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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/01.htm

September 1st, 1940

UNITED KINGDOM:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - industrial targets at Milan, Turin, Munich and south-east Germany.
51 Sqn. Three aircraft to Fiat works at Turin. All bombed. Three aircraft to Munich marshalling yards. All bombed.
78 Sqn. Three aircraft to Milan. One bombed primary, one bombed French airfield. Two aircraft to BMW works at Munich. One bombed primary, one bombed alternative.

Battle of Britain:
RAF Fighter Command: Tilbury, Chatham are bombed.

South-east airfields attacked include Debden, Biggin Hill (severely damaged), Eastchurch and Detling.

At night Bristol, South Wales, Midlands and Merseyside are bombed.

In the afternoon a clutch of very low flying Dorniers penetrated to Biggin Hill, delivering the third and most damaging bombing of the day when one scored a direct hit with a 250-kg HE on its Sector Operations Room whose reinforced concrete ceiling collapsed into the building where two WAAF’s remained at their posts. Such devotion to duty won both Sergeant Helen Turner and Corporal Elspeth Henderson a Military Medal. A new, temporary, operations room was established in a village shop.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 14; RAF, 15.

Destroyer HMS Ivanhoe working with the 20th Destroyer Flotilla is scuttled in the North Sea off the Dutch Coast at 53 25N 03 48E after suffering mine damage. (Alex Gordon)(108)

GERMANY: Propaganda radio station NBBS declares that ‘Dover is already practically German territory.’

U-131 laid down.

LITHUANIA: Kovno: The Japanese consul Sempo Sugihara, who has been issuing exit visas to Jews, is expelled.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA:
Reinforcements are sent to the Mediterranean Fleet right through until the end of the year. They are covered from Gibraltar by Admiral Somerville and Force H, and then met in the central basin by Admiral Cunningham. The opportunity is taken to run in supplies of men and material to Malta.
Early in September the new fleet carrier HMS Illustrious, with an armoured flight deck, battleship HMS Valiant and two cruisers are transferred in this way in Operation ‘Hats’. On passage with them, aircraft from HMS Ark Royal attack Sardinian targets. HMS Illustrious, having joined with Eagle, sends aircraft against Rhodes. The Italian Fleet sorties during these operations, but fails to make contact. The arrival of HMS Illustrious allows Admiral Cunningham to go ahead with his plans to attack the Italian battlefleet at Taranto.

KENYA Buna falls to the Italians.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Grunert advises Quezon that planning towards both civil defence and economic mobilization should commence immediately.

Grunert advises Marshall that the failure of the US government to adopt a consistent policy towards the Philippines was adversely affecting the morale of the populace.

US Navy announces it will no longer send dependents to the Far East. (Marc Small)

ATLANTIC OCEAN:
Cruiser HMS Fiji is torpedoed by U-32 off Rockall as she escorts troop transports for the Dakar expedition. Her place is taken by the heavy cruiser HMAS AUSTRALIA.

At 0055 hours local, German submarine U-101 torpedoes a Greek merchant freighter, the SS Efploia, which straggled from convoy OB-205. The wreck was scuttled by a British warship with gunfire at 55.43N/13.05W. (Jack McKillop)