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1938   (TUESDAY)

 

POLAND: The Polish government sends a plan to Czechoslovakia for the cession of the duchy of Teschen occupied half by Poland and half by Czechoslovakia.

 

SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations declares Japan an aggressor nation and invites members of the organization to extend support to the Chinese government.

 

UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain repudiates the British Foreign Office announcement of 26 September stating, ". . . we cannot in all circumstances undertake to involve the whole British Empire in war simply on her [Czechoslovakia's] account."

     The Britsh Home Fleet mobilizes in response to the Czechoslovakian crisis.

 

UNITED STATES: President Franklin D. Roosevelt again cables German Chancellor Adolf Hitler stating that, "The conscience and the impelling desire of the people of my country demand that the voice of their government be raised again and yet again to avert and avoid war."

September 27th, 1939 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Income tax is up to 7/6 [seven shillings and six-pence] in the pound - the highest level in the nation's history at 37.5%. Sir John Simon, the chancellor of the exchequer, announced this and other huge tax increases in his special wartime budget presented to parliament this afternoon. Surtax rates will range from 1/3 on incomes of 2000 (pounds) to 9/6 for incomes over 30,000 (pounds). Duties on tobacco, beer and spirits are also raised. The price of a bottle of whisky will be 13/9 in future. The chancellor said: "I am confident the taxpayers will want to fight hard to win the war."

Six Whitley's of 51 Sqn. execute a leaflet raid on north-west Germany. One aircraft returns early, five are successful and land at Rheims. Searchlight and AA opposition encountered.

 

GERMANY: Hitler tells his commanders that he intends to attack France in November. (2, p.26) The opposition of the Army to his plans is extremely great and Hitler has had no assistance with his planning.

Hitler formally establishes the 'Reichssicherheitshauptant' [Reich Chief Security Office] (RHSA) under Reinhardt Heydrich, who now heads the Gestapo, the Criminal Police (Kripo) and the Security Service (SD).

U-97 and U-98 laid down.

 

POLAND: At 14:00 General Juliuscz Rommel, former commander of the Lodz Army, senior officer in Warsaw, surrendered 140,000 troops. The city had endured 27 days of bombing, 19 of shellfire. Some 16,000 of the garrison had been wounded, there are estimated 40,000 civilian dead and injured, the city's water supply had been cut off for 5 days and an epidemic of typhoid "appeared imminent". The once beautiful city is a burning wreck with not one building intact. So complete is German command of the air that they have been using 30 Ju52 transports to tip incendiary bombs on the city. The crews throw them out of the side doors using coal shovels. Unfortunately this creates enough fires and smoke to mask the targets that the artillery were previously aiming at, causing fury amongst German Army generals.

The German communiqués have insisted that their bombardments have been directed at military targets, these include the Church of the Saviour and the Ujazden Red Cross Hospital, with the red cross clearly marked on its roof. There is a shortage of water, food, medicine and bandages. Many are buried under the rubble.

Right to the end the Germans have had little success penetrating the city. Their tanks have been effectively stopped by the permanent fortifications and anti-tank traps dug by the citizens, and the Polish soldiers have kept the infantry at bay. The Germans would have suffered many casualties if it had come to street fighting, hence the decision to bomb and shell the city into submission.

General von Blaskowitz, who received the Polish surrender has allowed the Polish officers to keep their swords and has promised that their men would go into captivity for only as long as it takes to "dispose of the necessary formalities". The terms of the capitulation provide for the immediate succour of the civilians and treatment of the wounded.

Fighting continues at the fortress of Modlin, some 20 miles from Warsaw.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet Union announces the sinking of the freighter METALLIST by 'an  unknown submarine' off Narva, Estonia. According to Estonian  intelligence, the ship was still afloat hours after the claimed sinking. This incident is a Soviet provocation to put pressure on the Estonians  to succumb to all the Soviet demands in the ongoing negotiations at  Moscow.

FRENCH MOROCCO: The US freighter SS Executive is detained by the French at Casablanca.

U.S.A.: The Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians play the first "day-night" doubleheader in Comisky Park, Chicago; the fans are charged separate admissions for each game. The White Sox lose both games, 5-2 and 7-5.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-36 captured SS Algeria.

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27 September 1940

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September 27th, 1940 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Battle of Britain:

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - installations at Lorient Naval base.

10 Sqn. Twelve aircraft. All bombed.

RAF Fighter Command: London, Bristol, heavily escorted bombers raid aircraft factories, but big losses are inflicted by the RAF.

At night London, the Midlands and Merseyside are raided.

Erpro Gr 210 makes its final fighter-bomber attack on the British Isles. Escorted by I./ZG 26 it attacks Bristol, but suffers five losses, including the new Kommandeur, Hptm Martin Lutz, to Hurricanes of 504 Squadron.

Observer Corps reported six large bombers circling Kenley. The only bombs though are reported in the Dover area. Ju88s of KG 77 attempted two raids on London and lost 13 of their number to British fighters. Bf110s of LG 1 fared little better, losing seven on their number over Kent and Surrey.

The weather is fair in the extreme south and southwest and cloudy in the English Channel with light rain over southern England.

During the day, there are three major attacks on London and South-East England, and one smaller attack on Filton. Balloons are attacked at Dover. About 0900 hours, some 180 German aircraft (100 fighters and 80 bombers) crossed the Coast between Folkestone and Dover in six formations at heights varying from 15,00 to 20,000 feet (2 572 to 6 096 meters). RAF No 11 Group sent up 13 fighter squadrons to meet this attack and 11 of these Squadrons intercepted. RAF No 12 Group provided four fighter squadrons to patrol North Weald and Hornchurch. The attack is halted in the Maidstone - Tonbridge area but some Luftwaffe aircraft penetrated to Central and West London. By 0943 hours, raids are dispersing over the Coast from Shoreham to Dungeness. Between 1147 and 1215 hours, six formations totalling 300 German aircraft crossed the coast between Dover and Lympne at heights varying from 12,000 to 29,000 feet (3 658 to 8 839 meters), and headed towards the Chatham area. Twenty fighter squadrons are sent up and the main engagements took place over Kent and East Sussex. Luftwaffe formations encountered are principally composed of fighters. German dispersal commenced at 1230 hours and is practically completed by 1300 hours. Between 1500 and 1526 hours, nine formations totaling about 160 Luftwaffe aircraft, of which probably half are bombers, crossed the coast between Dover and Brighton at an average height of 22,000 feet (6 706 meters) and flew towards South London. The German formations are intercepted but about 20 aircraft appeared to penetrate to the Central London area. The last raids had recrossed the coast by about 1600 hours. At 1120 hours two formations consisting of about 25 bombers escorted by 45 Me 110s and some Bf 109s, crossed the coast near Swanage and flew to Filton. At Frome, the Bf 109s turned back. Eight RAF fighter squadrons are despatched to meet the attack, one of which intercepted and dispersed the Luftwaffe formations before they reached the Bristol Aeroplane Co's Works, but Filton RAF Station is attacked from 11,000 feet (3 353 meters). Formations are also intercepted on their return journey. At 1143 hours, Dover Balloons are unsuccessfully attacked by three Bf 109s. During the greater part of the day, the Germans maintain patrols in the Channel. In the evening, there is some reconnaissance activity off the South-East Coast, in the Estuary, and off East Anglia, the last probably being shipping reconnaissances over a convoy.

     During the night, there is further raids on London, Merseyside and the Midlands. Luftwaffe activity is chiefly directed towards London from the French Coast and lasted from 1940 hours to 0600 hours, with a brief lull from 0215 to 0315 hours. Edinburgh, Scotland, is visited just after dusk and there are scattered raids in the Liverpool District, Birmingham and Nottingham, mostly up to midnight. Between 1930 and 2100 hours, there are 18 raids to the London area which originated from Dieppe and Le Havre, France. Nine raids from Cherbourg, France, crossed the Coast between Swanage and Selsey and made for the Bristol Channel area, some proceeding to Liverpool. Four raids from the direction of Denmark crossed the coast North of St Abb's Head and proceeded to Edinburgh, after visiting a convoy. Between 2100 and 0100 hours, 55 raids are plotted of which the majority proceeded to London from Cherbourg and Dieppe, France. A few of these went as far North as Duxford. Two or three raids visited the Liverpool district as well as one each to Birmingham and Nottingham. By 2300 hours the Western half of the Country is clear. Between 0100 and 0600 hours, raids continued to come in fairly steadily from the French Coast to the London area until 0215 hours. Activity in the remainder of the Country is very slight. At 0315 hours, there is renewed activity from the Abbeville, France, area to London crossing the coast between Bexhill and Hastings. This stream continued until about 0600 hours when the last raids are recrossing the coast.

     RAF Fighter Command claimed 131-33-52 Luftwaffe aircraft while antiaircraft batteries claimed 2-2-0. The RAF lost 27 aircraft with 18 pilots killed or missing.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 55; RAF, 28.

Light cruisers HMS Kenya and Phoebe commissioned.
Submarine HMS Unique commissioned.

FRANCE: All Jews are forced to carry special identity cards.

BELGIUM: Eighty brand-new Italian Br.20M bombers have been assigned to 13th and 43rd Stormo and these units are transfered from Italy to Belgium today. The extremely bad weather conditions caused only 63 planes to arrive to their assigned bases of Melsbroech (13th St.) and Chivres (43rd St.). Twelve more Br.20s will arrive over the next several days, but five were lost in crash-landings. These units will begin the Italian contribution to the "Blitz". (Ferdinando d'Amico)

GERMANY: Professor Dr. Franz Six, an SS colonel, is appointed to head the German secret police in Britain in the event of an invasion.

Berlin: Today, in the Berlin chancellery, the Japanese ambassador, Saburo Kurusu, put his signature to a tri-partite pact which extends the Rome-Berlin Axis to the Far East. In a move clearly directed at the United States, the three countries pledge themselves to aid one another with "all political, economic and military means" should one of them be attacked by "a power not involved in the European war."

Japan accepts the hegemony of Germany and Italy in Europe, and they in turn recognise Japan's right to organise "the Greater East-Asia Co-prosperity Sphere". The pact contains a clause promising to preserve the status quo in relations with the Soviet Union.

In Washington, Roosevelt called his defence advisers to the White House to review the implications of the pact. Asked if he had expected Japan to join the Axis the President said: "Yes and No".

A navy department spokesman said that the pact would not mean any change of policy. The navy, he said, would continue to be based at Pearl Harbor.

CANADA: The first group of Australian airmen to be trained under the Empire Air Training Scheme arrive in Vancouver, British Columbia.

UNITED STATES: In Washington, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called his defense advisers to the White House to review the implications of the tripartite pact between Germany, Italy and Japan. Asked if he had expected Japan to join the Axis the President said: "Yes and No." A US Navy Department spokesman said that the pact would not mean any change of policy. The navy, he said, would continue to be based at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. (Andy Etherington)

 

ICELAND: Second Hand John Henry Mitchell (1917-72) ran 100 yards and clambered over three ships to rescue two seamen from freezing waters. (Albert Medal)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-31 sank SS Vestvard.

U-37 sank SS Georges Mabro.

 

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27 September 1941

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September 27th, 1941 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Submarine HMS Una commissioned.

Escort carrier HMS Attacker launched.
Destroyer HMS Ledbury launched.

GERMANY: U-436 commissioned.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Von Neurath, the German Governor of Bohemia and Moravia resigns and is replaced by Heydrich.

U.S.S.R.: The Germans take Perekop in the approach to the Crimea.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Air reconnaissance fails both the Italians and British to find the main opposing fleets. The British are attempting another reinforcement of Malta with Operation Halberd. The Italian's are attempting to intercept them. The battleship HMS NELSON is damaged in an Italian air attack south of Sardinia.

SYRIA: French General Georges Catroux, Free French High Commissioner in Syria and Lebanon, announces Free French recognition of Syrian independence with the provison that the French will continue to exercise their mandate authority until such time as it can be properly terminated.

EAST AFRICA: The British 25th East African Brigade accepts the surrender of the Italian garrison at Wolchefit Pass.

CHINA: Japanese forces land paratroops behind the Chinese lines and penetrate into Changsha. The Chinese counterattack the paratroops, destroying them, and in an uncharacteristically decisive move, wheel there forces north of the city, cutting off the Japanese troops in the city. About 100,000 Japanese troops found themselves surrounded.

JAPAN: After completing the ceremonies celebrating the first anniversary of the Tripartite Pact, Japanese Foreign Minister Adrmiral TOYODA Teijiro spoke to U.S. Ambassador Joseph Grew and "urged him to strongly recommend to his home government to have the 'leaders' meeting" (between President Roosevelt and Japanese leaders) materialize immediately. This information is sent in a message to the Japanese embassy in Washington, D.C.; officials there responded, "As I have pointed out on several previous occasions while reporting on matters pertaining to this issue, the United States insists that it would be inappropriate to hold the "leaders' conference" until the two nations have come to a complete agreement on all the points involved. At present the United States is allegedly investigating our attitude with regard to said various points. Since, as you said, we have already said all that is to be said, we are now committed to await expression of intentions by the United States.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Chedabucto commissioned.

U.S.A.: The first batch of 14 Liberty cargo ships are launched from various yards. There are another 312 Liberty ships on order. The very first, SS Patrick Henry, being at Baltimore, Maryland.

Destroyers USS Guest, De Haven, Hutchings and Welles laid down.

Destroyers USS Cowie and Knight launched.

The first US Army Officer Candidate School (OCS) class graduates from Fort Benning, Georgia. General Marshall is to address the class but due to observing the Louisiana Manouvres, Brigadier General Omar Bradley takes his place. The reading focuses on leadership and the concept of the citizen soldier in a democracy. (Irwin Probstein)

"Blue Champagne" by Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra with vocal by Bob Eberly reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. This song, which debuted on the charts on 2 August 1941, was charted for 14 weeks, was Number 1 for 1 week and was ranked Number 9 for the year 1941.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Whilst escorting convoy HG.73, Auxiliary AA (and fighter catapult) ship HMS Springbank,  is torpedoed and sunk by U-201, West of Ireland at 49 50N 23 40W. (Alex Gordon)(108)

U-201 also sank SS Margareta and SS Siremalm.

 

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27 September 1942

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September 27th, 1942 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: HMCS Weyburn, a Flower-class corvette, LCdr. Thomas Maitland Wade Golby RCNR, CO, arrived with the 20-ship Sydney to Londonderry convoy SC-100. Four ships from the convoy were lost: three to U-boats and one to a collision.
SC-100 was escorted by the American A3 Escort Group. It consisted of the Secretary-class USCG cutters Campbell and Spencer and the Flower-class corvettes HMS Bittersweet, Mayflower, Nasturtium as well as HMCS Trillium and Rosthern.
The Canadian corvettes Lunenburg and Weyburn were assigned for passage to the UK and subsequent employment on Operation Torch, the North African landings. With nine escorts, the 20-ship convoy should have been adequately protected. However, the lack of group cohesion, inadequate equipment in the Canadian corvettes, and inexperience of the Canadian ships led to a poor effort by the A3 group. In particular, the lack of adequate tactical radios systems in the Canadian corvettes prevented the group commander from effectively directing the action from his well-equipped flagship.

U.S.S.R.: Units of the German 6 Armee succeed in capturing most of the strategic Mamayev Kurgan Hill at Stalingrad, and penetrating the heavily defended Red October and Barricades housing estates.

The survivors of the 92nd Naval Infantry Brigade cross to the island of Golodnyy. Here a composite battalion is formed out of the survivors. (Russell Folsom) (215 Chap. 3)

LIBYA: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24s are dispatched to attack an 8,000-ton vessel at Bengasi. No bombs hit the target but several straddle a jetty in the harbor.

ALGERIA: Dewoitine D-342, msn 01, registered F-ARIZ by the French airline Air France, crashes during takeoff .from Ameur el Ain; all 25 aboard are killed.

JAPAN: Tokyo: Japan's new foreign minister, Masayuki Tani, says he will continue the policy of non-aggression towards Soviet Russia.

CHINA: 4 B-25 Mitchells of the US Tenth Air Force's China Air Task Force over southwestern China blast Mengshih, claiming about 30 trucks and 400 troops destroyed; The B-25s also bomb  Tengchung, leaving it aflame; 3 flights of P-40s strafe targets of opportunity along the Burma Road, claiming 15 trucks destroyed and 5 barracks groups damaged.

NEW GUINEA: The Japanese begin their withdrawal back down the Kokoda Track from Ioribaiwa, as the Australians begin their attack. While Japanese positions are under artillery fire, the Australian 2/31st and 2/33rd Battalions begins attacking the Japanese flanks while the 2/25th Brigade moves forward.

US Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs continue to pound forces north of Ioribaiwa in the area between Kagi and Efogi and in the Myola and Menari areas; the Japanese abandon Ioribaiwa Ridge and are in full retreat under heavy pressure from Australian ground forces.

MacArthur forces Blamey to relieve General Rowell. (William L. Howard)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: In the combined Raider - 1st - 7th Marines attack across the Matinakau River, at the One Log Bridge, on Guadalcanal, Major Kenneth Bailey is killed. Winner of the MOH at Bloody Ridge, he is the Executive Officer of the Raiders. Battles at both the One Log Bridge and the mouth of the River are fierce and the Marines make no headway. 3 companies of the 1-7 are ordered to land west of the river mouth by boat. These Marines are cut off through quick reaction by Col. Oka. Having no radio, they use their "T" shirts to spell out help. Col. Puller takes the destroyer Monssen and several landing craft to evacuate them. Using the firepower of the destroyer, the Japanese are pushed back and the Marines are evacuated under  heavy fire. 

Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro, the only U.S. Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II, is killed on Guadalcanal. The citation for his award reads in part, "For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty as Petty Officer in Charge of a group of 24 Higgins boats, engaged in the evacuation of a battalion of marines trapped by enemy Japanese forces at Point Cruz Guadalcanal, on 27 September 1942. After making preliminary plans for the evacuation of nearly 500 beleaguered marines, Munro, under constant strafing by enemy machine guns on the island, and at great risk of his life, daringly led 5 of his small craft toward the shore. As he closed the beach, he signalled the others to land, and then in order to draw the enemy's fire and protect the heavily loaded boats, he valiantly placed his craft with its 2 small guns as a shield between the beachhead and the Japanese. When the perilous task of evacuation was nearly completed, Munro was instantly killed by enemy fire, but his crew, 2 of whom were wounded, carried on until the last boat had loaded and cleared the beach."

After 2-weeks of bad weather, IJN aircraft renew air attacks. 18 G4M "Betty" bombers escorted by 27 A6M "Zeke" fighters are engated by 16 USMC and 18USNF4F Wildcats. The Americans shoot down 6 G4Ms and 2 "Zekes;" an SBD Dauntless is destroyed on the ground and 3 SBDs and 5 TBF Avengers are damaged. 

Aviation Pilot First Class Lee P. Mankin, an F4F pilot assigned to the USN's Fighting Squadron Five (VF-5), shoots down an A6M "Zeke" and becomes the only US enlisted ace in WWII.

GILBERT ISLANDS: Japanese troops land on Kuria Island.This island is located about 75 nautical miles (139 kilometers) south-southeast of Tarawa.

 

AUSTRALIA: HMAS Warrnambool and HMAS Kalgoorlie are sent from Darwin to pick up HMAS Voyager's crew, all of whom have survived with seven minor casualties from the Japanese air raids. One crewmen who has been reunited with this brother, a member of the 2/2nd AIF, has asked to remain with Sparrow force. (William L. Howard)(188, 189, 190, 191)

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIANS: Shore and harbor areas of Kiska Island are bombed by the US Eleventh Air Force: 8 B-24 Liberators and a B-17 Flying Fortress, escorted by a P-38 Lightning, 13 P-39Airacobras and 4 P-40s take off first, and are followed by 6 unescorted B-24s; weather turns back 13 of the fighters; an LB-30 Liberator flies photo-weather reconnaissance over Attu, Buldir, the Semichi, Agattu, and Amchitka Islands.

U.S.A.: The Glenn Miller Orchestra played their last concert in Passaic, New Jersey before Alton Glenn Miller went into the U.S. Army. It was a sad event for the band members and they could not finish playing the band's theme song, "Moonlight Serenade," at the end of the concert.

Destroyer USS William D Porter launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German raider HK Stier (Schiffe 23 or Raider "J"), 4 ships of 29,000 tons this cruise, attempts to attack the Liberty ship Stephen Hopkins. The Hopkins, armed with only 1 4 inch gun fights back. This unexpected resistance is successful, and the Stier sinks, but the Stephen Hopkins also sinks.
The SS Stephen Hopkins, a Liberty Ship armed with a World War I Four Inch Fifty shell gun on the stern and a 37 MM on the bow, was sailing from Capetown, South Africa to Paramaribo, Dutch Guinea, when she was attacked by the raider STIER and her escort the blockade runner TANNENFELS. Stier, with six 5.9-inch (15 centimeter) guns, opened fire at 0854 hours. The Master kept the stern of the Hopkins towards the raiders hitting the Stier 15 times, including two shots that knock out her steering gear and start a fire in the engine room at 0905 hours. The Stier ceases fire at 0918. The TANNENFELS is also badly damaged. The Hopkins also sank, a mass of twisted metal, and thirty-two of the 40 member merchant crew and nine of the fifteen Navy gunners were killed. The Liberty ship expended all its four inch ammunition and all the four inch gunners were killed and the last five rounds were fired by a Merchant Marine Engine Cadet before he was also killed. With his own ship ablaze, the Stier's captain gave the order to abandon ship and Stier sank at about 1140. Tannenfels returned to La Verdon, France, with the 320 survivors of the battle. The 19 survivors of the Stephen Hopkins gathered in one lifeboat, which had little food and water, and began a 2,200 nautical mile (4 074 kilometer) 31-day journey to Brazil. Fifteen men, ten crewmen and five Armed Guards, survived. The only award ever made, that I can determine, was that the ship was declared a "Gallant Ship." (Tom Bower and Jack McKillop)

- The German submarine U-165 is sunk in the Bay of Biscay west of Lorient, in position 47.50N, 03.22W, probably by air-laid mines. All 51 hands on the U-boat are lost.


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27 September 1943

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September 27th, 1943 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: STRATEGIC OPERATIONS: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flies 2 missions.

- Mission 104: The port of Emden, Germany is the target. In the first pathfinder (PFF) mission, 2 of 3 H2S equipped pathfinder B-17s lead the mission. 
(1) 246 B-17s hit the Emden industrial area and targets of opportunity at 0958-1008 hours; they claim 32-7-24 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 262 P-47 Thunderbolts which claim 21-2-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-47 is lost.

(2) 24 B-24s fly a diversion.

- Mission 105: 4 B-17s hit Hannover at 2208-2217 hours in a night raid with the RAF; 1 B-17 is lost.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command flies Missions 73 and 74 against 2 airfields in France. 
(1) 65 72 B-26B Marauders hit Tille Airfield at Beauvais at 1044-1045 hours; they claim 4-6-4 Luftwaffe aircraft. 
(2) 68 of 72 B-26's hit Conches Airfield at 1729 hours; 1 B-26 is lost.

The escort aircraft carrier (CVE) Jamaica (CVE-43) is transferred to Britain under Lend-Lease. She is the 25th CVE transferred to the Royal Navy and is renamed HMS Shah (D 21). The ship is returned to the USN on 6 December 1945.

 

Frigates HMS Montserrat and Tobago launched.

Escort carrier HMS Smiter launched.

NETHERLANDS: Seven RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

FRANCE: Paris: PPF member Dr. Paul Guérin, président des groupements corporatifs français is assassinated.
VICHY FRANCE: Marshal Philippe Pétain's revises the Constitutional Act No. 4 (which sets up a seven-man regency council in event of Pétain's inability to function as head of state). (Glenn Stenberg)

GERMANY: Allied air raid on Emden. (Glenn Stenberg)

     During the night of 27/28 September, RAF Bomber Command sends 678 aircraft, 312 Lancasters, 231 Halifaxes, 111 Stirlings, 24 Wellingtons and USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress to bomb Hannover; 38 aircraft are lost, 17 Halifaxes, ten Lancasters, ten Stirlings and a Wellington, 5.6 per cent of the force, and one B-17 also lost. The use by the Pathfinders of faulty forecast winds again saved the centre of Hannover. The bombing is very concentrated but fell on an area 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of the city centre. No details are available from Germany but RAF photographic evidence showed that most of the bombs fell in open country or villages north of the city. Twenty one Lancasters and six Mosquitos carried out a diversionary raid on Brunswick which is successful in drawing off some night fighters; 218 people are killed in Brunswick, 51 Germans and 167 foreigners. One Lancaster is lost. Mosquitos crews flew two missions: five Mosquitos on another diversion to Emden and three on Oboe tests to Aachen. Ten aircraft layed mines in the Kattegat, a bay of the North Sea bounded by Denmark and Sweden.

U.S.S.R.: The Soviets reach the suburbs of Dnepropetrovsk. In the Kuban, the Russians occupy the north bank of the Kuban River and capture Temryuk, their last port reducing the German's bridgehead to a narrow strip.

ITALY: Foggia greets the advance units of the British 8th Army. The airfields are now in Allied hands. The main body of the 8th Army is still not ready. Canadian units capture Melfi, Italy.

In the U.S. Fifth Army's VI Corps area, 3d Infantry Divsion reaches Highway 7 and is threatening Avellino.

Marshal of Italy Pietro Duke Badoglio, the Prime Minister of the new government, receives terms of complete instrument of surrender.

The people in Naples begin an insurrection against Germans, which will last through to the end of the month. (Glenn Stenberg)

Weather almost halts US Twelfth Air Force operations; XII Air Support Command fighters strafe Viterbo Airfield and Bracciano seaplane base, bomb a road junction at San Servero, and strafe a locomotive and the train station; other Northwestern Tactical Air Force aircraft hit trucks in the Benevento area.

GREECE: The Germans take full control of the island of Corfu having wiped out the Italian garrison.

Destroyer HMS Intrepid is damaged by two air raids on the port of Leros and abandoned. Considered to be beyond repair, she capsizes. There are 15 casualties. (Alex Gordon)(108)  

In the Ionian Sea, the 1,092 ton Greek ship SS Ardena is sunk by a mine off Argosoli, Kefalonia Island, Ionian Islands, laid by the Italian ship Berletta three months earlier. SS Ardena had been bombed and sunk in June 1941 by the Luftwaffe during the invasion of Greece. Raised and repaired by the German Kriegsmarina, she is sunk again today. The ship is carrying 840 Italian POWs; 720 of them are killed.

CHINA: Mao Tse-min (Mao Tse-tung's brother) and the Communist party founder Chen Tan-chi are executed by order of Chiang Kai-shek.

SINGAPORE: British and Australian commando forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Lyons, Gordon Highlanders, mounted Operation Jaywick, a canoe attack on Japanese shipping in Singapore harbour. Their limpet mines sank three ships and left several others damaged. The assault team escaped in their fishing boat, HMAS Krait, which has been preserved as part of the Australian War Memorial collection.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Submarine USS Pompano sunk while patrolling off the coasts of Hokkaido and Honshu; probably lost to Japanese mines.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 27 B-24s, 20+ P-40s and P-39Airacobras of the US Thirteenth Air Force, and several USMC F4U Corsairs to pound the Kahili area on Bougainville Island. P-39s over Choiseul Island strafe (and explode) 3 barges off Wogai Point, and strafe 2 others off Bambatana, leaving 1 ablaze.

NEW GUINEA: 117 B-24s and B-25s, escorted by 129 P-38s and P-40s, attack airfields and shipping in the Wewak area; about 40 aircraft are destroyed on the ground and 8 are claimed shot down in combat; the bombers sink a transport and 4 cargo ships; Finschhafen is bombed twice during the day.

U.S.A.: Destroyer escorts USS Howard D Crow and Neunzer commissioned.

Escort carrier USS Savo Island laid down.
Submarine USS Scabbardfish laid down.

Frigates USS Rockford, Woonsocket and Dearborn launched.

BRAZIL: The beginning of airship (blimp) operations in the South Atlantic is marked by the arrival of the nonrigid airship K-84, of Blimp Squadron Forty One (ZP-41) at Fortaleza.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Two German submarines are sunk:

- U-161 is sunk in the South Atlantic near Bahia, Brazil, in position 12.30S, 35.35W, by depth charges from a USN PBM-3 Mariner of Patrol Squadron Seventy Four (VP-74) based at Natal, Brazil. All 53 hands on the U-boat were lost; 2 crewmen in the PBM are wounded by AA fire from the U-boat.

- U-221 shoots down an RAF Handley Page Halifax aircraft (Sqdn. 58/B) but is sunk southwest of Ireland, in approximate position 47.00N, 18.00W, by depth charges from the same aircraft, an RAF Halifax Mk II of No 58 Squadron based at Holmsley South, Hampshire, England. All 50 hands on the U-boat are lost.

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27 September 1944

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September 27th, 1944 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Whilst serving as an aircraft target ship, destroyer HMS Rockingham is mined in the North Sea SE of Aberdeen and taken in tow, but sinks in 56 29N 00 57W. There are no casualties. (Alex Gordon)(108)  While returning to Aberdeen, poor navigation brought her into the defensive minefields off the east coast of the United Kingdom, and after striking a mine Rockingham was abandoned and sank with the loss of one life. USS Swasey (DD-273), commissioned as HMS Rockingham (G-58) on 26 Nov. 1940, part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. (Ron Babuka)

 

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS: The US Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions.

Mission 650: 1,192 bombers and 678 fighters, in 3 forces, are dispatched to hit industrial and transportation targets in western Germany and use PFF methods for all targets; 28 bombers and 2 fighters are lost. 
(1) 421 B-17s hit a secondary target (Cologne) and 10 others hit Blatzheim; escort is provided by 221 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-0 aircraft in the air. 
(2) B-17s bomb Ludwigshafen/Opau oil refinery (214) and Mainz (171); 4 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 212 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air. 
(3) B-24s attack Kassel/Henschel aircraft plant (248); 35 also hit Gottingen; they claim 5-3-0 aircraft; 26 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 207 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 25-0-6 aircraft in the air and 5-0-1 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost. 

- Mission 651: 8 B-17s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

- 163 B-24s on a TRUCKIN' mission carry fuel to France. 

TACTICAL OPERATIONS: US Ninth Air Force fighters fly armed reconnaissance, cover US First and Third Army forces in western Germany and eastern France and later fly night patrols in Belgium, Luxembourg, and western German areas. In France, nearly 300 B-26s and A-20s abort missions due to weather; 8 manage to bomb a target at Foret de Parroy.

NETHERLANDS: Arnhem: The last British and Polish troops trapped at Arnhem surrendered to the Germans yesterday after holding the bridgehead against overwhelming odds for nine days. For the last three days many of the men were without water and survived on rations cut to one-sixth. During heavy rainstorms they gathered water in their capes. When at last the men were ready to leave, they stood with heads bowed while the padre said a prayer.

The order to abandon the operation was given by Montgomery on Monday, and the withdrawal south across the Rhine took place during the night of 25-26. Only 2,400 men out of more than 10,000 who took part in the operation got away in boats or by swimming across; 1,200 were killed and 6,642 have been taken prisoner. Allied HQ claims that 12,000 Germans were killed or wounded in the fighting.

Allied casualties could have been higher. Major Richard Lonsdale out together a rearguard force of men who had been separated from their units. With this force, he defended the bridgehead perimeter to allow others to escape. Then, despite his wounds, he swam across the mile-wide river to the safety of the south bank, where a battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment had arrived, having overcome tenacious German resistance all the way from Nijmegen, ten miles distant.

Though the Allies failed to hold the Rhine crossing, Eisenhower reckons the operation was worthwhile; by securing the crossings of the Maas and the Waal it advanced the Allied front to Nijmegen and put the defence of Antwerp beyond doubt.

Arnhem: Every survivor has a tale to tell of terror by day and night under a hurricane of fire from the Germans, and the deeds of bravery and self-sacrifice are legion. "Give us a few tanks," they say, "and we'll go back and finish the job."

"The Panzers were causing us a lot of trouble," says Captain Bethune Taylor, from Cheltenham. "So a major went out with a Piat and took two on. Every time he put his head out the Panzers fired. But he set his Piat and bagged one." Lance-Corporal John Stilwell, of Hackney Wick, came under attack from flame-throwers. "They got a man next to me. He screamed in agony. We made our way to the river. One man did wonders, keeping three Vickers going to keep the escape channel open."

BELGIUM: British Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, General Officer Commanding 21st Army Group, orders Canadian General Henry Crerar, General Office Commanding First Canadian Army, to clear the Schelde, the navigable river running through Antwerp, as quickly as possible.

     During the day, 73 RAF Bomber Command Halifaxes fly petrol (gasoline) carrying flights from the U.K. to Melsbroek Airfield in Brussels.

NETHERLANDS: German aircraft make large-scale but futile efforts to destroy Nijmegen bridges.

FRANCE: The US XX Corps of the Third army begins attacks at Metz.

In U.S. Third Army’s XX. Corps area, the 5th Infantry Division begins limited attacks against Fort Driant, the outer bastion of Metz barring the northern approach to the city; after ineffective aerial bombardment at low level. In the XII Corps area, massed German tanks again attempt to drive in 4th Armored Division's salient, making main effort on the southern flank where they succeed in taking Hill 318, southeast of Arracourt, which commands road to Nancy; subsidiary thrusts at Bezange-la-Petite and Xanrey are largely contained. The 35th Infantry Division, holding the Fort de Grmecey salient, undergoes sharp counterattacks. German columns push toward Grmecey and Pettoncourt from Chambrey, reaching the latter. When reinforcements from the 35th Infantry Division arrive, the Germans fall back toward Chambrey. Other German forces make limited penetration into the northeastern edge of the forest after infiltrating from Fort de ChateauSalins, but most of lost ground is recovered.

     During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispathces 341 aircraft, 222 Lancasters, 84 Halifaxes and 35 Mosquitos, to attack positions in the Calais area; 323 aircraft bombed. The target areas are covered by cloud but the Master Bomber brought the force below this to bomb visually. The attacks on the various German positions are accurate and only one Lancaster is lost.

Allied HQ, FRANCE: The failure at Arnhem puts paid to hopes of ending  the war this year, it also means that Montgomery has lost his battle for a single concentrated all-out drive into Germany. Eisenhower is back to his "broad front" strategy which the Americans have favoured all along.

Too many corners were cut at Arnhem. To save aircraft, the paras made three separate drops over three days, and the Germans never felt the British 1st Airborne Division at full strength. Radio equipment was inadequate and communications failed. Intelligence reports of panzer units at Arnhem were not believed. Then the paras landed too far from the bridges and some had an eight-mile march.

GERMANY: A female American flight nurse is among the five survivors of a C-47 Skytrain that is shot down by the Luftwaffe near Aachen. The Germans don't know what to do with her but eventually send her to Stalag IXC where she works in the hospital. In February 1945 she is taken to Portuguese South Africa and placed on the Red Cross ship MS Grisholm for a prisoner exchange. She is later repatriated and eventually returns to duty at a stateside army hospital.

     During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 175 aircraft, 96 Halifaxes, 71 Lancasters and eight Mosquitos, to attack the Ruhroel AG synthetic-oil plant in the Welheim suburb of Bottrop; 134 bombed the target and 21 bombed the city. The target is almost entirely cloud-covered and most of the bombing is aimed at Oboe skymarkers, although a few aircraft are able to bomb through small breaks in the cloud. Explosions and black smoke are seen. No aircraft lost. In another mission, 171 aircraft, 143 Halifaxes, 21 Lancasters and seven 7 Mosquitos, attempted to bomb the Sterkrade oil plant; only 28 aircraft bombed the main target, through thick cloud; 49 aircraft bombed alternative targets, most of them aiming at the approximate position of Duisburg. No aircraft are lost.

     During the night of 27/28 September, RAF Bomber Command sent 217 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos in the only major raid carried out by Bomber Command during the war on Kaiserslautern; 167 aircraft bombed the target and a Lancaster and a Mosquito are lost. Mosquito attacks during the night included 45 aircraft bombing Kassel, two bombed Aschaffenburg and two hitting Heilbronn.

U-2335 and U-2510 commissioned.
U-2333 laid down.
U-2516 and U-3509 launched.

FINLAND: The preliminary plan of starting an aggressive attack in Lapland was completed. Around that time, Siilasvuo decided of making an amphibious landing in Tornion, behind German lines. 

The plan was opposed by many in the Finnish GHQ, but Siilasvuo answered that he took orders only from the Marshall himself, who didn't intervene. (Sami Korhonen)

HUNGARY: Cluj is the scene of heavy fighting due to repeated German counterattacks.

ESTONIA: The organized German resistance on mainland Estonia is over. The Soviets land on Vormsi Island west of Haapsalu.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: The Red Army is swiftly clearing Estonia of German troops as General Schorner conducts his skilful retreat through the Riga corridor to the comparative safety of Courland, the north-western part of Latvia where it bulges into the Baltic Sea. It remains to be seen how many men Schorner can get away as the Russians push through Latvia to seal off the corridor. With this manoeuvre the Russians are not only inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans but are also making sure that they will not be attacked from the rear when they open their inevitable assault on East Prussia.

YUGOSLAVIA: Dalmatia: British troops have joined Yugoslav partisans on the Dalmatian islands and are poised to invade the Yugoslav mainland.

Royal Navy coastal forces based on Vis, the outermost of the islands, are dominating coastal traffic. British commandos are also using Vis as a base to establish artillery positions on the island of Brac from which to attack German supply lines and prevent German patrol boats from putting to sea.

Fierce battles are also taking place in Albania to the south where the German garrison has been ordered to protect the single railway line bringing escaping troops from Greece.

ITALY: In U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps area, The South African 6th Armoured Division column, moving along Highway 64, reaches Collina. In II Corps area, the 85th Infantry Division reaches the crest of Torre Poggioli and clears Sambuco. In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the Canadian I Corps issues instructions for future action of troops upon relief, scheduled to begin on 29 September, by the Polish II Corps. It is subsequently decided to employ the Polish II Corps in another sector and keep the Canadian I Corps in cthe oastal zone. Forward elements of corps are approaching the Fiumicino River. St. Mauro di Romagna and La Torre are cleared of Germans.

During the night of 26/27 September, US Twelfth Air Force A-20s bomb motor transport in the Po Valley; during the day bad weather cancels medium bomber operations and restricts the XII Fighter Command; yet fighter-bombers effectively support the US Fifth Army, especially on Monte Oggioli, blasting defensive positions, troop concentrations, roads, and motor transport, and cutting rail lines between Parma and Piacenza.

GREECE: German forces of Heeresgruppe E evacuate western Greece.

BURMA: 13 US Tenth Air Force P-47s bomb the area near Katba; 30 P-47s in 5 flights hit ammunition stores and the town area of Myothit, and attack Sinkin, Bhamo, and Ma-ubin; 7 other P-47s damage the approaches to a railroad bridge at Nansiaung, 7 more hit a bivouac area at Pinwe, and 7 B-25s pound Hsenwi. 10 B-24s fly fuel to Liuchow and Yungning, China. C-47 Skytrains fly 200+ sorties to various points in CBI.

CHINA: 40+ P-40s and P-51s of the US Fourteenth Air Force on armed reconnaissance attack communications targets, river shipping, buildings, and troops in the Kiyang, Lungfukwan, Sungpai, Chuanhsien, Lingling, Paishui, and Paoching areas.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The 6,374 ton Japanese transport ship SS Ural Maru is torpedoed and sunk by the American submarine USS Flasher (SS-249) about 223 nautical miles (413 kilometers) west-northwest of Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands, in position 15.40N, 117.18E. About 2,000 of the 2,340 people on board are drowned.

CENTRAL PACIFIC: 14 Marshall Islands based B-24s strike Truk Island. 

MARIANA ISLANDS: Saipan Island-based P-47 Thunderbolts of the USAAF Seventh Air Force bomb and strafe Pagan Island.

MARCUS ISLAND: Two USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators on armed reconnaissance bomb Marcus Island. The island is located in the North Pacific about 768 nautical miles (1 422 kilometers) west-northwest of Wake Island and is used as a refueling point for Japanese aircraft en route to the Central Pacific.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Two US submarines, USS Narwhal (SS-167) and USS Stingray (SS-186) land supplies and personnel on Mindanao. 

SOUTH PACIFIC: Guided missiles are used in the Pacific as Special Task Air Group One (STAG-1), from its base on Stirling Island in the Treasury Islands, begins a combat demonstration of the Interstate TDR assault drone. The drones had been delivered to the Russell Islands by surface ships and flown 45 miles (72 km) to bases in the Northern Solomons where they were stripped for pilotless flight and armed with bombs of up to 2,000 pounds (907 kg). For combat against heavily defended targets, a control operator in an accompanying TBM Avenger guided the drone by readio and directed the final assault by means of a picture received from a television camers mounted in the drone. In the initial attack, against AA emplacements in a beached merchant ship defending Kahili Airfield on South Bougainville, 2 out of 4 TDRs hit the target ship.

EAST INDIES: US Far East Air Force B-24s bomb Menado personnel and supply areas on Celebes Island. B-25s attack oil tanks at Boela, Ceram Island and hit Old Namba Airfield on Buru Island.

NEW GUINEA: In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s attack the Kokas supply area, the Ransiki (Moemi North) and Waren Aerodromes and shipping in the Vogelkop Peninsula area.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: On Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, the American flag is raised at the 1st Marine Division Command Post. Although the flag raising symbolizes that the island is secured, pockets of determined Japanese defenders continued to fight on. As late as 21 April 1947, 27 Japanese holdouts finally surrendered to the American naval commander on the scene. Meanwhile, elements of the 321st Infantry Regiment begin an attack on the north side of the Umurbrogol Pocket, which the 7th Marine Regiment is helping to contain, and meet intense Japanese fire. The 1st Battalion drives north, clearing Kamilianlul Mt with ease and making contact with 5th Marine Regiment at the junction of the East and West Roads. Some elements of 5th Marine Regiment continue clearing resistance on Amiangal Mt, while others push to the end of the island, Akarakaro Point. On Angaur Island, the 322d Infantry Regiment surrounds the Lake Salome bowl and gains positions along the inside of it. Methodical elimination of doomed Japanese there ensues.

     Fourteen USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators strike Truk Atoll. .

CANADA: Defence Minister James Layton Ralston leaves Montreal, Quebec, on a flight to Europe to check reports of Canadian infantry shortages.

Repair ship HMS Beachy Head launched Vancouver, British Columbia.
HMC ML 127 commissioned.

U.S.A.: Evangelist and faith healer Aimee Semple McPherson dies of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills in Oakland, California. She was 53.

Minesweeper USS Prowess commissioned.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-546 was commissioned at Los Angeles with LTJG C.A. Brown, USCGR, as her first commanding officer. He was succeeded by LT Charles L. King, USCGR, who in turn was succeeded in October 1945 by LTJG Richard Herpers, USCGR. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area including Leyte, etc.

 

 

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27 September 1945

Yesterday                                  Tomorrow

September 27th, 1945 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS VIGO is launched.

JAPAN: Tokyo: The first meeting takes place between General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito.

U.S.A.: Minesweeper USS Peregrine commissioned.
Destroyer USS Charles H Roan laid down.

Destroyer USS Warrington launched.

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