World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Monday Sept. 16, 1940
Day 382

Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline: "Germany's Sunday Price Was 185 Planes-A Record - Wong-To-Wing Raid Routed" and the report at top right: "Dornier Squadrons Smached Before Reaching London"
(The figures, presumably provided from the Air Ministry, claims that 185 German aircraft and 25 British aircraft had been lost on Sunday. Keeping the "Never Doubt" clause in mind; the most accurate numbers I can locate indicate that the Germans lost 63 aircraft in combat and 4 in non-combat incidents. Those figures include aircraft that made forced landings due to combat damage, but were not shot down outright. R.A.F. Fighter Command losses were 28 in combat, 2 in non-combat incidents and 1 was a total constructive loss due to battle damage.

Sept. 15, 1940 would mark a turning point in the Battle of Britain and has been known since as "Battle of Britain Day.")
Also note the report in column 3: "Thames Steamer Gets a Bomber"
(The freighter, Port Auckland, was credited with shooting down one of the attacking German aircraft. The ship was sunk by U-305 on St. Patrick's Day of 1943.)
Also see the report in columns 3-4: "Capt. David Niven, The Film Star, Is To Wed A W.A.A.F.


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of the Derby Evening Telegraph, Derby, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at bottom left: "Only £445 Now Needed For Spitfire"


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of the Daily Telegraph, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline: "Ivnasion Expected Hourly"
(Another warning about the invasion that never was.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of Haarlem's Dagblad, Haarlem, Netherlands.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at bottom right: "Conscription Will Become Law at 4 O'clock Today"


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 2: "Goering Flies Own Warplane Over London"
(This report comes from an authorized, but unidentified, German source. I can find no official German source which confirms that this ever happened. I suspect this was a propaganda piece put out by Goebbels, but the entries for Sept. 1940 from his personal diary were lost during the war, so I cannot confirm that. It seems very unlikely, considering Göring's size, that he would be a good fit inside a German bomber. Also, considering his position in the Reich [Reichsmarschall of the Greater German Reich and head of the Luftwaffe] I find it unbelievable that he would, or the Führer would allow him to take such a risk, considering the losses the Luftwaffe was sustaining. Finally, if Göring had pulled off such a stunt, it would have been the headline in every German newspaper. There is no mention of this in the next few days.)
Also note the report in column 1: "5,000 Dead Of Cholera in Fukien"
(The report states the outbreak started in Hong Kong, where of 450 cases, 75% were fatal. In some of the rural areas the locals were; "burning joss sticks and paper and discharging firecrackers in an attempt to exorcise the evil spirits they believe responsible for many deaths." The last sentence says; "Health authorities are innoculating every one possible and are taking other preventive measures.")


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
(Click below for part seven 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 Philip Wylie.)
[Click here to read Part seven of "Our Country"]


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Kingsport Times, Kingsport, Tennessee.
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Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at bottom right: "Harlem's Black Eagle Challenges Nazi Air Head"
(Col. Hubert Fauntleroy Julian, a member of the Ethiopian Air Force, who had fought against the Italians, claims that Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, had accepted a challenge for a duel in the air. There is no evidence that Göring had accepted or had ever heard of such a challenge, but it makes a good story.)


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
1. Fortsetzung der Vergeltungsflüge gegen London unter schwierigsten Wetterverhältnissen.
(Continuation of retaliation flights against London under the most difficult weather conditions.)
2. Nach 4 Tagesangriffen 9 Studen Luftalarm!
(After 4 days of attacks 9 hours of air alarms.)
 
3. Börsenjuden wollen englische Hauptstadt verlassen.)
(Jews from the stock exchange want to leave London.)
4. 79 Feindflugzeuge vernichtet.
(79 Enemy aircraft destroyed.)
[As stated above, R.A.F. Fighter Command losses were 28 in combat, 2 in non-combat incidents and 1 was a total constructive loss due to battle damage.]


Sept. 16, 1940: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Ein schwarzer Tag für das empire.
(A black day for the Empire.)
2. Weitere schwere Bombenangriffe auf London - Italien überschreitet die ägyptische Grenze.
(More heavy bombing raids on London - Italy crosses the Egyptian border.)



   
Page published Sept. 16, 2021