World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Monday August 26, 1940
Day 361

August 26, 1940: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline: "Berlin Arms Works Bombed"
(The night of Aug. 25-26 was the first R.A.F. bombing raid against Berlin. The operation was in retaliation for the bombing of London proper on Aug. 23-24, however, that bombing was done in error. The mission was less than a success, with the exception of the propaganda value. Of the eighty-one planes used, less than 30 got to or near the target. Five bombers were lost on the mission. These two attacks substantially escalated the air war and from this day forward civilian targets would be bombed by both sides.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at top left: "Nazis Lose 105 In Two Days"
(Other newspapers reported different numbers for the weekend losses. Keeping the "Never Doubt" clause in mind, German losses for Aug. 24-25 were; 42 lost in combat, 2 missing and 9 lost for non-combat reasons.)
[See "Never Doubt British Air Claims" in The Daily Mail for Aug. 15, 1940.]


August 26, 1940: Front page of the Birmingham Gazette, Birmingham, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 5: "Last British Troops Leave China"


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of the Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
Note the report in column 8: "3 Die In Eire Attacks"
(The Irish are reporting that German bombers attacked 3 Irish towns. The Germans denied this accusation.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of Haarlem's Dagblad, Haarlem, Netherlands.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Kingsport Times, Kingsport, Tennessee.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


August 26, 1940: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
1. England gibt zu: Schwerste Luftangriff.
(England admits: Heaviest air raid.)
2. Gestern 72 Flugzeugabschüsse.
(72 aircraft kills yesterday.)
[The actual number of British aircraft lost for all causes was 24. Only 15 fighters were lost in combat.]
 
3. Zerstörer-Kriegsabzeichen.
(Destroyer war badge.)
[This is the new design for the Kriegsmarine destroyer service badge.]


August 26, 1940: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. So treffen deutsche Bomben!
(This is how German bombs hit!)
2. Zwölf Stunden lang Tausende von Bomben - sagt selbst Reuter.
(Thousands of bombs in twelve hours - even Reuters says so.)
3. Englische Zerstörer in die Flucht geschlagen.
(English destroyers routed.)



   
Page published August 26, 2021