World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Friday, November 14, 1941
Day 806

November 14, 1941: Front page of the News and Chronicle, London, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


November 14, 1941: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
Note the headline report: "Ark Royal, Torpedoed East Of Gibraltar, Sinks While In Tow"
(After falsely having been reported sunk on two occasions, and reported damaged on several others, this time the report was true. HMS Ark Royal was sunk by Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Guggenberger and his U-81. This could have been a major disaster in terms of loss of life, but the ship sank slowly and the crew were removed. Only one man lost his life, Able Seaman Edward Mitchell.)


November 14, 1941: Front page of The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury, Leeds, England.
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November 14, 1941: Front page of the Western Mail and South Wales News, Cardiff, Wales.
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Note the report in column 8: " The Jew Will Not be Forgotten"
(Prime Minister Winston Churchill writes in a message to the Jewish Chronicle; "Assuredly in the day of victory the Jew's sufferings and his part in the struggle will not be forgotten.")
Also note the report in column 7: "76,000,000 Gas-masks"
(The Home Secretary, Mr. Herbert Morrison, MP, wondering why he is not seeing people carrying gas masks with them everywhere. To the best of my knowledge, only the Japanese used poison gas in combat during World War II, and that, mostly against the Chinese.)


November 14, 1941: Front page of the Evening Telegraph and Post, Dundee, Scotland.
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November 14, 1941: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
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November 14, 1941: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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Note the report in columns 4-5: "U.S. Naval Battle Reported"
(The report by Pearson and Allen, two columnists from the Daily Mirror in New York, claim that the U.S. Navy fought a battle against German surface and submarine forces off Iceland and the approaches to Russian ports. They claim the Navy captured a German mosquito boat carrier. They also claim that "some" U-Boats were sunk or captured. The two columnists don't reveal their source for this fantasy, but maybe they just like making up stories, it was the Daily Mirror after all. I know of no battles between U.S. and German forces, I have never heard of a German "mosquito-boat carrier" and no U-Boats had been sunk by enemy action to this date in the month of November of 1941. The only U-Boat loss for the month, so far, was the loss of U-580 on Nov. 11, and it was sunk in a collision with a target vessel named Angelburg.)
Also note the report in columns 1-2: "Tirpitz Reported In Pacific"
(Articles published in other newspapers denounce this report. Tirpitz never operated in the Pacific.)
[More about Tirpitz here.]


November 14, 1941: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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Note the report in column 8: "Trawlers Shoot Down Dornier"
(One of the trawlers, HM Trawler Francolin, was sink in the action, Telegraphist Charles L. Draper was the only casualty of the ship.)


November 14, 1941: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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November 14, 1941: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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November 14, 1941: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
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Note the report in column 3: "Mystery Fate Of S.S. Portland Near Solution"
[The report is concluded here.]
Also note the report in column 6: "Russia Rejects Jap Demands In Ship Sinking"
(Russia denies that it was one if their mines that sank the Japanese passenger ship Kehi Maru. From all historical records I have, it was most likely a Japanese mine that sank the ship.)


November 14, 1941: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
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Note the report in column 1: "Ark Royal Sunk by Submarine; Goes Down While Being Towed After Attack in Mediterranean"
[The report is concluded here.]


November 14, 1941: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
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November 14, 1941: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
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November 14, 1941: Front page of The Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada.
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November 14, 1941: Front page of The Southern Jewish Weekly, Jacksonville, Florida.
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November 14, 1941: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline and report in column 4: "Ark Royal Sunk by Italians - Giant Aircraft Carrier Is Hit by Torpedo - 32 Known Dead in Major British Fleet Loss"
(Just the headline of this Associated Press report is wrong on two major points. First, it was sunk by a German submarine, U-81 and second there was only one man lost, Able Seaman Edward Mitchell.)


November 14, 1941: Front page of the Teltower Kreisblatt, Kreis Teltow, Brandenburg, Germany.
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1. Stalins Angriffsplan war beschlossen.
(Stalin's plan of attack was decided.)


November 14, 1941: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Ein Amerikaner als Kronzeuge.
(An American key witness.)
2. Stalin rühmt sich seiner Überfallsabsichten.
(Stalin boasts of his ambush intentions.)
3. Jeder Tor hätte es sehn können: Wir Sowjets wollten nur Zeit gewinnen.
(Every goal could have been seen: We Soviets only wanted to gain time.)



   
Page published November 14, 2022