Posted on 07/31/2010 5:36:20 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Winston S. Churchill, Their Finest Hour
John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
Thomas E. Griess, Series Editor, The Second World War: Europe and the Mediterranean
* Finally there has been noted since the Campaign of Britain started some falling off both in quality and quantity of British aircraft production, according to reports reaching here. Such a result, of course, must be expected when air raids are continuous and regular, even if no actual damage is done to factories, since production halts when air-raid warnings are sounded.
Numerous breakdowns and various mechanical difficulties have been experienced with British aircraft engines, according to these reports, and it seems doubtful if the July engine and aircraft production rate in Britain will be as great as the June figure.
Not to worry. Lord Beaverbrook has the situation under control. (See reply #5 above.)
Thank you for posting these.
Its amazing that these are stories of what seems for the younger generation (myself included) a different world...yet in reality it isn’t, the threats, the evil is of the same magnitude, yet it is only our response that has become massively weaker and inept.
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/jul40/f31jul40.htm
British produce more fighters
Wednesday, July 31, 1940 www.onwar.com
In Britain... Fighter output for July is found to be 50 percent above the target figures. Since May 1st 1200 fighters have been produced. This is more than have been made in Germany and the RAF is therefore closing the numerical advantage of the Luftwaffe.
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 335 July 31, 1940
Battle of Britain Day 22. Luftwaffe mounts numerous small raids on shipping all along the South coast of England. 1 Messerschmitt and 2 Spitfires are shot down off Folkestone. Göring is convinced by wild overestimates of RAF losses, as well as Royal Navy’s withdrawal of warships from the English Channel, that Luftwaffe has control of the skies. He believes he can proceed to Phase 2 of his plan, to eliminate RAF by direct attacks on their airfields. In fact RAF losses in July are 77 aircraft destroyed & 43 damaged (67 men killed, 23 wounded). Britain produced 496 fighters in July (50% above projected output) and has more serviceable aircraft than at the beginning of July, although still far fewer than Germany. British civilian casualties from bombing in July are 258 killed & 321 wounded.
Hitler revises his plans for an invasion of Britain by the middle of August. German Admiral Raeder convinces Hitler that Operation Sealion cannot be launched until middle of September.
U-99 sinks 2 British steamers 50 miles off the North coast of Ireland. At 1.38 AM, Jamaica Progress (2179 tons of fruit from Jamaica) is sunk with 7 lives lost. 17 survivors reach Barra in the Outer Hebrides in lifeboats while 25 crew members plus 1 gunner and 4 passengers are picked up by British trawler Newland and landed at Fleetwood, England. http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/440.html At 1.24 PM, British steamer Jersey City in convoy OB-191 is sunk (2 killed). 43 crew are picked up by British steamer Gloucester City, transferred to destroyer HMS Walker and landed at Liverpool. http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/441.html U-99 is depth charged by the escorts but is undamaged. Another attack on convoy OB-191 is foiled by a flying boat which bombs U-99, again without damage.
Off Harwich, British destroyer HMS Whitshed hits a mine head on and loses most of the bows. She is towed to Harwich stern first by destroyer HMS Wild Swan. HMS Whitshed will undergo repairs at Chatham until 21 December.
German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin sinks British steamer Domingo De Larringa in the South Atlantic 1000 miles east of Pernambuco, Brazil. 8 crew are killed & 30 taken prisoner (1 crewman Juan Garcia will die in Milag Nord PoW Camp and is buried in Becklingen War Cemetery).
British submarine HMS Spearfish departs Rosyth to patrol off the Norwegian coast.
Date: 31 July 1940
Enemy action by day
Enemy activity was on a reduced scale; this may have been partly due to the lack of cloud cover when operations were attempted on the South Coast, but it was also noteworthy that enemy aircraft not infrequently turned away as soon as our fighters were sent to intercept. Successful interceptions, however, were made, resulting in one Ju88 and one Do215 being regarded as probable casualties off Dungeness and the Isle of Wight respectively, and one Me109 being shot down near Dover.
South and South West
Reconnaissances of shipping took place off the Cornish coast eastwards to the Straits. A "special" convoy was particularly investigated, and, as an addition to the escort, two extra sections were detailed to reinforce, resulting in the Do215 being shot down (unconfirmed) by No 1 Squadron (Hurricanes). Later, a raid of fifteen aircraft approached Dover and in the subsequent combat No 74 Squadron shot down one Me109, but we lost two Spitfires. No 64 Squadron, also detailed to intercept, did not make contact.
South East
At 0635 hours a raid appeared off Berck and made for Dungeness, it was intercepted by No 111 Squadron (Hurricanes). At 1700 hours the Dover Balloon Barrage was attacked. Various other raids originating in the Calais-Gris Nez areas approached, but as in previous days, turned away on seeing our fighters. At no time did these aircraft come nearer than 5 to 10 miles off the English coast.
East
At about 0615 hours a raid approached a convoy off Harwich without attacking it but bombs are reported to have been dropped near four ships off Lowestoft and near a naval unit in Yarmouth Roads. Three sections despatched at various times failed to make contact.
North and North-East
Activity in this area was confined to three meteorological flights off the North Scottish coast.
France
Numerous tracks were plotted off Cherbourg, Calais and Boulogne, but only a small proportion ventured far from the French Coast.
By night
Enemy activity has been on a heavy scale and raids occurred in most parts of the country south and east of a line Liverpool to Newcastle.
Minelaying appeared to be the object from Berwick to the Thames Estuary and about fifty aircraft appear to have been involved. Very few raids appeared to cross inland in these areas. One enemy aircraft is reported shot down into the sea at about 0015 hours by No 29 Squadron (Blenheims), between North Coates and Spurn Head.
Many raids proceeded from the Channel Islands and Cherbourg, crossing the coast and proceeding north and west to the South Wales area. Bombs are reported at Monk Nash, south-east of Swansea. An unplotted raid appeared from the west over Milford Haven.
A procession of raids, which appeared to emanate from Le Havre area, crossed the coast between Beachy Head and Shoreham, and proceeded to the Thames area. There are reports of bombing at north-east of Hornchurch near Shoeburyness, Southminster, near Southend, near Brentwood, Rochester, Croydon, Rochford, near Gravesend, near Ipswich, near Wattisham and near Martlesham.
One hostile raid first appeared south of Liverpool as a sound plot and passed south via Bristol Channel over the coast in the Portland area. Another hostile raid was first plotted flying west of Liverpool Bay. Only a few plots were obtained of this raid.
Addendum
It has since been reported by Headquarters Balloon Command that one aircraft attacked with machine-gun fire, balloons in south-east London between 2200 and 2212 hours on 30 July, 1940. Balloons were flying at operational height in 10/10th clod. One balloon was brought down by enemy action. No personnel casualties reported.
________________________________________
Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 31 July 1940
Casualties:
Patrols:
Balloons:
Aerodromes:
Organisation:
Air Intelligence Reports
Home Security Reports
$108,000 headed for the Federal Reserve taken. That is a huge robbery. I wonder if they were ever caught.
If we were in WW II today, the democratic party and our current president would be firmly on the side of Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini.
Impossible to imagine Hitler's response to a US President Barrack Hussein Obama.
Hitler already considered America a "mongrel nation," and did I not hear recently the President referred to himself with that word?
But in Hitler's mind, regardless of any later conversion to Christianity, since Obama was born of a Muslim father, he is Muslim, period, and so potentially highly admired by Hitler for antisemitic reasons.
That Obama could cotton to Hitler is also impossible to imagine.
By any reasonable standard, Obama is simply FDR Jr. and like his political "father," would naturally gravitate toward that other great International Socialist dictator, "Uncle Joe" Stalin.
With Stalin and Hitler still official allies in 1940, that would certainly be enough to keep a President Obama, like FDR, out of Europe's war.
Also consider: in 1940, the American people were nearly 100% sympathetic with the western allies and appalled by Hitler's successes and atrocities.
Americans hugely supported being the "Arsenal of Democracy," since it generally meant full US employment paid for by the Brits -- what could be sweeter after a decade of Great Depression?
But there were, as yet, no prominent political voices calling for the US to declare war on Germany, and the vast majority of Americans just did not want to get us suckered into another "foreign war" -- as President Wilson had done in 1917.
Net result: with Obama as with FDR, the US would stand by and watch as Hitler's armies conquered more and more of Europe.
Serious concern would not begin until Hitler eventually turned on his erstwhile ally, Uncle Joe. ;-)
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