http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/03.htm
July 3rd, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM: Two old French battleships ‘Courbet’ and ‘Paris’ and several destroyers and submarines, including the giant ‘Surcouf’, are in British ports. They are boarded and seized, but not before there are casualties on both sides; three British personnel and a French seaman die in scuffles on board the submarine Surcouf; In total 59 French warships are seized.
Tugs Abeille II, Abeille IV, Abeille V, Abeille VI, Abeille XIV, Abeille XX, Abeille XXI, Abeille XXII, Cherbourgeois I, Cherbourgeois III, Cherbourgeois IV, Divette, Elan II, Excellent, Faisan, Jobourg, La Frene, La Pernelle, La Salicoque, Lama, Mammouth, Mastodonte, Mouflon, Nacqueville, Nessus, Peuplier, Pingouin, Pintade, Plougastel, Portzic, Ramier, Rene le Besnerais, Risban, Urville commissioned into RN service.
Minesweeping trawlers HMS Aiglon, Andre et Louise, Congre, Henriette, L’Atlantique, and Pine commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
The Admiralty considers withdrawal from the eastern Mediterranean. While Admiral Pound supports the idea, Churchill is adamantly opposed and quashes it. The concern involves the Italian Fleet and the fall of France. (Alex Gordon)
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - occupied airfields at Merville and Rotterdam.
51 Sqn. Four aircraft to Merville. Three bombed successfully, one returned early.
58 Sqn. Eight aircraft to Rotterdam. Only two bombed, weather very bad.
2 Group: 15 Sqn. Aerial reconnaissance of Scharnhorst and bombing of Evere.
82 Sqn. Cloud-cover raids on French airfields.
107 Sqn. Nine aircraft bomb railways at Hamm, Hamborn, Wismar, Osnabruck and Leunan. Four sections also went after barges on the River Lek and bombed Schipol.
RAF Fighter Command: No 1. Squadron is declared operational again after its return from France.
NETHERLANDS: Henri Winkelman, the former Dutch Commander-in-Chief is arrested and taken to Germany.
ALGERIA: Operation Catapult - Admiral Somerville arrives with Force H off the French Algerian base of Mers-el-Kebir near Oran. The French Admiral Gensoul is offered a number of choices to ensure his fleet with its four capital ships stays out of Axis hands.
These are to join the British outright; be interned in British ports; sail to French ports in the West Indies; or scuttle their own ships.
All are turned down and, at around 18.00, Force H opens fire on the anchored ships. Battleship FS Bretagne blows up (total killed 36 officers, 151 Petty Officers and 825 Seamen) and the ‘Dunkerque’ and ‘Provence’, together with other ships are badly damaged killing 130 French sailors. The French ships and shore batteries return fire, but fail to hit any British ships. Battlecruiser ‘Strasbourg’ and some destroyers manage to break out in spite of attacks by aircraft from HMS Ark Royal. They reach Toulon.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Chilliwack laid down North Vancouver British Columbia.
Corvette HMS Mayflower (later HMCS Mayflower) launched Montreal Province of Quebec. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: Submarine USS Tautog commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-26 (Type IA) is sunk at position 48.03N, 1130W, by 8 depth charges from an Australian Sunderland aircraft (Sqn 10/H). HMS Rochester picked up the 48 survivors (entire crew) from the attack. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 307 July 3, 1940
Operation Catapult. At dawn, Royal Navy boards 2 French battleships, 9 destroyers and other smaller ships at Plymouth and Portsmouth, England (3 British & 1 French sailor are killed).
At 5.45 AM, British Force H arrives off Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria. Vice Admiral Somerville offers French Admiral Marcel Gensoul (a known Anglophobe, loyal to the Vichy government) four alternatives for his fleet; join the Royal Navy; be interned in British ports, be decommissioned in the West Indies or USA, or sink the warships in Mers-el-Kebir harbour. Gensoul rejects the British terms, leading to fruitless negotiations all afternoon. At 5.56 PM, British ships shell the harbour for 10 minutes. The magazine on French battleship Bretagne is hit, which explodes and sinks at 6.09 PM (977 lives lost). Battleships Provence and Dunkerque and destroyer Mogador are damaged. In all, 1,297 French sailors are killed and 350 wounded. http://www.hmshood.org.uk/reference/official/adm234/adm234-317.htm
French battleship Strasbourg, aircraft carrier Commandant Teste and four destroyers escape from Mers-el-Kébir following the attack and evade the British blockade. 6 French cruisers and 4 destroyers leave Algiers on the news. They rendezvous and escape to Toulon, France, arriving on 4 July, despite bombing attacks by Fairey Swordfish from British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.
Similar terms are given by Vice Admiral Sir Andrew Cunnigham to French Admiral Godefroy at Alexandria, Egypt. Negotiations continue all day and the French ships (battleship Lorraine and 4 cruisers) are not attacked. Negotiations will continue until July 7.
Luftwaffe bombs Cardiff in South Wales.