Thursday 20 August 1940

The cover of "Der Adler" (The Eagle) magazine for 20 August 1940. The cover is somewhat ironic due to the fact that the Stukas are in the process of being withdrawn from most combat operations on the Channel front due to their vulnerability.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes one of his more famous and memorable speeches to Parliament on 20 August 1940, with the immortal line coming at the end of this paragraph:

The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

"The Few" remains the motto of the RAF to this day, so the speech had a lasting impact upon the service itself.

Of course, the Battle of Britain isn't quite over yet, so it is a bit early to be taking victory laps. However, the historical record in hindsight makes this a fitting occasion to make such a speech.

The debate after the speech makes interesting reading because there is some satisfaction expressed about the warlike tone constantly struck by Churchill, the apparent absence of any interest whatsoever in peace negotiations of any sort, and the "slanderous anti-Soviet propaganda" being (apparently) supported by the government. This is an interesting position in many ways, but particularly due to what we now know was about to happen to London.

Churchill also announces the agreement with the US to trade bases for destroyers. The bases will be in Newfoundland and the West Indies.


Battle of Britain: The weather - England's second-best ally in the battle following the assistance of the United States - once again turns foul and hinders operations. Great Britain merely has to run out the clock before the weather really closes in, while the Luftwaffe must get things done in a hurry if its aerial offensive is to have any meaning at all.

There is not much going on aside from reconnaissance until shortly before noon when Bf 110s from Epr.Gr 210 operates around Southwold, including attacking shipping and RAF Martlesham Heath. RAF No. 66 Squadron intervenes and chases them off.

At 13:45, Dornier Do 17s come across the North Sea and are met by RAF No. Squadron. 242, which loses a Hurricane.

Other Dornier Do 17 bombers attack RAF Eastchurch at 14:30. RAF No. 615 Squadron intervenes, joined by RAF No. 65 Squadron, which loses a Spitfire.

An hour or so later, the Luftwaffe launches another attack on RAF Manston. RAF No. 600 Squadron sends its Blenheims up in defense, one of which is damaged. The airfield is lightly damaged. A dogfight occurs between the escorting fighters and RAF No. 65 Squadron which forces a Spitfire to crash-land and ultimately be written off.

The 8 storage tanks at Llanreath near Pembroke Docks are still burning from the raid of the 19th, and the fire, in fact, is spreading to another two tanks, creating a massive inferno. This serves as a beacon visible for many miles, attracting more Luftwaffe attacks. RAF No. 236 Squadron sends up Blenheims, one of which is damaged.

There are a few lone-raider missions. One, on RAF Thornaby, results in the loss of a Junkers Ju uu to RAF No. 302 (Polish) Squadron. In addition, a Hurricane of RAF No. 257 Squadron downs a Dornier off Suffolk.

The day is notable because it marks the first time a Luftwaffe crew is interned in Ireland and only the second plane to crash there. It is a long-range Luftwaffe Focke Wulf FW 200C-1 Condor, coded "F8+KH" and assigned to I./KG 40. The anti-aircraft fire brought it down on Mount Brandon during a reconnaissance mission. The incident is unusual in Ireland and long-remembered - the Irish (in general) have no particular personal grudge against the Germans.

The Luftwaffe sinks 248-ton minesweeper trawler HMS Resparko at Falmouth. Everyone survives.

Three Luftwaffe bombers attack RMS St. Patrick off of South Wexford, damaging it. In other attacks on the west coast of Ireland, the Luftwaffe damages British freighter Macville at Blacksod Bay and British freighter Peebles 20 miles off Tuskar Rock.

The Luftwaffe stages a small raid on Scapa Flow in the North of Scotland shortly after midnight.

RAF Coastal Command spots a couple of Kriegsmarine destroyers in the North Sea and damage one.

Losses for the day are light, with Luftwaffe losses usually given as 10-15 planes and RAF losses at 3-5 planes.

Luftwaffe Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 51, Hptm. Horst Tietzen, who perished on 18 August, posthumously receives the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross). Theodor Osterkamp, the commanding officer of Jagdgeschwader 51, also receives the award and is there to receive it. Osterkamp is a fascinating figure because he also fought in World War I and received top awards then as well, including the highly coveted "Blue Max" (Pour le Mérite). The Luftwaffe is very protective of some of its top war heroes and orders Osterkamp to stop flying missions.

U-A, a submarine ordered by Turkey (as the Batiray) from Germaniawerft and requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine on the outbreak of war.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-A (Kapitänleutnant Hans Cohausz) torpedoes and sinks Panamanian (really Finnish) independent 4397-ton collier Tuira about 280 miles southwest of Rockall. There are two dead and 30 survivors.

U-46 (Oberleutnant zur See Engelbert Endrass) torpedoes 2089 ton  Greek wood freighter Leonida M. Valmas in the Western Approaches. Perhaps due to the light cargo, the freighter does not sink right away and is taken under tow, to Kames Bay, where the cargo salvaged and the ship declared a total loss.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Cachalot torpedoes and sinks U-51 (Kapitänleutnant Dietrich Knorr) in the Bay of Biscay 100 miles off of the base at St. Nazaire. All 43 crew perish. The U-boat route to the Atlantic from the French bases is a prime hunting ground for British forces.

British raider Widder sinks British freighter Anglo Saxon.

The British minelayers HMS Teviotbank, Plover, and Willem van der Zaan lay minefield BS 33 in the North Sea.

A floating dock (AFD.12) departs the Tyne for Lyness under escort by destroyers HMS Lowestoft and Egret.

Convoy FN 258 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 146 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 258 departs from the Tyne,, Convoy OB 201 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 67 departs from Halifax.

German destroyer Z28 is launched, U-141 is commissioned, and hospital ship Alexander von Humboldt is commissioned. British minesweeping trawler HMS Almond (T 14, Chief Skipper Robert Buchan) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF bombs Diredawa and Dessie in Abyssinia and Kassala in eastern Sudan.

Taking a cue from Hitler's decision a few days ago to institute a "total blockade" of Great Britain, Italy institutes its own "total blockade" of Gibraltar, Malta, and Egypt. While it is a fanciful idea in many ways, Malta already is blockaded, and Egypt potentially could face a blockade due to the recent Italian conquest of British Somaliland. The timing of this announcement, though, reinforces the image of the Italian tail wagging on the German dog.

Vice Admiral James Somerville arrives in Gibraltar with his flotilla headed by aircraft carrier Ark Royal and battlecruiser HMS Renown. They have been in Great Britain for home defense. This reconstitutes Force H. Italian bombers attack Gibraltar to no effect.

At Malta, half a dozen more Blenheim bombers land at Luqa, while three others continue their journey to Egypt. The Italians naturally take an interest in all this bomber activity and decide to pay a visit as well. There are air raids on Luqa airfield which destroy several buildings and destroy one of the bombers and damage a couple of others. There also are some attacks on the Hal Far airfield which damage an RAF No. 830 Squadron Swordfish torpedo bomber.

Admiral James Somerville (1882–1949) on the right.

Battle of the Pacific: German disguised merchant raider Orion is operating in the Cook Straight of the Tasman Sea. It finds and sinks 9,691 ton New Zealand cargo steamer SS Turakina about 500 km off the Taranaki coast. It is the first battle of any kind ever fought in the Tasman Sea: the Turakina has a 4.7-inch deck gun versus Orion's six 5.9 inch guns. The battle lasts almost three hours, but the end result is pretty much unavoidable due to the disparity in force. There are 35/38 deaths (sources vary) and 20-21 survivors who are taken as prisoners. The Orion is making plans to work in concert with fellow raider Komet and supply ship Kulmerland.

The Komet, meanwhile, now is being led eastward in the Arctic ocean by Soviet icebreakers. When - or if - it will make it to the Pacific Ocean is unclear.

The New Zealanders and Australians send ships out to hunt down German raiders, but it is a big ocean. The Orion remains in the area of the sinking for five hours to save the survivors from an otherwise almost certain death despite the likelihood of the British ships' arrival.

German Government: Generalmajor Walter Warlimont, deputy chief in the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), and his staff present a revised plan for Operation Felix, the proposed invasion of Gibraltar. The plan concludes with the obvious, that everything depends upon Spanish participation, and that is far from certain. Franco wants to have it both ways, appearing to be against the whole thing while actually supporting it - but absent a declaration of war on Great Britain. Clearly, Franco does not want to enter another general war so soon after winning the Spanish Civil War.

Walter Warlimont.

Soviet Government: Settling once and for all a longstanding feud with former ally Leon Trotsky, Soviet Premier Stalin has an agent, undercover NKVD agent Ramón Mercader, kill him with a mountaineering ice pick at Trotsky's home in Mexico. Stalin has launched other attacks by hit squads on Trotsky that failed, but this time a single attacker does the trick.

China: The Japanese continue their bombing campaign against Chungking. The cumulative effect of the raids is devastating to the Nationalist capital. The new Zero fighters continue escorting the "Nell" bombers, which they began doing only yesterday.

Chinese communists operating in Hebei and Shanxi Provinces launch the "Hundred Regiments Offensive." The attack is focused along the railway line that separates them from the Japanese. The provinces are a major source of supply for the Japanese.

Ramón Mercader, at the time of his assassination of Leon Trotsky and many years later. Convicted of murder, he was released from prison on 6 May 1960, quickly moved to the Soviet Union, and passed away in 1978. A committed communist, Mercader is buried under the name “Ramon Ivanovich Lopez” in Moscow’s Kuntsevo Cemetery.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020

Saturday 17 August 1940

A Handley Page Hampden Mark 1 being loaded with 250 lb bombs to which the armorers are fitting fuzes. This particular bomber, No. P1333 "EA-F," is with RAF No. 49 Squadron based at Scampton, Lincolnshire. P1333 participates in the raid on Merseburg/Leuna on 17 August 1940 and is shot down, crash-landing at Breda, Holland.

Battle of Britain: Just like during World War I - a constant reference point for Adolf Hitler - on 17 August 1940 the Wehrmacht imposes an absolute blockade around the British Isles. Any ships whatsoever found within those waters is to be sunk on sight:

Germany, having repeatedly warned these [non-combatant] States not to send their ships into the waters around the British Isles, has now again requested, in a note, these governments to forbid their ships from entering the Anglo-German war zones. It is in the interest of these States themselves to accede to this German request as soon as possible. The Reich Government wishes to emphasize the following fact: The naval war in the waters around the British Isles is in full progress. The whole area had been mined.

This is a highly risky strategy, as President Roosevelt is just waiting for any excuse to enter the war. A few sinkings of US ships would help him to build a case. However, focusing all of the Reich's resources in the air and on the sea in one focused direction makes more sense strategically than a one-armed attack by the Luftwaffe against the RAF that it basically (especially as recent events have shown) cannot win.

Hitler justifies this as retaliating against a "British hunger blockade against German women and children." This has more resonance than it might because of recent comments by US Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg (since recalled) on the same theme. One can view this change in strategy as a clear sign that the German high command views the Battle of Britain as going poorly.

In terms of the air campaign, it is a light day despite perfect flying weather. Both sides have taken huge losses and can use the rest. This gives the staff of the numerous RAF airfields devastated in recent days a chance to clean up the debris and level the runways.

There are scattered intrusions by lone Luftwaffe bombers or small groups of bombers. A Junkers Ju 88 from 2./NJG 1 gets lost and is shot down off Spurn Head at 03:00. Another plane is shot down in the Channel. The Luftwaffe drops propaganda leaflets at Welshpool. A few scattered "Freie Jagd" missions by Luftwaffe fighters result in dogfights and victories by JG 51.

The Luftwaffe damages British freighters St. Patrick and Yewkyle in the southern entrance to the Irish Channel (St. George's Channel).

After dark, the Luftwaffe bombs East Suffolk, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire. Liverpool, Coventry, and Birmingham receive attention, with damage to the Liverpool docks. These are a prelude to the "Moonlight Sonata" raids of November. The Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton and the Avonmouth docks receive their usual bombing raids from over a dozen Heinkel He 111s of II,/KG 27. Overall, bombing accuracy is poor, a problem that afflicts both sides at night, but the Luftwaffe is working on that with new equipment (see below).

King George VI, left, and Dowding during the Battle of Britain.

While the RAF is holding up magnificently, the strains of the campaign continue to show. There is a growing shortage of experienced pilots, with 68 lost and 70 badly injured in the last five days alone. Air Marshal Dowding requests and receives permission from the Air Ministry to poach pilots from other branches of the RAF for re-training as fighter pilots, and also for further reductions in training time for completely new pilots. Today is a welcome relief, with patrols-flown down substantially.

American Pilot Officer William Fiske perishes of wounds suffered on the 16th. He is the only American fighting in the RAF to perish during the Battle of Britain and is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral.

RAF No. 1 Squadron, staffed by Canadian pilots, becomes operational. RAF No. 310 Squadron becomes operational, staffed by Czechoslovakian pilots, at RAF Duxford. With RAF Tangmere badly damaged in recent days, RAF No. 602 Squadron is moved nearby to Westhampnett.

Wendell Willkie campaigning in his hometown of Elwood, Indiana, on 17 August 1940.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command raids Leuna in eastern Germany (just west of Leipzig), one of its more distant targets, during the night. It is home to the Leunawerke, a huge chemical plant, and is a key oil target due to its refinery. There also are other armaments works there. The Merseburg/Leuna area is amply protected by anti-aircraft guns, and missions there are among the least-favored by Allied bomber crews. The raid, like most early bombing raids, is inaccurate and hits some non-industrial targets.

Another Bomber Command raid, on Boulogne, drops 3 tons of incendiaries and other bombs. There also are the usual raids on individual Luftwaffe airfields throughout northwest Europe.

Battle of the Atlantic: British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, which was in a collision with armed merchant cruiser HMS Corfu on 10 July, is in Simonstown, South Africa for repairs. The collision has lost the forward 30 feet of its bow. The repairs are scheduled to take months.

Convoy FN 255 departs Southend, Convoy MT 143 departs Methil, Convoy FS 255 departs from the Tyne.

British submarine HMS Utmost (N 19, Lt. John H. Eaden) and corvette HMS Coreopsis (K 32, Lt. Commander Alan H. Davies) are commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British Admiral Cunningham sends a large task force, codename MB 2, centered around battleships HMS Malaya, Ramillies and Warspite and cruiser HMS Kent to bombard the Italian at Bardia, Libya (including nearby Fort Capuzzo). The bombardment commences at 06:58 and lasts for 22 minutes. Force A has the Warspite and Kent, and Force B has the Malaya and Ramillies.

The Italian artillery cannot reach the British battleships, which can stand far offshore and fire with impunity. The Italians under Marshal Graziani essentially abandon the fort after the attack. The Regia Aeronautica attacks the British flotilla without success and loses several planes.

British submarine HMS Rorqual lays mines off Cyrenaica.

It is a quiet day in Malta. The local government via the War Office authorizes increased local ground forces composed of volunteers, with tighter supervision. They also are unpaid but full members of His Majesty's Armed Forces (else they could be shot as spies or partisans after an invasion). Governor-General Dobbie also urgently requests supplies.

The 18 August 1940 papers are full of news of Wendell Willkie's acceptance speech, Hitler's blockade of England, and a "Gay Pageant" in Chicago.

British Somaliland: The Italian forces under Lieutenant-General Carlo De Simone close up on the British blocking forces and begin attacks late in the morning. The Black Watch launches a successful bayonet charge to hold the position. Another Italian force at Bulhar, 40 miles west of Berbera, is approaching as well, but light cruiser HMS Ceres bombs the road and temporarily stops the advance. After dark, the Black Watch at Barkasan gives up its positions and marches to the transports at Berbera, where the evacuation is in its final stages.

Winston Churchill has a somewhat unrealistic view of what could have been accomplished in British Somaliland. The Italian forces outnumber the colonial British forces, buttressed by a few elite formations such as the Black Watch, by a huge amount, and they also are better equipped with tanks, artillery, and aircraft. Churchill wants a victory or at least a successful defense under impossible circumstances that, of course, are part of his own creation.

After hearing of Churchill's attitude, Middle East Commander General Wavell responds:

A bloody butcher’s bill is not the sign of a good tactician.

This is not a very political statement, and Wavell must understand this when he makes it.

Wavell, though, is absolutely correct and has handled the campaign with extreme competence (British casualties are minimal), but this incident starts turning the tactically challenged (but undeniably inspirational) Churchill against the extremely competent (but strategically overwhelmed) General Wavell. There are many in the British government, including Sir Alan Brooke, who view Churchill as a loose cannon when it comes to military strategy, and this is an example. To his credit, Churchill retains General Wavell in command despite the strategic setback, showing a high degree of maturity and even wisdom.

What is ironic given Churchill's petulance is that the British defeat in British Somaliland could have been far, far worse. There are strong indications that the Italian aggressors have held back there (and perhaps at Malta) in hopes that a peace deal under discussion quietly at the Vatican might bear fruit.

President Roosevelt and Mackenzie King of Canada on 17 August 1940.

Applied Science: The Luftwaffe is using radio signals to try to guide their night bombers - called X-Gerät, a successor to Knickebein - with little success. This involves three separate radio beams called "Rhine," "Oder," and "Elbe" which the navigators would hear at different points of the mission and use as course corrections. Results are good for the time being, but the British immediately deploy countermeasures (the Germans unwisely use 45 MHz, a BBC frequency, tipping the British off) of varying effect.

US/Canadian Relations: President Roosevelt and Prime Minister William Mackenzie King meet at Ogdensburg, New York. They sign an agreement - the Ogdensburg Agreement - for a Permanent Joint Board on Defense.

British Government: The Duke of Windsor, safely out of Europe, is sworn in as Governor-General of the Bahamas. He remains under deep suspicion by other elements of the British government for alleged pro-German leanings.

US Military: Destroyers USS Wake and Wainwright continue their "Show the flag" mission in South America, departing Bahia, Brazil for Pará, Brazil.

Greece: The country partially mobilizes its armed forces in response to recent Italian provocations such as the sinking of the light cruiser Helle (Elli). A Greek investigation reveals fragments of an Italian torpedo in the wreckage of the Helle.

Afghanistan: The Afghanistan Parliament begins.

The "War of the Lapel Badges" breaks out in Luxembourg (Federal Archive, Christian Minzlaff, August 1940).

Luxembourg: Around this date, the Spéngelskrich ("War of the Pin-badges") begins in occupied Luxembourg. Citizens wear patriotic lapel pins (think American flags) as an expression of defiance at the German authorities who are trying to eliminate any vestiges of Luxembourg as an independent state.

France: The occupation authorities requisition ("donate") all private watercraft.

American Homefront: Wendell Willkie formally accepts the Republican nomination for President in his hometown of Elwood, Indiana. He decries the "unfruitful political adventures" that led to France's downfall.

A passenger train to San Francisco at the corner of 40th and Shafter, Sacramento, California on 17 August 1940.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020