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R.A.F. BOMBS DORTMUND-ELS CANAL; BRITISH ROUT 200 PLANES IN DAY FIGHT (9/21/40)
Microfiche-New York Times archives, Monterey Public Library | 9/21/40 | James MacDonald, Raymond Daniell

Posted on 09/21/2010 5:21:07 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson

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TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: milhist; realtime; worldwarii
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Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile.
1 posted on 09/21/2010 5:21:11 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
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To: Homer_J_Simpson
Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
German Fighter Range and British Radar Deployment
Marcks’ Plan, August 5, 1940
The Mediterranean Basin (Map 33)
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941 – The Imperial Powers, 1 September 1939

Plus a special guest map from Michael Korda’s, “With Wings Like Eagles,” showing the air defenses of England and Wales, August 1940.

2 posted on 09/21/2010 5:21:56 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson
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Winston S. Churchill, Their Finest Hour

3 posted on 09/21/2010 5:23:00 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: r9etb; PzLdr; dfwgator; Paisan; From many - one.; rockinqsranch; GRRRRR; 2banana; henkster; ...
Nazi Bases Struck – 2
Fire Bombs Hit City – 3
Interesting photograph – 4
The International Situation – 5
The Texts of the Day’s War Communiques – 6
4 posted on 09/21/2010 5:24:22 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/sep40/f21sep40.htm

London subway stations now bomb shelters

Saturday, September 21, 1940 www.onwar.com

Over Britain... As the night attacks on London continue, the government officially allows the subway stations to be used as air-raid shelters. This has been happening for some time.

In Australia... The election results are declared. Menzies remains prime minister. Labor is the largest party in both the House and the Senate but has no overall majority. Also, it is announced that the 9th Australian Division will be raised.


5 posted on 09/21/2010 5:29:47 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/21.htm

September 21st, 1940

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. 51 Sqn. Whitley, P5105 overshot Dishforth on night operations. Sgt V.W. Bruce and crew safe.
Bombing - invasion fleet at Boulogne.

51 Sqn. Twelve aircraft. All bombed. Opposition severe.

78 Sqn. Ten aircraft. All bombed. Opposition severe.

London: To Churchill’s suggestion that one Pole is worth three Frenchmen, General Lord Gort replies that it is nearer ten.

London: Official permission is given to use the London Underground as an air raid shelter.

Battle of Britain:

Fighter-sweeps over east Kent. At night London and Merseyside are raided.

Small numbers of Ju88s were also making nuisance raids, one of Lehr 1 flying low-level to Brooklands and placing four bombs, three on the landing ground and one in the Hurricane assembly shop. The latter did not explode though until it had been removed from the building. [see below]

A parachute mine that delivered itself into central Ipswich could not be defused and had to be blown in-situ. The controlled explosion produced a crater 50 feet wide and 25 feet deep, demolished 70 houses, damaged 750 and broke windows 650 yards away.

Night raids on London dropped a mine on Hornchurch’s landing ground which failed to explode, seriously damaged Bethnal Green medical works and started a fire in Howard’s Timber Yard, Poplar, attended by 80 pumps [Fire Trucks in American].

Losses: Luftwaffe, 0; RAF, 0.

Weybridge, Surrey: Lt. John MacMillan Stevenson Patton (b. 1915), Royal Canadian Engineers, towed a bomb from an aircraft factory to a bomb crater, where it went off harmlessly. (George Cross)

Dagenham, Essex: Lt-Cdr Richard John Hammersley Ryan (b. 1903) and his assistant, CPO Reginald Vincent Ellingworth (b. 1898), who had shared many dangerous assignments, were killed when a sensitive magnetic mine, which was dangling from a parachute in a warehouse, went off as they tackled it. (George Cross for both)

Ilford, Essex: Mr. Leonard John Miles (b. ?), ARP, saved several lives when he left his air-raid shelter to warn others nearby of an unexploded bomb. He was fatally wounded when it went off. (George Cross).

Corvette HMS Nigella launched. (Dave Shirlaw)

GERMANY: U-154 laid down.
U-145 and U-146 launched. (Dave Shirlaw)

FINLAND: The Finnish negotiatior Juho Paasikivi, accompanied by Finance Minister Väinö Tanner, return to Moscow. (Mikko Härmeinen)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-100 sank SS Canonesa, SS Dalcairn and SS Torinina in Convoy HX-72.
U-138 sank SS Empire Adventure in Convoy OB-216.
U-47 damaged SS Elmbank in Convoy HX-72.
U-48 sank SS Blairangus and damaged SS Broompark in Convoy HX-72.
U-99 sank SS Elmbank, Empire Blythswood and SS Invershannon in Convoy HX-72. (Dave Shirlaw)

U.S.A.: The motion picture “City for Conquest” is released. This boxing drama, based on a novel by Aben Kandel, is directed by Anatole Litvak and stars James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh, Arthur Kennedy, George Tobias, Elia Kazan and Anthony Quinn. The plot has Cagney as a fighter who is blinded with acid on the gloves of his opponent in a “fixed” fight set up by Kazan, a neighbourhood pal turned gangster. The blind Cagney then runs a newsstand and pays for his younger brothers (Kennedy) music lessons. (Jack McKillop)

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Arvida launched Quebec City, Province of Quebec. (Dave Shirlaw)

AUSTRALIA: A Federal election is held today. The United Australia Party narrowly retained government with the help of the Country Party. The United Australia Party won only 23 seats (and lost one when Arthur Coles declared himself an Independent) to Labor’s 32. The Country Party won 14 seats, Lang Labor 4 seats and there was 1 Independent. (Lang Labor was a breakaway group from the main ALP and was based in New South Wales - where the sacking of Jack Lang as Premier and the ALP reaction to the creation of the breakaway group. It had a love/hate relationship with the main party such that they were really torn when they had to choose between the “tories” and the ALP. They eventually amalgamated with the ALP through attrition. Arthur Coles (former UAP and founder of Coles Department stores) and Alex Wilson held the balance of power). (Daniel Ross)


6 posted on 09/21/2010 5:31:38 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/

Day 387 September 21, 1940

Battle of Britain Day 74. A very quiet day, despite fine weather. There are reconnaissance flights all day (2 German bombers shot down) and a 200+ aircraft raid towards London which is turned back at 6 PM. No RAF fighters are lost. London and Liverpool are bombed again overnight. British government sanctions the use of London Underground ‘Tube’ stations as air-raid shelters, which until now have been used unofficially by a growing number of Londoners. Tube stations are kitted out with food canteens, first aid facilities and chemical toilets. Some stations are equipped with bunks. One section of track is closed to trains and concreted over (the Aldwych branch of the Piccadilly Line), to allow storage of antiques and artifacts from the British Museum including the Elgin Marbles. http://www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/images/21sept2.jpg

U-138 continues the attack on convoy OB-216, 10 miles off Malin Head, Ireland. At 2.27 AM, U-138 torpedoes British SS Empire Adventure (21 crew lost, 18 rescued) which is taken in tow but sinks on September 23.

Convoy HX-72 (41 merchant ships from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Britain, protected by 4 Royal Navy destroyers, 1 sloop and 2 corvettes) is mauled by a wolf pack of 9 U-boats, 400 miles West of Ireland. Günther Prien in U-47 spots the convoy, but he has only 1 torpedo and calls for help. From 3.12 to 4.47 AM, U-99 torpedoes 3 ships which all eventually sink; British tanker Invershannon (16 dead and 32 survivors), British SS Baron Blythswood (all 34 hands lost) and British MV Elmbank (2 dead and 54 survivors). At 6.14 AM, U-48 sinks British SS Blairangus (6 dead and 28 survivors). At 11.10 PM, U-100 torpedoes and sinks British steamers Canonesa (1 dead and 62 survivors), Dalcairn (all 48 hands rescued) and British tanker Torinia (all 55 hands rescued). At 11.38 PM, U-48 gets back in the action, damaging British SS Broompark (1 crew killed).
http://www.uboat.net/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy=HX-72

The flotilla of ships to support the Free French landings at Dakar (Operation Menace) leaves Freetown, Sierra Leone. This includes aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, battleships HMS Barham and Resolution, cruiser HMS Devonshire, numerous destroyers and troop transports as well as French sloops Commandant Domine, Commandant Duboc and Savorgnan De Brazza. They will be joined at sea by cruisers HMS Cumberland and Dragon and HMAS Australia.


7 posted on 09/21/2010 5:33:25 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson; r9etb; PzLdr; dfwgator; Paisan; From many - one.; rockinqsranch; GRRRRR; ...

Memories from WWII, when I was 14 years old in high school and on the flat roof top of our school, where we had school break eating our brown bag lunches, about two miles from where the French school unfortunately was bombed. We saw the planes flying very low above our heads and pilots waving to us. I’ll never forget it, see the video link and link to the whole story of history!!!

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?66598-Video-of-British-air-raid-on-Copenhagen1945&s=2158aeb5eea2d94eb3ce07204ae1588a

http://195.231.246.70/agent/style/besat/Default.aspx?22691


8 posted on 09/21/2010 5:52:09 AM PDT by danamco (")
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To: danamco
Operation Carthage


RAF Mustang over Copenhagen

9 posted on 09/21/2010 6:12:50 AM PDT by iowamark
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To: iowamark

That building looks like an insurance company building on the City Square (Raadhuspladsen) only a few blocks from the Shellhus!!!


10 posted on 09/21/2010 6:48:52 AM PDT by danamco (")
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To: Homer_J_Simpson
Battle of Britain Campaign Diary

Date: 21st September 1940


11 posted on 09/21/2010 8:09:35 AM PDT by CougarGA7 (It take a village to raise an idiot.)
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To: danamco

That must have made for an eventful day. How far were you from the target? Did you get to witness any of the raid itself.


12 posted on 09/21/2010 8:19:31 AM PDT by CougarGA7 (It take a village to raise an idiot.)
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

I cannot fathom why the Italians didn’t seize Malta right off the bat when they entered the war. Malta had been a major British naval base for a hundred years. It lay athwart the shipping routes to Africa, even an amateur strategist like me could see it needed to be taken to secure supply lines.

It’s almost like the Italians were deliberately trying to tank their war effort.


13 posted on 09/21/2010 9:23:42 AM PDT by henkster (A broken government does not merit full faith and credit.)
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To: henkster
It’s almost like the Italians were deliberately trying to tank their war effort.

Thank God for that, the Nazis may have won the war, had Hitler not had to bail out Mussolini's chestnuts in Greece and Yugoslavia, otherwise he would have launched Operation Barbarossa earlier, which may have allowed them to win the war before the harsh Russian winter set in in 1941.

14 posted on 09/21/2010 9:28:07 AM PDT by dfwgator (Rangers Magic Number - 6)
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To: dfwgator

The earliest Adolf could have jumped opn Barbarossa was about a week earlier than he did. Turns out the weather had a lot more to do with any delay than Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete. It was a VERY wet Spring, especially in Ukraine, and the Germans had to wait for the ground to dry out sufficiently for operations [remember, the German Army was about 80% to 90% horse drawn, and in 1941, most Grenadiers rode in trucks, not half-tracks.

Where pulling Mussolini’s chestnuts hurt the Germans was in wear and tear on the vehicles used in “25” and “Marita”, and the airborne losses [troops and Ju-52s] in “Mercury”.

As for the problems that arose later in ‘41 for the invasion, blame the split in the German command over how to proceed once Smolensk was taken [Hitler had to referee that one], and Halder and the General Staff’s almost overt refusal, in developing the plan for Barbarosa, to do what Hitler wanted.


15 posted on 09/21/2010 9:46:59 AM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: PzLdr

Now I do believe in the long-run the Germans were doomed in Russia, but at least I wished they would have had enough success that it would have resulted in the overthrow of Stalin and the Bolsheviks by the Russians.


16 posted on 09/21/2010 9:52:28 AM PDT by dfwgator (Rangers Magic Number - 6)
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To: henkster

I’ve wondered that myself. The best conclusion I can come to is that Italy’s decision makers both politically and militarily were not in those positions based on their qualifications. This hierarchy of military leadership that was based on their favor of Mussolini did not make them strategic thinkers. I really think they just couldn’t grasp the significance of taking that base or any other island fortress for that matter.


17 posted on 09/21/2010 10:02:46 AM PDT by CougarGA7 (It take a village to raise an idiot.)
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To: Homer_J_Simpson
London: To Churchill’s suggestion that one Pole is worth three Frenchmen, General Lord Gort replies that it is nearer ten.

No comment.

18 posted on 09/21/2010 10:17:39 AM PDT by Western Phil
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To: PzLdr; dfwgator

Hitler and his general staff both miscalculated when they believed they could defeat the USSR in one summer campaign season with the war material on hand. It was physically impossible to accomplish. Barbarossa required at least a two year campaign with the German economy placed on a full war footing, which it was not.

More on this next summer.


19 posted on 09/21/2010 11:10:38 AM PDT by henkster (A broken government does not merit full faith and credit.)
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To: danamco; iowamark; blackie
Thank you so much for this post. You really jump-started today's thread. The operation against Gestapo headquarters accomplished the mission, but what a cost!

I have added this incident to the timeline so we can revisit it on March 21, 2015. If you don't mind, danamco, I will ping you if we get any interesting Denmark-related items.

Also, I wonder if you have communicated at all with blackie. We heard from him a couple weeks ago and he revealed he turned 10 years old in October of 1940. If you were 14 in March of '45 that makes you about the same age. I don't imagine your experiences were similar in any way, but at least you followed the events from the same age perspective.

20 posted on 09/21/2010 11:55:25 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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