Posted on 10/14/2010 5:17:41 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Plus a special guest map from Michael Korda’s, “With Wings Like Eagles,” showing the air defenses of England and Wales, August 1940.
Winston S. Churchill, Their Finest Hour
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/oct40/f14oct40.htm
British bomb Berlin
Monday, October 14, 1940 www.onwar.com
Over Germany... RAF bombers raid Berlin.
Over Britain... About 240 German aircraft conduct a raid on London.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/14.htm
October 14th, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM: Battle of Britain: At night London suffers its heaviest raid thus far. Coventry is also bombed.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 4; RAF, 0.
Destroyer HMS Belvoir is laid down.
Submarine HMS P-39is laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
VICHY FRANCE: Married women are banned from jobs in public services.
GERMANY: Daily Keynote from the Reich Press Chief:
The British raids on Berlin (or other German territory) should not be presented in such an exaggerated form that the reader is bound to get the impression that half of Berlin has been destroyed. But by the same token, the destruction in London should not be depicted so as to suggest that London has already been razed to the ground: in each case the possibility of intensified attacks must be preserved.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: As the fleet heads for Alexandria, cruiser HMS Liverpool is badly damaged by a torpedo hit from Italian aircraft.
FAR EAST: American fuel stocks are moved from Shanghai and Hong Kong to Singapore.
U.S.A.: The Department of State announces that the U.S. passenger liners SS Monterey, SS Mariposa, and SS Washington are being sent to the Far East to repatriate American citizens from that region in view of prevailing “abnormal conditions” there. This move is made because of the shortage of accommodations on the ships already engaged in the Far East trade. SS Monterey is to go to Yokohama, Japan, and Shanghai, China while SS Mariposa will proceed to Shanghai and Chinwangtao, China, and Kobe, Japan. (Jack McKillop)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-137 damages HMS Cheshire. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 410 October 14, 1940
Battle of Britain Day 97. Clouds and rain limit flying to reconnaissance over the English Channel, Straits of Dover and Thames Estuary and isolated raids on the English coast (from East Anglia to Portsmouth, Hampshire). No British or German aircraft are lost. Anti-submarine trawler HMT Lord Stamp hits a mine and sinks off Dorset in the English Channel (25 lives lost). Overnight, London is bombed as well as Birmingham, Coventry, Liverpool, Blackburn and Preston. At 8.02 PM, a 1400kg armour piercing bomb hits Balham Tube Station, part of the London Underground, which is being used as an air raid shelter. Fractured water mains and sewers flood the Station killing 66 civilians but over 500 escape from shoulder-high water in darkness.
British Mediterranean Fleet is returning from Malta to Alexandria. Aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious detaches to launch air strikes against the Italian Dodecanese island of Leros (now part of Greece), escorted by cruisers HMS Gloucester & Liverpool and 4 destroyers. The group then heads for Alexandria. At 6.55 PM, 50 miles South of Crete, an Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM79 bomber hits cruiser HMS Liverpool with a torpedo, causing an explosion in the aviation fuel store which blows off her bow (30 crew killed, 35 wounded). Liverpool will be towed to Alexandria and then sail with a false bow across the Pacific Ocean to California to be repaired, not returning to service until December 1941.
At 9.28 PM, 100 miles Northwest of Ireland, British armed merchant cruiser HMS Cheshire is hit by one torpedo from U-137, but does not sink. 220 crew members are taken off by Canadian destroyer HMCS Skeena and British corvette HMS Periwinkle. HMS Cheshire will be beached at Belfast and then taken to Liverpool for repairs lasting 6 months. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/2068.html
German armed merchant cruiser Orion stops and scuttles Norwegian steamer Ringwood in the Pacific 600 miles Northwest of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea (35 crew and 1 cat taken prisoner). http://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/orion.html
More sparring and jabbing between the Italian Navy and the Royal Navy. The RN still has the upper hand over the Italians, but the torpedo hit on HMS Liverpool is an Italian success. Italian land-based air power was never able to assert itself against the British Mediterranean Fleet. This is contrary to the experience of the British off Norway, and counter to the later Japanese experience in the South Pacific.
Destroyed in air raid 26 March 1942
>>>Destroyer HMS Belvoir is laid down.
They got their money's worth. In addition to normal escort duty and offshore fire support, there were several incidents it rescued hundreds of survivors from sunk ships.
B a t t l e H o n o u r s SICILY 1943 - SALERNO 1943 - AEGEAN 1943 - SOUTH FRANCE 1944 - ADRIATIC 1944
Date: 14th October 1940
Enemy action by day
Enemy activity, which was on a small scale, consisted of scattered raids by individual aircraft and one attack by a formation of 34 bombers in the Portsmouth area. Hostile patrols and reconnaissances were maintained in the Channel and Straits of Dover. Our fighters damaged 3 enemy aircraft, without loss to themselves.
North-East and East
At 1015 hours a raid of 1+ originating from the Dutch Islands flew up the Blackwater and penetrated inland as far as St Albans. A few isolated raids crossed the East Anglian Coast and reconnoitred aerodromes. Between 1500 and 17100 hours three reconnaissance flights were plotted over Kirton-in-Lindsay.
South-East
From 1015 hours onwards small raids crossed the Coast between Selsey Bill and the Thames Estuary and penetrated inland. During the morning some 45 raids were plotted, but after 1300 hours less than 20 raids crossed the Coast. Isolated aircraft penetrated inland as far as London, Hatfield, Aylesbury, Upper Heyford, and in some cases to the South Midlands.
South and South-West
Apart from isolated raids during the morning, the only attack of any strength occurred at 1635 hours when 34 enemy aircraft, identified as Dorniers, flying at 20,000 ft flew to Selsey Bill, where thy split, one formation to the Portsmouth area, and the remainder fanned out over an area about 12 miles inland. By 1645 hours these raids had turned back towards France.
Reconnaissances
At 0645 hours the first reconnaissance flight was plotted in the Straits. Slight activity continued in the Channel, the Straits and the Thames Estuary throughout the day.
Night Operations - 14th / 15th October 1940
Enemy activity was on a reduced scale and was concentrated chiefly on London, but Birmingham and Coventry were also attacked, and a few raids were active over East Anglia. The first raids were plotted leaving the Dutch Islands at 1830 hours, and the Somme at 1850 hours.
1900 Hours to 2100 Hours
About 27 raids from the Dutch Islands entered the Thames Estuary and crossed the Coast between Shoeburyness and Orfordness. The majority flew over London from the north, but a few appeared to be active over East Anglia. About 40 raids from the direction of the Somme and Fecamp Crossed the Coast between Shoreham and Dungeness and flew to the London area. Raids from the Channel Islands crossed the Coast between Poole and Portland and flew to the Birmingham and Coventry areas. Isolated raids were plotted over Liverpool, Blackburn and Preston.
2100 Hours to 2300 Hours
About 6 raids came in from the Dutch Islands, but after 2200 hours no fresh raids originated from this area. About 30 raids from the French Coast between Dieppe and the Somme area crossed between Shoreham and Dungeness. London was still the main target, but raids continued to cross between Portland and Poole and fly to Birmingham and Coventry. Slight activity was noticeable in East Anglia.
2300 Hours to 0100 Hours 15.10.40
Reduced activity from the French Coast continued towards London, and a few raids were still being plotted towards Birmingham. Isolated raids appeared over Peterborough, Wittering and East Anglia.
0100 Hours to 0400 Hours
After 0100 hours incoming raids concentrated on London and the South-East, and from 0230 hours the rest of the Country was clear.
0400 Hours to 0600 Hours
Solitary raids from the French Coast continued to London until 0533 hours, when the Country was clearing of raiders.
________________________________________
Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 14th October 1940
Casualties:
| Enemy Losses | ||
| By Fighters | ||
| Destroyed | Probable | Damaged |
| 2 Ju88 | ||
| 1 Do17 | ||
| Nil | Nil | 3 |
Patrols:
Balloons:
Serviceability of Aerodromes:
Organisation:
Home Security Reports
Click cover to read
Long before we went to war with Japan..
I did not know this an issue before the war.
There is really a long history of discrimination and racism between Asians and Americans in general. I could go back to the issues during the gold rush or even earlier, but to keep things more timely I’ll just throw out these more recent events.
Japan and American relations have been tense from the end of the First World War when Japan was given mandate over the Pacific islands that were Germany’s. U.S. military leadership was very much against this since they felt this put Japan astride their communications routes to the Philippines as well as China and Australia.
This hostility was not centered only on military of political lines though. In 1924 Congress infuriated the Japanese when they passed an immigration law that completely excluded Asians from the allowable immigrant rolls. You can see from the article too the prevailing racial strife between whites and Japanese in that there are laws on the books the disallow marriage between the races and discrimination on land ownership. In Hawaii, the concern was more towards sabotage by people living on the island of Japanese heritage than even the threat of attack. General Short will believe this to his own downfall.
Once war broke out it only took an existing condition and made it worse. We all know about the Japanese interment camps that we had during the war. What many do not know was that these camps were set up and initially administered by Milton Eisenhower, Dwight’s brother, at FDR’s request.
I have some personal hearsay, if that's not an oxymoron, on this subject. Several years ago I was visiting with my father's younger sister and getting her to share memories of the war years. She allowed as how my father exhibited speech and attitude towards the Nisei community in their part of eastern Oregon that would now be considered terribly intolerant. Or, as my aunt more frankly put it, "He hated the Japs even before the war. It was like he had a premonition."
It is more likely he held the prevailing view of his caucasion peers.
In a few years I may be posting images of his V-mail letters home from New Guinea in which he speaks of the people native to that land in a similarly disrespectful manner
I’m looking forward to reading those letters by the way. I would bet that if he wasn’t hostile against the Japanese before he was afterward. My Grandfather who was one of Merrel’s Marauders was one of the most neighborly people you would ever meet, but he had zero patience for Asian people. I didn’t really get it when I was younger, it was just strange the change in grandpa’s attitude.
That would be great - My father did not speak so highly either of the natives in New Guinea (when he did speak of them). He was almost killed there -
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