September 5th, 1940 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:During the night, German activity commenced soon after 2030 hours. Raids to the South Wales/Midlands/Manchester and Liverpool and West Riding areas came in between Portland and Bournemouth, and there is also activity in the southeast of Scotland, and in the Tees district as far inland as Catterick. A number of raids coming from the Thames Estuary and from the South Coast, over a considerable period, remained within the London area. There are also scattered raids in Essex/Kent/Surrey and Sussex. At 0100 hours two raids are being plotted in the Irish Sea between Dublin and Belfast and between Kintyre and the Irish Coast. By 0230 hours activity has decreased and less than a dozen raids are still being plotted inland. Mine-laying is suspected in Lyme Bay, Thames Estuary and between Amble and St Abb's Head. Also increased activity of this nature in the Firth of Forth. (Andy Etherington)
RAF Fighter Command claims 36-22-17 Luftwaffe aircraft while antiaircraft gunners claim 1-1-0. The RAF loses 23 aircraft with 11 pilots killed or missing.
RAF Fighter Command: There were two main raids on the south-east today, the first between
10:15 and 10:45 directed at targets in south-east London.
In a second and more serious
phase, between 15:15 and 16:30, Detling aerodrome was bombed and five oil tanks at
Thameshaven set on fire, which came to serve as a useful beacon despite the efforts of 43
and 303 Squadrons to prevent the bombing. During the engagement Flt. Lt. A. Rabagliati of
46 Sqn. took a four-cannon Hurricane, V7360, into action for the first time. Operating
alongside 249 Squadron, No. 46 encountered Bf109s over the Thames Estuary, one being blown
apart by cannon fire.
At night the Luftwaffe roamed almost with impunity over a wide area, many single aircraft
overflying London's IAZ (Inner Artillery Zone). Bombs falling at Greenwich.
Shops and
buildings at Clifton, Bristol, were hit and four people killed, while at Liverpool bombs
found the docks, Dunlop's Walton works, domestic buildings and shops in Bootle, Lime
Street and Rainhill Mental Hospital. At Prescot, St. Helens, four died, and others in
incidents at Birkenhead, Wallasey and Wigan.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 23; RAF 20.
Destroyer HMS Cottesmore launched.
Minelayer HMS Manxman launched. Corvettes HMS Larkspur and
Aubretia launched.
Flower class corvette HMS
Picotee is completed at Harland and Wolff at Belfast. (Debbie Laws)
NORTH SEA:
4,000 German troops are believed drowned when a British submarine torpedoes the transport
ship 'Marion'. This later turns out to be a false rumour.
FRANCE: Vichy France breaks diplomatic relations with Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway.
Blenheims of RAF 2 Group raid barges in Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk.
GERMANY: An irate Chancellor Adolf Hitler orders a new offensive by the Luftwaffe against Britain with no regard for the civilian population, with London as the primary target, after the RAF for the first time makes several night raids on Berlin, causing many civilian casualties.
LUXEMBOURG: The authorities adopt Germany's anti-Semitic Nuremburg Laws, and seize all Jewish-owned
businesses.
The government in exile breaks diplomatic relations with Vichy France.
ROMANIA: Having lost Bessarabia and northern
Bukovina to the Soviet Union and Transylvania to Hungary, the Romanian
government collapses. General Ion Antonescu assumes dictatorial powers in a coup
and opens negotiations with the Fascist Iron Guard.
Parliament is dissolved and the constitution is suspended. King Carol II
flees the country tomorrow and his son, Michael V, became the new king.
AUSTRALIA: The first Australians leave Sydney, New South Wales, for Canada for training by the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. More than 10,000 Australian airmen will be trained in Canada during the war.
CANADA: The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division is formed and concentrated in the Maritimes at Camp Debart, Nova Scotia and Camp Sussex, New Brunswick.
Corvette HMCS Kenogami
launched Port Arthur, Ontario. Minesweeper
HMCS Malpeque launched North Vancouver, British Columbia.
U.S.A.: Corvette USS Fury launched. Destroyer USS Charles F Hughes commissioned.
COSTA RICA: The government offers Cocos Island to the U.S. for the defence of the Panama Canal.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: After months of negotiations, an agreement is announced for the transfer of 50 old but valuable US destroyers to the RN in exchange for bases in the West Indies and British Guinea. The first of them arrive in Britain towards the end of the month.
U-47
lost a man (MtrOGfr Heinrich Mantyk) overboard during use of the deck gun.