October 10th, 1940 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:Battle of Britain: Fighter-bombers appear in streams. RAF has great difficulty in intercepting.
The weather is showery with bright intervals with haze in the Thames Estuary and East Anglia. The Luftwaffe command shifts their tactics, focusing air raids on British cities. The Germans concentrate their air attacks on London and other urban areas in an attempt to break British morale. The end of the summer, however, meant shorter days, stormier weather, and improved British air defenses. Today, German bombing activity during daylight is confined to London and South-East England. Two main attacks are made, the first soon after dawn, when bombs are dropped in the eastern districts of London; and the second in the early afternoon, when Kent and Sussex Coastal towns are attacked. No vital targets are hit during these raids, and damage is almost entirely confined to house property. Between 1825 and 1844 hours a total of 18 artillery shells fired from France fell in Dover but damage is negligible and there are no casualties. The night attack on London opens up as soon as darkness falls, and appears to be more intense than of late. Few districts in Greater London escape bombing, but the reports received indicate that little real damage is done, beyond some further dislocation of railway communications and utility services. Bombs are also dropped during this period in many districts of Southern England, South Wales and in Tynemouth, but in no case is major damage caused. RAF Fighter Command claims 4-0-5 aircraft while antiaircraft batteries claim 1-0-0 aircraft. RAF loses five aircraft and three pilots.
RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: Operation Medium with the Royal Navy. 11 Blenheims bombing shipping and defending guns in the Bassins Charles X and Napoleon III at Cherbourg and spotting for the heavy guns of HMS Revenge. Wellingtons of 3 Group light the target area, the sea and the coastline. (A warning note was given. Shells from HMS Revenge would reach 5,000 feet during trajectory.)
Destroyer HMS Venetia mined in the Thames Estuary.
LUXEMBOURG: A German-run plebiscite shows that 97% of the population opposes Nazi occupation of the country. This experiment is not repeated elsewhere.
FRANCE: Cruisers HMS Newcastle and Emerald, with destroyers HMS Broke and HMS Wanderer of the 17th DF and the Polish destroyers ORP Garland and Burza act as a screen to the battleship HMS Revenge which bombarded Cherbourg.
GERMANY: U-66 is launched.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: British submarine HMS/M Triad (N 53) is sunk by gunfire from the Italian submarine R.Smg. Enrico Toti about 121 nautical miles (225 kilometers) east-southeast of Syracuse, Sicily, in position 36.16N, 17.37E. The sub is reported overdue on 20 October. There are no survivors. This is a surface engagement between two submarines, at very close quarter, so that the Italian bridge crew could hear the British bridge crew speaking English: and one of the Italian crew threw a boot at the British submarine. This is recorded as the only occasion of one submarine sinking another in a surface action, and Triad as the only British submarine to be sunk by an Italian submarine in WW II. (Alex Gordon)
CANADA:
Minesweeper HMCS Georgian laid down Toronto, Ontario.
Corvette HMCS Brandon laid down Lauzon, Province of Quebec.
U.S.A.:
War Plans Division
recommends withdrawal of all military forces west of the 180º meridian.
This recommendation may have been made to force a reassessment of US
policy to the Far East.
Richardson
directed by Knox to aggressively patrol
between Hawaii and the Philippines but protests that this was beyond the
capacity of his Fleet.
The United States freezes Romanian credits because of German occupation.
The USN miscellaneous auxiliary USS Bear (AG-29) sails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the Antarctic.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-123 sank SS Graigwen in Convoy SC-6.