U.S. BIDS ITALY CLOSE TWO CONSULATES AND CURBS MOVEMENT OF AIDES HERE (3/7/41)

Microfilm-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz | 3/7/41 | Bertram Hulen, Robert P. Post, Hanson W. Baldwin

[Homer_J_Simpson]

1

2

3

4

5

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile. Also visit our general discussion thread

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Winston S. Churchill, The Grand Alliance

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Hull Retaliates – 2
Text of Hull’s Note to Italy – 2
Raiders in Norway Sank Eleven Ships – 3
The International Situation – 3
Germans in Libya – 4
The Texts of the Day’s Communiques on the War – 5

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1941/mar41/f07mar41.htm

U-boat ace defeated by convoy escort

Friday, March 7, 1941 www.onwar.com

In the North Atlantic... The British destroyer Wolverine sinks the German submarine U-47 in a convoy engagement. The U-47 is commanded by the ace captain, Prien, one of the three leading U-boat captains who will be killed or captured in the next few weeks.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/07.htm

March 7th, 1941

UNITED KINGDOM: London: Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour and former leader of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, has been given powers to schedule any factory or firm as being engaged on essential work of national importance. Once scheduled, no employee can either leave or be dismissed without the consent of the local national service officer of the ministry. The object is to prevent labour turnover damaging the war effort. As a condition of being rated “essential”, employers must guarantee weekly wage rates and welfare arrangements that satisfy the ministry, and workers may be disciplined for lateness or absenteeism.
The first “Essential Work Orders” will apply to the engineering, aircraft, building and shipbuilding industries, the railways, the docks and the mines. The 221,000 workers in the five royal dockyards and in 52 private yards are now put under the control of the admiralty, which will decide priorities.

Shipyards have been plagued by stoppages at a time when nearly a million tons of shipping have been sunk in the current quarter. This week John Brown’s on Clydeside is on strike.

Submarine HMS Splendid laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)

GERMANY: U-412 laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)

GREECE: The first troops of the British expeditionary force land at Piraeus and Volos. The first of the 58,000 British and Australian troops to occupy the Olympus-Vermion line in Greece arrive from Egypt. (Jack McKillop)

EGYPT: Cairo: Smuts gives his permission for South African troops to be used anywhere in Africa.

AMERICAN SAMOA: The transport USS William P. Biddle (AP-15), escorted by light cruiser USS Concord (CL-10), arrives at Pago Pago on Tutuila Island, and disembarks the 7th defence Battalion, the first unit of the Fleet Marine Force deployed to the Southern Hemisphere in World War II. (Jack McKillop)

CUBA: In U.S. major league baseball, the Brooklyn Dodgers play the Cleveland Indians in Havana. The Dodgers’ shortstop Pee Wee Reese and left fielder Joe Medwick use a batting helmet designed by two Johns Hopkins Hospital doctors in Baltimore, Maryland. The two Dodgers, victims of being hit by a pitcher last year, pronounce the helmets satisfactory. (Jack McKillop)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-47 commanded by Korvettenkapitän Günther Prien is last heard of in the North Atlantic about 300 miles (483 kilometres) south-southeast of Reykjavik, Iceland, near the Rockall Banks. All hands, 45 men, are lost. There is still no certain confirmation of how U-47 was lost. For years it was believed that the British destroyer HMS Wolverine sank U-47 on 8 March, 1941 after depth charges attacks, but the Wolverine actually attacked submarine U-A. Possible reasons for the loss of U-47 include mines, by its own torpedoes or by an attack by British corvettes HMS Camellia and Arbutus. On 14 October 1939, Prien had taken U-47 into the heavily defended British North Fleet main harbour at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands and sank the battleship HMS Royal Oak; Prien was awarded the Knights Cross for this action. (Jack McKillop)

In a second attack on Liverpool-out convoy OB293 southeast of Iceland, U-70 is sunk by corvettes HMS Arbutus and HMS Camellia at 0725. 20 dead, 25 survivors. The conning tower of U-70 had been badly damaged, but the pressure hull remained intact and Matz decided to head away from the convoy for repairs. At 0815, Camellia sighted the U-boat on the surface, which dived shortly afterwards. Until 1030, this corvette and Arbutus carried out five attacks with depth charges, followed by another four attacks by Camellia. Altogether the corvettes dropped 48 depth charges in the nine attacks. The U-boat was forced to surface at 1244 after the last attack and had to be abandoned by the crew. The corvettes picked up 25 survivors. The survivors claimed that they had hit three ships in the first attack at 0445 hours and another in the second. But in fact three ships were damaged - Athelbeach, Delilian and Mijdrecht. At 0640, U-99 torpedoed the already damaged Athelbeach and the crew abandoned ship. At 0715, the U-boat began to shell the tanker and sank her with a coup de grâce 15 minutes later. The master and six crewmembers were lost. 37 crewmembers were picked up by corvette HMS Camellia and landed at Greenock. At 0725, the Mijdrecht in Convoy OB-293 was hit by one torpedo from U-70 and continued at slow speed. The tanker rammed the U-boat as it tried to deliver a coup de grâce and reported the position to the escorts. The ship arrived in Rothesay Bay on 19 March, was temporary repaired at Govan and later went to Middlesbrough for permanent repairs. (Dave Shirlaw)

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sight the battleship Malaya that together with other cruisers escorts convoy SL-67 of 58 ships. Lütjens reports the position of the convoy to the U-boats that sink the Hindpool, Lahore, Harmodius, and Nardana, with a total tonnage of 28,500 tons. In the next eight days U-105 and U-106 sink seven more ships and score a torpedo hit in Malaya that heads to New York via Trinidad for repairs. (Navy News)

At 1047, the unescorted SS Mentor was hit by one torpedo from U-37 at 59.30N, 25W and sank by the bow with a still turning propeller.
Whale factory ship Terje Viken was hit by a torpedo from U-47 at 0505. 45 minutes later two torpedoes fired by U-99 totally wrecked the ship. Two British destroyers and a corvette finally sank the wreck on 14 March. (Dave Shirlaw)

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/

Day 554 March 7, 1941

2 German submarines are lost when U-47 U-70 U-90 & UA attack convoy OB-293, 320 miles Northwest of Scotland. They sink British SS Terje Viken (largest whaling factory ship in the world, 4th largest merchant ship sunk in WWII) & British tanker MV Athelbeach (and damage 2 other merchant ships). U-47 is lost by unknown causes (all 48 hands lost). U-70 is rammed by Dutch tanker Mijdrecht (after torpedoing her). 4 hours of depth charging by British corvettes HMS Camellia and HMS Arbutus forces U-70 to the surface and the crew abandons ship (20 killed, 25 picked up and taken prisoner). 200 miles further West, U-37 sinks Greek steamer Mentor. In the same area, British submarine HMS Porpoise unsuccessfully attacks a German submarine.

German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau find a convoy of 12 freighters 550 miles Northwest of Dakar, Senegal, but it is escorted by British battleship HMS Malaya. Under orders not to engage British capital ships, they do not attack the convoy but instead report its position to German submarines in the area.

British motor torpedo boat MTB.28 is destroyed by fire at Portsmouth.

Overnight, 5 British steamers are sunk (52 merchant seamen and 4 gunners killed) in attacks on convoys FN.426 and FS.429 by 12 German motor torpedo boats off East Anglia, England. Another steamer, SS Dotterel, is damaged and runs aground (8 killed, patrol sloop HMS Sheldrake takes off 19 survivors but 1 officer and 2 ratings from Sheldrake are lost in the process).

[Tank-FL]

Raiders in Norway Sank Eleven Ships - 3

Now there is a new word. (at least for me)

The captured some Quislingist along with some Germans.

I had to look that one up.

[CougarGA7]

I’ve definitely never heard it used in that form. I was amazed how fast the word Quisling entered the vocabulary last year when Norway was invaded. Quislingist sounds like someone who can participate in game shows in multiple languages.

[CougarGA7]

Here is a general order from Admiral Bloch setting the defense orders for Operation Plan 1-41 which is the current action plan for Hawaii.

From: (Commandant Fourteenth Naval District). Naval Base Defense Officer
Date : 7 March 1941
Mailed At : Pearl Harbor, T. H.
Time : 1010
Action to : CinCPac, Pacific Fleet Force Commanders & type commanders, Compatwing 2, dist. Mar. officer, Capt. Yard, C. O.'s dist activities & units as per distribution list of C. B. D. O. operation plan No. 1-41 with annexes A, B, O, D & B.

Confidential

In accordance CinCPac confidential memorandum lCM-41 of 25 February 1941 naval base defense officer's operation plan No. 1-41 serial ND14 (0164) of 27 February 1941 together with annexes A, B, C, D, and E effective at 1800 March 10. Reference annex B Defense Air Force assume readiness condition three less bombs and ComPatWing TWO order scattering as necessary. Annex D harbor control post assume readiness condition three.

C. C. Bloch,
Rear Admiral, U. S. N.
Commander Naval Base Defense Force
{Commandant Fourteenth Naval Dist).

Per yesterday's posting of Annex D, "condition three" is a Normal Condition, which is their lowest state of readiness. It should be interesting to watch what happens with these readiness conditions down the road.