Posted on 10/21/2010 5:08:48 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/f21oct40.htm
Churchill encourages French resistance
Monday, October 21, 1940 www.onwar.com
From London... Prime Minister Churchill makes a broadcast in French directed two the radio audience in France. He speaks contemptuously of the threatened invasion of Britain and suggests that Hitler is plotting to subjugate all of France. Meanwhile, the government introduces the Purchase Tax.
From Rome... The Italian Navy organizes a new command — the Maritrafalba — to escort convoys from Brindisi and Bari to Albania, in preparation for an invasion of Greece.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/21.htm
October 21st, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM:
Battle of Britain:
Liverpool: The city suffers its 200th air raid.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 6; RAF, 0.
Eggs go up in price to 4/- a dozen, and purchase tax on all goods except food and children’s clothes comes into operation.
London: Churchill broadcasts to the French people, calling for their help against “Hitler and Hitlerism.”
RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: During a roving commission 218 Squadron bomb a supply convoy of 14 ships with three E-boats escorting. One ships is sunk with a direct hit.
Blackpool: The first high-altitude flight by the Vickers Wellington V reaches 20,000 feet.
London: [via US Embassy]
Secret and Personal for the President from Former Naval Person [Churchill]:
We hear rumours from various sources that the Vichy Government are preparing their ships and colonial troops to aid the Germans against us. I do not myself believe these reports, but if the French fleet at Toulon were turned over to Germany it would be a very heavy blow. It would certainly be a wise precaution, Mr. President, if you would speak in the strongest terms to the French Ambassador emphasising the disapprobation with which the United States would view such a betrayal of the cause of democracy and freedom. They will pay great heed in Vichy to such a warning.
GERMANY: U-157 is laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
SPAIN: RFSS Himmler visits El Escorial (former country home of the kings of Spain) where he lays a wreath on the tomb of José Antonio Primo de Rivera. He later visits Toledo. (Russ Folsom)
RED SEA: Convoy BN7 is attacked by Italian destroyers from Massawa. The escorts, including New Zealand cruiser HMS Leander and the destroyer HMS Kimberley, drive destroyer ‘Francesco Nullo’ ashore with their gunfire.
Shortly after dawn, the NULLO was overtaken by the KIMBERLY and two other vessels just outside Massawa. The NULLO and the KIMBERLY had at it again, this time engaging in a one-hour gun battle in which the handicapped Italian destroyer came out much the worse. The NULLO was left dead in the water and sinking, but had meanwhile managed to work its way in under the protection of Harmil Island in the Massawa channel. Here the Italians had established a naval 76-mm battery (the smaller of the two types of shore-based antiaircraft guns generally employed by the Italian Navy, both capable of a dual-purpose role). As the KIMBERLY closed in to finish off its Italian adversary with a torpedo, the gunners on Harmil Island engaged it, scoring a hit which temporarily stopped the British destroyer (although it had to be towed back to Port Sudan by its companion vessels, the damage to the British ship proved to be minor). While the British departed, the NULLO sank. The destroyer’s captain, Lt-Commander Borsini, chose to go down with his ship. When his faithful orderly, seaman Ciaravolo, saw his commander still on the bridge, he reportedly jumped out of the lifeboat he was in and swam back to the NULLO to share his captain’s fate. (Mike Yaklich)
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Jonquil commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 417 October 21, 1940
Battle of Britain Day 104. Typical British Autumn weather (clouds, fog and drizzle) restricts Luftwaffe to reconnaissance and numerous single aircraft raids, mainly from 11 AM to 2 PM. Fog on the ground prevents many RAF squadrons from taking off in response. As a result, there is bombing of London, Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Sussex and Kent. 1 Ju88 bomber is shot down and RAF loses no fighters. Dover is shelled again from 2-4 PM but most of the 6 shells do not explode. British motor torpedo boat MTB-17 hits a mine and sinks off Ostend. Minesweeping trawler HMS Waveflower hits a mine and sinks off Alderburgh, Suffolk (15 dead, 7 rescued by another minesweeping trawler HMS Thomas Leeds). London, Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Liverpool and South Wales are bombed heavily until 1 AM.
At 2.19 AM, in the Red Sea, Italian destroyers Manin, Sauro, Battisti & Nullo, from Massawa in Italian-held Eritrea, attack convoy BN-7 from Bombay. New Zealand cruiser HMNZS Leander and other convoy escorts drive the Italian destroyers away. Italian destroyer Nullo is badly damaged by shellfire from British destroyer HMS Kimberley & Australian sloop HMAS Yarra. Nullo is chased back towards base at Massawa by HMS Kimberley but runs aground on nearby Hormi Island (and is later destroyed by British bombing). HMS Kimberley is hit by shore guns at Massawa (3 wounded).
That the Italians could conduct such a sophisticated and lengthy bombing run in 1940 is just amazing.
Date: 21st October 1940
Enemy action by day
Enemy activity was on a small scale. During the morning and early afternoon a series of raids, mostly of single aircraft, approached the London area. A few raids were also plotted to the Midlands and Liverpool. Many of our aerodromes were unserviceable early owing to weather conditions, but fighters were able to take off from Kenley, Biggin Hill, Tangmere and Speke after 1100 hours. Low clouds made interception difficult.
Our fighters destroyed one enemy, plus three damaged. Harwich AA destroyed one. We suffered no loss.
South East
From 0700 to 1100 hours about eight single aircraft entered the triangle North Foreland - Hornchurch - Beachy Head, the majority flying to the Estuary. One crossed South and West London.
Between 1100 and 1400 hours activity increased, approximately 60 raiders flying from between Calais and Le Havre northwards to London, a few continuing on to Bedford, Northampton, Duxford and Cambridge.
After 1500 hours activity decreased and only a few raids were plotted in the Straits. Two flew to the Kenley-Biggin Hill districts.
South and West
In the morning two raids entered the Liverpool area, one of which flew on to Blackburn and returned over Derby. Several single aircraft entered the Midlands.
In the afternoon one enemy aircraft flew over Portsmouth to Gloucester then turned South and was destroyed near Old Sarum.
Later on occasional raid was plotted in the Bristol Channel-South Wales area.
Night Operations - 21st/22nd October 1940
Activity on a considerable scale was concentrated on London, the Midlands and Liverpool areas. Irregularity of communications between some stations affected the reports of plottings over the eastern part of the South Coast after 2230 hours.
1900 Hours to 2100 Hours
The first raiders crossed the coast at about 1900 hours, and during this period 39 left Dieppe, 8 Baie de la Seine and 5 Cherbourg. Approximately half of these flew to London, 14 to Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton, and the remainder to Liverpool and South Wales area.
2100 Hours to 0100 Hours 22/10/40
12 raids from Cherbourg concentrated on the industrial Midlands and Liverpool until 2300 hours, when activity to these areas appeared to cease. 16 raids were plotted from France, and 25 from Holland, via the Estuary, to London; approximately 6 raids from Denmark flew in over Yorkshire (one visiting Sheffield) and on to the Preston and Barrow areas.
0100 Hours to 0300 Hours
There were no raids in the midlands and fog restricted activity in the South East. 18 raids from Holland flew to the Thames, some proceeding to London, others probably minelaying. Three raids were plotted from Denmark to Yorkshire, on to Preston and Barrow, and back.
0300 Hours to 0600 Hours
All incoming raids ceased at 0300 hours and London was clear after 0400 hours, but at 0410 hours, 6 raiders flew from Brittany over Devon, Somerset and the Bristol Channel to Cardiff and Swansea, returning at 0545 hours. Two reconnaissance flights were plotted from Ostend to Harwich and back between 0430 and 0600 hours.
________________________________________
Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 21st October 1940
Casualties:
| Enemy Losses | ||
| By Fighters – By Day | ||
| Destroyed | Probable | Damaged |
| 1 Ju88 | 1 Ju88 | |
| 1 Do17 | ||
| 1 Do215 | ||
| 1 | Nil | 3 |
| By Anti-Aircraft | ||
| 1 Do17 | ||
| 1 | Nil | Nil |
Patrols:
Balloons:
Serviceability of Aerodromes:
Organisation:
Air Intelligence Reports:
Home Security Reports
Click cover to read.
I also notice that all these nations don’t pay much attention to other countries airspace. Italy flies over neutral Saudi Arabia to hit Bahrain. Britain flies over neutral Switzerland to hit Northern Italy. I’m wondering if air power is still young enough that the political aspects of it is even further behind the strategic doctrine which is being developed as we speak.
The Fascists probably didn’t care if they couldn’t be shot at. Don’t know about the British.
The times ran a story sometime during the summer (and posted on the thread for that day) about the Germans complaining to the Swiss about allowing the RAF to use their air space on their way to bomb Italy. The complaint took the form of a threat to treat the Swiss as non-neutral.
I remember that. It really seems to cut both ways at this time. No one really respects air space yet and will readily fly over a neutral if they don’t think they will get shot at in the process.
BBC France - Winston Churchill to France Part 1
There’s a story that Eisenhower was privately delighted with the Soviets launching Sputnik as that established for him his wanted ‘Open Skies’ policy.
One version of that story is here: http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/stories/sputnik-crisis.htm
A lot of people don’t realize that it was Eisenhower who started the space race. Kennedy is often given credit for that in the light of revisionist history, but it was actually Ike who called for the founding of NASA and the accelerated plan for space sciences. Kennedy just picked up the ball and ran with it after Ike was out of office.
Interesting link by the way. Thanks.
Ike was a great President.
JFK ran on for the presidency a supposed missile gap we suffered vis-a-vis the Soviets. That was a campaign ploy that worked and was parlayed into the, IMO, wasteful Apollo program.
In a class I took called “Great Leaders” we had to chose one leader and take a “ride” with that leader during the entire 16 week class. I knew for certain that several people would want to take Patton and Sherman so I decided to go a different direction. After at first toying with the idea of choosing Heinz Guderian, I decided on Ike because it would allow me to examine a great military and political leader simultaneously. The one thing that surprised me in that class was that of 20 people excluding myself, 19 chose generals for their leader and one chose a political leader (Churchill). Not a single air leader (Arnold, Mitchell, Spaatz) or naval leader (Farragut, Nimitz, Jones) was chosen at all. I found that very interesting and wondered if this fell back on my point that naval, and especially air engagements are so nebulous as to become less memorable.
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