Yesterday           Tomorrow

September 11th, 1939 (MONDAY)

No. 10 Sqn. RAAF receives its first Sunderland flying boat.

U.S. freighter SS Black Eagle is detained by British authorities at the Downs, the roadstead in the English channel off the coast of Kent.

FRANCE: The first meeting of the Anglo-French Supreme War Council is held today.

Four British army divisions, 158000 men with 25,000 vehicles, have crossed the Channel to France without a hitch. The operation, carried out in great secrecy, brought men from all parts of Britain to ports in the south of England, where transports waited. An escort of destroyers picked them up as they set sail.

Once ashore in France the men were taken to temporary barracks before being deployed at the front alongside their French allies.

The British soldier of today carries a great deal of extra equipment unknown to the men of 1914. regular issue includes gas cape and two pouches each containing 60 rounds of ammunition. When wearing full marching gear, the infantryman carries a large pack on his back holding a greatcoat, a cardigan and a few personal belongings. In all, the equipment, with uniform, steel helmet and ankle-boots, comes to 70 pounds. But the British Expeditionary Force is still seriously short of equipment. A secret report by the British Chiefs of Staff reveals that of the 352 anti-aircraft guns assigned to the BE only 152 have been delivered. The British Advanced Air Striking Force requires a minimum of 48 light anti-aircraft guns, none have so far appeared.

Off the coast of France, U.S. merchant tanker SS R.G. Stewart is stopped by shot fired across her bow by German submarine U-38 about 253 miles (407 km) west of Ushant, France. Soon thereafter, U-38 shells, torpedoes and sinks British motor tanker Inverliffey; SS R.G. Stewart rescues the tanker's crew and later transfers them to U.S. freighter SS City of Joliet for transportation to Antwerp, Belgium.

GERMANY: Berlin: Germany responds to a threatened British naval blockade by announcing a counter-blockade.

Cipher (B-dienst) experts crack the British merchant ship code, identifying convoy meeting points.

POLAND: Army Group South destroys a Polish force it has encircled at Radom, consisting of the remnants of 5 divisions and a cavalry brigade; 60,000 prisoners are taken.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet submarine S-1 commissioned.

INDIA: Plans for federation are postponed indefinitely.

CANADA: Trawler HMCS Arras commissioned. Patrol craft (ex fishing vessel) HMCS Rayon D'Or commissioned. Postwar served as a commercial trawler until 1954.

U.S.A.: The USAAC's 21st Reconnaissance Squadron (Long Range) which transferred to Miami Municipal Airport, Florida, from Langley Field, Virginia, on 9 September with B-18 Bolos, is placed under the operational control of the USN's Commander Atlantic Squadron for duty in connection with the Neutrality Patrol.

Instructions to the Neutrality Patrol are modified to include covering the approaches to the Gulf of Mexico through the Yucatan Channel and the Straits of Florida.

Bear (AG-29) is commissioned by the US Navy for Antarctic operations under command of RADM Richard Byrd, USN (Ret.).

     The USN charters barkentine Bear of Oakland for operations in the U.S. Antarctic Service and commissions her as a miscellaneous auxiliary USS Bear (AG-29). The USN originally acquires Bear, built in Scotland for the sealing trade, to rescue the survivors of the ill-fated Greeley Arctic Expedition in 1884. The Navy transfers the ship to the U.S. Treasury Department in 1885 for deployment in the Revenue Cutter Service (later U.S. Coast Guard). In 1929, the Coast Guard transfers her to private ownership. Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, USN (Ret.) acquires Bear in 1932 for use in Antarctic exploration.(The expedition will be under the command of Byrd; he is appointed commanding officer of the expedition on 13 July 1939). Civilian sources provide scientific staff and dog drivers; sailors, marines and soldiers perform the supporting aviation, radio, photography, commissary, carpentry, and mechanical duties, as well as operate tractors and light tanks and the Armour Institute of Technology's Snow Cruiser, the unique vehicle developed for polar exploration. (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)

PUERTO RICO: Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired), former Chief of Naval Operations (1937-1939), takes office as Governor of Puerto Rico.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-30 sank SS Blairlogie.

     The U.S. merchant tanker SS R.G. Stewart is stopped by a shot fired across her bow by German submarine U-38 about 241 nautical miles (447 kilometers) south-southwest of Cork, County Cork, Éire in position 48.17N, 11.16W. At about 1355 hours GMT, U-38 shells, torpedoes and sinks the 9,456 ton British motor tanker MS Inverliffey about 254 nautical miles (470 kilometers) west-southwest of Cork. SS R.G. Stewart rescues the tanker's crew and later transfers them to U.S. freighter SS City of Joliet for transportation to Antwerp, Belgium.

At 1457 hours Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), a torpedo fired by the German submarine U-48 strikes the 4,869 ton British freighter SS Firby, owned by the Ropner Shipping Company, Limited. The ship sinks about 247 nautical miles (457 kilometers) west-northwest of Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, U.K0N, 13.50W. The master, Captain Prince, has informed the owners that he and the crew of 40 all got away and have landed safely. Four, however, had been injured by shells. The chief officer, Mr. James Woodruff, stated that the crew, after taking to the boats, pulled alongside the German submarine, the commander of which is most considerate. Members of his crew handed nine loaves of black bread to the sunken ships crew and three rolls of bandages for the injured men. Before they moved away the commander sent an S.O.S. to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Admiralty giving the position where the sinking had occurred. After 13 hours in a heavy sea the men are rescued by a destroyer.

Top of Page

Yesterday                  Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday                  Tomorrow

September 11th, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)

4 Group (Whitley):

10 Sqn. (P4941). Rear gunner bailed out over Germany on night operations. Flt Lt D.G. Tomlinson and rest of crew returned safely. 51 Sqn. One aircraft damaged by Flak.
Bombing - shipyards and fuel stocks at Bremen - industrial targets at Berlin.
10 Sqn. Seven aircraft to Bremen. All bombed. One tail-gunner 'lost' over target.
51 Sqn. Four aircraft to Berlin. All bombed primary, one damaged by Flak. Four aircraft to Bremen. All bombed.
78 Sqn. Five aircraft to Berlin. One returned early, two bombed primary, two bombed alternatives.

Battle of Britain:
RAF Fighter Command operations: Four airfields attacked. Daylight raids on London, Southampton, Portsmouth. At night London and Merseyside are raided.

In daylight small-scale attacks are made on Portsmouth, Tangmere, Poling and Weymouth. 

Port Victoria on the Isle of Grain is attacked in mid-afternoon when about 300 aircraft headed for London, most of them fighters, and only 36 proceeded to bomb the capital. A public shelter was hit in Lewisham High Street where 100 casualties resulted, and 50 people were buried by rubble when Deptford Central Hall was hit. 

Meanwhile eight Bf110s dive-bombed the Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft works at Eastleigh, Southampton killing 28 and injuring 70 when a shelter was hit.

The weather is mainly fine with some local showers and cloud in the Channel and Thames Estuary. One major attack is made on the Kent Coast and inland at about 1530 hours by some 250 Luftwaffe aircraft, and of these about 30 penetrated Central London. Other activity is confined to an attack on the Portsmouth area simultaneously with that on East Kent, and to reconnaissance flights round the Coasts with a few penetrating inland. On the North and East Coast, two reconnaissances are made in the Firth of Forth, one off the Humber and one off Yarmouth. In the South, up to 1200 hours there are six patrols by single aircraft in the East Kent area, one of which is identified as a Henschel, and there are two reconnaissances in the Thames Estuary. At 1505 hours two raids consisting of 20 aircraft at 25,000 feet (7 620 meters) and six plus at 11,000 feet (3 353 meters) crossed the Coast at Dover and flew north to the Estuary and to Essex. At 1534 hours, some 150 to 200 aircraft at 15,000 and 20,000 feet (4 572 and 6 096 meters) crossed at Folkestone and flew North West to Maidstone. Of these, 30 penetrated to Central London but a split, however, turned and flew towards Brooklands. These 30 are intercepted by four RAF squadrons. At 1545 hours, a second wave of 100 enemy aircraft crossed the Coast between Dungeness and Dover and followed a course similar to that of the previous raid. Sixteen RAF squadrons are detailed to patrol aerodromes and to intercept and considerable casualties are inflicted. During the attack Dover is bombed and at 1545 hours is shelled by shore batteries from France. At 1700 hours, a raid of five enemy aircraft at 15,000 feet (4 572 meters) approached London from the South-west and may have formed part of the raid attacking Portsmouth. It finally turned South-easterly towards Maidstone. In the South and South West at about 1130 hours one aircraft at 15,000 feet (4 572 meters) crossed the coast at Beachy Head and flew near Biggin Hill and on towards Central London returning on a reciprocal track. Reconnaissances are made off the Isle of Wight, Start Point and the Bristol Channel. At 1610 hours, at the same time as the attack is being made on London, 75 German aircraft came in over Portsmouth and Southampton and flew inland over Hampshire and Sussex. Three RAF squadrons are sent to intercept and enemy aircraft are shot down.

     During the night of 11/12 September, London and Merseyside are attacked. German activity commenced at about 2020 hours, when the first raids, originating from Le Havre and Dieppe, France, crossed the Coast between Beachy Head and Shoreham. These early raids approached London but failed to penetrate the antiaircraft Barrage and turned South again. From 2150 to about 0130 hours, a stream of raids of one or one plus aircraft from Cherbourg, France, flew to the Bristol Channel and then across Wales to the Liverpool area. At the same time there are scattered raids in the Midlands. At 2345 hours, raids of single aircraft crossed the Coast at Dungeness and penetrated the London area, returning over Tangmere. By 0145 hours raids are becoming more numerous in the London area, but had practically withdrawn from the rest of the Country. At 0300 hours, raids ceased coming to London from the South, but started approaching from the North-east, originating from the Dutch Islands and returning over Beachy Head. This activity continued until about 0500 hours, and by 0530 hours the whole Country is clear. Minelaying is suspected in the Thames Estuary, off the Costs of Northumberland and Aberdeenshire, off the Sussex Cost and South of the Isle of Man.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 25; RAF, 29.

London: Dr. Arthur Douglas Merriman (1892-1972), a government scientist, with help from his boss, removed most of the explosive from a bomb in Regent Street, so that it caused little damage when it went off. (George Cross)

Westminster: Churchill tells the Commons that he expects Germany will try to invade in the next week.

London: The Lord Mayor opens the Air Raid Relief Fund.

Corvette HMS Asphodel commissioned.


GERMANY: Daily Keynote from the Reich Press Chief:
The British attack on Berlin on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning should be denounced by the press with blazing indignation as an attack on our national symbols. However, in the interests of good preparation, the press should as a general principle wait until the morning papers to bring out a summarising view, unless the individual newspapers have already done satisfactory groundwork of their own account, without the need of a previous press conference.

The Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, tells the Czechs that they had better get used to German occupation in a blunt speech.

U-507 laid down.

ROMANIA: Adolf Hitler sends German army and air force reinforcements to Romania to protect precious oil reserves and to prepare an Eastern European base of operations for further assaults against the Soviet Union.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Three Vichy French light cruisers, FR Gloire, Montcalm and Georges Leygues and their destroyer escort, destroyers pass through the Strait of Gibraltar en route to Dakar. All but one of the cruisers arrive at Dakar just as Operation MENACE, the British raid on Dakar, is about to get underway. Admiral Sir Dudley North, Flag Officer, North Atlantic, at Gibraltar, is held responsible for allowing their passage and he is relieved of his command.

LIBYA: The Italian army begins it North African campaign by crossing into Egypt.

CANADA: Patrol vessel HMCS Cougar (ex yacht Breezin' Thru) commissioned at Esquimalt. Postwar renamed Breezin' Thru. Sunk off Kingston, Jamaica in a September 1950 hurricane.

Minesweeper HMCS Chignecto laid down North Vancouver, British Columbia.

U.S.A.: The first demonstration of remote computing occurs. George Stibitz, a scientist at Bell Telephone Laboratories, had developed a digital calculator using dry cell batteries, metal strips from a tobacco can, and flashlight bulbs. The binary adding machine, called the Model I Complex Calculator, was used at Bell Labs for the next nine years. Stibitz demonstrated the machine to the American Mathematical Association at Dartmouth College in Hannover, New Hampshire. He asked mathematicians to propose problems, which he transmitted to the computer in New York City via a teleprinter. The answers returned over the telephone line hookup within a minute. The presentation is believed to have been the first-ever demonstration of remote computing.

Al Jolson returns to Broadway after a 9-year absence in the play "Hold On To Your Hats" at the Shubert Theatre. The songs that night included "Swanee," "April Showers," "You Made Me Love You," "Sonny Boy" and "My Mammy."

Submarine USS Drum laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-28 sank SS Maas and damaged SS Harpenden in Convoy OA-210.
U-99 sank SS Albionic.

Top of Page

Yesterday        Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday      Tomorrow

September 11th, 1941 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: No. 56 Squadron at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, becomes the first RAF squadron to receive the Hawker Typhoon Mk. IA.

Light cruiser HMS Bermuda launched.

GERMANY: U-658 launched.
U-587 commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: The government warns Bulgaria against allowing its territory to be used as a basis of attack by Germany and Italy.

Soviet Submarine USSR P-1: End service: Sank during transport task on mine fields Uminda or Korbetta. All hands lost (53 men).

JAPAN: A United Press dispatch from Tokyo gives the following information: "Emperor Hirohito today took direct command of Japanese Army Headquarters and moved to assure close Army collaboration with Premier Fumimaro Konoye's Government, which appeared to be trying to keep Japan out of war even if that meant drifting away from her Axis ties."

Emperor Hirohito assumes personal command of the Japanese Army, a move misread by American intelligence analysts as indicating a personal commitment to peace by the Japanese sovereign. (Marc Small)

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: George advises MacArthur      "> MacArthur that the total end strength of the FEAF ought to be 27 pursuit squadrons, eighteen light or medium bomber squadrons, and thirty heavy bomber squadrons. (Marc Small)

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Summerside commissioned.

U.S.A.: In a broadcast to the nation at 9pm tonight, President Roosevelt issues the "Shoot on Sight" order to naval forces in the Atlantic in regard to German U-Boats. This action is partly in response to the Greer "incident" of September 4. It is, in fact, more or less what is going on at the present. He describes the attack last week on the Greer as "piracy, legally and morally." He said that the outposts the USA has established in Iceland, Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland would protect Atlantic shipping of all nations. He stressed that the US Navy only provides "invincible protection" if Britain's Royal Navy survived.

The president emphasized the difficulty of defending ships from torpedoes fired from submarines; "When you see a rattlesnake poised to strike, you do wait until he has struck before you crush him, ...., these Nazi submarines and raiders are the rattlesnakes of the Atlantic - they are a menace to the free pathways of the high seas." 
Stark advises Hart that Washington had declined to endorse Allied mobilization plans proposed by the British for joint operations in the event of war. Hart ordered to defer plans to move the Asiatic Fleet to Dutch or British ports when hostilities began. Hart ordered to ensure his fleet operations were "co-ordinated" with British and Dutch operations. 

Washington: Ground breaking ceremonies for the Pentagon building take place.

President Roosevelt submitted report on lend-lease $7,000,000,000 appropriation to Congress.

Des Moines: Famed aviator Lindbergh makes a speech against further US involvement in the war.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German Wolfpack Gruppe Markgraf continues their attacks on Convoy SC-42 (Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, to the U.K.), consisting of 56 merchant ships escorted by a Canadian destroyer and the three. In the last two days, the Germans have sunk seven ships. Escort reinforcements arrive today in the form of five British destroyers, three corvettes and a trawler HMS Buttermere. The U-boats sink another five ships today totaling 18,747 tons between 0045 and 1232 hours GMT. A few hours after attacking convoy SC-42, German submarine U-207 is sunk in the Straits of Denmark southeast of Angmassalik, Greenland, in position 63.59N, 34.48W, by depth charges from the RN destroyers HMS Leamington and HMS Veteran. All 41 hands on the U-boat are lost. This is U-207s first patrol.  

USS Twiggs (DD-127) was commissioned as HMS Leamington (G-19) on 23 Oct. 1940, part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. (Ron Babuka)

U-105 sank SS Montana.
U-202 sank SS Scania in Convoy SC-42.
U-207 sank SS Berury and SS Stonepool in Convoy SC-42.
U-432 sank SS Garm in Convoy SC-42.
U-433 sank SS Bestum in Convoy SC-42.
U-82 sank SS Bulysses, SS Empire Crossbill, SS Gypsum Queen and damaged SS Scania in Convoy SC-42.

Top of Page

Yesterday             Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday                  Tomorrow

September 11th, 1942 (FRIDAY)

GERMANY: The commander of U-203 (Kptlt. Rolf Mützelburg) died in a unique incident on 11 Sept. He allowed his crew to swim in the sea and when he was about to dive from the tower the boat moved and he hit the saddle tank being badly wounded. He died the next day.

U-533 launched
U-196 commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: Stalingrad: The ruined city of Stalingrad is tonight in immediate danger of falling to the Germans. German 6th Army commander General Friedrich Paulus has fought off Zhukov's hastily-prepared counter-attack and is working his way towards the heart of the city against stubborn resistance. Russians guns, safe on the eastern bank of the Volga, are pounding the Germans, whose latest communique says that the "fortified belt of steel" around Stalingrad has to be taken "piece by piece" from the Russians, "who resist fiercely and desperately to the end."

In the Ukraine, German 6th Army commander General Friedrich Paulus is summoned to "Werewolf" to explain to Adolf Hitler why 6th Army hasn't taken Stalingrad. Paulus tells Hitler that an attack will go in with 11 divisions, three of them panzer, on 13 September. The Russians have only three infantry divisions, parts of four others, and two tanks brigades against him. Stalingrad should crack, he says and Hitler is pleased. 

Finnish s/s Hera and s/s Jussi H sunk in Gulf of Bothnia by sub. S 13.

LIBYA: New Zealand raiders of the Long Range Desert Group attack the Italian air base at Barce and destroy 23 Italian aircraft on the ground. 

BURMA: RAF bombers attack Japanese positions in Prome, Mandalay and Rangoon.

SOLOMON ISLANDS, GUADALCANAL: Colonel Oka, in command of Japanese forces west of the Lunga perimeter, issues his attack plan for the attack on the west side of the Perimeter. This morning he reached the naval ground forces under Capt. Monzen near the mouth of the Matanikau River. He also has the 3rd Btn 4th Regiment which was landed last night. Accompanying them was Colonel Matsumoto, advance man for Japanese Army HQ.

General A.A. Vandegrift, Colonel Edson and Colonel Gerald Thomas know the Japanese will attack soon. 

Edson picks a ridge one mile south of Henderson Field. The 1st Marine Raider Btn. dig in. 

     Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner, Commander of Amphibious Force, South Pacific Force, arrives on Guadalcanal. He has discussed Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley’s pessimistic view of the situation. (Ghormley is Commander South Pacific Area and South Pacific Force.) Turner also wants to bring the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal. He proposes sprinkling them in small groups around the island but Major General Alexander Vandegrift, Commanding General 1st Marine Division opposes this plan. Admiral Turner visits with war correspondents and is quoted: "... Marines will be on the island for a long time and things will get worse before they get better."

Lieutenant General Kawaguchi Kiyotake, commanding officer of the 35th Brigade, issued his attack plan on the 7th which calls for his forces to split into three groups. One would attack the east side of the Perimeter, the other two would surprise the Marines by attacking from the south. This main attack would cross a ridge, known to the Japanese as "The Centipede". This ridge will become known to history as "Edsons" or "Bloody" ridge. The forces are almost in place for battle tomorrow night.

12 USMC F4F Wildcats intercept 26 IJN G4M "Betty" bombers and 8 A6M "Zeke" fighters at about 1200 hours. The Marines shoot down 6 G4Ms and 1 A6M but loose 1 F4F. In the afternoon, 24 F4Fs of the USN's Fighting Squadron Five (VF-5), which is part of the Saratoga Air Group, land at Henderson Field to augment the defenses.

In what becomes a standard scene in a number of Hollywood submarine movies, Pharmacist's Mate First Class Wheeler B. Lipes performs an appendectomy on Seaman First Class Darrell Dean Rector, 19, on board the submarine USS Seadragon (SS-194) while she was en route from Australia to French Indochina. The submarine waits quietly while he performs the operation. He is assisted by R. Franz P. Hoskins, who will become a doctor after the war (d. 2001) who acts as an anaesthesiologist, without training when he administered three pints of ether in the operation. George Weller of the Chicago Tribune will win a Pulitzer Prize for his report on this, in the category of Battlefront Writing. In the late 1950's it will be adapted for television. (William L. Howard)    

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, the Australian 2/14th and 2/16th Battalions surrounded four days previously fights its way out of the Japanese encirclement and fall back to Nauro. But the Australians are forced to pull back from Nauro again and take up positions on a ridge north of Ioribaiwa. The Japanese 18th Army is only 32 miles (51 kilometers) from Port Moresby and number about 5,000 fighting men. 
     In the air, USAAF 5th Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders hit Efogi and Menari in the Owen Stanley Range and Buna Airfield; B-17 Flying Fortresses, along with RAAF Hudsons, attack two IJN destroyers, HIJMS Isokaze and Yayoi, 20 miles (32 km) east of Normanby Island; a B-17 scores a direct hit on the stern of the destroyer HIJMS Yayoi, which later sinks. These destroyers are on their way to Goodenough Island to rescue Japanese troops. 

AUSTRALIA: General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief Southwest West Pacific Area, submits a plan to Australian General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief Allied Land Forces Southwest Pacific Area and Commander in Chief Australian Military Force, for accelerating operations in New Guinea. While Australians, upon receiving reinforcements, are to attack to drive the Japanese back on the Kokoda Track, a regimental combat team of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division is to execute a wide flanking movement to the east to get behind the Japanese at Wairopi and thus hasten their expulsion from New Guinea.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS Saury (SS-189) sinks a Japanese aircraft transport approximately 30 miles (48 kilometres) off the west coast of the Celebes, in central Makassar Strait, Netherlands East Indies. 

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: Aleutians: The completion of the runway at Davis Army Airfield on Adak Island permits a stepped up air offensive against Japanese-held Kiska Island located 219 nautical miles (405 kilometers) west of Adak. .

US 11th Air Force weather, photo, and patrol aircraft draws Anti-Aircraft fire over Chichagof Harbor, Attu Island and also covers Tanaga, Amchitka, and Semichi Islands.

CANADA: With so many young men involved in the war effort, there was a critical shortage of labor across the country and the government announces that all women, single and married, born between 1918 and 1922, are required to register with the Unemployment Insurance Commission. The Calgary, Alberta, manager of the Commission explains that the women would not necessarily be given employment immediately, but that their experience and skills would be classified in case they were required for necessary war work.

Across the Canadian prairies, hundreds of people, including teachers, bankers, lawyers, clergymen and schoolchildren, volunteer to assist with bringing in the harvest. In Drumheller, Alberta, as in towns all across the prairies, the local Board of Trade organized busses and cars to take the volunteers to farms where they worked with local farmers to harvest the grain and build granaries to store it.

At 1158 hours whilst escorting convoy QS.33 which had lost five merchantmen, Flower class corvette HMCS Charlottetown (K 244) is torpedoed and sunk by U-517 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at 49 12N 66 48W. Charlottetown was returning to Gaspe, Quebec. Charlottetown has just escorted the convoy SQ 30 to Rimouski, Quebec. Nine of the crew went down with the ship.(Alex Gordon)(108)

Minesweepers HMS Mary Rose (ex HMCS Toronto), HMS Moon (ex HMCS Mimico), HMS Providence (ex HMCS Forest Hill), HMS Regulus (ex HMCS Long Branch, HMS Serene (ex HMCS Leaside) and HMS Seabear (ex HMCS St Thomas) ordered from Toronto Shipbuilding.
Corvettes HMCS Charlottetown, Weyburn and minesweeper HMCS Clayoquot devlivered Convoy SQ-35 to Red Islet.

U.S.A.: President Roosevelt presented the Norwegian Navy with a new submarine chaser. "It is today the privilege of the people of the United State's, through the mechanism of the Lend-Lease Law, to assist this gallant navy in carrying out its present heavy duties".

Submarine USS Steelhead launched.
Destroyer USS Davison commissioned.

CARIBBEAN SEA: Canadian merchantman SS Cornwallis (5,458 GRT) damaged in the Caribbean Sea in position 13.05N, 059.36W by torpedoes from U-514. Cornwallis was repaired and returned to service but was lost later due to further German action. U-514 was a long-range Type IXC U-boat, built by Deutsche Werft AG, at Bremen. She was commissioned 24 Jan 42. U-514 conducted four patrols and compiled a record of six ships sunk for a total of 24,531 tons and two ships damaged for a further 13,551 tons. U-514 was sunk on 08 Jul 43, northeast of Cape Finisterre, Spain, in position 43.37N, 008.59W, by rockets from a specially modified RAF 'Liberator' patrol a/c from RAF 224 Sqn that was conducting an operational trial at the time of the engagement. All 54 of U-514's crewmembers were lost. KptLt. Hans-Jürgen Aufferman was her only CO. Hans-Jürgen Auffermann was born in 1914, at Göttingen. He joined the navy in 1934 and tranfered to the U-boat Force in Jan 41. After conversion training, he served as the first Watch Officer in the Type VIIC boat U-69 from Apr to Oct 41 under the command of the 'ace' KptLt. Jost Metzler, Knights Cross, until he became ill and Auffermann assumed command for the last four days of the patrol. He completed this tour of duty under the command of KptLt. Wilhelm Zahn. He was promoted to KptLt on 01 Sep 41. Auffermann was selected for command and underwent his U-boat commander's course from Nov 41 to Jan 42. He was appointed to commission U-514 on 24 Jan 42.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: During the night of 10/11 September, there are several attacks: first U-659 damages the 8,029 ton British tanker SS Empire Oil. A few hours later U-404 damaged tanker (7,417 ton) SS Marit II and U-218 damaged tanker (7,361 ton) SS Fjordaas. U-584 finishes off the 8,029 ton British tanker SS Empire Oil previously damaged by U-659. All of these attacks occur about 737 nautical miles (1 366kilometers) west of Cork, County Cork, Éire, in position 51.26N, 28.19W.

U-96 sank SS De Laes. (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)

Top of Page

Yesterday        Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday                  Tomorrow

September 11th, 1943 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS Vigo laid down.

Frigates HMS Cubitt and Taff launched.

FRANCE: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command flies Mission 56 against 2 locations without loss. (1) 19 B-26Bs bomb the shipyard at Le Trait at 1704 hours, when the primary target is obscured by clouds and (2) 32 B-26Bs attack Beaumont le Roger Airfield at 1756 hours.

GERMANY: U-767 commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: German officers imprisoned in a PoW camp at Lunyovo set up the anti-Nazi League of German Officers.

ITALY: The fighting at Salerno becomes more chaotic and piecemeal. Typical is the fight on the British 56 Division's front, where 167 Brigade and 201 Guards Brigade are subjected to sudden sharp attacks by infiltrating German units at the 'Tobacco Factory' between Battipaglia and Bellizzi. These attacks are beaten off, but neither British nor German troops are really sure of the situation. In 46 Division's sector, the fighting is also scrappy and disjointed. 139 Brigade is able to gradually relieve the Commando forces at Vietri sul Mare and on the left the US Rangers are reinforced and continue to hold their positions. A three-pronged push in the US VI Corps' sector by the 36th and 45th Infantry Divisions is held up in the left and center as troops of the 29th Panzer Grenadier Division filter into the fighting on the plain. 

     In southern Italy, British 1 Airborne Division enters Bari and then Brindisi. General Bernard Montgomery, Commanding General Eighth Army, pushes forward units of the British 5 Division towards Castrovillari and Belvedere and the Canadian 1 Division towards Crotone. General Harold Alexander's Chief-of-Staff, Major General Alexander Richardson, arrives at Montgomery's headquarters to explain the crisis at Salerno and to offer men and equipment to threaten the South flank of the Germans facing Fifth Army. 

     Shortly after 0000 hours local, German E-boats attack the USN destroyer USS Rowan (DD-405) in the Gulf of Salerno. Rowan pursued and fired on the enemy, then, as her quarry pulled away, ceased firing and changed course to rejoin the convoy she was escorting back to Oran, French Morocco. Within 5 minutes a new contact was made, range less than 3,000 yards (2.7 kilometres). Again she changed course, to avoid torpedoes and bring her guns into position. As the range decreased to 2,000 yards (1.8 kilometres), Rowan was hit by a torpedo. She sank in less than a minute, taking 202 of her 273 officers and men with her. 

     Off the coast of Salerno in the morning, the USN light cruiser USS Savannah (CL-42) is struck by a remote controlled Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-1 (Fritz X) glide bomb launched by a Do-217K-2 of III/KG 100. It pierces through the armored turret roof of the Number 3 Gun Turret, passes through three decks into the lower handling room where it explodes causing a gaping hole in the bottom, and tears open a seam in the ship's port side. For 30-minutes, secondary explosions in the gun room hamper firefighting efforts; 197 crewmen are killed and 15 seriously wounded. The ship arrives at Malta on 12 September and then departed for the U.S. in December.

     In the air, the USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command sends B-17s to bomb the Benevento marshalling yard and bridge and highway junction nearby; B-25s and B-26s hit highways and junctions at Castelnuovo, Ariano, Mignano, and Isernia; P-40s fly an uneventful sweep over southern Sardinia; and USAAF and RAF aircraft of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force continue to provide beachhead cover in the Salerno area, hit road communications throughout the day, and attack road and rail bridges, junctions, airfield, and town areas at Saptri, Corleto, Perticara, Auletta, and Gioia del Colle.      

     During the night of 11/12 September, 96 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group visually bomb Frosinone Airfield.

YUGOSLAVIA: The partisans occupy Split.

CHINA: 10 US Fourteenth Air Force B-25s and 11 P-40s attack the Hankow docks and Wuchang cotton mills.

NEW GUINEA: The Australian attack against the Japanese at Salamaua  takes the airfield and the Australians enter the town itself as the Japanese pull out. 

The advance on Salamaua was held up for two weeks while the Australian 7th and 9th Divisions completed preparations for converging attacks on Lae by land and sea.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarines sink two Japanese ships: (1) USS Harder (SS-257) sinks a transport south of Mikura Island, located off Honshu, Japan; and (2) USS Narwhal (SS-167) sinks a transport (hit earlier by dud torpedoes) five miles northwest of Nauru Island. 

JAPAN: KURILE ISLANDS: the US Eleventh Air Force dispatches 12 B-25 Mitchells and 8 B-24 Liberators to attack Paramushiru Island for the third and last time this year. 6 B-24s bomb the Kashiwabara staging area; shipping is bombed and strafed in Kashiwabara harbor and Paramushiru Straits; 1 freighter and 1 large transport are sunk while 1 transport and 2 cargo ships are damaged; 2 other cargo vessels sustain possible hits; targets hit on land include 2 buildings and an AA battery on Shimushu Island. Of 40 fighters giving battle, 13 are shot down and 3 more are probables. 2 B-24s force-land in the USSR, one with a mechanical defect, the other after being hit; 1 B-24 is downed by AA fire; losses are 7 B-25s and 2 B-24s in this most disastrous day for the Eleventh Air Force.

It will be another 5 months before it is able to strike at the Kuriles again.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: A regiment of the U.S. 25th Infantry Division lands on the western end of Bomboe Peninsula on Arundel Island and starts moving east. Artillery and, for the first time in the South Pacific, 4.2 inch (10,7 centimeter) mortars support the attack.

18 US Thirteenth Air Force B-25s pound the area west of Vila airfield on Kolombangara Island and west of Disappointment Cove on New Georgia Island. The airfield is hit again in the evening by 3 B-24s. 25 B-24s, with fighter escort, bomb Kahili airfield on Bougainville Island; B-24s and fighters claim 7 aircraft shot down. P-40s and P-39Airacobras support SBD Dauntlesses in striking gun positions at Hamberi on New Georgia Island.

EAST INDIES: US Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Makassar on Celebes Island and in New Guinea, Australian forces cross the Francisco River to Salamaua airfield as Japanese forces draw toward Lae.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Waskesiu arrived Halifax from workups in Bermuda.

Frigate HMCS Runnymede laid down Montreal, Province of Quebec.

Frigate HMCS Dunver commissioned.

HMC ML 107 commissioned.

Off the U.S.A. coast, the German submarine U-107 lays mines off Charleston, South Carolina.

U-107  damaged oiler USS Rapidan in Convoy NG-385.

U.S.A.: Destroyer USS Lyman K Swenson laid down.

Frigate USS Bayonne launched
Destroyer escorts USS Hollis, Jenks and Loeser launched'
Destroyer USS Mertz launched.
Minesweepers USS Penetrate and Pinnacle launched.
Destroyer escort USS Sederstrom commissioned.

Top of Page

Yesterday        Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday                  Tomorrow

September 11th, 1944 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: In England, the US Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions: Two missions are flown. Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of bombers attacking a target.

- Mission 623: 1,131 bombers and 440 fighters, in 3 forces, are dispatched to hit synthetic oil plants and refineries in Germany; they encounter an estimated 525 Luftwaffe fighters; 40 bombers and 17 fighters are lost; the USAAF claim 115-7-23 aircraft in the air and 42-0-43 on the ground. 
(1) B-17s bomb oil refineries at Bohlen (75), Chemnitz (75), Brux (39) and Ruhland (22); the Chemnitz force is an Operation FRANTIC force that along with 64 P-51 Mustangs, continues on and lands in the USSR; targets of opportunity are a tire plant at Fulda (66), a marshalling yard at Fulda (40) and 16 others; they claim 12-16-1 aircraft; 16 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 252 P-51s; they claim 57-2-12 aircraft in the air and 26-0-25 on the ground; 4 P-51s are lost. 
(2) B-17s attack oil refineries at Merseburg (111) and Lutzkendorf (96); targets of opportunity hit are Eisennach (71), Labejum (12), Rossla (6) and 25 others; they claim 1-1-2 aircraft; 13 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 247 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51s; they claim 13-0-1 aircraft in the air and 4-0-2 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost. 
(3) B-24s hit an engine factory at Hannover (88), oil refineries at Misburg (87) and Magdeburg (33) and an ordinance depot at Magdeburg (27); targets of opportunity hit are Magdeburg (70), Stendal (45), Diepholz (9) and 3 others; they claim 4-8-1 aircraft; 10 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 164 P-38 Lightnings and P-51s; they claim 45-5-10 aircraft in the air and 12-0-16 on the ground; 10 P-51s are lost.

- Mission 625: 6 B-17s drop leaflets on France and Germany during the night.

- 38 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

BELGIUM: US 1st Army units take Malmedy. 

NETHERLANDS: RAF Bomber Command dispatched seven Mosquitos to bomb Havelte Airfield at Steenwijk; three aircraft bomb the target.

FRANCE: In northern France, the British I Corps attacks Le Havre after a RAF raid. 

Dijon is liberated in the south of France.

Orleans: Nearly 20,000 Germans surrender to the 83rd US Infantry Division.

     In northern France, the USAAF Ninth Air Force continues tactical support of ground forces: 358 B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs, escorted by fighters, in support of the US Third Army, hit gun positions and strongpoints in the Metz area;, and support Third Army ground forces in the Metz area; fighters also support ground forces in the Brest area.

     In southern France, the US AAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy limits operations to supply mission by 54 B-24s to Lyons due to bad weather.

     During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 218 aircraft, 105 Halifaxes, 103 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos, to attack German positions outside Le Havre; 171 aircraft bombed the target. The bombing is carried out accurately in conditions of good visibility but the Master Bomber ordered the final wave to cease bombing because of smoke and dust. None are lost.

LUXEMBOURG: The U.S. First Army under Major General Courtney Hodges enters Luxembourg City and the  liberation of the Grand Duchy from German occupation is completed. Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Jett is placed in charge of maintaining order and restoration of public services. 

In northern FRANCE and GERMANY, the US Ninth Air Force continues tactical support of ground forces. 358 B-26s and A-20 Havocs, escorted by fighters, in support of the US Third Army, hit gun positions and strongpoints in the

Metz area; in GERMANY, fighters fly armed reconnaissance over the Lissendorf and Duren areas, and support Third Army ground forces in the Metz area; armored reconnaissance elements of this Army cross into Germany, the first Allied unit to do so; fighters also support ground forces in the Brest, France area.

GERMANY: Trier: American forces resuming their advance in the central sector today crossed the Germany/Luxemburg border north of Trier and began probing the Siegfried Line defences. In the north, other American forces crossed the Dutch border at Maastricht and are poised for a thrust on Aachen.

The first US unit to enter Germany was a recon element of the US 5th Armored Division ("Victory"), specifically Troop B, 2nd Platoon, 85th Cavalry at Stolzembourg.

"While the division was moving its units up to the border on 11 Sept., an order was sent out to the reconnaissance troops. It instructed them to cross into Germany as soon as possible and find out whether or not Wehrmacht soldiers were manning the pillboxes. In CCB's zone, Captain Kenneth M. Hayes, commander of Troop B, 85th Cavalry Sq., assigned areas to his reconnaissance platoons to carry out this order. A few members of the 2nd Platoon, a patrol in charge of Sgt. Warner W. Holzinger, were the first Allied soldiers to enter Germany in World War II. It was 4:30 in the afternoon of 11 September when they crossed into the Reich at Stolzembourg. In addition to Sgt. Holzinger, this patrol consisted of: Cpl. Ralph E. Divin, T/5 Coy T. Locke, Pfc.William McColligan, Pfc.George F. McNeal, Pfc. Jesse Stevens. Sgt. Holzinger said, "When we started out on our mission, we took my radio peep with us to keep in touch with 2nd platoon and with headquarters. We worked our way down to Stolzembourg. From the citizens we learned there were no enemy soldiers in the vicinity. I have been thankful many times I could speak German." (287) (Russell Folsom)

The British Second Army has broken out of its Albert Canal bridgehead, and advance units are moving into the Netherlands. A British spokesman said that during the operation more Germans were killed and more enemy equipment destroyed than in any one day since the Normandy landings began.

The roads into Germany are now packed with trucks, motor cars, and even bicycles, carrying soldiers and civilians fleeing the countries they have occupied for four years. These refugees are flooding into the Rhineland with atrocity stories, creating alarm and despondency among local people.

     During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 379 aircraft, 205 Halifaxes, 154 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos, to attack three synthetic oil plants; 121 bomb the Klocknerwerke plant at Castrop Rauxel; 116 hit the Chemischewerke plant at Kamen; and 114 attack the Nordstern plant at Gelsenkirchen. The first two targets are clearly visible and are accurately bombed but the Nordstem plant is partially protected by a smoke-screen which hindered bombing and prevented observation of the results. The three forces are escorted by 26 squadrons of fighters, 20 squadrons of Spitfires and three each of Mustangs and Tempests. No German fighters are encountered. Five Halifaxes and two Pathfinder Lancasters are lost from the Nordstem raid and a Lancaster is lost from each of the other raids. These loss are caused by flak or by 'friendly' bombs.

     During the night of 11/12 September, RAF Bomber Command sends 226 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos to bomb Darmstadt; 234 aircraft bombed the city with the loss of 12 Lancasters, 5.3 per cent of the Lancaster force. A previous attack in August had failed to harm Darmstadt but, in clear weather conditions, the group's marking methods produced an outstandingly accurate and concentrated raid on this almost intact city of 120,000 people. A fierce fire area is created in the centre and in the districts immediately south and east of the centre. Property damage in this area is almost complete. Casualties are very heavy. The Darmstadt raid, with its extensive fire destruction and its heavy casualties, is held by the Germans to be an extreme example of RAF “terror bombing” and is still a sensitive subject because of the absence of any major industries in the city. Bomber Command defended the raid by pointing out the railway communications passing through Darmstadt; the directive for the offensive against German communications had not yet been issued to Bomber Command, although advance notice of the directive may have been received. Darmstadt is simply one of Germany's medium-sized cities of lesser importance which succumbed to Bomber Command's improving area-attack techniques in the last months of the war when many of the larger cities are no longer worth bombing. A second target during the night is Berlin which is hit by 42 Mosquitos. Seventy six Halifaxes and Lancasters are dispatched on mine laying missions during the night: 17 laid mines in the Kiel area, 16 off Swinemunde, nine off Kattegat and seven in the Fehmarn Channel. Two Lancasters are lost off Swinemunde.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Thirty nine USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb a synthetic oil refinery at Brux using H2X radar. This is part of Operation FRANTIC that along with 64 P-51 Mustangs, continues on and lands in the U.S.S.R. 

NORWAY: The Royal Navy midget submarine X-24 carried out a successful attack on a floating dock at Bergen, Norway. This was the second attack on the harbour by X-24 - she had survived a previous operation on 14 April 1944, when she had sunk a large merchantman and put the coaling wharf out of use for the rest of the war. Once again towed to the area by the submarine HMS Sceptre, X-24 laid two mines under the dock, which broke it in two and damaged two ships moored alongside. X-24 is preserved at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport, the only remaining X-boat.

ITALY: The US 5th Army continues to advance. Pistoia is liberated by South African units of the British XIII Corps. In Italy, the US Twelfth Air Force continues tactical operations. B-26s hit defensive positions as US Fifth Army elements push through northern Italian mountain passes toward Gothic Line defenses; B-25s bomb railroad bridges at Vigevano and Canneto sull'Oglio and supply areas; fighter-bombers and fighters attack roads, railroads, guns, supply areas, bridges, and other targets at Vernio, and in the Alessandria, Turin, Piacenza, and Milan areas.

The US Fifteenth Air Force in Italy limits operations to supply mission by 54 B-24s to southern France due to bad weather.

FINLAND: The Finns and the Germans start secret negotiations about the German withdrawal from northern Finland at Rovaniemi. The Soviet-imposed deadline for the German withdrawal is only four days away, and it is evident the Germans are unable to leave Finland in time. However, both armies are willing to avoid bloodshed, and agreement is reached. Germans would retreat according to a prearranged plan, destroying roads and bridges, while Finns would advance slowly to areas already abandoned by Germans. The slow rate of Finnish advance could be excused by the German policy of scorched earth. While the negotiations are going on, the Swedish government has already agreed to receive the Finnish civilian population wishing to leave the German occupied areas.

BURMA 23 US Tenth Air Force B-24s fly fuel to Kunming, China; numerous other transport flights throughout the CBI continue.

CHINA: 12 US Fourteenth Air Force P-40s blast trucks along Burma Road and around Lungling; 59 P-40s and P-51s hit river shipping, railroad targets, troop concentrations, supply dumps, and other targets of opportunity in the Canton-Tungting Lake area.

KURILE ISLANDS: 4 US Eleventh Air Force B-25s on a shipping search sink a small craft off Shimushu Island; 2 other B-25s fly a search mission for a B-25 (which force-landed in USSR on 9 September but is still reported as missing).

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Saipan-based B-24s of the USAAF Seventh Air Force bomb Iwo Jima and damage a Japanese cargo vessel; difficulties encountered in attempting to tow the damaged craft result in her being scuttled. 

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC: US Far East Air Force B-24s hit airfields at Galela and Miti on Halmahera Island. B-25s bomb Kairatoe Airfield and village on Celebes Island and Boela Airfield on Ceram Island while P-38s hit airfields at Namlea on Buru Island and Amahai and oil tanks at Boela, Ceram Island. A-20s and B-25s hit Kaoe Airfield on Halmahera Island and scattered targets of opportunity. In New Guinea, A-20s strike Otawiri, Sagan, Nabire, and Urarom Airfields while fighter-bombers hit airfields and AA guns at Manokwari and Ransiki.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: PALAU ISLANDS: Carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Group 38.4 continue preinvasion attacks on airfields and Japanese installations; they also sink a Japanese cargo ship 2 miles (3,2 kilometres) off the coast. During the night, USAAF Thirteenth Air Force radar-equipped B-24s attack the airfields and defensive positions. 

MARIANA ISLANDS: The USN destroyer USS Ellet (DD-398) bombards supply dumps on Aguijan Island. 

AUSTRALIA: British submarine HMS/M Porpoise (N 14) sails from Freemantle, Western Australia, with a 23-man commando party participating in Operation RIMAU, an attack on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbor. This raid emulated Operation JAYWICK in September 1943 when Australian commandoes attacked shipping in Singapore. However, unlike the previous attack this attack fails. The submarine successfully drops the commandos at their start point, but then things go wrong; the commandos are discovered, and in engagements with the Japanese, 13 men are killed or die of wounds. The remaining ten are captured. On 7th July 1945, the ten men are executed by the Japanese.

PACIFIC OCEAN: US submarines sink the Japanese transports RAKUYO MARU and KACHIDOKI MARU killing 1,274 Allied PoWs en-route from Singapore to Formosa.

USN submarines also sink four other Japanese ships: (1) USS Albacore (SS-218) sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser off Kyushu, Japan; (2) USS Finback (SS-230) sinks an army cargo ship and a merchant cargo ship north of Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands; and (3) USS Pargo (SS-264) sinks an auxiliary netlayer in the Java Sea, Netherlands East Indies. 

CANADA: The Octagon Conference at Quebec begins hosted by Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King at the Chateau Frontenac. Churchill and Roosevelt with their staffs meet to discuss overall strategy of the war. The plans for continued attacks in Italy and Northern Europe are not changed. British attacks in Burma are approved. British Fleet participation in the Pacific is approved for the final campaigns against the Japanese. This conference will last until the 16th.

U.S.A.: Destroyer escort USS Grady commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German submarine U-855 is listed as missing in the area west of Bergen, Norway. The 56-men aboard the sub are lost.

Top of Page

Yesterday        Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday                  Tomorrow

September 11th, 1945 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS Finisterre commissioned.

RN Wildcat aircraft #JV404 from HMS Premier lost flying accident. Pilot killed.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The US 86th Infantry Division arrive for occupation duty. (Drew Philip Halévy)

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Timor: The coastal steamer BOMBO participates in the reoccupation of Koepang by Australian forces.

U.S.A.: The USN begins Operation MAGIC CARPET, the transportation of American service personnel from Pacific locations back to the U.S.

The top songs on the pop music charts are "Till the End of Time" and "If I Loved You" by Perry Como, "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe" by Johnny Mercer and "You Two Timed Me One Time Too Often" by Tex Ritter.

Top of Page

Yesterday        Tomorrow

Home