Air Operations, Europe
Italian bombers attack the Toulon naval base in southern France.
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]Arms Supply
In response to Churchill's pleas in his telegrams to Pres Roosevelt, surplus stocks of artillery weapons and rifles have been assembled from US government stores. The first shipment now leaves the USA on the SS Eastern Prince for the voyage to Britain. The US Neutrality Laws have been subverted by first 'selling' the arms to a steel company and then reselling them to the British government.
[]Battle of the Atlantic
- The British armed merchant cruiser Scotstoun (17,000 t) is sunk by U-25 northwest of Ireland. 7 are missing from the vessel. The survivors are picked up by the British destroyer Highlander.
- The British tanker British Inventor (7101t) is damaged by a mine 5 miles from St Albans Head. Her entire crew is rescued. She is beached, but breaks in two and sinks on the 30th.
- The Dutch steamer Abel Tasman (314t) sinks on a mine in Swash Channel, Poole with the loss of her entire crew.
| ]Britain, Home Front
120,000 school-aged children are to be evacuated from London.
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| ]China
Japanese bombers make a devastating fire raid on the city of Chungking.
[ | ]Diplomatic Relations
- Francisco Franco of Spain prepares for closer collaboration with Germany and Italy by announcing his new policy of 'non-belligerency'.
- The Inter-Allied Supreme War Council meets at Briare. Present are Churchill, Eden and Reynaud. Churchill is unable to instill much of his own fighting spirit into the French leaders. Reynaud still supports resistance to the enemy to the last but has little support. In a desperate message to Roosevelt, Reynaud pleads for American help; the appeal asks the American president to 'throw the weight of American power into the scales in order to save France, the advance guard of democracy'. The French make desperate pleas for intervention by the British air force, but Churchill refuses, fearing an offensive against Britain by the Luftwaffe. The British are determined to prevent the Germans from obtaining control of the French navy.
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German Raiders
- The German disguised raider Orion lays mines off Auckland, New Zealand.
- The German armed merchant cruiser Widder captures the British tanker British Petrol (6891t) 1000 miles from Trinidad with the loss of 2 crewmen. The rest of the crew are made prisoners of war. The Widder sinks the British Petrol on the 14th.
| ]Germany, Home Front
Hitler gives an interview to American journalist Carl von Wiegand. He says has no desire to smash the British Empire but would 'destroy those who are destroying that Empire'. He also feels that US aid to Britain would not affect the outcome of the war.
[ | ]Mediterranean
- The British submarine Odin is sunk by the Italian destroyer Strale in the Gulf of Taranto with the loss of her entire crew of 56.
- During the night French cruisers and destroyers, with air cover, bombard the Genoa area in Italy.
| ]Norwegian Sea
The Ark Royal launches 15 Skua dive-bombers (8 are lost) to attack Scharnhorst at Trondheim; there is 1 direct hit by an unexploded bomb.
[ | ]United States, Politics
Roosevelt signs a new $1,300,000,000 Navy bill providing for much extra construction.
[ | ]Western Front
Paris is declared an 'open city' as all the French forces withdraw south of the capital. Oil stores in the suburbs are set on fire. The French forces west of Paris are now retreating to the Loire. The Germans reach the northern outskirts in the evening. The Germans also capture Le Havre. The British decide to abandon attempts to rebuild a BEF in France and begin to evacuate the British and Canadian troops which still remain in the country.[MORE]
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