MaritimeQuest - Daily Event for Sept. 10, 1940

World War II As It Happened

A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation

Tuesday Sept. 10, 1940
Day 376

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Note the report in column 7: "Nazis Boast Of U-Boat Successes"

(Among other things, this report mentions Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien, commanding officer of U-47.)

[More about U-47 here.]

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of the Birmingham Gazette, Birmingham, England.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Note the report in columns 6-8: "Submarines Sink Three Ships Bound For Libya"

(The report makes it seem like HMS Osiris had recently sunk a 3,000 ton ship. In fact, it had sunk a 1,968 ton freighter almost a month earlier, on Aug. 16. HMS Rorqual had not sunk any ships in convoy, but had sunk two ships with mines, one in July and one in August. The reason for this report to be published at this time is unclear to me, since the sinkings are a month old. One possibility is that buried in the report is the announcement that HM Submarine Phoenix is considered to have been lost. Phoenix was last known to have been off Sicily on July 14, 1940. Many sources indicate that the boat was sunk by an Italian torpedo boat, Albatros, but Rorqual should have left the area of the attack two days previous, so the exact cause and date of her loss remains unknown.)

Also note the report in column 6: "Noah's Ark Didn't Exist, Says Scholar"

[More about Noah's Ark here.]

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Note the report in columns 1-2: "R.A.F. Counters Invasion"

[See "July 9 Is New Blitzkrieg Date" in the Manchester Evening News of July 4, 1940.]

Also note the report in column 2: "Feared Victim Of Raider In Indian Ocean"

(The Tirranna had been captured by the German Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruiser) Atlantis on June 10, 1940. It was taken as a prize and used as a POW ship for the crews of other ships they had sunk. She was later released, with a prize crew and about 300 POWs and sent to Bordeaux, France. On Sept. 10, 1940, the ship was still en route to France. Tirranna arrived at Cap le Ferret on Sept. 22 and was still awaiting an escort into the port on Sept. 23. Unfortunately, HMS Tuna had found the ship, not knowing it was full of British and Norwegian prisoners. Tuna sank Tirranna with a salvo of torpedoes, killing 88 prisoners and one German crewman.)

Also note the report in columns 3-4: "Generous Donations For Spitfire"

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of Haarlem's Dagblad, Haarlem, Netherlands.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

Sept. 10, 1940: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.

(Click on the image for a readable version.)

(Click below for part two of "Our Country" a twenty-four part series, written by twenty-four different authors, describing what America means to them. Today's piece was written by Carl Carmer.)

[Click here to read Part two of "Our Country"]