1926 (WEDNESDAY)
SWITZERLAND: Germany enters the League of Nations by a unanimous vote. Meanwhile, Spain gives notice of withdrawal from the League.
UNITED KINGDOM: The US freighter SS Saccarappa, which had been detained by the British since 3 September, is released after her cargo of phosphates and cotton are deemed contraband and unloaded.
In a BBC radio broadcast in London, Jan Masaryk, son of late Czech president Thomas Masaryk, announces that Eduard Benes, the late Czech president, has declared the Czech people to be at war with Germany.
U-48 sank SS Winkleigh. U-34 sank SS Kennebec. U-29 sank SS Regent Tiger.
NETHERLANDS: Minelayer HNLMS Willem van Ewijck sunk near Terchelling when she runs into her own mine barrage.
GERMANY:The first person to be executed under yesterday's decree is Johann Heinen of Dessau, "for refusing to take part in defensive work."
Units of the French 4th and 5th armies have advanced into Germany, capturing two villages and are poised to cut off the industrial city of Saarbrucken. The Germans have pulled back towards their Siegfried line fortifications. Though heavy artillery fire and some aerial reconnaissance has been reported, nothing like a general offensive is under way. The Germans are puzzled. France has deployed 85 fully armed divisions against the Germans 34 divisions. 20 of them are reserve units. The German Panzers are all in Poland.
In response to Polish pleas for help, General Maurice Gamelin France's C-in-C, says he is doing everything he can; though he admitted to the British the Saar operation is only "a little test".
POLAND: Units of the German 10th Army are heavily engaged around Radom, Poland. Units of the German 14th Army reach the River San around Przemysl. Guderian's Panzer Corps attacks east along the line of the River Bug.
At 17:15 the 4th Panzer Division reaches the suburbs of a Warsaw crowded with thousands of refugees. The Germans begin shelling and a six hour long air raid against the eastern suburb of Praga, across the Vistula, is carried out, causing raging fires.
CANADA: Prime Minister Mr. MacKenzie King, declares that conscription for overseas service will not be necessary and repeats his pledge that it would not be introduced in Canada by his administration.
U.S.A.: In Washington, DC, US President Franklin D Roosevelt proclaims a "limited national emergency" and directs measures for strengthening national defenses within the limits of peacetime authorizations.
Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles meets with the British Ambassador to the U.S., Lord Lothian, for an "off-the-record talk" (at the former's request) about the brief detention of the US passenger liner SS Santa Paula yesterday off Curacao, Netherlands West Indies. Welles informs Lord Lothian that the captain of the passenger ship had been asked "to give formal assurances whether there were any German passengers on board, the implication being that if the captain had not given such assurances, the officers of the RN cruiser would have boarded SS Santa Paula to search for German passengers and possibly might have taken some off." Welles tells the British ambassador that "any act by British cruisers affecting American ships in waters so close to the U.S. involving possible boarding of them and taking off of civilian passengers would create a very highly unfortunate impression upon American public opinion at this time and was something undesirable in itself, since if civilian passengers actually had been taken off, such act would be clearly counter to international law." Lord Lothian promises to "take the necessary steps to prevent occurrences of this kind from happening."
In baseball, the New York Yankees defeat the Boston Redsox 4-1 in 7 innings; the game is called because of lightning. In St. Louis, the Cleveland Indians defeat the St. Louis Browns 12-1 giving the Indians pitcher Bobby Feller his 20th win this year, the youngest modern-era player to win 20 games.
The British and French announce a long-range blockade of Germany.
NICARAGUA: President Anastasio Somoza declares the country will maintain strict neutrality.
September 8th, 1940 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:The weather for today is fair early in the morning and evening, and cloudy for the remainder of the day. Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Fighter Command Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding’s, Squadron Stabilisation Scheme or classification for fighter squadrons with top priority for groups in the daylight battle zone, is introduced. During the day, two attacks are made against the South East of England, the first by some 100 aircraft, mainly on the Kentish Coastal districts with a sub-section to Central London; the second by some 30 aircraft which penetrated to the London area and is a prelude to the night attacks in this district. Some 16 reconnaissance flights are reported round the coast between Kinnaird's Head and Start Point, few of which penetrated inland. In the North at 1300 hours a raid appeared 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Kinnaird's Head, flew South and faded North East of the Wash. In the East, a few reconnaissance flights are made off East Anglia and the Estuary. One raid at 20,000 feet (6 096 meters) flew along the coast between Sunderland and Flamboro' but fighters failed to intercept. Two other reconnaissance flights of the Wash and Flamboro' are made.
In the South East, after two high flying reconnaissance flights of South London and the Thames Estuary in the early morning, there is little activity until 1105 hours. At this time a sustained attack during which some 100 aircraft crossed the coast, commenced on objectives in Kent. At first the raids remained in the Coastal district from the North Foreland to Rye but are later plotted northwards over Kent to Sheppey and the Estuary. Two splits of a raid of 20+ aircraft headed towards London area. At 1311 hours the enemy began to withdraw. The second attack is on a smaller scale, and commencing at 1930 hours, is directed to the London area. It appeared to be the prelude to the night operations; some 30 aircraft are involved and crossed the Coast between Beachy Head and Shoreham. This is followed by two reconnaissance raids, one of which penetrated Northwards to Bedford and the other to Hornchurch and Biggin Hill. In the South and South West, activity in this area is limited to a small number of reconnaissance flights off Start Point, Portland, and Isle of Wight and Beachy Head.
Daylight brings two attacks on south-east England.
On the first, one formation attacked the coastal area North Foreland-Rye in an invasion softening up raid, while small numbers made for Sheppey or the London area.
Not until 19:30 was the next raid mounted, by about 30 aircraft which crossed Beachy to London, while reconnaissance's were flown to Bedford and Hornchurch. By that time it seemed certain that London was going to suffer another night raid.
Around the 19:45 the first visitors of Luftlotte 3 were leaving the Le Havre area and an hour later steady streams were overflying Selsey and Shoreham and soon a continuous average of five raiders was over the IAZ until 05:00 - except for a brief lull around 01:00. Every Metropolitan borough and 60 local authority areas reported bomb damage, large fires overtaking Berger Paints in Homerton, Madame Tussauds and Baker Street. Three hospitals were hit, Fulham Power Station was set on fire and many bombs dropped indiscriminately fell close to the Thames. Major incidents occurred at Acton, Leyton, Poplar and at Broad Street Station. the Embankment was flooded at Chelsea.
Barrage balloons have been reported shot down, 1 mile (1,6 kilometers) southeast of Hyde Park and at Wandsworth. Gun Sites reported attacked at Dulwich and Wanstead. Very little activity over the remainder of the country. Two raids in the Liverpool area, one to the Humber, and one over the Thames Estuary and out over Lowestoft. Luftwaffe activity continued later than usual up to 0500 hours. Later raids appeared to concentrate on East London and the Inner Thames Estuary and then flew Eastwards on their homeward course.
On this day, RAF Fighter Command claimed 4-3-8 Luftwaffe aircraft and antiaircraft batteries claimed 3-0-0; the British lost four aircraft with two pilots killed or missing.412 people are killed and 747 injured.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 15; RAF, 2.
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group Whitleys. 51 Sqn. 1
aircraft overshot on landing at Dishforth. Crew
safe. 10 Sqn. 1
aircraft overshot Leeming on return from Ostend. aircraft burnt. 1 crew injured,
rest safe. 58 Sqn. 1
aircraft undershot Linton-on-Ouse on operations. Crew safe.
Bombing - Dockyards at Bremen - invasion fleet at Ostend.
10 Sqn. Six
aircraft to Ostend. Filthy weather, only one bombed. One crashed on return, crew
safe.
58 Sqn. Three
aircraft to Ostend. None bombed due to weather. Six
aircraft to Bremen. One returned
early, four bombed primary, one bombed an alternative.
77 Sqn. Two
aircraft to Ostend. None bombed due to weather. Nine
aircraft to Bremen. One returned
early, seven bombed primary, one failed to bomb.
2 Group: Three crews of 82 Sqn. ordered to reconnoitre the Dutch harbours, one Blenheim
returns, bombing Dunkirk on the way.
U.S.A.: Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Johnny Mize hits home runs number 38, 39 and 40 in the first game of a doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates and becomes the first player to hit 3 home runs in one game four times in his career. However, the Cardinals lose both games, 16-14 and 9-4. Mize finishes the season with 43 home runs and a .314 batting average for the third place Cardinals.
September 8th, 1941 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Hatfield, Hertfordshire: The first prototype de Havilland Mosquito IV Bomber variant (W 4072) makes its maiden flight. The new bomber has a level speed of 400 mph and fighter-agility. (22)
Destroyer HMS Saumarez is laid down. Submarine HMS Trespasser is laid down.
FRANCE: Paris: The German authorities arrest 120 leaders of the city's Jewish community as hostages for the murder last week of a German officer.
GERMANY: RAF bombers inflicted heavy damage on Berlin last night in the heaviest raid yet on the German capital.
U.S.S.R.: Continuing Finnish attacks between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega advance across the Svir and capture Lodenoye Pole. This cuts the railway line from Murmansk to Leningrad. Arkangel is still available to use now, but the winter ice will close this. Due to the lack of soviet ability to break the ice, this winter, a new railway from Murmansk will become necessary.
Leningrad: The city of Leningrad is now completely encircled by German and Finnish troops. The Germans reached Schlusselburg on Lake Ladoga. The Finns cutting the Stalin canal, completes the encirclement. Field Marshal von Leeb's Panzers are within ten miles of the city, which is being pounded by long-range artillery and the Luftwaffe. More than 6,000 incendiaries have been dropped today and in a terrible blow for the defenders, the huge Badayev food warehouse has been destrpyed along with hundreds of tons of irreplaceable supplies.
The Russians are heavily out-numbered in the air, but their pilots are fighting ferociously against the swarms of Stukas which are attacking the heavy Russian ships in the harbours of Kronstadt and Leningrad. They are carrying specially-developed 2,000 pound bombds; their particular targets are the battleships MARAT and OCTOBER REVOLUTION, whose 12-inch guns are pounding the German rear echelons.
The land attack on the city is being mounted by 1st Panzer Division thrusting along the left bank of the Neva and the 6th Panzer Division following the Moscow-Leningrad railway line. It is not going to be a walkover for them. They have been held up for three weeks by suicidal Russian counter-attacks. Their men and machines are worn out by fighting both the Russians and the mud caused by incessant rain. If they had made their assault a month ago they would be in the Romanov's palaces today. Instead, they are caught up in hastily-built defences manned by Opolchenye - militia units armed with rifles, Molotov cocktails and grenades. This is not the sort of fighting the Panzers enjoy. In fact, von Leeb's attempt to capture the city may not last. Hitler wants to switch his tanks to the forthcoming attack on Moscow, leaving Leningrad to "wither on the vine".
He would rather subject the city to a long siege by gun and bomber and so relieve the German army of the necessity of feeding the population during the winter. Von Leeb however, can almost taste the glory of capturing the old Tsarist capital and will carry on his assault until told to stop.
The ethnic German community on the Volga region (about 600,000 people) is exiled to Siberia because of Kremlin fears that it might become a fifth column of Nazi sympathizers.
LITHUANIA: The entire Jewish community of Meretsch is exterminated.
FRENCH INDOCHINA: Ho Chi Minh forms the League for the Independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh).
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Nine B-17's of the 14th Bombardment Squadron arrive at Clark AAF. (Marc James Small)
U.S.A.: Destroyer USS Hobson is launched.
September 8th, 1942 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: In England, the "Joint British American Directive on Day Bomber Operations Involving Fighter Cooperation" is issued; worked out between Major General Carl Spaatz, Commanding General US 8th Air Force, and the RAF, it consigns night bombing to the RAF and day bombing to the Eighth Air Force; the purpose is to achieve continuity in the bombing offensive and secure RAF fighter support for US bombers; General Spaatz orders all tactical operations to give way to activity in support of Operation TORCH (plan for Allied landings in North and Northwest and Africa in November 1942); processing of units of the newly created US Twelfth Air Force destined for North Africa takes priority over combat operations for the present.
London: In a speech described by MPs as one of "guarded optimism", Churchill told the Commons today that in his talks with Stalin he had promised the Soviet leader that the western Allies would come to his aid "as quickly as possible in the most effective manner without regard to the losses and sacrifices involved". That was as far as the British prime minister felt he could go in meeting Stalin's repeated demands for a second front in western Europe. At the outset of the talks Stalin had made it plain that he did not think the British and Americans were doing enough to take the weight off the Soviet armies facing the Nazi onslaught.
Canadian-Russian wheat agreement signed in London. Canada extended a credit of $10,000,000 to the Russian Government for the purchase of Canadian wheat and flour.
Destroyer HMS Undaunted is laid down. Sloop HMS Mermaid is laid down. Trawler HMS Liscomb commissioned.
Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill announces that the British heavy cruiser HMS Shropshire (83) will be transferred to the Royal Australian Navy as a replacement for the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra (D 93) lost in the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942.
FRANCE: General de St. Vincent is dismissed by the Vichy government for failure to arrest Jews in his area. He has been the military governor of Lyons.
During the day, 12 RAF Bomber Command Bostons bomb Cherbourg and Le Havre docks without loss.
GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command bombs Dusseldorf in the Ruhr, dropping 4,000 pound (1814 kilogram) bombs. Bomber crews call these bombs "Cookies" while the press call them "Blockbusters."
During the night of 8/9 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 249 aircraft of five types to bomb Frankfurt-am-Main; 200 aircraft crews claimed to have “bombed” the target with the loss of ten aircraft. The truth is that the Pathfinders are unable to locate Frankfurt accurately and most of the bombs fell southwest of the city and in the town of Rüsselsheim, 15 miles (24 kilometers) away. Frankfurt reports only a few bombs, approximately six aircraft loads. with minor damage, one person dead and 30 injured. Bomber Command documents state that the Opel tank factory and the Michelin tire factory are damaged and that five aircraft bombed Mainz; two bombed Darmstadt; and individual aircraft bombed Duisburg, Hochst, Russelheim and Wiesbaden,
ARCTIC OCEAN: Soviet submarine "K-2" of the Polar fleet and White Sea Flotilla is sunk by a mine, at Tana-fjord area. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)
ROMANIA: Soviet submarine Shch-208 of the Black Sea Fleet is mined and sunk in the Constanta area. (Mike Yared)(146 and 147)
CRETE: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24s attack shipping and the harbor at Suda Bay.
NEW GUINEA: The Japanese 18th Army attacks Australian positions at Efogi at dawn, hitting the 2/27th. The Japanese surround two Australian battalions which lose six Bren guns in the attack and use up 1,200 hand grenades and thousands of rounds of ammunition before managing to extricate their men. The Australians decide to make their last stand at Menari, using the fresh 25 Infantry Brigade, in new jungle greens, on the Imita Ridge. 25 Brigade is told, "There won't be any withdrawal from the Imita position. You'll die there if necessary. You understand?" The Japanese are now within 40 miles (64 kilometres) of Port Moresby.
At Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, the Australian 2/9th Battalion completes its withdrawal to Gilli Gilli destroying Japanese equipment and supplies.
In the air, USAAF 5th Air Force P-400 Airacobras bomb
and strafe the Efogi area where Australian forces are hard pressed by the
Japanese. B-17 Flying Fortresses and RAAF Hudsons attack cruisers and a
destroyer north of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands which lie north of the south-east
tip of New Guinea, between southeast New Guinea and the Solomons. (Jack McKillop
and Tom Hickcox))
SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Guadalcanal, a provisional
battalion composed of the depleted Marine 1st Raider Battalion and the 1st
Parachute Battalion moves east from Lunga Point by sea to destroy a Japanese
force at Tasimboko, near Taivu Point. Debarking east of Tasimboko, the battalion
moves west, clashing with outposts of strong Japanese force that landed recently
near Taivu Point. The Japanese holding force is driven from their positions.
USAAF P-400s and USMC F4F Wildcats provide close air support for USMC ground units. A number of aircraft are written off due to accidents and by the end of the day the Cactus Air Force has only 8 F4Fs and P-400s serviceable.
Guadalcanal: In the last 24 hours, US marines have landed at Taivu and attacked the Japanese base.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: Aleutian Islands, a B-24 Liberator and a B-26 Marauder of the US 11th Air Force fly photo reconnaissance over Agattu, Attu, and Kiska Islands.
U.S.A.: Washington: Roosevelt broadcasts to the nation, warning that "this is the toughest war of all time."
The U.S. ignores the Vichy French protest concerning bombing of French cities.
The State Department announces that the U.S. chargé d'affaires in Vichy has been instructed to inform the Vichy Government that bombs have only been dropped in France on military plants in the employ of Germany, and that the Americans have no desire to see the French suffer any more than could be avoided. The Government is to be informed, further, that military plants in France, useful to the Germans, would be "bombed at every opportunity."
The Third War Loan drive begins.
Domestically, all gold mines in the U.S. are shut
down and the industry's workers are sent to war production jobs.
September 8th, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command in England flies Missions
53 and 54 against targets in France.
(1) 68 B-26B bomb Nord Airfield at Lille at
0922 hours.
2) 68 B-26s bomb Vendeville Airfield at Lille at 1011-1013 hours; 1
B-26 is lost. 68 B-26s attack Boulogne coastal defenses at 1756-1818 hours.
Destroyer HMS St Kitts laid down. Frigate HMS Foley commissioned.
FRANCE: During the night of 8/9 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 257 aircraft, 119 Wellingtons, 112 Stirlings, 16 Mosquitos, ten Halifaxes and five USAAF VIII Bomber Command B-17 Flying Fortresses to bomb gun positions at Boulogue; this is the first American night-bombing sorties of the war with Bomber Command. One hundred twenty five aircraft bombed the Cap D'Alprech, 119 bombed Le Portal sites and the B-17s bombed the Boulogue industrial area. The target is the site of a German long-range gun battery and the marking is mainly provided by Oboe Mosquitos, some of whom are experimenting with a new technique. But the raid is not successful; the marking and the bombing are not accurate and the battery does not appear to have been damaged. No aircraft lost.
GERMANY: U-293, U-349 and U-478 commissioned.
BALTIC SEA: - U-983 is sunk north of Loba, in position 54.56N, 17.14E, after a collision with U-988. 38 of the 43 crewmen survive.
NORWAY: The German launch Operation SIZILIEN. The German battleship Tirpitz, accompanied by a destroyer flotilla, shells Barentsburg and Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Islands, and then the battleship Scharnhorst and two destroyer flotillas land troops (349th Grenadier Regiment) that destroy facilities at Grönfjord and Advent Bay before re embarking. The German force returns to its Norwegian bases unhindered.
U.S.S.R.: Stalino, the vital industrial centre of the Donets basin, Krasnoarmeisk and Yasinovataya are liberated by the Soviets.
Soviet submarine Shch-203 of the Black Sea Fleet is sunk by
mines off Cape Tarkhankutskiy, Sevastopol. (Mike Yared)(146
and 147)
ITALY: The British 8th Army liberates Locri.
Italian Prime Minister Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio sends a message to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Force Mediterranean, repudiating the surrender terms with the Allies. The Italian government is beginning to feel apprehensive of letting Allies freely into Rome. The long term seem to be made by the victor for the defeated and Italy is still capable of fighting for the Allies. Eisenhower, upset over the lack of progress in the surrender talks, broadcasts Italy's surrender over the radio at 1830 hours local. Italy is now placed in a tough situation, to either confirm the surrender, or face warring both the Allies and Germany. At 1945 hours local, Badoglio informs his country of the Italian surrender. Italians cheer and the Germans become infuriated. The main body of the Italian Fleet sails from La Spezia and Genoa with 3 battleships, 6 cruisers, and 9 destroyers to surrender to the Allies.
Learning that German troops are in the Rome area in considerable numbers and that the Italians cannot assist operations as planned, General Eisenhower cancels the scheduled drop of elements of the U.S. 82d Airborne Division there. It is too late to give them another assignment.
29 US Ninth Air Force B-24s bomb the landing ground at Foggia, as convoys approach Salerno to begin the Allied invasion of Italy (Operation AVALANCHE).
About 130 USAAF 12th Air Force B-17s visually bomb Frascati with the loss of one aircraft; 160+ medium bombers hit a highway at Lauria and bridges at Trebisacce and Saptri; fighters cover Allied forces near Pizzo, and bomb and strafe roads and vehicles in the Lamezia-Vibo Valentia-Pizzo-Catanzaro areas; and bombers hit roads and junctions in the Naples area during the night of 8/9 September.
SARDINIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighters attack Pabillonis.
BURMA:6 US Tenth Air Force B-24s mine the Rangoon River during the night of 8/9 September; and B-25 Mitchells hit Gokteik Viaduct for the second consecutive day, scoring 5 hits at the base of the structure, which remains usable.
USAAF OPERATIONS IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC AREA (Seventh Air Force): B-24s, operating from Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands, fire on a flying boat scoring hits hut causing no visible damage.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Japanese 51st Division begins to withdraw from Salamaua to Lae under pressure from both Australian and U.S. forces. Elements of the Australian 9th Division, moving west on Lae, reach the flooded Busu River where the Japanese hold the west bank.
Four US destroyers bombard Lae.
US Fifth Air Force B-17s, B-24s, B-25s and B-26s pound the Lae area, and A-20 Havocs hit Salamaua. The IJA at Salamaua are ordered to prepare to fall back to Lae in face of the approaching Australian 5 Division. Elements of the Australian 9 Division, moving west on Lae, reach the flooded Busu River where the Japanese hold the western bank. Other heavy and medium bombers carry out light raids on targets in western part of New Guinea and on islands of Netherlands East Indies.
ELLICE ISLANDS: Japanese “Betty” bombers (Mitsubishi G4M, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers) of the 755th Kokutai (Naval Air Corps) bomb Nanomea Island. .
PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS
Drum (SS-228) sinks a Japanese army cargo ship off Hollandia, New Guinea.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: 12 US Thirteenth Air Force B-25s hit the Vila Airfield area on Kolombangara Island.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Matapedia damaged in collision with SS Scorton in fog off Sambro Lightship in the Halifax Approaches. Matapedia was towed to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, for temporary repairs and in Oct 43, was moved to Lunenburg for permanent repairs and a refit. She did not return to service until Feb 44.
Marine accidents and weather damage removed as many warships and merchant ships from service as did enemy action. This was a factor that planners failed to anticipate and which caused major disruptions to plans at all levels of warfare. In 1942, about a fifth of all tanker tonnages plying to Britain were permanently under repairs. By May 1942, British fuel stocks were almost two million tons below minimum requirements. By November 1942, the shortage stood at 1.2 million tons but the initial requirements for Operation TORCH drew down another 400,000 tons. Sustaining requirements diverted thirty tankers from British to African service. By early 1943, the sustaining requirements for TORCH had grown alarmingly to 1.3 million tons for the year. The winter weather of 1942-43 in the North Atlantic was the worst on record and the number of damaged tankers rose to record heights. British fuel stocks continued to fall through Fall 1942 and reached new record lows by Jun 43. Plans to open a second theatre of operations in Europe were delayed, primarily due to fuel shortages.
U.S.A.: Baseball, the New York Giants pitcher Ace Adams pitches his 62nd game and sets a major-league baseball record for number of games worked by a pitcher in a single season. Adams pitches in 70 games this year and finishes the season with an 11-7 record and a 2.82 ERA for the last place Giants.
Dale Harriman reports to the Army induction center in Columbus, Ohio. After passing the physical, he is given a choice of either the army or navy, and chooses the army mostly because he never learned to swim. He is given orders to report for active duty at Fort Hays, Columbus, Ohio on September 29th. (Glen Boren)
Minesweepers USS Champion and Dextrous commissioned.
Destroyer escorts USS Inch and Marchand commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Three German submarines are lost:
- U-662 is listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay, cause unknown. All hands, 52-men are lost.
- U-760 is sailing on the surface alongside U-262 when they were attacked by an RAF Wellington Mk XIV of No. 179 Squadron based at Gibraltar about 150 miles (241 km) out of Cape of Finisterre. The U-760 arrived at Vigo harbor and was put under the supervision of the Spanish Navy cruiser Navarra. After 24 hours the boat had not left the harbour (the neutrality laws allowed this time frame for emergency repairs) and it was interned. The boat was taken to El Ferrol where she remained until the end of the war. On July 23, 1945 U-760 was taken to England for Operation Deadlight.
U-669 (Type VIIC) is listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay with all 52 crew on 8 Sept. There is no explanation for its loss. (Alex Gordon)
September 8th, 1944 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: London: The first German A4 (Vergeltungwaffe 2 or V-2) rocket lands on Staveley Road, a quiet suburban road in Chiswick, West London, at 6.43pm, killing three people, seriously injuring 17, destroying six homes and leaving a massive crater. This is one of Hitler's vaunted "vengeance weapons".
It was fired, minutes before by Mobile Artillery Section 485 from a mobile launcher from the Koekoeslaan (Cuckoo's Lane) a suburban road of The Hague, in the Netherlands, The explosion, and a second, just 16 seconds later (which lands in open countryside in Epping (north-east of London), but causes no casualties) are heard over much of London. Each sounded like a double thunder-clap followed by the rush of an express train.
It had been aimed at the Fire Station in Southwark Bridge Road but missed by eight miles. To avoid panic, and against the advice of scientists, no announcement of the new weapon was made. There are rumours that exploding gas mains were responsible. This morning, another rocket landed on the outskirts of Paris. By coincidence today Britons were told by Duncan Sandys, a junior minister, that the attack by V1 flying bombs was virtually over "except possibly for a few last shots". The launching sites near Calais have been captured, but a small number of V1s are still being air-launched by Heinkel bombers over the North Sea. In the 80 days since they began, 2,300 V1s got through to London, killing 5,475 people, injuring 16,000 and destroying 25,000 houses.
"The London Gazette" describes the deeds for which Wing Commander Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, D.S.O., D.F.C., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve has been awarded the VC. Article
US Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions.
- Mission 611: 1,070 bombers and 349 fighters,in 3 forces, are dispatched to hit
industrial targets in the Mainz and Ludwigshafen, Germany area; attacks were
visual at the primary targets; 10 bombers are lost.
(1) 348 B-17s attack the Opau oil refinery at Ludwigshafen; 5 B-17s are lost;
escort is provided by 88 P-51s.
(2) 247 B-24s hit the Karlsruhe marshalling yard and 1 hits a secondary target
at Ludwigshafen; 4 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 82 P-51s.
(3) 386 B-17s are dispatched to hit an armored vehicle factory at Gustavsburg
(167) and oil depot at Kassel (166); 23 others hit targets of opportunity; 1
B-17 is lost; escort is provided by 144 P-51s.
- Mission 615: 7 B-17s drop leaflets in the Low Countries, France and Germany during the night.
Other missions include:
- The VIII Fighter Command flies 2 missions.
(1) 160 P-38 Lightnings strafe and bomb rail transportation east of the Rhine
River; they claim 7-0-1 aircraft on the ground.
(2) 194 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51s strafe targets in the Heidelberg-Darmstadt-Wurzburg
and Frankfurt/Main-Koblenz areas; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost.
- A C-47 Skytrain flies a CARPETBAGGER mission in France.
- 110 B-24s fly TRUCKIN' mission to Bricy Airfield at Orleans, France.
BELGIUM: The US VII Corps captures Liege. The Canadian 1st Army captures Nieuport and Ostend.
In a stunning ten-day display of style and vigour, British Canadian and Polish forces have raced across northern France and into Belgium to liberate Brussels and capture the key port of Antwerp. Today they stand on the Albert Canal; behind them lies a trail of devastated enemy tanks, guns and trucks, and cages crowded with PoWs.
The task of leading the assault was given to Lt-Gen Brian Horrocks, who triumphed in Tunisia with his famous moonlight advance to take the Germans off guard. On this occasion his jumping-off point was a Seine bridgehead at Vernon; he stormed German defences and kept the enemy on the run with his moonlight manouvres. After a 40-mile drive to Amiens, he captured its German commander, General Eberbach, seized the town and secured the bridges over the Somme. Arras and Douai followed. The Guards Armoured Division entered Brussels on 3 September; Antwerp fell to the 11th Armoured Division the next day.
Hitler is desperately scrambling together new infantry divisions by drafting the elderly and disabled whic have been carrying out guard duties in rear areas. Sailors and airmen are being turned into foot soldiers. The Fuhrer has recalled to active service the man he sacked only two months ago for failing to repel the Allied landing in Normandy. Field Marshal von Rundstedt returned as C-in-C West with orders to halt the Allies until winter arrives, with fog, night and snow, to give the Third Reich a respite.
The Belgian government, exiled in London for the past four
years, returns to Brussels.
NETHERLANDS: The U.S. 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) drives almost to Maastricht and patrols the Albert Canal in Belgium.
During the night of 8/9 September, two of three RAF Mosquitos bomb Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk.
FRANCE: The Canadians are besieging the Channel ports of Boulogne and Calais, where the Germans are clinging on in order to deny the Allies port facilities close to the front lines. The Canadian 2d Division captures Dunkirk while the 4th Armoured Division reaches the outskirts of Bruges and Polish armor reaches Thielt. The U.S. 2d, 8th and 29th Infantry Divisions of the U.S. Ninth Army begin an all-out assault on Brest at 1000 hours local. The German 106th Panzer Brigade counterattacks the troops of the U.S. 90th Infantry Division but becomes disorganized and is virtually wiped out losing 30 tanks, 60 half-tracks and almost 100 other vehicles. The enemy pocket in Briey surrenders to units of the U.S. XX Corps.
Besancon is liberated by the US VI Corps in the south of France.
In southern France, the 1st Airborne Task Force captures Menton and drives to the Italian border. The French 1st Armoured Division captures Autun. The Germans are beginning to withdraw from the Baume-les-Dames area to avoid being encircled.
The newly organized U.S. Ninth Army attacks Brest, a French
naval base in Brittany.
Weather prevents US Ninth Air Force bomber missions; fighters fly cover for
troops in the Brest area and for the US 2d, 5th, 8th, and 29th Infantry
Divisions, and the XX Corps area, escort troop movements and fly defensive
patrols; several hundred C-47s fly supply and evacuation missions.
In southern France: USAAF Twelfth Air Force A-20 Havocs fly supply missions to an airfield near Lyon; fighters strafe the Belfort area, hitting 10 trains with good results, and blast a horse-drawn vehicle convoy near Strasbourg.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 333 aircraft, 304 Lancasters, 25 Mosquitos and four Stirlings, to bomb German positions at Le Havre but the weather is bad, with a low cloud base, and only 109 aircraft bombed, with indifferent results. Two Lancasters are lost. The four Stirlings of No. 149 Squadron on this raid are the last Bomber Command Stirlings to carry out a bombing operation.(22)
LUXEMBOURG: German troops
withdraw from Luxembourg to positions behind the Seigfried Line.
GERMANY:
Roland Friesler's 'People's Court' sentences Carl Friedrich
Gördeler
to death. (231)
During the night of 8/9 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches Mosquitos to two targets: 44 of 45 Mosquitos dispatched bombed Nuremberg and four of six bombed Emden.
U-2507 commissioned.
U.S.S.R.: Baltic Fleet, Ladoga Lake and Chudskoe Lake Flotillas: MS "N-175" - lost at storm, close to Vidlitsa in Ladoga Lake (later supposedly raised and went into service) . (Sergey Anisimov)(69)
YUGOSLAVIA: Three hundred and fifty four USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators escorted by P-38 Lightnings bomb transportation targets: 103 bomb the Sava River railroad bridge in Belgrade; in Nis, 56 bombers attack the West marshalling yard and 48 hit the North marshalling yard; in Sarjaevo, 54 bomb the West marshalling yard and 15 hit the main marshalling yard; 41 bomb the Sava River railroad bridge at Brod;
ROMANIA: Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force C-47 Skytrains fly evacuation missions to Bucharest, Romania, and return to Italy carrying Allied POWs.
BULGARIA: Soviet troops cross the border into Bulgaria, ostensibly because of Bulgaria's refusal to declare war on Germany.
GREECE: German forces begin to withdraw.
Soviet troops are now 26 miles inside the country.
ITALY: Units of the U.S. Fifth Army cross the Serchio River and enter Vecchiano without opposition. The flooded Arno River prevents the South African 6th Armoured Division from crossing reinforcements.
The British Eighth Army continues its attacks on Gemmano and Coriano ridges in Italy. Two days of rain have seriously interrupted operations. These attacks are heavily fought and the positions remain in German possession.
USAAF Fifteenth Air Force P-51s escort RAF Beaufighters to Trieste, Italy
During the night of 8/9 September, 71 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the canal at Ravenna.
CHINA: Chungking: Operating for the first time in daylight, 90 Chengtu-based B-29 Superfortresses of the US XX Bomber Command bomb the Showa Steel Works at Anshan, in Japanese-controlled Manchukuo. 3 others bomb other targets in Anshan, 5 hit Sinsiang railroad yards, and 3 others hit various targets of opportunity; Major General Curtis Emerson LeMay, Commanding General XX Bomber Command, accompanies the mission. Tokyo Radio claims three B-29s are shot down, but in fact the USAAF suffered no losses. During the night of 8/9 September Japanese bombers attack HQ, storage areas, and parked aircraft at Hsinching (near Chengtu) damaging a B-29, a C-46 Commando, and wounding 2 soldiers.
U.S. Major General Patrick J. Hurley assumes his post as U.S. Ambassador to China.
Lieutenant General Joseph Stillwell, Commander in Chief U.S. China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater of Operations, agrees to a War Department proposal that the CBI Theater be split and that he be relieved of responsibility for lend-lease matters in order to concentrate on support of Pacific operations from China. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek proposes to Stillwell that Chinese troops from Myitkyina, Burma, be employed in the battle for Lung-ling, Burma.
Japanese ground forces overrun the USAAF Fourteenth Air Force airbase at Lingling. A second force is advancing on airbases from the south.
BURMA: On the Salween front, the Japanese, having assembled strong reinforcements, begin attacks on Chinese positions north of Lung-ling.
23 US Tenth Air Force B-24s haul fuel to Kunming, China; large-scale troop carrier operations to many CBI terminals continue.
Nine USAAF Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Katha.
FRENCH INDOCHINA: 18 US Fourteenth Air Force B-24s attack 5 railroad bridges at Giap Nat, Dui Giang, Hue, Trach, Duc Tho, and Quang Tri, knocking out the Quang Tri bridge. 3 B-24s claim a destroyer sunk south of Hong Kong. In China, 100+ P-40s and P-51 Mustangs on armed reconnaissance hit a large variety of targets of opportunity including troops, river shipping, bridges, airstrips, supplies, trucks, and railroad targets over the vast southeast China areas at Lingling, Kiyang, Tunganhsien, Hengyang, Lingkuantien, and Leiyang.
EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Langoan Airfield on the northeast tip of Celebes Island. On Halmahera Island, B-25 Mitchells hit Galela and Tobelo while B-24s bomb Lolobata and P-47 Thunderbolts attack Kaoe Airfield and antiaircraft positions, Djailolo Airfield and barges at Point Lelo. On Ceram Island, P-38 Lightnings hit Boela Aerodrome while B-25s hit small shipping.
NEW GUINEA: In Dutch new Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb airfields at Langgoer, Faan, Letfoean, and Toeal; fighter-bombers and A-20s hit airstrips and targets of opportunity at Efman, Samate, Babo, Urarom, Manokwari, Moemi, and Ranski; and P-39Airacobras strafe the Wewak coastal area.
BONIN AND VOLCANO ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Iwo Jima in the Volcano Island and two cargo vessels are damaged off Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: USN carrier based aircraft of Task Groups 38.1 and 38.4, plus surface ships, bombard targets in the Palau Islands.
USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators based on Saipan bomb Pagan Island while B-25 Mitchells from the Gilbert Islands hit Ponape Island .
MARIANA ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Pagan Island.
MARSHALL ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Wotje Atoll.
PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarines sink five Japanese ships: USS Bashaw (SS-241) sinks a transport west of Mindanao, Philippine Islands and USS Spadefish (SS-411) sinks a transport, an army cargo ship and two merchant cargo ships east of Formosa.
CANADA: Frigate HMCS Royalmount arrived Halifax from builder Montreal, Province of Quebec.
U.S.A.: The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) issue a directive to General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, South West Pacific Area. and Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander Pacific Ocean Areas, for the invasion of the Philippine Islands.
Ed Wynn resumes his radio career after 7 years off the air. Wynn's new show, "Happy Island," debuts on the NBC Blue Network on Fridays at 1900 hours Eastern. Wynn plays King Bubbles, ruler of the mythical Happy Island, where good humor and joy are the order of the day. The show remains on the air until February 1945. The show is sponsored by Borden's Milk and during the commercials, Hope Emerson plays Elsie the cow.
Submarine USS Kraken commissioned.
Destroyer minelayer USS Shannon commissioned.
Destroyer USS Wallace L Lind commissioned.
The USN commission the light cruiser USS Springfield (CL-66) at Boston, Massachusetts. This is the 37th light cruiser in commission.
Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-266 was commissioned at New York. Her only commanding officer was LTJG J. D. Legon, USCGR. On October 2, 1944 she departed New York after a trip to Daviaville, RI, for the Southwest Pacific, where she operated during the war. On 25 November 1945, Coast Guard crew was relieved by a civilian officer and crew.
ATLANTIC OCEAN:
U-482 sank MS Pinto and SS
Empire Heritage in Convoy HXF-305.
September 8th, 1945 (SATURDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: NAS Ballyhabert Northern Ireland No 4 Naval Air Fighter School 768 RN Sqn, Corsair a/c #JT357, Lt (A) Frank Wilfred McGarry RCNVR killed flying accident. Engine failure, crashed 5 miles SSW of air field.
HMS Landrail RNAS Campbeltown 766 RN Sqn Albacore a/c, #L7109, S/Lt (A) Ross MacRae "Tug" Wilson RCNVR killed in night flying exercise, accident near Shiskina, Arran.
Corvette HMS Geranium sold to Denmark as HDMS Thetis.
KOREA: US troops fly in to Korea, to balance the Soviet occupation of North Korea. They land at Inchon and will occupy the southern half of the country below the 38th parallel.
Recollections of Art Morneweck:
we arrived at Inchon, Korea and took a train to Taegu, Korea. We were the first Americans the Koreans ever saw. We marched into the Japanese compound past the Japanese guard and stopped in front of a 2-story building we were to use as our barracks. Being in the first squad we marched to each guard post, the Japanese soldier fell in the rear of our column and one of our men took over the guard post. I took guard of the ammo dump and it was raining very hard. The Japanese soldiers were very cordial and bowed to each of us as we replaced them. When we got back from guard duty the Japanese were gone. The following night we were just getting in bed and the C.O. came in and told our squad to make a full field pack (with rations), get our rifles and ammunition, because of some trouble in town. We packed up (13 in our squad) and were taken to the city hall. We just got there and were standing at the gate when up from three directions came three Japanese s soldiers running at us. To us it looked like the whole Japanese army was coming at us. Those rifles of our got loaded really quick and ready. The Japanese just came up to surrender to us Americans. They were afraid of the Korean Police. We were to guard some important criminal and political papers. My guard post was two vaults and it was pitch black. Here comes the kicker!! We were the regular army troops, but the only ones there so we were given M.P. helmets, M.P. arm bands and 45 calibre revolvers and we worked with the Korean Police. We set up our radios in police stations to talk to our jeep. There was a city block of houses, built side by side, no back door, and facing the courtyard. Only one way to get in and we were there to keep G.I.'s out from this whorehouse district. I don't know how they would get in but a Korean madam would come out saying American, American and we would have to go in and check each room and kick them out. Four of us were put at an o ut-post many miles from town at bottom of some mountains. Every morning a jeep with a hot stove would come and make us hot breakfast, the rest of the day k-rations or one time two of us took our rifles and got a few ducks. We were guarding a large barn. One day we looked in the barn and it was full of rice bowls. Many miles away another 4-man post was guarding parachutes. The Korean toilets were oblong holes in the floor and they had Honey dippers who would take away the human waste and spread it on their food gardens, everything grew twice as large as ours. We were not aloud to eat anything that came from the ground. We did not destroy any arms; I assumed the Japanese took them home with them. There was a room that had a few things we could have, I brought back a sword. We did turn in our rifles and they dunked in some preservation gook. I left Korea Feb. 26, 1946 and was discharged March 20, 1946. When I was at Taegu, we (GI's) had no problems with the Korean people and knew nothing about political problems, we just wanted to go back to the states. I was in the 40th Division, 185th Infantry, Company E, 1st Platoon, 1st Squad.
JAPAN: Tokyo: Hideki Tojo, Japanese prime minister during most of World War II, attempts suicide rather than face a war crimes tribunal. The attempt fails and he was later convicted and hanged.
In Yokohama, Los Angeles, California-born Iva Togori (Tokyo Rose) is arrested for treason. She will stand trial in the U.S.
MacArthur"> MacArthur drives through Tokyo to the American embassy, which will be his home for the five and a half years. (Drew Halevy)
FRENCH INDOCHINA: Ho Chi Minh restores universal suffrage.
NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Australian General Sir Thomas Blamey accepts the surrender of the II Japanese Army (Lieutenant General Teshima Fusataro) on Morotai Island in the Halmahera Islands.
BORNEO: In Dutch Borneo, Japanese naval officers are transported to the Australian frigate HMAS Burdekin (K 376) and sign the surrender document in front of four Australian brigadiers.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Off Bougainville Island, the Japanese forces surrender to Australian, New Zealand and U.S. officers.
CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Larch Lake launched Penetanguishene. Ontario.
U.S.A.: A bus equipped with a two-way radio is put into service for the first time in Washington, DC.
At the Miss America contest in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Bess Myerson, Miss New York, became the first Jewish contestant to be crowned Miss America.
Destroyer USS Fiske launched.
Destroyer USS Harwood commissioned.
1951
UNITED STATES: Beginning 4 September1951, delegates from over fifty countries gathered at the San Francisco Opera House to discuss the making of a peace treaty with Japan. Signed by forty-eight countries today, the San Francisco Peace Treaty, as it is better known, contained seven chapters and a preamble. It marked the end of hostilities between the signatories, provided for the termination of the occupation, and specified the details of the settlement of war-related issues. More information is available at: http://www.jpri.org/public/wp78.html (Mike Lenox)