Posted on 07/24/2010 5:27:40 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Winston S. Churchill, Their Finest Hour
Nazi Rule Barred – 2
Poles and British Sign Military Pact – 2
The International Situation – 3
Britain Announces Drop in Sea Losses – 3
Nazis Are Infuriated by Halifax; Threaten an Immediate Invasion – 4-5
Day’s War Communiques - 5
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/jul40/f24jul40.htm
Germans sink the Meknes
Wednesday, July 24, 1940 www.onwar.com
In the English Channel... The steamer Meknes, carrying 1277 French sailors to Marseilles, is sunk by the German motor torpedo boat S-27 off the coast of Portland, England. A total of 383 on board are killed.
In Bucharest... The Romanian government nationalizes the Astra-Romana Oil Company (part of the Royal Dutch/Shell Oil Company).
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/24.htm
July 24th, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - naval and merchant shipping at Hamburg.
10 Sqn. Eight aircraft. Weather bad. Two bombed.
58 Sqn. Five aircraft. Two returned early, one bombed.
RAF Fighter Command: Weather cloudy, rain. Attacks on convoys in Channel. 8 enemy aircraft destroyed, 3 RAF aircraft lost.
[Losses quoted now for the Battle of Britain are as given in the official history, The Defence of the United Kingdom.]
Mersey Estuary: He 111s mining. Searchlight crews illuminate one which fires back upon their sites at New Brighton. That, or another He-111 was then illuminated again and held for three minutes. Coastguards at Hoylake and Formby Point independently claim that it crashed into the sea as a result of dazzle.
A low-flying single He-111 drops HE and incendiaries onto Glasgow’s Hillington Industrial Estate, damaging a printing works, a sugar and oil cake factory and injuring 18 people. Soon after Welsh-based 92 Sqn. Spitfires (K9998, N3167, N3297) engage a Ju88 of KG51 over Porthcawl. The Junkers is later shot down by 87 Sqn. Pilot Officer R.P. Beamont near Lynton, Devon.
Bombs fall for the first time on Renfrew, Samford, Waltham and Weybridge.
Later in the morning 18 Do17s escorted by JG52 attempt to bomb a convoy in the Thames Estuary. Thus ensuing what 54 Sqn called ‘The Battle of the Thames Estuary’. A ship is forced to run for shallow water and 54 Sqn while protecting have their ‘biggest fight since Dunkirk.’ So furious and confused is the fight over Margate that ‘54’ claim 16 ‘109s. Luftwaffe records suggest two, possibly three. Pilot Officer Allen (R6812) engages a 109 near Margate, the his engine stops. When it comes to life again he attempts to reach RAF Manston, but instead his aircraft spun in and crashed on an electricity sub-station in Omer Road, Cliftonville. Sergeant G.R. Collett (N3192) chases a Bf109 for a considerable distance, only to run out of fuel and crash at Sizewell, Suffolk. 1 Bf109 comes down in Dane Valley Road and another in Byron Avenue, Margate, where the pilot became a prize for the local AFS men. Nos. 65 and 610 Sqns had been vectored to Dover to engage the Bf109s when the latter were getting short of fuel and vulnerable. Unfortunately the plan misfired when a fresh formations of 109s arrived to deal with just such schemes. Fighter Command lost a pilot and two aircraft in the engagement and the Luftwaffe five Bf109s of JG26 and JG52.
ENGLISH CHANNEL:
Some 383 Frenchmen lost their lives tonight when their ship was sunk by a German motor torpedo boat off the coast of Brittany. The Meknes left Southampton early today carrying 1,277 French naval officers and ratings who were being repatriated to France.
She was showing all lights and had a searchlight trained on the French ensign when she was attacked at 10.30 pm. One officer said: “Why would they torpedo us when the war was over as far as we were concerned?”
FINLAND: The advance of Karelian Army is stopped north of Lake Ladoga after Col. Lagus’ 5th Div. reaches Tuulos, about 20 miles east of pre-1939 border. After beating back Soviet counter-attacks the Finnish troops regroup into defence. More to north (in northern Karelia) the Finnish advance is slowed down by heavy Soviet resistance in well-prepared positions. (Mikko Härmeinen)
PALESTINE: Italian Planes bomb Jerusalem killing 46.
ROMANIA: The government seizes British oil interests.
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 328 July 24, 1940
Battle of Britain Day 15. At 6.30 AM, Luftwaffe bombs Rolls Royce factory at Glasgow without damage, hitting a nearby printing works. At 7.30 AM, Junkers Ju88s raid shipping in the Bristol Channel and 1 Ju88 is shot down by Spitfires of 92 Squadron. At noon, 18 Dornier bombers escorted by 40 Bf109s attack shipping in the Thames estuary, sinking minesweeping trawler Fleming (19 crew killed, 3 survivors rescued by minesweeper Corena). 54 and 65 Squadron go up and, as the Germans turn away, 610 Squadron scrambles from Gravesend to cut off their retreat. The 36 Spitfires shoot down 9 Bf109s which are running low on fuel off the coast of Kent (RAF loses 2 Spitfires). Another Bf109 is shot down by anti-aircraft guns. German bombers sink anti-submarine trawler HMS Kingston Galena (16 dead) and minesweeper Rodino (4 dead) off Dover.
1277 French sailors (captured when French warships in British ports were captured on July 3) leave Southampton for Marseilles on French steamer Meknes to be repatriated. At 10.30 PM, flying the French flag and with lights on to indicate neutrality, Meknes is sunk in the middle of the English Channel by German motor torpedo boat S-27 (416 lives lost). British destroyers HMS Viscount, Wolverine, Sabre and Shikari respond to distress signals and rescue the survivors. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=1940-07-25a.983.2
I had never heard of the thought to assume control of the colonies. I had never considered what would have become of Canada, for example, if Britain had fallen. (I assume that would have remained pretty much as it was—but not the colonies of Central and South America.)
Would have been interesting to see the Nazis try to come into French Guiana in 1940...
I hadn’t realized that the number of Europeans with the British was so small. The Poles were the only ones that could put together a reasonably sized unit.
Date: 24 July 1940
Enemy action by day
The main activity was centred in the Channel. A combat involving approximately 90 aircraft took place at midday off Deal and North Foreland. Convoys and shipping were the main objectives. A few raids penetrated inland and dropped bombs without inflicting any serious damage except near Glasgow where a printing works was practically demolished.
North and North-East
At 0630 hours, hostile aircraft appeared over Glasgow and bombed the Hillingdon district where a printing works was seriously damaged. Some windows of the Rolls Royce factory were broken and a few minor casualties are reported. This aircraft was intercepted and it is reported that the rear gunner was killed and one engine put out of action. The enemy aircraft dived into clouds and was lost but it is doubtful if it will reach home. In the afternoon, several reconnaissances were plotted in the Aberdeen area.
East and South-East
Numerous hostile reconnaissances were carried out off the East and South-East coasts and in four cases were followed by attacks on shipping. One Do215 was shot down.
Just before midday, a large force of enemy aircraft assembled behind Calais and then approached two convoys off the North Foreland and the Downs. Three squadrons were up ready to intercept. A battle ensued in which approximately fifty enemy aircraft were involved with thirty-six of our fighters. The enemy aircraft were driven off after - it is reported - having sunk two trawlers and damaged two more. Enemy losses reported in this combat are reported as 10 confirmed (including one by AA) and sixteen unconfirmed against the loss of two of our Spitfires.
At 1503 hours, an enemy aircraft crossed the coast west of Shoreham and dropped bombs on the Vickers landing ground at Weybridge and on the gas works at Walton on Thames and at Byfleet. Little damage is reported and production has not been affected. There was no interception by our fighters.
At 1727 hours, three enemy aircraft bombed ships off Dover. No 74 Squadron report that one Do215 was shot down (unconfirmed) off Manston.
At 1950 hours, a hostile track appeared 20 miles south of Hastings and is reported to have machine-gunned inshore patrols. Weather conditions were too bad for fighter action to be taken.
At 2050 hours, one Spitfire of No 66 Squadron whilst on patrol, came down in the sea 30 miles north-east of Cromer but the pilot was rescued.
South and West
At 0730 hours, a Ju88 which approached Portcawl and bombed shipping was shot down by No 92 Squadron. Several raids approached Bournemouth and Portland but faded without and attack being made. Considerable enemy reconnaissance activity was plotted in the Channel.
By night
No enemy activity is reported with the exception of one track which was possibly minelaying off Bamburgh.
________________________________________
Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 24 July 1940
Casualties:
Patrols:
Balloons:
Aerodromes:
Organisation:
Air Intelligence Reports
Home Security Reports
Jeez, I thought that war was over 4 months ago. Little I really know. thanks HOMER, still reading everyday
And those Poles struck absolute terror into the defenders of Normandy a few years later...
This is the first mention that I know of in these articles of the good general Sikorski. He will, until his premature death, play a major roll in the Polish government in exile. This will become something of a hot potato towards the end of the war as the Soviets will not recognize the Polish government in Britain.
§ 1
Where the word "Jew" is used in Legal and Administrative Provisions in the Government-General, it is to be interpreted as follows:
1) Anyone who is a Jew, or is considered a Jew, in accordance with the Legal Provisions in the Reich;
2) Anyone who is a Jew, or is considered a Jew, and is a former Polish citizen or stateless person, under § 2 of this Regulation.
§ 2
1) A Jew is a person descended from at least three fully Jewish grandparents by race.
2) A person is considered a Jew if he is descended from two grandparents who are full Jews by race and
a) if he was a member of the Jewish Religious Community on September 1, 1939, or joined such a community subsequently;
b) if he was married to a Jew on the date on which this Regulation came into force, or married a Jew subsequently;
c) if he is the product of extramarital intercourse with a Jew in accordance with para. 1 and was born after May 31, 1941.
3) A grandparent is automatically considered a full Jew if he was a member of a Jewish community.
§ 3
1) Where the concept [person of] Jewish Mischling is used in Legal and Administrative Provisions of the Government-General, it is to be interpreted as follows:
a) a person who is a Jewish Mischling in accordance with the Reich Legal Provisions;
b) any person who is a former Polish citizen or stateless, and is descended from one or two grandparents who are full Jews by race, unless he is considered a Jew under § 2, para. 2.
2) The provisions under § 2, para. 3 apply similarly.
§ 4
1) A business enterprise is considered Jewish if the owner is a Jew in accordance with § 1.
2) A business enterprise which is owned by a Limited Company is considered Jewish if one or more members who are personally responsible are Jews....
3) A place of business is also considered Jewish if it is in practice under the dominant influence of Jews.
4) The provisions under para. 1-4 also apply to Associations, Endowments, Institutions and other organizations which are not business enterprises.
§ 5
Legal and Administrative Provisions issued for Jews apply to Jewish Mischling only where this is expressly stated.
§ 6
This Regulation comes into effect on August 1, 1940.
Cracow, July 24, 1940
The Governor General for the Occupied Polish Territories
Frank
a wealthy and social young American sportsman, who won a gold medal on the U.S. bobsled team at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, married the former countess of Warwick, had an international reputation as a skier and golfer, drove a British Racing Green 4.5-liter supercharged Bentley, and on August 16, 1940, became the first American in the Royal Air Force to be killed in combat in World War II.
I almost missed this because BroJoe cluttered my inbox with a bunch of 2 and 3 day late posts. Thanks for finding this.
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