Posted on 12/18/2009 4:40:24 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601391218,00.html
TIME Magazine — U.S. Edition — December 18, 1939 Vol. XXXIV No. 25
The Battle of the River Plate is one of New Zealand’s proudest military achievements.
The HMNZS Achilles was a New Zealand ship (transfered from the Royal Navy) with a 60% New Zealand crew.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,763094,00.html
Monday, Dec. 18, 1939
AT SEA: Churchill v. Chain Belt
Mass production of U-boats for Ger many was described last week in Berlin’s authoritative Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, with the implication that production would soon be one per day. “Every shipyard in Germany suitable for submarine building has been pressed into service,” said the article. “Furthermore, only the hulls are constructed in yards, while all internal equipment, superstructure, armaments and the like are built in the interior of the country. The time required for construction, from keel-laying to commissioning, is therefore extremely short. . . . A sufficient number of reserve crews has already been trained so that there are no difficulties on the delivery of the new vessels.”
Day of this article’s publication, Winston Churchill arose in the House of Commons to give his fourth war review as First Lord of the Admiralty. With his usual dry punch he declared : “The destruction of U-boats is proceeding normally . . . between two and four a week. . . .
“When I see statements that the Germans during 1940 will have as many as 400 U-boats in commission and that they are producing these vessels by a chain-belt system, I wonder if they are producing the U-boat captains and crews by a similar method. If so, it seems likely that our rate of destruction might well undergo a similar expansion.”
Mr. Churchill revealed that 1,000 British merchantmen have been armed to shoot in self-defense at U-boats, that “before long” 2,000 will be so armed. He pointed out that torpedo attack from beneath the surface “can only be delivered at a quarter of the speed that is possible to U-boats on the surface.” Not all naval experts would agree. But of convoyed ships declared the First Lord, “less than one in 750 has been sunk.”
Convoys can go no faster than their slowest members. Mr. Churchill said that the system has now been speeded by instituting “slow” and “fast” convoys, so that wallowing tramps do not hold up the parade.* He pointed out that while losses of British merchant shipping declined in October to half the tonnage lost in September, and again in November to two-thirds of October, neutrals last month lost four times what they lost in September. This, he said, “is indeed a strange kind of warfare for the German Navy to engage in. When driven off the shipping of their declared enemy, they console themselves by running amuck among the shipping of neutral nations. This fact should encourage neutrals to charter their ships to Great Britain for the duration of the war, when they can be sure of making larger profits than they ever made in peace, and have complete guarantee against loss.” He said Britain’s total tonnage loss for three months was 340,000, offset by 280,000 tons transferred from other flags (exclusive of charters), captured or built new. Net loss: 60,000 tons out of a grand total of 21,000,000 tons. For every 1,000 British tons sunk, 110,000 tons reached British ports and nearly 140,000 tons went out, a ratio of 250-to-1.
France’s Naval Minister Cesar Campinchi last week declared: “German attacks by means of mines may already be considered broken.” First Lord of the Admiralty Churchill was not so sanguine. He could not say that the magnetic mine was beaten, only that “many variants are being developed and applied as interim measures before full scientific treatment can be given to this problem.” He said that the magnetic mine, “neither new or mysterious,” perhaps was Herr Hitler’s “much vaunted secret weapon. It is certainly a characteristic weapon and one that will forever be associated with his name” (a prod at Hitler’s well-known concern about what history will say about him). “In the third month of the war, neutral losses from mines have been twice as great as the British losses and neutral losses of all kinds one-third greater than belligerent losses. ... As far as the sea war is concerned, German friendship has proved far more poisonous than German enmity.”
Word that Germany plans to encircle Britain completely with a monster mining campaign was countered by word that Britain will enlist 100.000 men if necessary in a monster mine-sweeping campaign. The Admiralty last week declared “sea defensive areas” in the waters around Portsmouth, the Thames Estuary, Firth of Forth, Orkney and Shetland Islands. This measure was announced after a fresh flurry of sinkings—mostly by U-boat torpedoes—had furnished what Berlin called an “accompaniment” to Mr. Churchill’s speech. Three ships went down one day, four another, five another, four the next—to a total of 24 (eleven British) for the war’s fourteenth week. Including German submarine crews, the week’s sea dead were about 400. Survivors of the Dutch Tajandoen had to race in their lifeboats to escape from blazing oil. Then their rescuer, the Belgian Louis Sheid, went aground and broke up.
British air pilots claimed fatal bomb hits on two submarines, including one which had managed to cripple (but not sink) the new destroyer Jersey. Another pilot was fairly sure of having hurt a third U-boat. There is no sure way to tell that a submarine has been fatally damaged. An old U-boat trick to escape further attack is to expel oil and fake “wreckage” from a container specially loaded for this purpose.
> The German armed liner Windhuk, which slipped out of Lobito, Angola last month (TIME, Dec. 4), arrived at Santos, Brazil flying Japan’s flag and renamed Santos Maru—which her crew painted out after making port. Neutral Brazil sealed Windhuk’’s radio room.
> When the Polish submarine Orzel (”Vulture”) got through Germany’s minefields in October and joined the British fleet, first thing her 19-year-old commander said when he went aboard the receiving British ship was: “Well, here we are. When do we start work?” Last week the Admiralty announced that the French-built Polish submarine Wilk (”Wolf”) had also escaped from the Baltic and had reported for duty.
*The carrying capacity of Allied meat ships will be increased (by 1,500,000 lb. from the Argentine alone) by slaughtering and dressing at the source of supply to eliminate some 40% of the animals’ weight not eaten.
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1939/dec39/f18dec39.htm
Bomber Command abandons daylight raids
Monday, December 18, 1939 www.onwar.com
In Germany... The battle of the Heligoland Bight takes place as 50 German Me109 and Me110 fighters intercept and destroy 12 of 22 British Wellington bombers dispatched on an armed reconnaissance mission to Wilhelmshaven — 4 fighters are destroyed. As a result, RAF Bomber Command abandons daylight raids until April 1940.
In Berlin... Hitler meets Quisling again and promises German financial support in return for any assistance rendered to the German Armed Forces High Command.
From London... Commodore Harwood — victor of the Battle of the River Plate — is promoted to Rear-Admiral.
In Argentina... The 1039 officers and men of the Admiral Graf Spee are interned in Buenos Aires.
In Washington... The US Navy promises to send 40 planes to Finland
In the Winter War... The main Soviet attacks against the Mannerheim Line, around Summa, continues. There is renewed Soviet bombing of Helsinki and shelling of coastal batteries.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/18.htm
December 18th, 1939
UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: ‘Security Patrols’ - Hornum - Borkum. 51 Sqn. Two aircraft. Medium to severe opposition. 77 Sqn. Four aircraft. Three enemy aircraft seen but these did not attack. 102 Sqn. Four aircraft. One machine-gunned lights at Hornum.
In the morning 24 Vickers Wellington bombers of 9, 37 and 149 Squadrons took off to patrol the mouth of the Weser River, Wilhelmshaven and the Jade Bay, and to bomb every German war vessel sighted at sea. Shortly after 1:00 P.M. the report of intruding enemy aircraft was carried by the German Freya radar on the island of Wangerooge, to the command post of the German fighter wing in Jever, but it was interpreted as an observer error. The alarm was only sounded a few minutes later, when a second Freya radar report confirmed the first. For the first time, fighter aircraft were successfully guided to an enemy unit by radar, with the support of radiotelephony. The German 10 Squadron of the 26th Fighter Group under First Lieutenant Steinhoff, was the first to reach the bombers: “We could not have wished for better weather for our first encounter with the RAF. A fair-weather fog layer along the ground surmounted by a blue cloudless sky with clear long distance visibility.” The English flew in compact formations, at an altitude of about 11,375 feet, past the German island of Heligoland, and set a heading for Jade Bay and Wilhelmshaven under fire from the Heligoland naval batteries. Airman First Class Helmayer made the first kill: “He must have been an old hand. Each time he banked opposite us at the moment we opened fire, and our gun bursts hissed away past the target. We were on our fourth attack - range 2,000 feet - 1,600 feet - 1,300 feet - 1,000 - then came a thud, a hiss, hits in our own aircraft, a blow to my left arm. But at the same time we saw that our assault had been successful. The Wellington was burning and crashed into the sea. We saw the impact point, the oil slick. Our cockpit was smoking and there was a smell of gunpowder. I saw splashes of blood from the wound in my left arm.”
The air battle lasted no more than half an hour. Shortly after 3.00 P.M. the remains of the bomber unit had flown outside German fighter cover. 12 Wellingtons were lost and three made forced landings. The RAF claimed four German fighters from a mix of Me 109s and Me 110s.
Destroyer HMS Heythorp laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY: Berlin: Hitler promises Vidkun Quisling money in return for helping a German invasion of Norway.
The German News Bureau reported: “The English undertook a large scale aerial assault, using 44 of the most up-to-date aircraft, The enemy unit tried to raid various points along the North Sea coast, but was scattered by Messerschmidt Me 109 German fighters north of Heligoland while it was still making its approach. Several stubborn aerial fights took place over the German Bay. In the process, 34 British aircraft were shot down, according to reports received so far. This number does not include losses which the remnant of the planes in all probability suffered on their return flight. Debris from shotdown English planes has already washed ashore on the German isles. The crews of two British aircraft have been taken prisoner. Only a few enemy planes succeeded in penetrating as far as Wilhelmshaven. Here they came under concentrated Flak fire and released 3 random bombs which fell onto the field without effect.
On the German side two aircraft have been lost; their crews got out by parachute.”
U-85, U-374 laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: Washington: The US Navy agrees to send 43 Brewster F2A-1 Buffalo (Brewster Model B-239) fighter aircraft to Finland. (Jack McKillop)
btt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Heligoland_Bight_(1939)
Battle of the Heligoland Bight (1939)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Date 18 December 1939
Location Heligoland Bight and North Sea, Germany
Result Tactical German victory
British and German strategic failure
The Battle of the Heligoland Bight was the first named air battle of the Second World War, which began the longest air campaign of the war, the Defense of the Reich.[1] Just over 100 aircraft (80 German and 22 British) on both sides participated, not all engaging the enemy.
Tactically the Germans inflicted more damage on the Royal Air Force than the Luftwaffe received, but its influence on both sides’ future strategy was profound. The battle forced the RAF to abandon daylight missions in favour of night bombing, but it also led the Luftwaffe to believe its base in Germany proper was invulnerable to enemy attack. This belief was reinforced with the Wehrmacht’s success in 1939–41. Neglecting their day fighter force had fatal strategic consequences in the years 1943–45.[1]
Contents
[edit] German defences
The Luftwaffe’s organisation for air defence went through a number of changes in the first months of the war. The defence of the north German ports and vital strategic targets was given to the local or nearest Luftverteidigungskommando. In this case the unit responsible for the protection of German warships of the Kriegsmarine was the Luftverteidigungskommando Hamburg.[1] The system was impractical. The Hamburg air defence district controlled both air and ground defences, but were geographically in no position to help one another. There was no combined arms synthesis, meaning that the Flak arm did not directly support the German defences thereby forming one mass defence. Instead, fighter units protecting the coast were held there, with Kriegsmarine flak units, while the Hamburg air defence artillery was held to far inland. The fighters and Luftwaffe flak units were located too far apart to coordinate.[2]
The defence coordination was not helped by the poor relations between the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine Commanders-in-Chief, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and Großadmiral Erich Raeder. A system that required both to work together produced cooperation difficulties.[2] A solution to this problem was twofold. Fighter units defending the north sea coast were subordinated to Luftgaukommando XI in Hannover. These fighter forces would function as an autonomous fighter commands, or Jagdfliegerführer. The position of this Fighter Command unit was given to Carl-August Schumacher, an Oberstleutnant and former commander of II./Jagdgeschwader 77. Schumacher had served in the Imperial German Navy at the Battle of Jutland as an officer cadet. It was hoped with his maritime background and easy personality it would ease the air and naval service cooperation.[2]
Nevertheless, Schumacher and his peers in the Navy were of the same rank, so each lacked authority over the other. Such an arrangement lacked the needed unity of command.[2]
[edit] Forces involved
Schumacher’s new command was designated Stab./Jagdgeschwader 1 (staff flight, fighter wing 1). Some called it JG Nord (North) or JG Schumacher. In addition to his newly equipped Geschwader (wing), he was given the Messerschmitt Bf 109D and E interceptors. The unit was also given some Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters. These latest types were only given to the defensive command over the offensive Luftflotten (Air Fleets) owing to the inactivity of the RAF or French Air Forces on the western front. Stab./JG 1 Controlled all the following gruppen (groups) which had a strength of 80 - 100 aircraft; II./Jagdgeschwader 77, II./TrGr 186, Jagdgeschwader 101, 10.Nacht./Jagdgeschwader 26, 1 staffel of I./Zerstörergeschwader 76, I./Jagdgeschwader 26. [2]
The British forces numbered just three squadrons of 22 Vickers Wellington bombers from No. 9 Squadron RAF, No. 37 Squadron RAF, No. 149 Squadron RAF.[2]
[edit] The battle
On the morning of the 18 December 1939, 24 Wellington bombers formed over King’s Lynn and started out over the North Sea. Two bombers turned back, one due to engine trouble, the other following the troubled bomber back to base. The weather was clear and perfect for fighter aircraft to spot enemy bombers. The bombers flew north past the Frisian Islands to avoid flak, then turned due south. Wing Commander Richard Kellett, commanding the formation, was ordered to attack at minimum altitude (about 3,000 metres (10,000 ft). The belief that the greatest danger would come from flak, not German fighters, had become part of RAF operational doctrine.[3]
The low flying method may have avoided the flak, but gave the German system, supported by Freyar radar stations, time to alter its aircraft defences. The poor administration of the German defence took time to get the information from their radar sites. Major Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp, commanding II./JG 77, stated that it was the naval Freya, rather than Luftwaffe early warning sites that gave the alert. Owing to this, the Wellingtons nearly made landfall without interception. The first shots were not traded until one hour after the Luftwaffe Freya made the initial report.[3]
Heavy flak fire from Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven was noted. Ships from Schillig Roads also opened fire. The formation engaged with machineguns to throw the gunners off. The Wellingtons dropped no bombs; Kellett had been ordered not to bomb ships close to land, to prevent injuring civilians. The formation headed north in two formations of 12 aircraft. At 14:30 local time, the German fighters attacked.[3]
Oberleutnant Johannes Steinhoff flying with 10.(Nacht).JG 26 and escorted by a Rotte from JG 77 attacked one group after the barrage. The Bf 109s claimed seven Wellingtons, Steinhoff claimed two. At 14:40 a rotte of Bf 110s from ZG 26 led by Hauptmann Wolfgang Falck claimed four bombers. Falck aircraft was severely damaged by the forcing him to make a crash landing. At the same time JGr 101 claimed two more Wellingtons. Bf 110s from ZG 76 assaulted the formation claiming five more. By 15:05 the other formation was beyond interception range and the German fighters returned to base.[3]
While the first formation was assaulted, the second came under attack from JG 1 and Oberstlt Schumacher. Elements II./JG 77 and ZG 76 also took part. The formation sustained severe losses, but Oberleutnant Johann Fuhrmann of 10(Nacht)./JG 26 was shot down and drowned.[4]
[edit] Aftermath
[edit] Overclaiming
The German fighter units heavily overclaimed enemy losses. German pilots claimed 38 Wellingtons shot down; only 22 Wellingtons took part in the mission, actual RAF losses were 12. The British rear gunners claimed 12 German fighters as well as another dozen severely damaged. Actual German losses were three plus many more damaged.[4]
[edit] Influence
The tactical assessment of both sides was radically different. On 22 December No. 3 Group RAF stated that the attack was a failure and casualties were a result of poor formation flying and leadership. Others[who?] maintained that poor beam defensive armament and self sealing fuel tanks were needed. Within a few weeks, a debate began on shifting air attacks to the cover of darkness.[5]
Tactically, the Germans noted the same lessons, particularly the poor beam defences of Wellington bombers. But the German report stated that the bomber’s rigid formation flying had worked in German favour, allowing them to choose the position and angle of attack. The German report regarded the attempt by the RAF to attack in clear conditions at altitudes of 3,000 to 5,000 metres (13,000 to 16,500 feet) as “criminal folly”.[5]
After the Polish Campaign the German General Staff had assessed the problems of leadership, tactics, command and control. But the Luftwaffe was too busy congratulating itself on its success rather than learning any operational lessons. The historian for the General Staff noted it was only exploited for propaganda despite the operational problems and warnings the battle had flagged for attacker and defender.[6]
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
* Caldwell, Donald; Muller Richard (2007). The Luftwaffe Over Germany: Defense of the Reich. Greenhill books. ISBN 978-1-85367-712-0.
* Hooton, E.R. (2007). Luftwaffe at War; Blitzkrieg in the West. London: Chervron/Ian Allen. ISBN 978-1-85780-272-6.
Another illusion shattered. I always thought this happened next summer, during the Battle of Britain.
Her skipper, Capt. Langsdorff committed suicide by shooting three days later in Buenos Aires.
The whole Graf Spee episode is fascinating and riveting from the beginning....from both a military and diplomatic aspect. What a great movie it would make!
One movie was made in '56 ("The Pursuit of the Graf Spee") but few remember it or even know a film was made. It wasn't all that good, anyhow.
I won't hold my breath on this. The latest and biggest news from Hollywood is that Pee Wee Herman is making a movie comeback.....so the future looks bleak, indeed.
Leni
We are learning all sorts of tidbits we didn't know before, aren't we?
Other Finnish troops simultaneously halt the offensive by the main force of the 122nd Division at Joutsijärvi.
Photo: SA-KUVA
Finnish troops defeat Russian regiment in Salla
Worth the wait, to say the least. Churchill's speech is a gem. He refuses to bow to non-English pronunciations. [E.G. Monty-video, Graf Spee rhymes (with ski).] Elmer Davis' report covers not only the Winter War but all the major stories we have been reading lately about. Inluding the RAF-Luftwaffe battle over Helgoland that is today's lead. He even reports on Churchill's speech from the other recording.
They lost 72 in that battle?
Wow.
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