Posted on 02/25/2010 6:09:48 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
Winston S. Churchill, The Gathering Storm
News of the Week in Review
Twenty News Questions – 15
War Still in Low Gear Except on Finn Front – 16-17
Strategic Map of Northern Europe – 18
Vatican Works for Future Peace – 19
Answers to Twenty News Questions – 20
Seabiscuit Equals Track Mark to win Santa Anita Stake* – 21
The New York Times Magazine “Lord Haw Haw,” by James B. Reston – 22-24
* See reply #5 from yesterday’s thread for the back story.
I forgot to include poor old Herbert Matthews to the author list. But he’s in there.
Out of the money. Sorry.
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/feb40/f25feb40.htm
Canadian flyers in Britain
Sunday, February 25, 1940 www.onwar.com
In Britain... The first squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) arrives in Britain.
In Copehagen... The Scandinavian foreign ministers reaffirm their countries’ neutrality.
In Rome... The American envoy Sumner Welles arrives at the start of his European peace mission.
In the North Atlantic... The Royal Navy ships Escort, Imogen and Inglefield and the submarine Narwhal sink a German U-boat off northwest Scotland.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/25.htm
February 25th, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM: Liverpool: The first battle squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force arrived in Britain today to join the RAF in the Allied cause against Hitler. They follow their fellow-countrymen from the army, who are already in Britain.
“The men come from coast to coast, from Nova Scotia to Vancouver. No fewer than 146 cities, town and villages in every province of the Dominion are represented,” said Squadron-Leader W D van Vliet, a first class rugby player and ice-hockey champion.” About 20% of them are French-Canadian, and they are all especially anxious to get to France.”
They were welcomed at the dockside by the Earl of Derby, who said to them: “ It is not for me to wish you a good time. What I shall do, if I may be pardoned the language, is to wish you as good a time as you can have, and I will wish the Boche what I know he will get - and that is a hell of a time.”
The Canadians lined up on the quayside - pilots, crewmen, gunners, fitters, riggers and cooks - were urged by their officers to cheer the Earl, though few appeared to have any idea who the elderly gentleman was.
(Jack McKillop adds): This was Number 110 (Army Co-operation) Squadron. The squadron was a former Auxiliary Active Air Force (AAAF) (US = Air Force Reserve) unit based at De Lesseps Aerodrome in Weston, Ontario outside of Toronto. When mobilized on 10 September 1939, the squadron was equipped with biplane training aircraft, e.g., de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moths and Fleet Fawn Mk Is. In December 1939, the squadron moved to Rockcliffe, Ontario and reequipped with Westland Lysander Mk IIs in preparation for overseas shipment; these aircraft were left in Canada when the unit departed for England.
The squadron departed Rockcliffe on 13 February 1940 and established a base at Old Sarum, Wiltshire, England on 26 February where they were again equipped with Lysander Mk IIs. The squadron began training with the intention of going to France with the Canadian 1st Division but the fall of France and the cessation of land operations in western Europe relegated the unit to a year and a half of waiting and training. On 1 March 1941, all squadrons under control of the RAF that had been formed under Article XV of the Commonwealth Air Training scheme were renumbered in a block between 400 and 499. This applied to Australian, Canadian and New Zealand units; RAAF units were renumbered 450 to 484; RCAF units were renumbered 400 to 449; and RNZAF units were renumbered 485 to 499. The RCAF’s No. 110 (Army Co-operation) Squadron was renumbered No. 400 (Army Co-operation) Squadron.
In March 1941, the squadron moved to Odiham, Hampshire and in April, they traded in their Lysanders for Curtiss Tomahawk Mk Is. On 6 November 1941, the squadron flew their first operational mission when two Tomahawks were dispatched from Odiham to fly a reconnaissance mission from Le Treport to Courtrai, France; unfortunately, there was insufficient cloud cover and the mission was aborted.
RAF Bomber Command: Leaflet raids on Berlin, Hanover, Hamburg, Bremen, Cuxhaven, Brunsbuttel, Kiel, Lubeck, Cologne and Rhineland. One aircraft forced to land in Belgium.
Corvette HMS Windflower laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
NORTH SEA: U-63 sunk in the North Sea south of the Shetland Islands, in position 58.40N, 00.10W, by depth charges and torpedoes from destroyers, HMS Escort, Inglefield and Imogen with submarine HMS Narwhal. 1 dead and 24 survivors. (Dave Shirlaw)
DENMARK: Copenhagen: The Scandinavian foreign ministers reaffirm their countries’ neutrality.
U.S.S.R.: Soviet submarine M-31 launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
ITALY: Rome: The American envoy Sumner Welles arrives at the start of his European peace mission.
GIBRALTAR: The unarmed U.S. freighter SS Exochorda is detained for several hours by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.A.: The first National Hockey League game, between the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens, is televised on station W2XBS, Channel 1, from Madison Square Garden in New York City. W2XBS is the National Broadcasting Company’s flagship station in New York City; it is now WNBC-TV, Channel 4. The Rangers won 6-2. The total TV audience is 300. (Jack McKillop and Dave Hornford)
CARIBBEAN SEA: Off Venezuela, the unarmed U.S. freighter SS West Camargo is stopped by an unidentified French cruiser off north coast of Venezuela; the French make to attempt to board but only request information “where from, where bound, and what cargo” before allowing the merchantman to proceed after a 20 minute delay. (Jack McKillop)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Norway/UK convoy HN14 is attacked. U-63 is sighted by escorting submarine HMS Narwhal and sent to the bottom by destroyers HMS Escort, HMS Imogen and HMS Inglefield.
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 178 February 25, 1940
At 7.55 AM, British submarine HMS Narwhal (escorting convoy HN-14 from Bergen, Norway to Methil, Scotland) sights U-63 on the surface, which then dives to avoid attack. Destroyers HMS Escapade, Escort, Inglefield & Imogen hunt U-63 for 2 hours, eventually forcing U-63 to the surface with depth charges at 9.50. U-63 is scuttled 100 miles East of Wick, Scotland (1 life lost). 24 survivors are picked up by HMS Inglefield & Imogen and landed at Leith, Scotland on Feb 27. The crew members are taken prisoner and survive the war as POWs. http://www.warsailors.com/convoys/hn14.html
No. 110 Army Co-operation (Auxiliary) Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, which departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on 15 February, arrives in Britain.
GREAT article on HawHaw. It reminded me that letting the propagandists rant on is the best way of defeating them — something Glenn Beck has been saying about Van Jones and ACORN lately.
In Kuhmo, Reuhkavaara 'motti' is finally cleared out by midday.
Photo: SA-KUVA
Scandinavian foreign ministers announce policy of neutrality
That’s the second entry that I recall of him intervening to get a reject in. Looks like he’s going after the whole Board this time because they rejected someone with the right connections.
Would be interesting if we could find out who he was going to bat for - and then sort out why.
I went back to the source to see if he fleshes out the scene in another memo. Negative. Winnie is content to let us make what we will of the one side of the discussion.
I smell political favoritism from the man who was plotting just a few weeks earlier to invade not one, but two neutral countries.
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