World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Thursday Sept. 12, 1940
Day 378

Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the photo at top: "From Churchill to Hitler-1 Ton of Steel"
(A 16" shell being loaded on to HMS Rodney.)
Also note the headline: "Templehof Airport And Two Stations Hit"
(An Associated Press reporter quickly responded with a report claiming that he saw no damage to either the airport or the Anhalter station. See Col. 1 on The Evening Star below.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of the Birmingham Gazette, Birmingham, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline at top left: "Invasion Was Begun-Failed"
(The invasion that never was had not begun.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in columns 5-6: "Nazis Lose 90 Planes In Mass Attack On London"
(Keeping the "Never Doubt" clause in mind; German losses on Sept. 11, 1940 were 23 aircraft lost in combat, 10 lost in non-combat incidents. The report also claims that The British lost 17 aircraft, in the records I have I can only find the loss of 6 aircraft from Fighter Command.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at bottom right: "Spitfire Fund Nears £5000 Mark"


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of Haarlem's Dagblad, Haarlem, Netherlands.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 2: "Colorado Potato Bugs Are Dropped on Nazis"
[The report is concluded here.]
(It's absolutely true that the British were using the self-igniting leaves, which were pretty effective, but they denied dropping the potato bugs. While I cannot state with complete accuracy that they did not drop the bugs, I have found no documents or evidence that such an operation had been undertaken by the British.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 1 : "Correspondent Sees No Bomb Damage at Templehof Airdrome"
(The Associated Press response to the British claim that Templehof airport and two stations had been damaged in an air raid. See the Manchester Evening News above.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 6: "School May Oust Jehovah Pupils"
( The parents of the students in question are Jehovah's Witnesses and it is against their religious beliefs to salute a flag, so the government run school is seeking permission to kick them out. It's hard to be an American, you know with that pesky 1st Amendment of the Constitution that gives citizens FREEDOM OF RELIGION and all.)
(Click below for part four of "Our Country" a twenty-four part series, written by twenty-four different authors, describing what America means to them. Today's piece was written by Louis Adamic)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Lowell Sun, Lowell, Massachusetts.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline: "Nazi Invasion Tomorrow Foreseen"
(The report: "London Tip Lists Nazi Invasion for tomorrow" is by H. R. Knickerbocker, who is usually a pretty good reporter, but it looks like even he was taken in by the propaganda.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of The Brainerd Daily Dispatch, Brainerd, Minnesota.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at bottom left: "Famous Boiler Kid Will Become Father This Month"
(The "Boiler Kid" Frederick B. Snite, Jr., also known as "The Man in the Iron Lung" announces he is to be a father.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
1. Bei Tag und Nacht gegen London.
(Day and night against London.)
2. Wieder Bomben auf Wohnviertel.
(Residential areas bombed again.)


Sept. 12, 1940: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Das Maß ist endgültig voll.
(The measure is finally full.)
2. Neue Vergeltung - die Antwort an die Piraten.
(New retribution - the answer to the pirates.)
3. Mittwoch wieder 54 Britenflugzeuge abgeschossen.
(Another 54 British aircraft shot down on Wednesday.)
[As stated above, I can find only 7 combat losses for RAF Fighter Command on Sept. 11, 1940.)



   
Page published Sept. 12, 2021