Posted on 09/28/2010 4:32:34 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
Now there's insight you just can't get anywhere else. /s
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/sep40/f28sep40.htm
Surplus destroyers arrive in Britain
Saturday, September 28, 1940 www.onwar.com
In Britain... The first of the 50 old American destroyers given to Britain arrives in the UK.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/28.htm
September 28th, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - industrial targets at Berlin - Fokker aircraft factory at Amsterdam - ‘Razzling’.
51 Sqn. Twelve aircraft. Eleven got off, six bombed Berlin, four bombed alternatives.
78 Sqn. Eight aircraft to Berlin. One aborted, three bombed primary, two bombed alternatives, two failed to bomb.
RAF Fighter Command: Luftwaffe raids on London and Solent. Scattered bomber raids massively escorted, with inevitable results. Hurricanes particularly suffering. At night London is bombed.
From four large morning raids only six enemy aircraft penetrate to central London after 24 RAF Squadrons reacted.
Afternoon aroused a 25-Squadron response to deal with about 40 bombers and 120 fighters, all flying high. Other fighters engaged about 50 Bf110s off Portsmouth.
After dark 121 raiders approached London, 65 crossing its heart between 18:46 and 07:12 and causing the guns to fire for nine hours. Major incidents occurred at Lambeth and Nine Elms goods yards, the Albert Embankment, and Southwark, where three HEs destroyed St. Peter’s Crypt Shelter, killing 18 outright and trapping many.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 16; RAF, 16.
The first of fifty old destroyers arrives from the USA.
GERMANY: Hitler secretly orders the economy to be mobilized toward the invasion of Russia. (Jack McKillop)
U-97 commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
NORWAY: The Nazi commissioner Josef Terboven formally deposes the King and nominates Vidkun Quisling “sole political leader.”
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-37 sank SS Corrientes in Convoy OB-217.
U-32 sank SS Empire Ocelot in Convoy OB-218.
An enemy submarine spotted by U-31. U-31 dived and heard a torpedo running which missed. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: The US Army’s Louisiana manoeuvres, which began on 14 September, end. (Jack McKillop)
Submarine USS Mackerel launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Lunenburg laid down Lauzon, Province of Quebec. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 394 September 28, 1940
Battle of Britain Day 81. With fair weather and clouds over the Channel, Luftwaffe sends daylight raids with particularly large numbers of fighters. At 10 AM, 120+ aircraft cross the Kent Coast in 2 waves but they are intercepted and only 6 reach bombers London. At 1.30 PM, 35 bombers and 125 fighters attack targets in Kent. All squadrons of AVM Park’s No. 11 Group and 5 Squadrons of AVM Leigh-Mallory’s No. 12 Group converge on the German planes who, by 2.10, head back to France. At 2.15 PM, 60 aircraft fly towards Portsmouth from Cherbourg. They are engaged by 9 RAF squadrons and the bombers drop their bombs into the Channel and head for home. The large proportion of fighters in the Luftwaffe raids allows them to down 16 RAF fighters (9 pilots killed) while losing only 6 Messerschmitts. London is pounded continuously again overnight with raids from Holland, Northern France and Cherbourg. Liverpool is also bombed and mines are laid in the Thames Estuary.
At 4.09 PM, U-32 sinks British steamer Empire Ocelot 350 miles West of Ireland (2 killed, 32 crew picked up by British destroyer HMS Havelock and landed at Liverpool). At 8 PM, U-37 finishes off British steamer Corrientes which was abandoned after being damaged by U-32 on September 26. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/564.html
German destroyers Eckholdt, Riedel, Lody, Galster, Ihn and Steinbrinck depart Brest and lay mines at the end of the English Channel in Falmouth Bay, Cornwall (right under the nose of Royal Navy squadron based at Plymouth).
British anti-submarine trawler Recoil (previously German trawler Blankenburg, captured in April off Norway) hits a mine off Portland Bill in the English Channel and sinks (25 crew killed). German tanker Shell II is sunk by British bombers in the River Scheldt, Holland.
A busy day off the coast of North Africa. 12 miles off Egypt, in the busy sea lane between the British bases at Mersa Matruh and Alexandria, Italian submarine Gondar is sunk by Australian destroyer HMAS Stuart and British aircraft called from Alexandria. Gondar is carrying 3 human torpedoes intended for use against the Mediterranean Fleet at Alexandria. All 43 crew from Gondar and the 4 frogmen to drive the human torpedoes are all picked up by HMAS Stuart and taken prisoner. 10 miles off Libya, in the busy sea lane between the Italian bases at Benghazi and Tobruk, British submarine HMS Pandora sinks Italian steamer Famiglia. HMS Pandora is then counterattacked by Italian torpedo boat Enrico Cosenz but not damaged.
Any word from the isolationists on how this is nothing to worry about?
Date: 28th September 1940 
Enemy action by day
Enemy activity consisted of a few isolated raids and three main attacks, of which two were delivered over Kent towards London and one was directed against the Portsmouth area. Two attacks on convoys are reported.
The number of enemy fighters employed appears to have greatly exceeded the number of bombers. Enemy aircraft are reported to have been stepped up to a great height and to have attacked our fighters from above and out of the sun. In some cases, slight haze hindered interception of raids.
Our fighters destroyed 6 enemy aircraft (plus 4 probable and one damaged). 16 of our fighters are lost or missing but 7 pilots are safe.
First Main Attack
At 0955 hours, raids totalling 120+ aircraft approached the Kent Coast, of which 70 penetrated inland in two waves. The first wave of 30 aircraft flew to Biggin Hill and about 6 of these reached Central London. The second wave did not penetrate further West than Maidstone. 17 Squadrons ere despatched to intercept these raids which finally dispersed at about 1040 hours. Enemy patrols were unusually active in the Straits during this attack.
Second Main Attack
At 1330 hours, about 160 aircraft of which about 35 were bombers, crossed the coast between Dungeness and Lympne and flew towards Maidstone and the Thames Estuary. These raids spread out over Kent but did not penetrate further West than a line Beachy Head - Maidstone - Isle of Sheppey. All operational squadrons of No 11 Group were employed against this attack and five Squadrons of No 12 Group patrolled Hornchurch and North Weald. By 1410 hours, enemy aircraft were flying back towards France.
Third Main Attack
At 1415 hours, some 60 enemy aircraft flew from Cherbourg towards Portsmouth. Some turned towards the Tangmere - Thorney Island area. The raids were met by five Squadrons of No 11 Group which were diverted from the Kent attack, and by four Squadrons of No 10 Group. Four Squadrons sighted the enemy. It is reported that none of the enemy crossed the Coast and that they jettisoned their bombs into the sea.
Other Activity
At about 1000 hours, raids of 1 and 1+ aircraft were plotted over Liverpool and a single enemy aircraft crossed the Coast at Shoreham and flew over Uxbridge. This latter track faded South of Kenley.
At 1515 hours, an attack on a convoy off Spurn Head was reported.
At 1610 hours, a raid of one aircraft was plotted over Bristol.
At 1730 hours, an attack on a convoy near the Thames Estuary was reported.
At 1732 hours, A Naval Unit is reported to have been attacked.
At 1920 hours, a single enemy aircraft attacked Dover.
Patrols and Reconnaissances
During the morning and again between 1700 and 1930 hours, patrols were active in the Straits.
Reconnaissances were plotted off St Abb's Head, North Foreland and the Thames Estuary, Beachy Head and the Isle of Wight.
Night Operations - 28th/29th September 1940
Enemy activity commenced at about 2000 hours when the first raids crossed the Sussex Coast and approached London. At the same time, raids which appeared to originate from the Dutch Islands crossed the Coast in the Wash area and penetrated over Lincolnshire and Norfolk to Digby, Peterborough and Nottingham. Raids were also plotted into the Liverpool area, returning over Wales.
At 2100 hours, a concentration of raids on London was plotted, crossing the Coast near Portsmouth and also between Beachy Head and Shoreham.
After midnight, activity spread westwards to include an area Selsey Bill - St Albans Head and North to Middle Wallop, but the main objective of most raids still appeared to be London and its Western suburbs. Two isolated raids were plotted in Oxfordshire, and two in the Bristol Channel.
By 0230 hours, raids were less in number but were still approaching London from the Coast of Sussex. Two raids were plotted in the Derby area.
At 0345 hours, a fresh stream of raids came from Dieppe towards London and activity over this area continued until 0550 hours.
During the course of the night, considerable minelaying was suspected off North Foreland and in the Thames Estuary.
________________________________________
Statistics
Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft as at 0900 hours, 28th September 1940
Casualties:
| Enemy Losses | ||
| By Fighters | ||
| Destroyed | Probable | Damaged |
| 3 Me109 | 3 Me109 | |
| 3 Me110 | ||
| 1 Ju88 | ||
| 1 E/A | ||
| 6 | 4 | 1 |
Patrols:
Balloons:
Aerodromes:
Organisation:
Home Security Reports
Well apparently Lindy didn’t have that “insight.”
Germany, Italy, and Japan affirm that the aforesaid terms do not in any way affect the political status which exists at present as between each of the three contracting parties and Soviet Russia.
Therein lies the key as to why this is directed at the United States and no other nation. Basically what this means is that if Russia attacks one of the Axis powers then there is no commitment for the others to act. For Japan the only two powers in the region are Russia and the United States. So in essence this says if Japan goes to war with the U.S. then Germany and Italy would declare war on America.
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