HAVELOCK and landed at Liverpool.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer DALVEEN (UK 5193 grt) in HX.73A was sunk by LW long range bombing. 32 crew were rescued from the British steamer.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DKM Zerstorers LODY, GALSTER, IHN, and STEINBRINCK departed Brest escort Zerstorers ECKHOLDT and RIEDEL to lay mines in Falmouth Bay. These DDs, which had been transferred to Brest earlier in September, laid the minefield without any interference and returned to Brest on the 29th. it was a repeat of earlier achievements by the Kriegsmarine Destroyer arm. The following ships are known to have been lost on this minefield:

Armed yacht SAPPHO (RN 387 grt) and MSW trawler COMET (RN 301 grt) were lost on this minefield on the 30th off Falmouth. 30 crewmen were lost in these incidents.

Tug LAUWERZEE (NL 262 grt) was towing cable ship LADY OF THE ISLES (UK 166 grt) when both ships were lost on this minefield three miles east of St Anthony Point on 3 October. 12 crew were lost on the tug and 16 crew were lost on the cable ship.

Steamer JERSEY QUEEN (UK 910 grt) was lost on 6 October, 1.5 miles 160° from St Anthony Point. Two crew were lost on the British steamer.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

ASW trawler RECOIL (RN 344 grt) was lost while on patrol off Portland Bill in the English Channel. 25 of the crew were lost. Trawler RECOIL was the ex-German trawler BLANKENBURG captured in April off Norway.

Tkr SHELL II (Ger 517 grt) was sunk by the RAF in the Scheldt.
[NO IMAGE]

RN Sub PANDORA sank steamer FAMIGLIA (FI 813 grt) nth of Ras Aamer, Libya. Submarine PANDORA was heavily counterattacked in return by Italian torpedo boat COSENZ.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer MONTE MONCAYO (Sp 4291 grt) was sunk on a mine eight miles off Cagliari whilst in service for the italians. Four crew were lost on the steamer.

UBOATS

At Sea 28 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-46, U-60, U-61, U-103, U-123, U-137.
12 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
On a report of a DKM CA escorting a convoy at 1400, possibly escorted by CA HIPPER off Norway, 60 miles off Stavanger, BC REPULSE, CAs BERWICK and NORFOLK, and DDs MATABELE, PUNJABI, DUNCAN, SOMALI, and ESKIMO departed Scapa Flow at 2015 to intercept. BC HOOD, CLA NAIAD, and DDs ZULU, TARTAR, and ELECTRA departed Rosyth to also intercept the German force. No contact was made and the operation as cancelled at 0909 on the 29th.
MATABELE was detached at 1130 to the area of Muckle Flugga on the 29th to transmit a message to CA NORFOLK which had lost touch. The cruiser was ordered to return to Scapa Flow. MATABELE proceeded to Scapa Flow herself, arriving at 2120. HOOD with ZULU, TARTAR, and ELECTRA arrived at Scapa at 1920 on the 29th. REPULSE, BERWICK, SOMALI, PUNJABI, ESKIMO, and DUNCAN arrived Scapa at 2320 on the 29th. NAIAD returned to to Rosyth. REPULSE and DUNCAN, ZULU, and ELECTRA departed Scapa Flow at 0130 on the 30th and returned to Rosyth. Enroute DUNCAN was detached to escort OA.222 in Pentland Firth. ZULU and ELECTRA were sent ahead of REPULSE at high speed from Gibra Island as makeshift mine exploder ships . REPULSE and DDs ZULU and ELECTRA arrived on the 30th.

OA.221 departed Methil escorted by escort ship JASON and corvette CLEMATIS from 28 September to 3 October. AA ship ALYNBANK was with the convoy on 28 and 29 September. FN.293 departed Southend, escort DDs VEGA and WATCHMAN. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 30th.

Northern Waters
CL NIGERIA arrived at Scapa to join the Home Flt. DD VIMY departed Scapa Flow and relieved destroyer VERSATILE escorting troopship EMPIRE TROOPER in Pentland Firth at 2359. VERSATILE returned to Invergordon, whilst VIMY and the troopship arrived at Liverpool on the 30th.

West Coast UK
OL.5 departed Liverpool escort DDs VANQUISHER and ARROW from 28 to 30 September. The convoy was dispersed on the 30th.

Western Approaches
British steamer QUEEN CITY in HX.73 A was damaged by LW LR bombers. AA ship ALYNBANK departed Scapa at 0500 to support this convoy off Buchan Ness. After escorting this convoy, she then screened OA.221 from Buchanness before arriving back at Scapa Flow later on the 29th.

Central Atlantic
CA CORNWALL departed Freetown for Manoka at 0600. She arrived at Manora on 1 October. CORNWALL then departed Manora on 9 October for Pointe Noire. CL DELHI departed Freetown to join the MENACE forces still at sea.
At 1300, RAN CA AUSTRALIA arrived at Freetown. One hour later, CV ARK ROYAL arrived at Freetown.

Med- Biscay
The Med Flt departed Alexandria on Malta convoy escort operation MB.5. BBs WARSPITE and VALIANT, CV ILLUSTRIOUS, CA YORK, CL ORION, and RAN CL SYDNEY departed Alexandria. The ships joined DDs HYPERION, HEREWARD, HERO, ILEX, IMPERIAL, JERVIS, JUNO, JANUS, NUBIAN, MOHAWK, and RAN STUART which departed Alexandria late on the 28th to sweep for subs. CLs LIVERPOOL and GLOUCESTER departed Alexandria on the 29th carrying 1200 troops for Malta. The cruisers joined the Main Force before daylight. An Italian submarine reported the Med Flt off Sidi Barrani escorting the Malta convoy. RM subs SCIRE and GONDAR were at sea to launch SLC's against the British Fleet at Gibraltar and Alexandria, respectively. They were both ordered to return to Spezia when it was learned both Fleets were at sea.

A Fulmar from ILLUSTRIOUS forced landed on the 29th and its crew was picked up by RAN STUART.

A Fulmar operating from IlLLUSTRIOUS later in the war

On 29 September, STUART suffered a broken steam main and was ordered to return to Alexandria alone. En route, STUART encountered Italian submarine GONDAR, which was returning to Spezia with three SLC's intended for the Mediterranean Flt. STUART damaged GONDAR and summoned DD DIAMOND from Alexandria to finish off the crippled Italian Sub. However before the DIAMOND could arrive, STUART and Alexandria based a/c sank Adua Class sub GONDAR (RM 685 grt) .

From the AWM archive: "DEPTH CHARGES FROM HMAS STUART FORCE THE FINISH OF THE ITALIAN SUBMARINE GONDAR AS SHE HAS TO BLOW HER TANKS AND SURFACE".

All 47 crew from GONDAR were picked up by STUART and ASW trawler SINDONIS which arrived on the scene.
DIAMOND also arrived as GONDAR was sinking.

AWM Image: "BRITISH MED FLT VESSELS, HMAS STUART IN THE FOREGROUND, SEEN FROM HMAS VAMPIRE.

That evening BB WARSPITE was straddled by bombing and three crew were wounded. Two Fulmar aircraft failed to return to the aircraft carrier that evening. HMA ship STUART rescued S/Lt I. L. F. Lowe and his naval airman from a Fulmar of 806 Sqn which had been shot down in the area. CLs GLOUCESTER and LIVERPOOL were detached to Malta on the 30th. CA YORK and DD MOHAWK were stationed 20 miles and forty miles respectively from the Main Fleet.

RAN DD VOYAGER departed Malta at 0001 on 1 October and CLs GLOUCESTER and LIVERPOOL at 0230 to rejoin the Main Fleet. VOYAGER joined the Main Fleet at 1245. CLA CALCUTTA, formerly supporting convoy AN.4, joined at 1545. The DDs of AN.4, HAVOCK and HASTY, were returning independently to Alexandria. CLs LIVERPOOL and GLOUCESTER rejoined at 1745. ORION and SYDNEY were detached at sunset on 1 October to carry out a sweep of the Gulf of Athens, Doro Channel, and towards Tenedos. They were also to conduct a night bombardment of port Maltezana (in the Dodecanese, under italian conrol) , if possible.

In response to the Med Flt being at sea, RM BBs LITTORIO, VENETO, CAVOUR, CESARE, and DUILO, CAs POLA, ZARA, GORIZIA, FIUME, TRIESTE, TRENTO, and BOLZANO, CLs ABRUZZI, GARIBALDI, EUGENIO, and AOSTA, and 23 DDs put to sea from Taranto and Messina. On 1 October, RA recon sighted the Med Flt as it was returning to Alexandria and returned to port. CL AJAX and CLA COVENTRY departed Port Said for Alexandria, arriving on the 30th.

 

[parsifal]

29 September 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
IJN B1 Class IBoat I-30

Sister ship I-29
Neutral
SU Serie XIV K Class Sub K-23

Losses
MV BASSA (UK 5267 grt) Sunk by U-32 (Hans Jenisch) Crew: 50 (50 dead - no survivors) Cargo: Empty Route: Liverpool - New York OB-218 (dispersed) Sunk in the Nth Atlantic. At 0053 hrs the unescorted BASSA , dispersed only a few hours earlier from convoy OB-218, was hit aft by one torpedo from U-32 and sank by the stern sw of Rockall. The Germans observed how the crew abandoned ship in lifeboats, but the survivors were never seen again. The master, 47 crew members and two gunners were lost

Steamer ARIZONA (NL 398 grt) was sunk on a mine 1 mile 204° from Kincraig Signal Tower, Firth of Forth. Three crew survived.

Steamer CARMEN (FI 1434 grt) was sunk, ESE of Durazzo, probably on a mine.

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-137
St. Nazaire: U-46

At Sea 29 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-60, U-61, U-103, U-123.
10 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.294 departed Southend, escort DDs VERDUN and VIVIEN. The convoy arrived at Methil on 1 October. FS.294 departed the Tyne, escort DD WESTMINSTER and sloop EGRET. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 30th. FS.295 departed Methil, escort DDs VALOROUS and WOLSEY. The convoy arrived at Southend on 1 October.

Northern Waters
Light cruiser KENYA arrived at Scapa Flow at 1000.

West Coast UK
CL DESPATCH departed the Clyde for Portsmouth for refitting and repairs. OB.221 departed Liverpool with DD ANTHONY, corvettes ARABIS, CALENDULA, and COREOPSIS, and ASW trawlers BLACKFLY and LADY ELSA. COREOPSIS was detached that day. The two trawlers departed on the 30th. ARABIS was detached on 2 October and ANTHONY and CALENDULA left on 3 October.

Channel
CL EMERALD and DDs GARLAND, BROKE, VELOX, and BLYSKAWICA departed Plymouth to pursue DKM DDs that had laid a minefield off British Ports previously off St Mary's, Scilly Isle, however no contact was made and the ships arrived back at Plymouth on the 30th.

Nth Atlantic

Central Atlantic
BC RENOWN and DDs FIREDRAKE, ENCOUNTER, HOTSPUR, and GALLANT departed Gib at 0715 on the 29th to intercept Vichy BB RICHELIEU, which had been reported on passage to to a Biscay port. On leaving harbour, Vichy DDs EPEE and FRONDEUR were sighted passing through the Gib Straits. The British force also conducted patrols off the Azores on the report of German ships with troops, possibly en route to the Azores for occupation. Allof these reports were erroneous. Oiler ORANGELEAF, escort DD WISHART, departed Gib on the 29th for patrol sth of the Azores to refuel the DDs with RENOWN. Oiler ORANGELEAF was met by DD WRESTLER, which departed Gibraltar on 6 October, and escorted back to Gibraltar. BC RENOWN and her four DDs arrived back at Gibraltar on 7 October.

BBs BARHAM and RESOLUTION, CAs DEVONSHIRE, DORSETSHIRE, CL DELHI, DDs INGLEFIELD, FAULKNOR, ESCAPADE, GREYHOUND, FURY, FORESIGHT, and FORESETER, sloops BRIDGEWATER and MILFORD, and boom defence vessel QUANNET arrived at Freetown.

Med- Biscay
CL AJAX, CLA COVENTRY, and RAN DD WATERHEN arrived at Alexandria

Malta

HM cruisers GLOUCESTER and LIVERPOOL came under threat as the RA launched an attack on the convoy as they made the run into Malta. The attacks were fought off by ships' guns and aair cover provided by the carrier ILLUSTRIOUS.

Med Flt Command began to deduce at about this time that Commando Supremo was intercepting signals reports of the movements of Operation MB5. In response they had ordered its fleet to put to sea. Five BBs and 7 CAs, 4 CLs and 23 DDs set sail from Taranto and Messina in an attempt to intercept the Allied convoy. The critical weakness for the italian fleet was their l;ack of effective air search capability.

Malta (30 September)
HM ships GLOUCESTER and LIVERPOOL detached from the remaining ships of Operation MB5 this evening and headed for Malta to deliver personnel, guns, ammunition and other stores for Malta. The two cruisers entered Grand Harbour at 2200 hrs tonight. For most of the troops, this was the end of a long journey round the African Cape to Egypt and from there through the Eastern Med. These are the first reinforcements since Italy declared war on the Allies in June.

The new personnel are:

Royal Army Service Corps 3 officers 16 OR
Royal Artillery 27 Ack Ack Battery: 7 officers, 247 other ranks (OR)
Royal Artillery: 1 officer, 1 OR
Royal Corps of Signals: 49 OR
Royal Engineers: 3 OR
2nd Bn Devonshire Regiment: 5 officers 221 OR
1st Bn Dorsetshire Regiment: 4 officers 112 OR
2nd Bn Royal West Kent Regiment: 3 officers 164 OR
8th Bn Manchester Regiment: 7 officers 72 OR
2nd Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers 9 officers 147 OR

 

[parsifal]

30 September 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIB U-73

This Boat is famous for sinking CVL EAGLE in 1942. She sank 8 merchant ships, total tonnage 43,945 GRT
4 warships sunk, total tonnage 22,947 tons 3 ships damaged, total tonnage 22,928 GRT. She was sunk 16 Dec 1943 in the Mediterranean near Oran, by DC attacks and gunfire from the US DD WOOLSEY and TRIPPE with 16 dead and 34 survivors.

Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMS CYCLAMEN
(New Image Source: HMS Cyclamen K83 in Flower Class Corvette Images Forum)

Dido Class CLA HMS DIDO

DIDO departed the Clyde on 1 October and arrived at Scapa Flow on 3 October to work up. She was assigned to CruSqn15

Losses
MV HAULERWIJK (NL 3278 grt) Sunk by U-32 (Hans Jenisch) Crew: 31 (4 dead and 27 survivors) Cargo: Empty Route: Newport – Milford Haven - Tampa OB-219 (straggler), Sunk In the Nth Atlantic. At 1502 hrs the unescorted HAULERWIJK, a straggler from OB-219, was missed by a torpedo from U-32 that passed underneath the hull without detonating about 660 miles west of Ireland. The U-boat had been pursuing the ship for 7 hrs after a first failed attack. Because the armed ship was now alarmed and zigzagging, Jenisch decided to wait for the night and at 2251 hrs gave the order to open fire with the deck and AA guns from her port side until the target stopped. The ship did stop, but than started to move again after 12 mins. U-32 re-commenced shelling 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. At 10.35 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.

MV HEMINGE (UK 2499 grt) Sunk by U-37 (Victor Oehrn) Crew: 26 (1 dead and 25 survivors) Cargo: Coal Route: Tyne - Tenerife OB-220 (straggler) Sunk in the Western Approaches . At 2156 hrs the HEMINGE , a straggler from 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.

MV SAMALA (UK 5390 grt) Sunk by U-37 (Victor Oehrn) Crew: 68 (68 dead - no survivors) Cargo:Fresh Fruit Route:Kingston - Garston ; Un-escorted; Sunk In the Western Approaches. At 1013 hrs the unescorted SAMALA 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 would sink. There were no survivors.

UBOATS

At Sea 30 September 1940
U-29, U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-60, U-61, U-103, U-123.
10 boats at sea.

An unknown enemy submarine fired two torpedoes at U-31 at 0316 hrs. The boat narrowly escaped being struck by these torpedoes. It is possible this iwas a friendly fire incident, since ther is no record of an attack by an RN sub at this time.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
OA.222 departed Methil escort DD DUNCAN, sloop FLEETWOOD, corvettes GARDENIA and PRIMULA. CLA CURACOA also escorted the convoy until 1 October. DUNCAN and GARDENIA were detached on 1 October. Sloop FLEETWOOD and corvette PRIMULA were detached on 5 October when the convoy rendezvoused with OB.222. FN.295 departed Southend, escort DD WINCHESTER and sloop LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived at Methil on 2 October. FS.296 departed Methil. The convoy arrived at Southend on 2 October.

DD KIPLING departed Rosyth for the Humber. The DD was in a collision with British steamer QUEEN MAUD in FN.92 at 0301 on the 30th. The DD 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. DD JUPITER arrived at Rosyth to join the Home Flt, temporarily based further south to better react to invasion threats

DDs MALCOLM, WIVERN, and VERITY and patrol sloops WIDGEON and SHEARWATER had departed Harwich and DDs VENOMOUS, WILD SWAN, and 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 MALLARD and PINTAIL were operating together off Harwich. Sloop MALLARD was badly damaged in a mining off Harwich. Patrol sloop MALLARD, assisted by tug KENIA, arrived at Harwich later that day and was under repair at Chatham until May 1941. An Albacore in a night raid on Vlaardingen was lost.

Northern Waters
MLs SOUTHERN PRINCE, MENESTHEUS, PORT NAPIER, and PORT QUEBEC escort DDs VISCOUNT, WITHERINGTON, VANSITTART, and WHITEHALL departed Loch Alsh to lay mines in Field SN 42 nth of the British Isles. All ships involved arrived back at Loch Alsh on 1 October. VANSITTART was sailed to Liverpool for boiler cleaning. The Home Fleet ships at Scapa Flow were given orders to be remain at high readiness state of four hrs' notice. This greatly increased fatigue and fuel consumption for the fleet.

West Coast UK
British steamers MOUNTPARK, EMPIRE SUCCESS, BARON VERNON and KERMA, and tkr HENRY DUNDAS were damaged by the LW in attacks around the British Isles. At Buchan Ness, CLA CURACOA transferred to convoy OA.222 which she escorted as far as Pentland Firth before transferring to convoy WN.19.


Western Approaches
DDs JAGUAR, JAVELIN, KIPLING, and KELVIN were detached for the Nore to join the Western Approaches in view of enemy DD activity in the area. The DDs were later replaced by three B-class destroyers of DesFlot 1.

British steamer SUSSEX was damaged by LR LW attacks. CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow to cover convoy SL.47 A from Duncansby Head to Buchan Ness. LW air attacks on SL.47 A off Kinnaird Head from 1955 to 2030 were carried out . The convoy at that time was escorted by Sloop WESTON.

Channel
Eight miles east of South Goodwin Light Vessel, RN monitor EREBUS, escort DDs VESPER and GARTH, bombarded Calais. 17 x 15" 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. DDs MACKAY, WITCH, BULLDOG, and SARDONYX were also operating in the area.

During the night of 30 September/1 October, DKM TBs GREIF, KONDOR, FALKE, and SEEADLER of TBFlot 5 laid minefield WERNER off Dover.

Nth Atlantic
HX.77 departed Halifax at 1400 escort RCN DDs ASSINIBOINE and SAGUENAY and aux PVs HUSKY and REINDEER in the harbour. The DDs turned the convoy over to ocean escort, AMC RANPURA, which in turn was detached on 10 October. BHX.77 departed Bermuda on the 28th escorted by AMC LACONIA. The convoy rendezvoused with convoy HX.77 on 3 October and LACONIA was detached at that time. On 11 October, inbound escort began to arrive. DDs SHIKARI, VANSITTART, and WITHERINGTON, sloop WESTON, AA ship ALYNBANK, and corvettes CLARKIA, GARDENIA, and PERIWINKLE joined. DD SHIKARI and corvette PERIWINKLE were detached that day. The AA ship was detached on 12 October. DD VANSITTART, sloop WESTON, and corvette CLARKIA were detached on 15 October. DD WITHERINGTON and corvette GARDENIA arrived at Liverpool with the convoy on 15 October.

Central Atlantic
CV ARK ROYAL, RAN CA AUSTRALIA, and DDs FORTUNE, GREYHOUND, and FORESTER departed Freetown for the Clyde. However, enroute, AUSTRALIA was detached to investigate a rumour of an invasion force heading for the Azores. She joined CL SHEFFIELD on this patrol. AUSTRALIA finally arrived at Gibraltar on 14 October. AUSTRALIA then proceeded to the Clyde and was in the Clyde on 1 November. She again operated with the Home Flt based at Greenock.

Sth Atlantic
CL NEPTUNE departed Durban and arrived at Simonstown on 2 October. The CL departed Simonstown on 7 October for Freetown and duty in the Sth Atlantic Command.

Med- Biscay
CLs LIVERPOOL and GLOUCESTER landed troops at Malta as part of the MB.5 operations. The cruisers departed Malta on 1 October with RAN DD VOYAGER and rejoined the Med Flt at sea. Sub REGENT in the Ionian Sea sighted two RM BBs which had departed Taranto earlier in the day.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Convoy US 5 A departed Sydney on the 30th Dutch liners NIEUW ZEELAND and JOHAN DE WITT with 1908 troops, escorted by RAN CA CANBERRA and RAN CL PERTH. British steamers ULSTER PRINCE , VARSOVA , and CLAN CAMPBELL were also in the convoy carrying munitions. The convoy departed Fremantle on 7 October. The CL escorted the convoy until 9 October. The CA continued with the convoy until 17 October, when the convoy arrived at Colombo.
The convoy departed Colombo on 21 October. CL CALEDON escorted the convoy from 21 to 28 October. CA SHROPSHIRE, CLA CARLISLE, DD KANDAHAR, sloops FLAMINGO and RAN PARRAMATTA, and British steamer CITY OF CAPE TOWN joined at Aden. Steamer ULSTER PRINCE called at Port Sudan on 30 and 31 October. The convoy arrived at Suez on 2 November.

 

[Njaco]

September 29 Sunday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post722153.html#post722153

MEDITERRANEAN: While at sea, "Scirè's" mission to raid Gibraltar with manned torpedoes was canceled.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Having dispersed Allied convoy OB-218 with previous attacks, German submarine U-32 caught up with British ship "Bassa", now sailing alone, from behind and damaged her with a torpedo near the stern southwest of the island of Rockall between Britain and Iceland at 0053 hours. "Bassa's" crew members were observed by U-32 to have abandoned ship, but captain George Edward Anderson, the other 48 members of the crew, and the 1 navy gunner were never to be seen again.

SOUTH PACIFIC: The US Marine Corps Midway Detachment of the Fleet Marine Force, under the command of Major Harold C. Roberts, arrived on Midway and began making camp and installing defenses.

NORTH AFRICA: The British wait for the expected Italian onslaught in their prepared defenses at the railhead in Mersa Matruh. The Italians, however, are content to fortify their gains with a line of 7 forts stretching 30 miles inland from Sidi Barrani, 70 miles from the British lines. Demonstrating the vulnerability of the Italian supply lines, Royal Navy ships from Alexandria shell the coast road from Libya and harass shipping at the Italian-held ports.

WESTERN FRONT: Luxembourg is formally incorporated into the Reich.

.

.

 

[Njaco]

September 30 Monday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post722495.html#post722495

James Lacey damaged a German Ju 88 aircraft over Britain while Josef Frantisek scored his final kill as a fighter pilot.

UNITED KINGDOM: Hugh Dowding was made Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Bath.

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.

Three German agents are put ashore from a seaplane on the coast of Banff, Scotland in Operation Hummer (literally translated to Lobster). All three are captured and two are executed. The third, a double-agent, Vera von Schalburg, disappears. Born in Siberia in 1912, Vera von Schalburg spied for the White Russians against the Soviets, for the Soviets against the White Russians, for the German Abwehr against the Soviets and later the British, and possibly for either or both of MI6 and, or MI5 against the Germans. One rumor holds that she was a double agent all along, recruited by MI6 in Paris in the thirties, another that she was the lover of a prominent member of the British establishment, by whom she had a child before the war. In any event, she survived. According to MI5 she was deported to Germany after WWII and thereafter, disappeared without trace.

British merchant ship MV "Automedon" sails from London, England, heading to Singapore, carrying most secret and highest level documents, operational plans for the Far East, the Chiefs of Staff assessment of Britain's poor ability to defend Malaya, and British maritime code-books. (In November, the ship is captured by a German ship before the sensitive cargo can be destroyed. Britain assumes it was torpedoed; Germans pass the information to Japan.)

50 London firemen have been killed and 501 were injured during September.

GERMANY: Georg von Bismarck was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

RAF bombers conduct night raids on Berlin, invasion ports, airfields and other objectives. Five British planes are lost.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: British armed yacht HMY "Sappho" and minesweeping trawler HMT "Comet" were sunk by German mines laid by destroyers "Eckholdt", "Riedel", "Lody", "Galster", "Ihn", and "Steinbrinck" on 28 Sep off Falmouth in southwestern England. 29 and 15 were killed, respectively.

German submarine U-37 sank British ship "Samala" 300 miles west of Ireland at 1013 hours, killing everyone aboard (65 crew, 1 gunner, and 2 passengers). At 2156 hours, in the same area, U-37 sank British ship "Heminge", killing 1; 24 crew and 1 gunner were rescued by British merchant ship "Clan Cumming".

WESTERN FRONT: British monitor HMS "Erebus" fired 17 15-inch shells at German gun emplacements near Calais from the Strait of Dover, escorted by destroyers HMS "Vesper" and HMS "Garth".

ASIA: 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.

.

 

[parsifal]

Summary Of Losses September 1940
Allied
Allied Warships
MSW trawler ROYALO (RN 248 grt), Tug SAUCY (RN 550 grt (est)), Flower Class Corvette GODETIA (RN 925 grt), MSW trawler ABRONIA (RN 350 grt (est)), Armed yacht RHODORA (RN 687 grt), MSW trawler DERVISH (RN 346 grt), Tug SALVAGE KING (RN 1164 grt), Shoreham Class Sloop HMS DUNDEE (RN 1105 grt), MTB 15 (RN 18 grt), Armed patrol trawler LOCH INVER (RN 356 grt), ASW trawler STELLA SIRIUS (RN 550 grt), Armed yacht SAPPHO (RN 387 grt), MSW trawler COMET (RN 301 grt), ASW trawler RECOIL (RN 344 grt),

(7331(RN)) (Total 7331 grt Naval Tonnage)

Allied Shipping
MV THORNLEA (UK 4261 grt), tkr CYMBELINE (UK 6317 grt), MV ULVA (UK 1401 grt), Ocean Going Ferry LAIRDCASTLE (UK 1945 grt),
MV TITAN (UK 9035 grt), Steamer CORBROOK (UK 1729 grt), Steamer NEW LAMBTON (UK 2709 grt), steamer JOSEPH SWAN (UK 1571 grt), steamer FULHAM V (UK 1562 grt), steamer ST GLEN (UK 4647 grt), MV NEPTUNIAN (UK 5155 grt), MV JOSE DE LARRINGA (UK 5303 grt), Tug BECKTON (UK 45 grt), MV MARDINIAN (UK 2434 grt), Steamer MINNIE DE LARRINAGA (UK 5049 grt), Trawler JOHN BAPTISH (UK 290 grt), Trawler HARVEST MOON (UK 72 grt), drifter ALFRED COLEBROOK (UK 56 grt), tanker ATHELKING (UK 9557 grt), steamer BENARTY (UK 5800 grt), MV MAAS (UK 1966 grt), MV ALBIONIC (UK 2468 grt), Tanker GOTHIC (UK 2444 grt), steamer BENAVON (UK 5872 grt), Tkr SAINT AGNES (UK 5199 grt), MV EMPIRE VOLUNTEER (UK 5319 grt), Steamer HALLARD (UK 1264 grt), Steamer NAILSEA RIVER (UK 5548 grt), Liner/MV ASKA (UK 8323 grt), Steamer CITY OF MOBILE (UK 6614 grt), MV CROWN ARUN (UK 2372 grt), MV TREGENNA (UK 5242 grt), Liner CITY OF BENARES (UK 11081 grt), MV MAGDALENA (UK 3118 grt), MV MARINA (UK 5088 grt), Tkr SHELBRIT I (UK 1025 grt), Liner CITY OF SIMLA (UK 10138 grt), Whaling Ship NEW SEVILLA (UK 13801 grt), steamer EMPIRE ADVENTURE (UK 5145 grt), Drifter INNISDHU (UK 96 grt), Tkr INVERSHANNON (UK 9,154 grt) , MV BARON BLYTHSWOOD (UK 3668 grt), MV ELMBANK (UK 5,156 grt), MV BLAIRANGUS (UK 4,409 grt), MV CANONESA (UK 8,286 grt), Tkr TORINIA (UK 10,364 grt), MV DALCAIRN (UK 4,608 grt), FV UNION JACK (Faerose 87 grt), MV EMPIRE AIRMAN (UK 6586 grt), MV SCHOLAR (UK 3840 grt), Tkr FREDERICK S FALES (UK 10525 grt), Steamer CONTINENTAL COASTER (UK 555 grt), Trawler BASS ROCK (UK 169 grt), MV EURYMEDON (UK 6223 grt), MV MABRITON (UK 6694 grt), MV SULAIRIA (UK 5802 grt), Drifter WHITE DAISY (UK 79 grt), MV MANCHESTER BRIGADE (UK 6042 grt), Tkr STRATFORD (UK 4753 grt), MV CORRIENTES (UK 6863 grt), MV DARCOILA (UK 4084 grt), MV TANCRED (UK 6094 grt), MV COAST WINGS (UK 862 grt), steamer PORT DENISON (UK 8043 grt), MV EMPIRE OCELOT (UK 5759 grt), Steamer DALVEEN (UK 5193 grt), cable ship LADY OF THE ISLES (UK 166 grt), Steamer JERSEY QUEEN (UK 910 grt), MV BASSA (UK 5267 grt), MV HEMINGE (UK 2499 grt), MV SAMALA (UK 5390 grt),

MV KENORDOC (Cdn 1780 grt),
MV GRO (Nor 4211 grt), Steamer ELI (Nor 4332 grt), MV HIRD (Nor 4950 grt), MV LOTOS (Nor 1327 grt), steamer NORDVARD (Nor 4111 grt), Steamer DIANA (Nor 1155 grt), steamer VESTVARD (Nor 4319 grt), tkr KOSMOS (Nor 17,801 grt),
Steamer NIEUWLAND (NL 1075 grt), steamer STAD ALKMAAR (NL 5750 grt), Steamer TRITO (NL 1057 grt), MV SIMLA (Nor 6031 grt), Tug LAUWERZEE (NL 262 grt), Steamer ARIZONA (NL 398 grt), MV HAULERWIJK (NL 3278 grt),
Liner COMMISSAIRE RAMEL (Fr 10,061 grt)
steamer GEORGES MABRO (EG 2555 grt)
Liner VILLE DE MONS (Be 7463 grt),

284615 (UK), 1789 (Cdn), 42206 (Nor), 17851(NL), 10061(Fr), 2555 (EG), 7463 (Be)
366540 grt (Mercantile)
Total Mercantile and Military losses: 373871 grt

Prizes captured
Ocean going Trawler FINLANDE (Vichy 1344 grt), Steamer WESER (Ger 9179 grt), Steamer TOUREG (Vichy 5135 grt)

Neutral shipping
MV LUIMNEACH (Eire 1074 grt)
MV EFPLOIA (Gk 3867 grt), tanker ATLAS (Gk 4008 grt), collier ANTONIOS CHANDRIS (Gk 5866 grt), MV POSSIDON (Gk 3840 grt), MV ALEXANDROS (Gk 4343 grt), Steamer KALLIOPIS (Gk 5152 grt),
steamer FRISIA (SD 1059 grt), MV SILJAN (SD 3058 grt)
steamer CABO TORTOSA (Sp 3302 grt), trawler ALMIRANTE JOSE DE CARRANZA (Sp 330 grt)
MV BOKA (Pan 5560 grt) ,

1074 (Eire), 4117 (SD), 27076 (Gk), 3632 (Sp), 5560 (Pan),
(41459 Mercantile)

Neutral warships
None

Total Neutral Mercantile + Military: 41459 grt
Total Allied + Neutral: 415330 grt

Prizes taken
None

Allied and Neutral Quarterly and Cumulative Summaries
New Construction 3rd Qtr 1940
193000 tons

Cumulative Losses since 9/39
4,588,478 Allied and Neutral Mercantile and Naval tonnage losses

Thus far, these heavy losses had been more than compensated by the transfer of European shipping to direct Admiralty control. There was not much more neutral shipping to be had, except for Greece. Things were getting harder.

Axis
Warships
DKM
ASW whaler UJ.121 (DKM 523 grt), Type IIC Uboat U-57 (DKM 336 grt), Aux PV Vp.403 (DKM 432 grt), Aux PV Vp.201 (DKM 460 grt), Trawler NIENDORF (Ger 257 grt), Aux MSW M.1306 (DKM 449 grt), ASW trawler UJ.173 (DKM 510 grt), 1935 Type TB T.3 (DKM 844 grt), Aux MSW M.1604 (DKM trawler OESTERREICH 474 grt), Tkr SHELL II (Ger 517 grt)
(4802 grt)

RM
Turbine Class DD BOREA (RM 1670 grt), Turbine Class DD AQUILONE (RM 1670 grt), TB PALESTRO (RM 1075 grt), Adua Class sub GONDAR (RM 685 grt),
(5100 grt)

Vichy
Redoubtable Class Sub PERSEE (Vichy 1476 grt), Redoutable class sub AJAX (Vichy 1384 grt)
(2860 grt)

IJN
None

14663 grt (Total)

Axis Shipping

GER
steamer PIONIER (Ger 3285 grt), Steamer TROPIC SEA (Ex-Nor 5781 grt), Steamer CORDOBA (Ger 4611 grt), Steamer JOHANN BLUMENTHAL (Ger 1626 grt), Steamer TIRRANA (Ex-Nor 7230 grt), Steamer HEIMDAL (Ger 2186 grt), Catapult Seaplane tender OSTMARK (Ger 1280 grt), Steamer WESER (Ger 9179 grt)
(35178 grt)

(FI)
Steamers GLORIA STELLA (FI 5490 grt), MV MARIA EUGENIA (FI 4702 grt), steamer PROVVIDENZA (FI 8459 grt), Steamer RINA CROCE (FI 569 grt), steamer FAMIGLIA (FI 813 grt), Steamer CARMEN (FI 1434 grt)
(21467 grt)

Spain:
Steamer MONTE MONCAYO (Sp 4291 grt)
(4291 grt)

(Vichy)
trawler SANCTE MICHAEL (Vichy 168 grt), Steamer TOUREG (Vichy 5135 grt), Steamers GINETTE LE BORGNE (Vichy 1619 grt), Steamer CASSIDAIGNE (Vichy 1417 grt), Steamer POITIERS (Vichy 4185 grt), Steamer TACOMA (Ex-Danish 5905), Ocean going Trawler FINLANDE (Vichy 1344 grt),
(19773 grt)

Total Axis Mercantile80709 grt)
Total Axis Mercantile and Naval Tonnage losses: (95372 grt)

Captured ships
steamer FRISIA (SD 1059 grt),

The Germans had entered the war with just under 2 million tons of available shipping. Losses had been heavy for them, but they had managed to seize enough shipping from the neutrals to partially offset those losses.

Italy had entered the war in a snap decision, and this had led to heavy losses to her shipping initially. In total until the armistice in 1943, the Italians were to acquire about 350000 tons of shipping from captured sources, but the Allies were to inflict steady losses on the Italians from the beginning

Axis Quarterly and Cumulative Summaries
New Construction 2nd Qtr 1940
30000 tons (estimated)

Axis shipping losses were steady for the year, and their replacement base far worse than that of the allies.

 

[parsifal]

1 October 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Higgins Boat RN MGB 69

MGB of the US Higgins Type, of which MGB was the lead ship

White 70' Type Motor Anti-Submarine Boat ORP S 1
(New Image Source:WWW.KONRADUS.COM - STATKI I OKR?TY - Re: ORP S-1 Chart

Losses
Liner HIGHLAND PATRIOT (UK 14192 grt) Sunk by U-38 (Heinrich Liebe) Crew: 172 (3 dead and 169 survivors) Cargo: 5700 tons of general and refrigerated cargo Route:Buenos Aires - Glasgow ; Sailing Independently; Sunk In the Nth Atlantic just outside the Western Approaches. At 0647 hrs the unescorted HIGHLAND PATRIOT was hit amidships by two G7e torpedoes from U-38 about 500 miles west of Bishop Rock. At 0708 hours, the abandoned ship was hit by a G7a coup de grâce, caught fire and sank. The master, 135 crew members and 33 passengers were picked up by HMS WELLINGTON and landed at Greenock

RM sub BARACCA sank steamer AGHIOS NICOLAOS (Gk 3687 grt) 300 miles off Lisbon.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-29

At Sea 1 October 1940
U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-60, U-61, U-103, U-123.
9 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.296 departed Southend, escort DD WESTMINSTER and sloop EGRET, and arrived at Methil on the 3rd. FS.297 departed Methil, escort DDs VANITY and WOLFHOUND, and arrived at Southend on the 3rd.

Off Cape Barfleur, sub SWORDFISH attacked the four DKM TBs returning from laying minefield WERNER off Dover. SWORDFISH claimed sinking one of the TBs, but none were damaged. Sub H.49 attacked a German convoy of six merchant ships off Texel, but with no result.

MSW BRITOMART and MSW trawler RETAKO were in a collision in the Firth of Forth. BRITOMART was repaired at Leith, completed on the 18th.

Northern Waters
AA ship ALYNBANK departed Scapa Flow to cover convoy WN.19 Slow. CLA CURACOA was escorting convoy WN.19 Fast when it was attacked by the LW at dusk. Stragglers from WN.19 Slow were also machine gunned in this raid.

Western Approaches
DDs JACKAL, KASHMIR, JUPITER departed Rosyth for Plymouth and from there duty in the Western Approaches. DD VERSATILE departed Invergordon at 1530 with British steamer ULSTER MONARCH. Both arrived in the Clyde on the 2nd. OB.222 departed Liverpool escort DDs SABRE, WALKER and corvettes COREOPSIS and MALLOW from the 1st to 4th and ASW trawlers ST APOLLO and SPHENE from 1st to 5th.

Nth Atlantic
SHX.77 departed Halifax escort RCN PVs REINDEER and HUSKY.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
CL DAUNTLESS arrived at Penang.

 

[Njaco]

October 1 Tuesday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post722861.html#post722861

No 80 Signals Wing of the RAF is able to counteract 'Knickebein', the radio beam navigation used by the Luftwaffe on its night raids on London. This forces the bombers to use bright moonlight for bombing.

UNITED KINGDOM: The names of the first recipients of the newly-instituted George Cross and George Medals were announced today. The following details are taken from the official accounts in the London Gazette of the deeds for which the awards were made:
Thomas Hopper Alderson, part time rescue party worker, detachment leader, Bridlington. George Cross. Mr. Alderson tunneled under bomb wreckage and rescued a woman who was trapped alive. Some days later, Mr. Alderson rescued six people in one cellar which had completely given way. On the third occasion, He tunneled many feet under wreckage to rescue alive two people (one of whom later died) trapped under a massive refrigerator.
Patrick King, Air Raid Warden, of Seaton Delaval, George Medal: At a demolished home, Mr. King using axe and saw made a tunnel using sawn off roof timbers as supports for it, managed to reach a blind lady, a Miss Hannah Wilson, clear the debris off her body and bring her to safety. All the while the house was in imminent danger of collapse.

GERMANY: The I Gruppe of NJG 3 is formed at Vechta from V(Z)./ LG 1 with Hptm. Günther Radusch from I./NJG 1 appointed as Gruppenkommandeur. The Gruppe is equipped with Bf 110s.

Hermann Göring officially awarded Wolfgang Falck the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal (Ritterkreuz), but it would not be presented to Falck until 7 Oct 1940. The Kommodore of KG 2, Oberst Johannes Fink, is promoted to Generalmajor. Hubert Lanz was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for gallantry during the invasion of France.

Luftwaffe ace Erich Hartmann began basic training with Friegerausbildungsregiment 10 at Neukuhren, near Königsberg in East Prussia, Germany.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Italian submarine "Maggiore Baracca" sank Greek ship "Aghios Nicolaos" 400 miles west of Porto, Portugal. German submarine U-38 sank British ship "Highland Patriot" 300 miles west of Ireland at 0647 hours; 3 crew were killed, 136 crew and 33 passengers were rescued by sloop HMS "Wellington". German submarine U-32 sank Dutch ship "Haulerwijk" 400 miles west of Ireland; 4 were killed and 27 survived.

MEDITERRANEAN: British troops reinforced the garrison on Malta. Cruisers "Gloucester" and "Liverpool" land 1,200 British troop reinforcements on the island.

NORTH AMERICA: US Navy and US Marine Corps began the Special Landing Operation No. 2 in the Caribbean Sea.

Belgium Congo uranium began to arrive at Staten Island, New York, United States for safekeeping. A total of 1,140 tons of uranium would arrive throughout this month.

NORTHERN EUROPE: In Helsinki, the Germans and Finns reach another agreement strengthening their ties. The Germans promise arms and the Finns grant rights to the Germans to purchase their nickel production from the mines in the Petsamo region.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Petrol rationing introduced in Australia (in place until February 1950).

Chermside Army Camp established in Australia. It was the largest Australian Military Forces (AMF) camp built in Brisbane during the war. The plan was to erect a tented camp to accommodate 3,500 militia troops. Huts would be built later when funds were available. The first structure to be established was a Military Post Office (MILPO) that opened on 5 October. The first 200 recruits were expected on 7 October 1940.

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[Njaco]

October 2 Wednesday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post723550.html#post723550

MEDITERRANEAN: British destroyers HMS "Havock" and HMS "Hasty" sank Italian submarine "Berillo" 50 miles south of Crete, Greece; all 45 aboard "Berillo" were rescued.

British cruisers HMS "Orion" and HMS "Sydney" bombarded the Italian-controlled port of Maltezana, Stampalia, Greece.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-32 sank British ship "Kayeson" 400 miles west of Ireland at 1825 hours; the crew abandoned ship in lifeboats but none were seen again.

NORTH AMERICA: George Patton was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general.

EASTERN EUROPE: Adolf Hitler ordered Hans Frank and other Nazi officials in occupied Poland to keep the standard of living low and to deprive the Polish population of education, for that the Polish people were now mere low laborers of Germany. Additionally, he ordered that the Polish gentry to be exterminated.

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[parsifal]

2 October 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type IID U-144

Model image of the sister ship U-141

Losses
MV KAYESON (UK 4506 grt) Sunk by U-32 (Hans Jenisch) Crew: 38 (38 dead - no survivors) Cargo: 2802 tons of general cargo and 3901 tons of coal Route: Liverpool - Montevideo. Sailing Independently. Sunk in the Nth Atlantic. At 1825 hrs the unescorted KAYESON was hit in the fore ship by the last torpedo from U-32 west of Ireland. The submerged U-boat came too close to the target and slightly collided with its rudder, bending the bow to port. They surfaced and tried to finish her off with the last two rounds from the deck gun, but missed due to high swells. Shortly thereafter the ship sank steeply by the bow. The Germans had observed how the crew abandoned ship in the lifeboats, but the master and 37 crew members were not recovered.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer LATYMER (UK 2218 grt) in convoy HG.44 was sunk by L/R LW a/c, 4 miles west of Skelligs (off the SW coast of Ireland)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
Arrivals
Bergen: U-60

Departures
Lorient: U-58

At Sea 2 October 1940
U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-61, U-103, U-123.
8 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
DD BULLDOG departed Sheerness at 0740 for Rosyth to join the Home Flt temporarily. OA.223 departed Methil escort sloop SANDWICH. Corvette HEARTSEASE joined on the 6th and both were detached later that day. FN.297 departed Southend, escort DDs VALOROUS and WOLSEY. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 4th. FS.298 departed Methil, escort DDs WALLACE and WATCHMAN. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 4th. In a raid on German shipping in Bjorne Fjord by the British 801 Sqn from Hatston, a Skua was shot down and both crew were killed.

Northern Waters
DD TARTAR departed Scapa for Devonport for refitting, and arrived during the evening of the 4th. DD MATABELE departed Kirkwall to search for a Uboat reported at 1130, 7 miles due Nth of Lossiemouth. She was recalled to Scapa on the 3rd and arrived at 1420.

British floating mines were still being destroyed west of the Orkneys and Shetlands on this date, preventing the carrying out of ASW training in the normally designated area. CLA CURACOA arrived at Scapa Flow after escorting convoy WN.19 F. She departed Scapa at 1230 to cover convoy HX.74 A. The convoy was attacked by LW L/R bombers which dropped two torpedoes, but both torpedoes missed. Steamer TREHATA was damaged by the LW off Peterhead in convoy HX.74 A. CURACOA arrived back at Scapa Flow that evening.

Central Atlantic
CA DEVONSHIRE with DDs FAULKNOR, FORESIGHT, FURY, ESCAPADE departed Freetown for Duala, Cameroons arriving on the 4th with NL liner WESTERNLAND, carrying 1564 tons, FNFL sloops COMMANDANT DOMINE and COMMANDANT DUBOC. When agreement could not be reached between De Gaulle and the British command on operations, the DDs returned to Freetown.

Sth Atlantic
CA HAWKINS arrived at Durban for refitting completed on 16 November.

Med- Biscay
DDs HAVOCK and HASTY, returning to Alexandria from convoy AN 4 escort, surprised Perla class Sub BERILO (RM 680 grt) sth of Crete. 45 crew were rescued. HASTY and HAVOCK joined the Main Fleet at noon on the 2nd and proceeded to Alexandria.

Sub of the Perla Class

Early on the 2nd, CLs ORION and RAN SYDNEY bombarded Maltezana in Stampalia. The ships arrived back at Alexandria on the 3rd. The British Med Flt arrived back at Alexandria after delivering supplies to Malta. .

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Convoy BS.5 A departed Port Sudan, escort armed boarding vessel CHAKDINA and sloops FLAMINGO and INDUS. The convoy was dispersed off Aden on the 6th

 

[Njaco]

October 3 Thursday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post723552.html#post723552

German aircrews raiding London are now frequently accompanied by Italian AF observers, who make their presence known by dropping trinkets and medallions bearing propaganda slogans.

UNITED KINGDOM: British politician Neville Chamberlain resigned as Lord President of the Council for health reasons. His offices are taken up by Herbert Morrison, Lord President of the Council, and Sir John Anderson, Home Secretary. Kingsley Wood and Bevin are brought into the War Cabinet.

Britain announces its intention to re-open the Burma Road to China.

WESTERN FRONT: Vichy France passed anti-Semitic laws that excluded Jews from positions in the army, government, commerce, industries, and the press. The law was signed by Philippe Pétain, Pierre Laval, Raphaël Alibert, Marcel Peyrouton, Paul Baudouin, Yves Bouthillier, Charles Huntzinger, and François Darlan.

ASIA: Prince Kotohito stepped down as the Chief of the Japanese Army General Staff.

.

 

[Njaco]

October 4 Friday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post723625.html#post723625

UNITED KINGDOM: Operation Lucid: British tankers "War Nizam" and "War African", filled with oil and gasoline and to be used as fire ships, departed Sheerness and Harwich with 11 destroyers, 6 minesweepers, and a number of torpedo boats in escort. They were dispatched to destroy ports on the European coast that housed German invasion barges, but rough seas caused the mission to be canceled shortly after commencing.

Sir Cyril Newall retired as British Chief of Air Staff and was replaced by Sir Charles Portal. Sir Newall is then appointed Governor General of New Zealand. Sir Richard Peirse became Commander-in-Chief of the British RAF Bomber Command.

MEDITERRANEAN: Adolf Hitler met Benito Mussolini in the Brenner Pass on the Italian-Austrian border. The failure of the Germans to break the British and events in the Balkans and the Mediterranean led the Axis leaders to develop new plans for Eastern Europe. Benito Mussolini was happy to notice that Adolf Hitler seemed to have given up on any talks of invading Britain. Hitler warns Mussolini against undertaking new campaigns and offers help in Africa, which Mussolini declines.

British submarine HMS "Rainbow" collided with Italian ship "Antonietta Costa" and sank in the Adriatic Sea 20 miles north of Brindisi, Italy. All 55 aboard were lost.

British submarine HMS "Triton" attacked various targets at Vado Ligure and Savona, near Genoa, Italy with her deck gun, damaging shore installations and sinking ship "Franca Fassio". British submarine HMS "Tetrarch" attacked an Italian merchant ship west of Italy without success.

EAST AFRICA: General Charles de Gaulle arrived in Douala, French Cameroon via British cruiser HMS "Devonshire" to organize the invasion of Gabon, which was controlled by Vichy French forces.

ASIA: Six Hawk 75 fighters of the Chinese 18th Squadron were in transit when they came across 27 Japanese G3M bombers escorted by 8 A6M Zero fighters, en route to attack Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The Zero fighters shot down 1 and forcing 2 to crash land.

Nationalist Chinese troops launched an attack on Communist Chinese New 4th Army in Huangqiao ("Yellow Bridge"), Jiangsu Province, China, nearly taking the town.

.

 

[parsifal]

3 October 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMS HYACINTH

HYACINTH served in the Eastern Med where she protected the Palestine coastline and escorted numerous convoys along it. She also took part in the Malta convoys. She was a part of the 10th Corvette Group of the Med Flt based in Alexandria together with her sister ships PEONY and SALVIA. Since HYACINTH spent most of her time in the Med, she was not retrofitted as many of her class were, and so retained her short forecastle. Another of her distinctive features was a 3-inch gun instead of the usual 4-inch.

On 28 September 1941, HYACINTH attacked and sank the RM sub FISALIA NW of the port of Jaffa, just off the beach at Tel Aviv. On 9 July 1942, while escorting a convoy from Jaffa to Beirut HYACINTH attacked, damaged and captured RM sub PERLA. The sub was towed into port, repaired and put into operation with the Royal Hellenic Navy under the name MATROSOS in 1943. On 12 September 1943, after Italy had capitulated, HYACINTH and the RAN Bathurst Class Corvette HMAS WOLLONGONG sank the DKM Uboat U-617, after the submarine had been damaged in an attack by Wellington and Swordfish a/c. In 1943, HYACINTH was transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy, and was renamed APOSTOLIS, and served the remainder of the Second World War under the Greek flag.

Losses
None

UBOATS
Departures
Lorient: U-59

At Sea 3 October 1940
U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-61, U-103, U-123.
8 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
After D/F readings of a probable enemy ship 60 miles off Bergen, BC HOOD, CAs BERWICK and NORFOLK, available DDs at Scapa Flow were brought to 1 hr's notice. DD MATABELE was recalled from Moray Firth patrol and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1420.

FN.298 departed Southend, escort DD WOOLSTON and sloop BLACK SWAN. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 5th. FS.299 departed Methil, escort DD VERDUN and sloop LOWESTOFT. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 4th.

DDs BRILLIANT, BEAGLE, BULLDOG arrived at Rosyth as replacements for DesFlot 5 DDs sent to the Western Approaches.

Northern Waters
DD CLEVELAND arrived at Scapa Flow to work up prior to joining the Nore Command. Armed patrol trawler FORFEIT attacked a UBoat contact at 1500 on the 2nd. DDs DUNCAN and ISIS departed Scapa to arrive before dawn on stations - ISIS 18 miles 315° from Kinnaird Head, DUNCAN 15 miles 315° from Clythness. The DDs left Moray Firth that evening and returned to Scapa Flow.

AA ship ALYNBANK arrived at Scapa Flow after covering convoy OA.223 near Bell Rock.

West Coast UK
OB.223 departed Liverpool escort DD SCIMITAR, corvettes HEARTSEASE and COREOPSIS, ASW trawlers KING SOL and ST ZENO. Corvette HEARTSEASE was detached on the 5th and the other escort ships on the 6th.

SW Approaches
CL SHEFFIELD departed the Clyde with DD VERSATILE to escort WS 3 A (slow) from Liverpool bound for the Middle East. DD depot ship WOOLWICH, after refitting at Liverpool, also departed for duty in the Med Flt. SHEFFIELD joined British troopships OROPESA, DORSET, PORT CHALMERS , KHEDIVE ISMAEL , ERINPURA , PERTHSHIRE, HIGHLAND BRIGADE escorted by DDs HAVELOCK, HIGHLANDER, HARVESTER, HURRICANE, WITHERINGTON, VISCOUNT, VERSATILE. SHEFFIELD turned the convoy over to CA CUMBERLAND on the 13th. The convoy arrived at Freetown on the 16th.

British trawler FRAMLINGHAM was damaged by the LW 20 miles sth of Fastnet. British trawler IWATE was damaged by the LW five miles northwest of Mizzen Head (SW Ireland).

Central Atlantic
SL.50 departed Freetown escort AMC PRETORIA CASTLE to 16 October and AMC ALCANTARA for the day only. On 21 October, DD CLARE and corvettes ANEMONE and CLEMATIS joined the convoy and on the 25th, CLA CURACOA joined. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 26th.

Med- Biscay
RM sub GLAUCO attacked a British transport without success. BBs MALAYA and RAMILLIES, CVL EAGLE, CL AJAX, CLA COVENTRY, and RAN DDs VOYAGER, VENDETTA, VAMPIRE, WATERHEN, RN DDs DAINTY, DECOY, DIAMOND, DEFENDER departed Alexandria to exert a threat upon enemy Libyan convoys and cover Crete. Also, CL AJAX and CLA COVENTRY conducted exercises with CVL EAGLE. AJAX and COVENTRY arrived back at Alexandria on the 5th

 

[parsifal]

4 October 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Armed Yacht HMCS OTTER
New Image Source: HMCS OTTER | Ships of the Canadian Navy

Losses
Tug SIRDAR (UK 34 grt) was sunk by the LW in Long Reach, River Swale.

Submarine TRITON sank steamer FRANCA FASSIO (FI 1858 grt) 16 miles 97° from the Semaphore at Capo Noli in the Gulf of Genoa. TRITON also shelled shore installations off Vado and Savona. She unsuccessfully attacked steamer SPEZIA (FI 1825 grt) in Vado Roads on the 8th.

Steamer NINA BIANCHI (FI 2180 grt) was lost in a collision with FI steamer VELOCE off Brindisi.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
Departures
Lorient: U-28

At Sea 4 October 1940
U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-61, U-103, U-123.
8 boats at sea.

OPERATIONS
North Sea
OA.224 departed Methil, escort sloop HASTINGS and corvette PEONY. Corvette PEONY was detached on the 5th. ASW yacht PHILANTE joined on 6 September. Later that day HASTINGS and the yacht were detached. FN.299 departed Southend, escort DDs VANITY and WOLFHOUND. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 6th. FS.300 departed Methil, escort DD VIVIEN and sloop LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 6th. DD ASHANTI departed Rosyth to cover convoy EN.7. ASHANTI departed Methil at 1000 and proceeded with the convoy to Duncansby Head. The DD then returned to Rosyth.

Northern Waters
CL MANCHESTER, and CLAs DIDO, PHOEBE arrived at Scapa Flow. CLA CAIRO departed Rosyth to provide AA support for convoy OA.224 as far as Scapa Flow. At Scapa Flow, CAIRO took on Vittles and fuel before going to the Western Approaches Command.

Channel
In another LUCID operation, first attempted on 25 September, Force A, old tks WAR NIZAM and MYTILUS with DDs CAMPBELL, CATTISTOCK, MACKAY, WALPOLE, MSWs SALAMANDER, SUTTON, SELKIRK, MTB.31, MTB.32, ML 108, ML 110 departed Sheerness for Calais. Force B, old tkr OAKFIELD, DDs HAMBLEDON, GARTH, VENETIA, WITCH, MSWs ELGIN, HUSSAR, SPEEDWELL, MTB.34, Norwegian MTB.5, ML 106, ML 110 departed Harwich for Boulogne. Force C was DDs VERITY, VENOMOUS, WILD SWAN. Heavy weather caused the operation to be once again cancelled.

Nth Atlantic
HX.78 departed Halifax escort rcn dd ASSINIBOINE and aux PVs FRENCH, HUSKY and REINDEER. FRENCH returned to Halifax at 1845.
ASSINIBOINE departed the convoy at 1850/5th. Ocean escort was AMC JERVIS BAY, which was detached on the 14th. On 14 October, DDs ANTHONY and VERITY joined the convoy. DD ARROW, sloop ROCHESTER, corvettes CALENDULA and CAMELLIA joined on the 15th. ANTHONY and ARROW were detached on the 18th. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 18th. CLA CURACOA provided protection for the east ships of this convoy on 19 and 20 October.

Med- Biscay
Sub RORQUAL laid mines off Benghazi.

Sub RAINBOW had departed Alexandria on patrol on 23 September. On 4 October, Sub RAINBOW (RN 1475 grt), name ship of the class, was sunk in a collision with Italian steamer ANTONIETTA COSTA ANTONIETTA COSTA had departed Bari with steamers ORESTE and PREMUDA for Durazzo on the 3rd, escorted by auxiliary vessel RAMB III.

Sub TETRARCH attacked an Italian merchant ship in the Gulf of Genoa without success. DD WISHART escorted troopship NEURALIA to Lisbon to embark British subjects and Polish troops from France. The DD waited outside territorial waters and escorted the troopship back to Gibraltar after embarkation.

Pacific/Far East/Australia Station
CL DURBAN departed Hong Kong.

Malta
1005-1028 hrs Air raid alert for an enemy formation of up to 25 Macchi 200 fighters which cross over the Island from the north at 17000 feet. Accurate Ack Ack fire causes the formation to scatter. At 1010 hrs three formations of three aircraft are over Marsa. Three head for Hal Far and six for Luqa. Three Hurricanes and three Gladiators are then scrambled and engage in a dog fight over Mellieha Bay. One Macchi 200 is reported in difficulties over Naxxar and then Bingemma Fort with smoke coming from its tail. It is later seen coming down in Ghain Tuffieha Bay; there are no survivors. Another Macchi 200 is probably so badly damaged by Hurricanes that it is unlikely to reach base. No bombs are dropped on the Island.

Enemy casualties Tenente Mario Nasoni, 6o Gruppo Autonomo, reconnaissance pilot of Macchi C200 fighter shot down into the sea and died.

Formation of MC 200s over Malta

 

[Njaco]

October 5 Saturday
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/ww2-general/day-battle-britain-25360-post723929.html#post723929

Oblt. Rudolf Resch replaces Oblt. Werner Lederer as Staffelkapitän of 6./JG 52. Hauptmann Helmut Wick, the Gruppenkommandeur of 1./JG 2, claimed the destruction of five RAF fighters in one day. This took his overall total to 41. He is awarded the Eichenlaub (Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross).

MEDITERRANEAN: British submarine HMS "Regent" sank Italian ship "Maria Grazia" 10 miles off of Bari, Italy by ramming.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Italian submarine "Nani" sank British trawler HMT "Kingston Sapphire" 20 miles south of Cádiz, Spain. 3 were killed and the remaining rescued by a Spanish trawler. British submarine HMS "Tigris" attacked an Italian submarine (possibly submersible torpedo boat "Otario") in the Bay of Biscay without success.

NORTH AMERICA: The Tripartite Pact is condemned by Navy Secretary Knox and he announces that he is calling up some of the naval reserve. Knox ordered all organized reserve divisions and aviation squadrons of the US Marine Corps to be on call for active duty. The US Marine Corps organized the Air Detachment, Marine Barracks, Parris Island in South Carolina, United States; it would later be renamed Marine Corps Air Station, Parris Island.

Henry Arnold submitted a proposal for the reorganization of US Army air units to US Army Chief of Staff George Marshall. The proposal called for a separate staff for air apart from the ground and supply units.

ASIA: Communist Chinese New 4th Army counterattacked and defeated Nationalist Chinese troops at Huangqiao ("Yellow Bridge"), Jiangsu Province, China, capturing great quantities of weapons and ammunition.

.

 

[parsifal]

5 October 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Armed Yacht HMCS VISON

Losses
Steamer ADAPTITY (UK 372 grt) was sunk on a mine (Minefield WERNER) laid by DKM TBs on 30 September/1 October.

Steamer OTTOLAND (NL 2202 grt) was sunk on a mine four miles south of 20A Buoy, off Hartlepool. The entire crew was rescued.

Steamer MARIA GRAZIA (FI 188 grt) was sunk by ramming by HM sub REGENT.

RM sub NANI sank armed boarding vessel KINGSTON SAPPHIRE (RN 356 grt). Three ratings were lost. The rest of the crew were rescued by a Spanish trawler and landed at Huelva.

UBOATS
Departures
Bergen: U-60
Kiel: U-93
Lorient: U-48, U-101, U-124

At Sea 5 October 1940
U-31, U-32, U-37, U-38, U-43, U-48, U-61, U-101, U-103, U-123, U-124.
11 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
FN.300 departed Southend, escort DDs WALLACE and WATCHMAN. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 7th. FS.301 departed Methil, escort DDs VEGA and VIMIERA. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 7th.

Northern Waters
CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow at 1030 to provide AA support for convoy WN.20 from Pentland Firth to the Firth of Forth. She then proceeded to Rosyth.

West Coast UK
OB.224 departed Liverpool escorted by DD SKATE, sloop DEPTFORD, corvettes ANEMONE, ERICA, PICOTEE. ASW trawlers PENTLAND FIRTH and STELLA CAPELLA joined on the 6th and were detached on the 8th along with DD SKATE. The corvettes were detached on the 9th and the sloop on the 12th.

SW Approaches
Sub TIGRIS attacked RM sub OTARIO without success in the Bay of Biscay.

Channel
British steamer ORTOLAN was damaged by the LW at Stepney (in the Thames).

Nth Atlantic
SC.7 of 34 ships departed Sydney at 1115 escorted by RCN PV ELK as local escort and ocean escort Sloop SCARBOROUGH. On 16 October, SC.7 was reinforced by sloop FOWEY and corvette BLUEBELL from OA.228 escort. On 18 October, the convoy was further reinforced by sloop LEITH and corvette HEARTSEASE. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 21st.

Med- Biscay
FNFL sub NARVAL arrived back at Malta from a patrol beginning on 25 September. The patrol was conducted with Sub RORQUAL.

During the evening of 5 October, RM re-supply operation "CV" began. Two merchant ships departed Taranto for North Africa escorted by the DesDiv 12 with DDs LANCIERE, CARABINIERE, CORRAZZIERE and ASCARI.

On the morning of 6 October, the convoy escort was joined by CAs POLA, FIUME, GORIZIA, and ZARA and DesDiv 9, (DDs ALFIERI, ORIANI, CARDUCCI, and GIOBERTI), all departed from Taranto. CAs TRIESTE, TRENTO, BOLZANO and DesDiv 11, (DDs ARTIGLIERE, CAMICIA NERA, AVIERE, and GENIERE) departed Messina. When it became known that a British force of BBs and screening forces were sighted between Kaso Strait and Alexandria, all Italian ships returned to port.

Temporary Lt (A) I. P. Godfrey RNVR, Naval Airman L. J. Stevens and Acting S/Lt (A) J. Marshall RNVR, Naval Airman A. S. Rush of 806 Sqn from CV ILLUSTRIOUS landed their Fulmars in Crete and were interned. The airmen returned to their Sqn at the end of the month. The fate of the aircraft is unknown

ASW trawler LORD HOTHAM attacked a submarine contact near Almina Point (off the Spanish Moroccan city of Ceuta).

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
Convoy BS.6 departed Suez, escort sloops CLIVE and GRIMSBY. The sloops were detached on 11 November when joined by CL LEANDER and sloops AUCKLAND, HINDUSTAN, RAN YARRA. RAN CL HOBART joined on the 13th. The convoy was dispersed off Aden on the 13th.

Malta
1441-1525 hrs Air raid alert for four enemy aircraft to the north of the Island, followed by another seven east of Delimara. Three Hurricanes and two Gladiators are scrambled. No raid materialises.

OPERATIONS REPORTS SATURDAY 5 OCTOBER 1940

ROYAL NAVY French submarine Narval arrived back from her first patrol of Cape Misurata, Libya: nothing sighted. Clearance sweep of mined area begun by Oropesa – two mines were cut up. 0320-0718 hrs Swordfish 830 Squadron FAA carried out reconnaissance of Ionian Sea; nothing to report.

AIR HQ Departures 1 Sunderland.

KALAFRANA Operations by Sunderland aircraft of 228 and 230 squadrons. One Sunderland left for Gibraltar.

 

[stona]

The Bf 109 at Windsor Castle if that of Oberleutnant Karl Fischer of 7./JG 27. It hadn't come far as it crash landed in the adjacent Windsor Great Park a few days earlier (30th September).

Typically members of the public paid sixpence for a close up view and, when allowed, a shilling to sit in the cockpit of these exhibits. It doesn't sound much but given that the average working man earned between £4 and £5 per week it was not negligible. It cost about the same as a pint of beer to sit in the cockpit, you'd be lucky to do that today

Cheers

Steve