Posted on 08/29/2010 5:49:49 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
Amazing!
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/aug40/f29aug40.htm
Only German fighters over England
Thursday, August 29, 1940 www.onwar.com
Over Britain... There are more German fighter sweeps but no major efforts by the daytime bomber force. The losses are 17 German and nine British aircraft.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/29.htm
August 29th, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - oil plant at Wesseling - petrol store at Ludwigshaven.
51 Sqn. Seven aircraft to Wesseling. Very bad weather. One bombed primary, two bombed alternative targets.
78 Sqn. Five aircraft to Ludwigshaven. Two returned early, one bombed primary, two bombed alternative targets.
Battle of Britain:
RAF Fighter Command: Some 700 Luftwaffe fighters in provocative sweeps to which RAF do not respond. The Chief of Kesselring’s fighter organisation claims unlimited fighter superiority has been achieved.
At night there are heavy raids against Merseyside (176 sorties) and 44 sorties elsewhere.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 17; RAF, 9.
Admiral Robert L Ghormley, US Assistant CNO, meets with British military delegation in London for staff talks. (Marc Small)
U-100 sank SS Alida Gorthon, Astra II, Dalblair, Empire Moose and damaged Harismere in Convoy OA-204.
ASW trawler HMS Sarabande launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
EGYPT: Italian planes raid Suez Canal. (Jack McKillop)
FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA: In Libreville, Gabon, the Free French Governor Masson receives a telegram from Free French General de Larminat informing him of the new order in French Equatorial Africa. Masson informs the local commandant and publicly declares the colony’s adhesion to Free France. The naval commander of Libreville opposes the move and informs the governor of the imminent arrival of a Vichy naval squadron from Dakar, French West Africa. Masson yields and labels the affair a misunderstanding. Several prominent Gaullists in the colonial establishment are deported to Dakar by flying boat. Vichy France dispatches Air Force General Tetu to Libreville as “Governor General of Equatorial Africa” and orders him to re-establish order throughout the colonies.
FRENCH INDOCHINA: The Vichy French government cedes the Tonkin bases to the Japanese. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.A.: Peter Goldmark of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) announces his invention of a color television system. (Jack McKillop)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 364 August 29, 1940
Battle of Britain Day 51. Low clouds and rain give way to sunny intervals in the afternoon. German reconnaissance flights are mostly left alone by RAF. However, Luftwaffe tries a new tactic at 3 PM and 7.15 PM, sending large groups of fighters across the English Channel with no bombers. RAF initially goes up to intercept but No. 11 Group commander Air Vice Marshal Keith Park sees the German ruse. He withdraws RAF planes to avoid being drawn into a battle of attrition between fighters. Both sides lose 9 fighters. Luftwaffe again bombs major industrial and shipping centers (Portsmouth, Tyneside, Hartlepool, Swansea, Manchester and Liverpool). Decoy fires are lit in the countryside (’Starfish’ sites), fooling German bombers into dropping their bombs away from the cities (as shown by German air photos).
In 4 hours, U-100 hits 5 steamers in Convoy OA-204, 150 miles Northwest of Ireland. At 00.23, U-100 damages British SS Hartismere and sinks British SS Dalblair (4 killed, 19 crew and 1 gunner picked up by Swedish SS Alida Gorthon, 17 crew picked up by corvette HMS Clematis and landed at Londonderry, Ireland). At 1.40 AM, British SS Astra II is sunk (4 crew and 1 gunner lost, 20 crew picked up by the British minesweeper HMS Gleaner). At 3.36 AM, Swedish SS Alida Gorthon is sunk (11 crew and all 20 survivors from Dalblair killed, 13 survivors). At 4.27 AM, British SS Empire Moose is sunk (all 36 crew are rescued).
"If we want a dictatorship, if we are going to pass into a socialistic era, let us face it frankly and go in from the front door, not from the back door. Let us know what we are going to do".
Democrats = National Socialists. Then as now.
Next time please summarize. If I want the documents I will ask you. Thank you.
Don't follow you. Please explain.
What? Where was the RAF?
Out near the end of their rope.
Date: 29th August 1940
Enemy action by day
During the afternoon, the enemy made one major raid. Although the objective appears to have been the South London aerodromes, no reports of bombing have been received. This raid was followed a few hours later by a smaller raid to the Rochester area.
Nine enemy aircraft were destroyed; our casualties being nine aircraft and two pilots.
North and East
One meteorological and one reconnaissance aircraft were plotted east of the Firth of Forth and Spurn Head respectively.
South East
Soon after midday, a single aircraft made a reconnaissance of the line Shoreham to Stanmore and returned by approximately the same route.
Two separate aircraft reconnoitred the Thames Estuary.
At 1510 hours, nine enemy aircraft flew over Dover towards Tangmere; this raid was immediately followed by about 170 aircraft which appeared to head for Biggin Hill. These raids were intercepted and driven off, four aircraft being destroyed by our fighters and one anti-aircraft. Strong hostile patrols were maintained off Calais until 1725 hours.
At 1725 hours, a raid of twenty plus aircraft passed over North Foreland and flew towards Rochester. It was intercepted and four enemy aircraft were destroyed.
South and West
During the morning, hostile aircraft reconnoitred the Guildford area and Weymouth Bay and a small raid attacked Warmwell Aerodrome.
In the afternoon, one aircraft reconnoitred Portsmouth and shortly afterwards twelve plus aircraft flew towards this area, but, when fifteen miles south of Selsey Bill, turned back on sighting our fighters.
At 1600 hours, a small raid attacked a RAF establishment in the Scilly Isles causing little damage.
By night
Enemy activity was again heavy, Scotland being the only area neglected.
Dusk raids penetrated East Anglia, main objectives apparently being Debden and Duxford, but from 2300 hours onwards, there was singularly little activity east of a line Brighton to Flamborough Head until 0230 hours when fresh raids appeared along the East Coast, apparently minelaying, but a few crossing inland.
Three main areas were attacked:
The raids on items (i.) and (ii.) crossed the coast in a steady stream, mostly one aircraft each, but between Shoreham and Lyme Bay some were of greater strength. A few of these appeared to concentrate on the Portsmouth area.
Minelaying is suspected off Plymouth.
________________________________________
Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 29th August 1940
Casualties:
| Enemy Losses | ||
| By Fighters | ||
| Destroyed | Probable | Damaged |
| 6 Me109 | 7 Me109 | 1 Me109 |
| 2 Me110 | 1 Me110 | 2 Me110 |
| 2 Do215 | 2 Do215 | |
| 8 | 10 | 5 |
| By Anti-Aircraft | ||
| Destroyed | Probable | Damaged |
| 1 Me109 | ||
| 1 |
Patrols:
Balloons:
Aerodromes:
Organisation:
Air Intelligence Reports
Home Security Reports
Can you imagine how an amendment to a bill like that would go over today.
Again notice: as many Republicans as Democrats on both sides of the issues.
Party line, and party discipline were obviously not then what we've come to expect today.
Having trouble keeping up with the class lately? :)
I’ve noticed that there isn’t the degree of polarization back then that you see today. In fact, I really have noticed the real split on political lines as a progressively worsening issue since the Clinton years. Even during the Reagan administration it was never as bad as has gotten over the last 20 years at least in my own personal observation.
Notice that I make mention on Senator Wheeler of Montana often. I really keep particularly close watch on him because of what he will do down the road. This Democrat was probably FDR’s most dangerous opponent. An fanatical isolationist, Wheeler despised FDR and was willing to go to great lengths to destroy the man. He may have succeeded too if other events had not overshadowed his efforts. There are two camps right now, but they consist of those who are in favor of getting involved in this broadening war to varying degrees and those who are adamant that the U.S. not get involved. These two camps don’t associate with any specific party though (well, the American Communists right now are officially isolationist but that may change).
A bit more than usual. Today is a good time to catch up. ;-)
Montana's Democrat Senator Burton Wheeler is described as an "anti-draft, antiwar, anti-big business defender of civil liberties.".
Possibly the Russ Feingold or Bernie Sanders of his day.
Even today there are supporters and opponents in both parties of the President's policies in, say, Afghanistan and Iraq.
What was unusual was the Democrats' partisan opposition to those same policies under President Bush.
Montana Senator Burton Wheeler, from 1923 to 1947. 
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