http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/21.htm
July 21st, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - marshalling yards at Hamm and Soest and aircraft factory at Kassel.
51 Sqn. Three aircraft to Hamm. One bombed - direct hits. Opposition heavy.
77 Sqn. Ten aircraft to Kassel. Nine bombed. Eight fighters sighted but none attacked.
78 Sqn. Five aircraft to Hamm and Soest. Four bombed, one FTR
102 Sqn. Ten a/ to Kassel. One returned early, nine bombed. Two fighters seen but none attacked.
2 Group ( Blenheim). 107 Sqn. Bombing - Caen, Morlaix and Querqueville.
GERMANY: Hitler again brings up the attack in the East in an OKH conference. Planning for troop movements east will begin later this month.
BALTIC STATES: The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania today succumbed to Russian pressure and “unanimously” decided to become Soviet Republics and join the Soviet Union.
The newly-elected parliaments of the three countries met to announce their decision, but the Soviet influence was easy to see under the facade of democracy. Estonia’s parliamentary session was attended by Stalin’s representative, Mr Zhdanov, and the hall was decorated with Soviet flags. The Baltic peoples are bitter at losing their hard-won freedom from Russia, but there is nothing they can do in the face of Soviet might.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 2239, the unescorted Ellaroy was torpedoed and sunk by gunfire by U-30 about 180 miles west of Cape Finisterre. The master and 15 crewmembers landed at Vigo, Spain. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 325 July 21, 1940
Battle of Britain Day 12. Overnight, 15 Handley Page Hampden bombers from 61 and 144 Squadron attack German battleships Admiral Scheer and Tirpitz at dock in Wilhelmshaven. Neither battleship is damaged but 3 Hampdens are shot down. With fine weather again, Germans focus on attacking convoys in the English Channel instead of bombing raids over land targets. Göring’s strategy is to bring British fighters into the air over the Channel, while exposing his aircraft to minimum danger. RAF loses a Hurricane and a Spitfire while Luftwaffe loses 3 fighters and 1 Dornier Do17 bomber. British losses since July 10 are about 45 fighters destroyed, but production of new aircraft has kept pace. More worrying is the loss of trained pilots who are not so easily replaced. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-air/20582-69-years-ago-tonight-20-21-july-1940-a.html
After being bombed near Dover yesterday, HMS Brazen sinks while under tow. Destroyer HMS Boreas takes off the crew but 1 sailor is killed.
U-30 sinks British steamer Ellaroy 180 miles West of Cape Finisterre, Spain. The crew abandons ship in lifeboats. All 16 crew are rescued by Spanish trawler Felix Montenegro and landed at Vigo, Spain.
Soviet Union annexes Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, following ‘elections’ held on July 14 voting for union with USSR. These countries will be under Soviet control until 1989, apart from a period of German occupation from 1941-1944.