Air Operations, Europe

The first German bombs hit British soil when the Luftwaffe flies 600 miles to drop bombs on the Shetland Islands. Naval vessels are the intended target.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British destroyer Blanche hits a mine and sinks off the Thames estuary the result of a German destoyer mine-laying operation during the overnight period. Also hitting mines and sinking on this day are the British steamer Ponzano (1346t), her crew being rescued by 2 Norwegian trawlers, and the British steamer Matra (8003t) from convoy HXF-7 1 mile east of the Tongue Light Vessel. 16 of her crew are lost.
• The German steamer Parana (6038t) is intercepted by the British light cruiser Newcastle west of Iceland. She scuttles herself and the wreck is sunk by gunfire from the cruiser. The suvivors are picked up by the Newcastle.
• The British steamer Sirdhana (7745t) is sunk on a British defensive mine in Singapore Roads about 3 miles from Fort Canning Light with the loss of 20 of her crew.

Diplomatic Relations

• King Carol of Rumania offers himself as a secret mediator between the two sides.
• Not disillusioned about the outcome of the dispute, the Finns break off their talks with the Russians and mobilize their force of about 200,000 men. The talks began on Oct 12 with the arrival of the Finnish emissary Juho Kusti Paasikivi in Moscow. The Finns were faced with a series of proposals, which amounted to ultimata, for an exchange of territory with the Russians.

  The Soviet Union offered to cede to Finland some 2,120 square miles in the southern districts of Repola and Porajorp, in exchange for Finnish concessions in the isthmus of Karelia (between Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland) and a 30-year lease of the port of Hanko. The Russians also demanded an adjustment of the boundary in the extreme north to give them the port of Petsamo, the only ice-free Finnish port on the Barents Sea. The Finns were ready to meet all the Russian demands except the cession of Hanko, which would give the USSR complete control of the Gulf of Finland. The Russians, however, were implacable and the Finns felt they had no choice but to leave the conference table.