August 29th, 1940 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - oil plant at Wesseling - petrol
store at Ludwigshaven.
51 Sqn. Seven aircraft to Wesseling. Very bad weather. One bombed primary, two bombed
alternative targets.
78 Sqn. Five aircraft to Ludwigshaven. Two returned early, one bombed primary, two
bombed alternative targets.
Battle of Britain:
RAF Fighter Command: Some 700 Luftwaffe fighters in provocative sweeps to which
RAF do not respond. The Chief of Kesselring's fighter organisation claims
unlimited fighter superiority has been achieved.
At night there are heavy raids
against Merseyside (176 sorties) and 44 sorties elsewhere.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 17; RAF, 9.
Admiral Robert L Ghormley, US Assistant CNO, meets with British military delegation in London for staff talks. (Marc Small)
U-100 sank SS Alida Gorthon, Astra II, Dalblair, Empire Moose and damaged Harismere in Convoy OA-204.
ASW trawler HMS Sarabande
launched.
EGYPT: Italian planes raid Suez Canal.
FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA: In
Libreville, Gabon, the Free French Governor Masson receives a telegram from Free
French General de Larminat informing him of the new order in French Equatorial
Africa. Masson informs the local commandant and publicly declares the colony's
adhesion to Free France. The naval commander of Libreville opposes the move and
informs the governor of the imminent arrival of a Vichy naval squadron from
Dakar, French West Africa. Masson yields and labels the affair a
misunderstanding. Several prominent Gaullists in the colonial establishment are
deported to Dakar by flying boat. Vichy France dispatches Air Force General Tetu
to Libreville as "Governor General of Equatorial Africa" and orders
him to re-establish order throughout the colonies.
FRENCH INDOCHINA: The Vichy
French government cedes the Tonkin bases to the Japanese.
U.S.A.: Peter Goldmark of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) announces his invention of a color television system.