Stalin has accepted Churchill's offer of an alliance to fight Hitler. It has been agreed that military collaboration between the two nations will be on a "mutual and reciprocal basis." Military and economic missions are to be sent to Moscow to coordinate the joint war effort.

In his broadcast last Sunday after receiving the expected news of the German invasion. Churchill, who has often been outspoken in his opinions of the USSR, said that no-one had been a more consistent opponent of communism than he. "I will unsay not a word that I have spoken about it," he said, "But all this fades away before the spectacle which is now unfolding."

He insisted that "any man or state who fights against Nazidom will have our aid. Any man or state who marches with Hitler is our foe... We have but one aim and one irrevocable purpose. We are resolved to destroy Hitler and every vestige of the Nazi regime."

He forecast an even greater alliance: "The Russian danger is therefore our danger and the danger of the United States, just as the cause of any Russian fighting for his hearth and home is the cause of free men and free peoples in every quarter of the globe."

(Gazetted) Sub-Lt Geoffrey Gledhill Turner (1903-59), RNVR, disarmed many German mines in the early Blitz. One at Seaforth, Lancs, blew up in his face; amazingly, he survived. (George Cross)

DENMARK: Denmark severs diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

HUNGARY: Budapest: Hungary declares war on the USSR following air raids by the latter.

U.S.S.R.: Member of the Communist Party and of the Komsomol [League of Communist Youth] are mobilised as "political soldiers".

Bialystok: Over 2,000 Jews are killed when German troops rampage through the city.

Moscow:

The Soviet Information Bureau announced:

Our troops are fighting fiercly against large Fascist armoured units in the Minsk area. Battle is still going on. Violent armoured conflicts have been waged all day near Lutsk [western Ukraine; Polish 'Luck']. Our operations have proceeded favourably.

FINLAND: Helsinki: Romania, Hungary and Finland have now joined what Baron Mannerheim has described a a "holy war" against Russian Bolsheviks. The Romanians have fought with the German since the first day of Barbarossa. Hungary, a base for the German invasion, declared war today. The Finns have not declared war, but considered a Soviet air raid on Helsinki two days ago to be the start of new hostilities with their old foe, their resentment of whom has overridden all qualms about fighting with Hitler.

At 0427 the M-99 (SLt B.M. Popov) was hit by two torpedoes from U-149 and sank immediately east of Dagö Island.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Submarine HM S/M Triumph on patrol off the Egyptian coast sinks the Italian submarine Salpa.

SYRIA: After three attempts, a depleted company of 2/3 Bn scales Jebel Mazar and captures the summit. The French counter-attack immediately with elements of I/17th Senegalese, followed by V/1st Moroccan, I/24th Colonial and Moroccan Spahis. 2/2 Pnr Bn attack on ridge north of Merdjayoun held by two French battalions [which ones?] is decimated. French Foreign Legion garrison in Palmyra continues to hold it for Vichy against strong allied attack. (Michael Alexander)

NEWFOUNDLAND: The creation of a naval base in Newfoundland was vital to the provision of Trans-Atlantic convoy escort. This was due to the unanticipated high fuel consumption by 'short-legged' escorts while engaged in anti-submarine warfare. Eventually, the River-class frigates and Castle-class corvettes, with 7,000 nautical miles of endurance at medium speed, proved equal to the task. The use of over 200 escort oilers, beginning in the late 1942, was also vital to the efficient operation of the older warships that had much shorter cruising ranges. However, until the escort oilers and long-range escorts could enter service, the lack of fuel was a critical factor in the generally poor performance of RCN and RN warships.

U.S.A.: Baseball's New York Yankees go on the road and open a two-game series at Shibe Park in Philadelphia against the Philadelphia Athletics. Yankee star Joe DiMaggio goes 2-for-3, a home run and a single, against A's pitcher Chubby Dean, and extends his hitting streak to 39-games.

The Douglas XB-19 four-engined bomber makes its first flight. It has a length of 132.25 feet (40,34 meters), a wingspan of 212 feet (64,62 meters), an empty weight of 86,000 pounds (39 009 kilograms), normal range of 5,200 miles (8 369 kilometer) and a maximum range of 7,710 miles (12 408 kilometers).

Although not delivered with armament, it was designed to have one 37 mm cannon and one .30 calibre (7.62 mm) machine gun in the nose and forward dorsal turret; a .50 calibre (12.7 mm) machine gun in the tail, rear dorsal turret, ventral turret, left and right waist positions; and a .30 calibre machine gun on each side of the bombardier's position and on each side of the fuselage below the horizontal stabilizer. A normal crew consisted of 16-men but two additional flight mechanics and a six-man relief crew could be accommodated in a special compartment fitted with eight seats and six bunks. To feed this mob, a complete galley was included. The government paid Douglas $1.4 million ($17.32 million in 2006 dollars) but Douglas had spent an additional $4 million ($49.47 million in 2006 dollars) of their own money.

The aircraft was used as a flying laboratory and provided valuable data that was used to develop the Boeing B-29 and the Convair "Aluminum Overcast," aka, the B-36. During these tests, the plane had many engine-cooled problems and in 1943, the four 2,000 hp Wright R-3350 air-cooled radials engines were replaced with four 1,600 hop Allison XV-3420-1 liquid-cooled engines and the aircraft was redesignated XB-19A. This increased its maximum speed and eliminated the cooling problems. During the next 2-1/2 years, it was transferred from Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, to Patterson Field in Dayon, to Lockbourne AAAB in Columbus, Ohio, and finally to Clinton County AAFld, Wilmington, Ohio. Finally, it was placed in storage at Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona on 17 August 1946 and was scrapped in 1949.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-556 is sunk SW of Iceland, in position 60.24N, 20.00W depth charges from corvettes HMS Nasturtium, Celandine and Gladiolus, they are escorting Halifax/UK convoy HX133 south of Iceland which has been attacked by 10 U-boats, 5 ships are lost. There are 5 dead and 41 survivors from the U-boat.

At 0155, U-564 fired three single torpedoes in one minute intervals at Convoy HX-133 in grid AK 2432, 300 miles (483 km) south of Iceland, and observed three hits. Dutch merchantmen Maasdam and Malaya II are sunk and Kongsgaard was damaged. The Kongsgaard was torpedoed amidships and caught fire in position 60°N/30°42W. The crew first abandoned ship in the lifeboats, but the master, one mate and nine crewmembers later reboarded the vessel and managed to extinguish the fire with the help of more men. After picking up the remaining crew, the tanker continued and arrived at Belfast on 2 July. Three days later, a telegram from the First Lord of the Admiralty arrived, congratulating them on bringing their ship safely to port after being torpedoed. Maasdam was hit by one torpedo on the port side at #2 hold. Several lifeboats were destroyed, but the most of the 48 crewmembers and 32 passengers (17 American Red Cross nurses and US Marines under Maj Walter L. Jordan, the advance detail for the Marine Detachment at the American Embassy in London) safely abandoned ship before she sank. Two passengers were lost. 44 survivors, among them nine of 17 American Red Cross nurses, were rescued by the Norwegian motor tanker Havprins and landed at Barry. The remaining survivors were picked up by another Norwegian vessel. The master, 38 crewmembers and four gunners from the Malaya II were lost. Six crewmembers were picked up by HMCS Collingwood and landed at Reykjavik. (Jack McKillop and Dave Shirlaw)

Italian submarine Glauco is scuttled west of Gibraltar, in position 35.00N, 12.41E, after being damaged by destroyer HMS Wishart.

At 0119, U-69 with her last torpedoes, fired a spread of two torpedoes at two overlapping steamers in Convoy SL-78 about 200 miles SE of the Azores and heard one detonation, but no hit can be confirmed from Allied sources. At 0149 hours, another torpedo was fired that hit the RIVER LUGAR amidships, which broke in two and sank within seconds. In a third attack at 0237, the EMPIRE ABILITY was hit by a torpedo, caught fire and sank after 21 minutes. The master, 60 crewmembers, two gunners, 17 military personnel and 27 passengers from the EMPIRE ABILITY were picked up by the British SS Amerika, transferred to corvette HMS Burdock and landed at Milford Haven. The master, 35 crewmembers and two passengers from the RIVER LUGAR were lost. Six crewmembers were picked up by Burdock and landed at Milford Haven. U-69 was on her return voyage from the South Atlantic, (the longest voyage then made by a type VIIC), and running on one engine to conserve fuel, encountered Convoy SL-78. U-69 also draws the convoy to the attention of U123 and U66. U69 departed on this voyage from Lorient 5 May 1941.

Corvette HMCS Bittersweet departed UK for Iceland and assignment to NEF

Corvettes HMCS Nanaimo and Trail arrived Halifax from Esquimalt.

At 2357, 2358 and 2400, U-123 fired one torpedo each at three ships in Convoy SL-78 from between the columns WSW of the Canary Islands. The first torpedo sank P.L.M. 22, the second the Oberon and the third missed the intended target, but was thought to have hit another ship in the convoy. Oberon was struck by a torpedo in the engine room, killing four men on watch below and a purser. A British corvette picked up the survivors, but one man later died of wounds. The master and 31 crewmembers from P.L.M. 22 were lost. Ten crewmembers and two French naval gunners were picked up by HMS Armeria, transferred to HMS Asphodel and landed at Freetown on 4 July.

At 0056, the Tibia was torpedoed and damaged by U-79 in Convoy HX-133 on position 59°55N/30°49W (grid: AK 2434).