May 1st, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Bombing - Stavanger and Fornebu airfields. 10 Sqn. Six aircraft bombed Stavanger, fires started.77 Sqn. Three aircraft bombed Fornebu. Severe opposition.
102 Sqn. Three aircraft bombed Fornebu. Severe opposition.
Hampdens raid Aalborg.
ÉIRE: Dublin: In a desperate move to remain out of the war, the Irish government appealed today to the United States to guarantee its neutrality. Eire - the only Commonwealth nation which has not rallied to the Allied cause - chose neutrality when it considered its position shortly before the outbreak of war.
The cool attitude of the Prime Minister, Eamon de Valera, to the British cause and his refusal to allow British convoy escorts to be based in Irish ports, have infuriated many British politicians, so much so that there is genuine fear of a British invasion in Dublin. Equally, the possibility of a German invasion is not being ruled out.
Although Washington is unlikely to offer a formal guarantee, the Irish-American lobby is a powerful political force in a country whose support is vital to Britain.
Britain has appealed to de Valera to join a defence union with Northern Ireland. The former British detainee is unlikely to co-operate. The Irish government is being markedly active against the IRA, however, with Irish Garda cooperating with British police in the hunt for terrorists. Despite de Valera’s views, thousands of his countrymen are crossing the Northern Ireland border to volunteer for the British forces, so Britain is likely to refrain from any hostile moves.
NETHERLANDS: Submarine HNLMS O-25 launched.
GERMANY: Berlin: Germany announces the surrender of 4,000 Norwegian soldiers in the Lillehammer sector.
NORWAY: Blenheims of Bomber Command and Hudsons of Coastal Command raid Stavanger in daylight. No opposition.
As the Germans close in on Åndalsnes, the Allies begin to evacuate over 4,000 men from the port.
With daylight the Luftwaffe arrive in force, driving out to sea two WW1
vintage British cruisers converted for AA duty, that had been sent to protect the port.
After twilight two more cruisers and five destroyers come in and pick up 1,300 additional
men. More troops remained on shore - their number uncounted in the darkness and the
confusion.
Mark Horan adds: HMS Ark Royal and HMS Glorious were with the Home Fleet preparing to support the bombardment of Trondheim Leeds, but it was called off. The
weather was miserable over the landing sites, so throughout the day the bulk of the
carrier air groups stood down while the Sea Gladiators of 802 and 804
Squadron on HMS Glorious defended the Fleet. First contact occurred at 0700 when a section
of 804 Squadron ran off an intruder.
With the fleet found, the defensive patrols were stepped up with two
sections on patrol and a third on deck ready to go. Red section of 804 Squadron (Lt. R. H. P Carver, RN) was vector after an intruder at 1115, but did not catch it. The following patrols continued the boring job until 1540 when 804's Blue section (Lt. R. M. Smeeton, RN) ran off an He-111K with minor damage, and at 1600 ran off another which jettisoned its bombs. At 1700 804's Red section (Lt. R. H. P. Carver, RN again) chased off another, then at 1750 damaged an He-115 after a long chase.HMS Ark Royal's air group had been in action for eight days, during which the limitations of the weather had limited the flying to 127 sorties, including 72 fighter sorties by the Skua Squadrons, during which they had claimed 13 German aircraft destroyed and another 17 damaged. HMS Glorious, with an air groups composed primarily of fighters, though most were the short legged Sea Gladiators, had contributed another 65-75 sorties, including 26 by 803 Squadron's Skuas. The lot claimed 7 German aircraft destroyed and 3 damaged, while the ship's AA batteries claimed an additional destroyed. The two air groups had lost 4 Swordfish and 9 Skuas to all causes. Taken in light of the force available, and given the limitations of the weather, it had been a creditable performance - but given the virtual air superiority displayed by the Luftwaffe aircraft over land, it was not all the Army had hoped for.
Thereafter, the Home Fleet departed for Scapa Flow, due to arrive on the 3rd.
ITALY: Rome: Roosevelt sends a personal message to Mussolini urging him to stay out of the war; the Duce tells the US ambassador, William Phillips, that Germany cannot be defeated in Europe.
CHINA: Japanese troops advance from Xinyang, thrusting towards the Yangtze River.
U.S.A.: Washington: The US government announces that the US and Greenland, a Danish territory, have agreed to the mutual establishment of consulates "in view of the German occupation of Denmark."
ATLANTIC OCEAN: German raider 'Widder' heads for central Atlantic operations before her return to France in six months time.
On her way into the Indian Ocean, raider 'Atlantis' lays mines off South Africa.