September 20th, 1941 (SATURDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Enigma decodings give Britain and the USSR advance warning of an all-out German assault on Moscow.
The first successful sortie by the photo-reconnaissance variant of the de Havilland Mosquito was made today when W 4055 (LY-T) of the RAF Photographic Development Unit based at RAF Benson flew a daylight reconnaissance over Brest, La Pallice and Bordeaux, returning over Paris. Although it was chased by three Messerschmitt Me 109 fighters, the Mosquito easily outpaced them at 23,000 ft. (22)
FRANCE: Paris: A curfew is imposed between 9pm and 5am.
While flying an offensive sweep over Northern France, the
pilots of No. 452 Squadron, RAAF, equipped with Spitfire Mk. VBs and based at
Kenley, Surrey, England, claims seven Luftwaffe Bf 109s shot down and two
damaged.
GIBRALTAR: The converted Italian submarine Scire, moored off the Spanish coast, launches three two-man Human Torpedoes led by Prince Giunio Borghese, to attack ships in Gibraltar. They penetrated the defences and sink a 2,444 British tanker and damage a 8,145 ton fleet oiler and a 10,893 ton motor freighter. The two man crew of the torpedoes successfully escape by swimming to Spanish shores.
MALTA: The first 'Hurribomber' Hawker Hurricane fighter-bomber conversions go into service today. They can carry two 250-lb bombs. (22)
JAPAN: Tokyo receives reports on the U.S. fleet movements from both Manila, Philippine Islands, and Seattle, Washington, U.S.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: The U.S. Army Air Forces activated the Philippine Department Air Force, later redesignated Far East Air Force and still later 5th Air Force, at Nichols Field, Luzon. This unit is not manned and all USAAF units in the Philippines remain under the control of Air Force, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East.
UNITED STATES: The Congress passes the Revenue Act of 1941 which lowers exemption levels and increases taxes on excess profits being made on the war effort. These changes do more than simply increase revenues; they expand the tax base to include all but the lowest-paid workers.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Convoy OG-74 is sailing with escort carrier HMS Audacity in the escort. Today an aircraft, from Audacity, downs a FW-Condor shadowing the convoy. 6 of 27 ships in the convoy are lost during the crossing.
Whilst
escorting convoy SC.44, Flower class corvette HMS Levis is torpedoed and sunk by
U-74 South of Ireland at 60 07N 38 37W. Levis sinks within a minute of the
torpedo striking. (Alex Gordon)(108)