September 18th, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:However the bombs continue to rain down on the capital at night, with the drone of some 230 bombers making every night hideous. Unable to pinpoint their targets, they drop their bombs at random, causing terrible damage and casualties in the streets and among civilians.
Some of London's most famous landmarks have been destroyed or damaged. Eight City churches
have been hit. One bomb, weighing a ton, lies, unexploded, outside the West door of St.
Paul's Cathedral, where Royal Engineers bomb disposal experts are working on it.
The West End, Downing Street, the Law Courts, and the House of Lords have all been hit by
either high explosives or incendiaries. But it is the ordinary people who are taking the
brunt of the attack.
Sheltering in the Underground, they still raise the Union Jack over
the rubble of their homes or declare "Business as usual" on hand-written signs
nailed to the wreckage of their shops and businesses.
The King and Queen, who have been bombed twice in Buckingham Palace, have made several
visits to the East End where they have been greeted sympathetically as fellow sufferers
from German bombing. When Churchill, cigar clenched in his teeth, visited the bombed-out
areas he got a clear message from the people: "Give it 'em back."
Thornton Heath, Surrey: Mr Roy Thomas Harris (1903-73), ARP, dismantled several unexploded
bombs at a local school. (George Cross)
RAF Fighter Command: Nine Ju88s of III/KG 77 attacking oil targets in the Thames Estuary
are shot down in 3 minutes. At night London and Merseyside are bombed.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 19; RAF, 22.
RAF Bomber Command:
4 Group. 58 Sqn. Whitley P5008:M missing from Hamm. Crashed at
Groenlo, Holland. Plt Off E. Ford and Sgts A.E.E. Crossland, C.F. Marshall, R.E. Salisbury
and W.D. Austen killed. 77 Sqn. P4992:T missing from Antwerp. Plt Offs R.P. Brayne and
W.M. Douglas and Sgts J.A. Raper, J. Baguley and D.V. Hughes all killed. 77 Sqn. N1425:E
missing from Soest. Plt Off P.E. Eldridge, Sub Lt Williams and Sgts V.C. Cowley, F.
Crawford and R.C. Dawson all killed.
Bombing - invasion fleet at Zeebrugge and Antwerp - marshalling yards at Krefeld,
Mannheim, Soest and Hamm.
58 Sqn. Eight aircraft to Zeebrugge. All bombed. Three aircraft to Krefeld. Two bombed. Three aircraft to
Hamm. Two bombed, one FTR.
77 Sqn. Thirteen aircraft to Antwerp, Mannheim and Soest. Eleven bombed successfully. One FTR
from Antwerp and one FTR from Mannheim.
Corvette HMS Begonia launched.
Light cruiser HMS Sirius launched.
Destroyer HMS Cleveland commissioned.
GERMANY:
Daily Keynote from the Reich Press Chief:
1. The Navy has again reported damage to the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal. The
Minister has ordered the greatest caution to be taken in the treatment of this case so
that we are not caught out again. [making false damage reports about the Ark Royal.]
2. By order of the Fuhrer, enemy air raids on Germany should be played up on a large scale
in future, even when relatively little damage has occurred. Attention should also be paid
to treating raids on other [German] cities as of equal importance to attacks on the
capital.
U-143 commissioned.
NORTH AFRICA:
Italian forces come to a halt and start fortifying their position. The Italian 10th Army halts, officially because of supply
difficulties. They begin building fortified camps and do not stay in contact
with British forces.
CANADA: The second group of "overage" USN destroyers to be transferred to the RN in exchange for bases in the Western Hemisphere arrive at Halifax, Nova Scotia.
U.S.A.: The motion picture "The Westerner" is released. Directed by William Wyler, this western stars Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Forrest Tucker (his film debut), Chill Wills and Dana Andrews. The plot involves a range war between cattlemen and homesteaders with Cooper being accused of horse thievery and being tried by Judge Roy Bean (Brennan) who adores Lily Langtry. The film was nominated for three Academy Award and won a Best Supporting Actor award for Walter Brennan.
Corvette USS Impulse launched.
Destroyer USS Mayo commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-48 sinks the SS Marina in convoy OB-213 and SS Magdalena in convoy SC-3.