1931 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED STATES: The USN, with U.S. Army observers present, tests a new bombsight invented by Carl J. Norden. In a bombing demonstration conducted from an altitude of 5,000 feet (1 524 meters) against the anchored target ship Pittsburgh (Armored Cruiser No. 4), 50 percent hits are obtained with the newly developed Norden Mark XV bombsight as compared to slightly over 20 percent hits with the earlier Mark XI model. Subsequently, the Navy provides the U.S. Army Air Corps with these Norden bombsights--the most advanced devices of their kind used by the USAAF in World War II.
1935 (MONDAY)
SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations Council declares that Italy is the aggressor nation in the Ethiopian affair and makes preparations to apply sanctions against the Italians.
1938 (FRIDAY)
GERMANY: The government concludes an agreement for a loan to Turkey "to finance exploitation of natural resources and development of rail, motor road, and river transportation."
October 7th, 1939 (SATURDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Deepdale. Football: Preston play Bolton in a friendly. The crowd is generally listless with practically no conversation about the war at all. (72)
The U.S. freighter SS Black Heron is detained by British authorities at Weymouth, England.
GERMANY: To mark Himmler's birthday, Hitler appoints him Commissioner for Consolidation of the German Race; his task is to eliminate "inferior" peoples from the Reich.Hitler issues a decree ordering Poles to be evicted from Western Poland or killed.
FINLAND: Since the Soviet Union started to browbeat the Baltic republics into accepting Red Army bases in their territory, Finns have feared that Finland would soon receive similar treatment. Molotov's invitation two days ago to start negotiations on 'concrete political issues' seemed to confirm these fears. Unlike the Baltic republics, which all hastened to conclude unwanted pacts with the Soviets, Finns had decided to stay firm.
Today the Finnish government took two decisions to react to Molotov's invitation. First, Juho Kusti Paasikivi, the Finnish Ambassador at Stockholm, is nominated as the Finnish negotiator to go to Moscow. Second, it is decided to call part of the field army for extraordinary manouvers. In effect this is partial mobilization, but instead of using public proclamations, the reservists are sent personal orders by mail.
U.S.S.R.: Pravda quotes Hitler saying that the Polish state had no right to exist and was built "on the bones and blood of Germans and Russians." (Mike Yared)
AUSTRALIA: The Australian War Cabinet offers No. 10 Squadron for active service in the UK
U.S.A.: Washington: The US will continue to recognise the exiled Polish government,
the state department said today. Most of the Polish administration is interned in Romania,
but General Sikorski has set up a government in exile in Angers, France.
Baseball.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The Graf Spee stops and sinks the British freighter ASHLEA (4222 BRT). (Navy News)
U-26 sinks SS Binnendijk.