March 15th, 1940 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Leaflets and Reconnaissance - Vienna and Warsaw. 77 Sqn. Two aircraft from Villeneuve sent to Warsaw. 6 million leaflets dropped. One landed in Germany but escaped. [N1387 flown by Flt. Lt. B.S. Tomlin, after successfully dropping the leaflets, set off on the return flight to Villeneuve. As dawn approached their fuel stocks were getting low and they were lost - or in navigation parlance uncertain of their position. Thinking they were over France, Tomlin landed the aircraft in a large field. After stopping the engines and getting out of the Whitley the crew discovered to their horror when attempting to converse with some civilians who had appeared on the scene, that they were in Germany. This fact was confirmed by the approach of a number of German troops on bicycles.
Dashing back to the aircraft they piled aboard, fortunately managed to get both engines started, and hauled the Whitley back into the air as the enemy troops fired their rifles. Once airborne they established their position and crossed the German/French border. When they arrived back at Villeneuve to tell their story, the newspapers had a field day.
In Nazi Germany however, the repercussions were more serious. The day after the incident a Hauptmann and three German soldiers from the local Wehrmacht unit arrived at Niedersalbach, the village near to which the Whitley had landed. They apprehended Albert Kartes, a 17 year old who had, unfortunately for him, conversed with Sergeant Ron Charlton, the Whitley's air observer. He was carted off to the headquarters of a military unit where he was interrogated and then incarcerated in the remand prison at Volklingen, some six miles away. A week later he and another eye-witness of the incident were brought to trial, accused of 'giving support to the enemy'. They were found guilty and sentenced to two years imprisonment, the judges commenting that the 'leniency' was due to Kartes youth. However, thanks to the village pastor and some influential members of the local community there was a re-trial, during the course of which the defending counsel was able to convince the judges that those responsible for the escape of the Whitley and its crew were the fully armed German soldiers who had appeared on the scene and done nothing. The outcome was that the sentence was quashed and Albert Kartes and his co-defendant were released six weeks later. During a renewed hunt for scapegoats, they even tried to nail the village policeman for not being on the scene quick enough."]
Leaflets and Reconnaissance - Ruhr and Rhine. 51 Sqn. Six aircraft from Villeneuve. Some opposition. Weather bad.
78 Sqn N1350 damaged landing at Linton-on-Ouse. Flg Off F.Aikens and crew safe.
Submarines HMS Trusty and Turbulent laid down.
ENGLISH CHANNEL: ASW trawler HMS Peridot mined and sunk off Dover.
FINLAND: Helsinki: The Finnish Diet, meeting in secret session, tonight ratified the Moscow peace agreement by 145 votes to 3. (Note: 45MPs were absent and nine cast a blank ballot Speaking before the vote was taken, Prime Minister Ryti said: "Finland, as well as the whole of western civilization, is still in the greatest danger, and no one can say what tomorrow may bring. We believe that by choosing peace we have acted in the best way for the moment." There is some bitterness here towards Sweden, thought by the Finns to have let them down by not allowing Allied troops passage across its territory. The immediate problem for Finland though is how to evacuate and care for the 470,000 displaced persons from the territories now occupied by Russia, one-eighth of the population.
ROMANIA:800 imprisoned members of the pro-Nazi Iron Guard are granted an amnesty after swearing an oath of allegiance to King Carol.
U.S.A.: Two films are released in the U.S. today; the first is "The Grapes of Wrath." This drama, based on the John Steinbeck novel, is directed by John Ford and stars Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Eddie Quillan, and Ward Bond. The story concerns a group of people leaving the Oklahoma dust bowl for California during the Great Depression. This film, ranked Number 21 on the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Movies, is nominated for seven Academy Awards; the film wins two, Best Director (Ford) and Best Supporting Actress (Darwell). It also wins the Best Picture Award from both the National Board of Revue and the New York Film Critics Circle and John Ford is also awarded the Best Director Award by the latter organization.The second film is "Young Tom Edison" which premiered last month in Michigan. This drama, directed by Norman Taurog, stars Mickey Rooney, Fay Bainter and George Bancroft and depicts the early life of the famous inventor.
“Broadcasting” magazine reports that the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) has cut the price of television sets and is starting a sales drive intended to put a minimum of 25,000 TV sets in homes in the service area of the National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC's) New York City experimental TV station, W2XBS. RCA owns NBC.
The US Navy comes up with a preliminary design for the 'Montana' 72,000 ton Battleship class. (Picture)
