World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Thursday Sept. 5, 1940
Day 371

Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
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Note the report in columns 3-4: "German Ship Sunk: 3,000 Soldiers Reported Drowned"
(The report claims that the troopship Marion was sunk by an unidentified British submarine. The ship's name was actually Pionier, which was sunk by HMS Sturgeon.)


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of the Derby Evening Telegraph, Derby, England.
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Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
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Note the report in column 1: "54 Raiders Down"
(The official number given by the Air Ministry. Keeping the "Never Doubt" clause in mind, the Germans lost 17 aircraft in combat, 9 for non-combat reasons and 2 reported as missing. The report also states that the R.A.F. lost 11 aircraft. On Sept. 4, 1940 R.A.F. Fighter Command lost 14 aircraft in combat and 1 from a non-combat incident.)
 
Also note the report in column 4: "Three Of U.S. Destroyers Sail"
[See "Destroyers' Moves Veiled" in The Cedar Rapids Gazette of Sept. 4, 1940.]


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
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Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
Note the headline: Hitler's Outburst At R.A.F. Raids"


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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Note the photo at top left: "Moving Into Action:
(The Associated Press was kind enough to provide this newspaper with a photo of the destroyer type, just to make sure the Germans got the right target.)
Also note the report in columns 4-5: "Churchill Warns Grim Days Ahead But Victory Sure"
Also note the report in columns 6-7: "Nazi Plane Sinks Canadian Ship"
(In the report it states the following; "...in accordance with Admiralty practice, her name was not announced." The ship was the Thorold, which was sunk Aug. 22nd. I wonder if the editor ever considered why the Admiralty did not announce the name of a ship that was sunk? Maybe not, since they also published a photo of a destroyer and mentioned that it, and others were sailing today, providing the Germans with valuable information.)


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of Haarlem's Dagblad, Haarlem, Netherlands.
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Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
Note the headline: "Churchill Predicts Quick End To Third Reich"
(This seems to have been the opinion of the headline writer, because that is not exactly what Churchill said.)


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at bottom right: "3,900 Nazis Reported Lost As Sub Sinks Transport"
(Another report about the Pionier, with a much inflated casualty figure.)
[More about the sinking of Pionier here.]


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
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Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
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Note the headline "We Have Just Begun To Fight; Says Churchill"
Also note the report in columns 2-4: "German Tanker, Pauline Friederich, Which Sailed From Here Will Not Attempt Suicide Dash Home"
(The tankers master, Capt. Ernst Rudolf Heitzmann, is described by the United Press writer as "a naval hero of Germany's World war raiding days" and as "An iron cross holder and commander of the raider Wolf, that accounted for 28 Allied ships during a 14-month cruise in 1918." He was not Wolf's commanding officer, that was Fregattenkapitän Karl Nerger, but he was a Bootsmann in SMS Wolf. I have no way to determine if he was claiming to be Wolf's commander, or if the reporter misunderstood the position he held while in Wolf.)


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Escanaba Daily Press, Escanaba, Michigan.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the photo at top left: "Aging Destroyers Go To Canada"
(The Associated Press report states that one of the destroyers left Boston at 6:30 p.m. (E.D.T.) for Canada. So much for the Associated Press understanding the meaning of "veiled" movements.)


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
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Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
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1. Tat gegen Bluff. Der Führer: Ich ziehe jetzt vor, zu kämpfen, bis eine ganz klare Entscheidung herbeigeführt ist.
(Act against the bluff. The Führer: I now prefer to fight until there is a clear winner.)
2. Großer Erfolg deutscher Schnellboote.
(Great success of German Schnellboats.)


Sept. 5, 1940: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Opfersinn der heimat den heldentaten der Front würdig.
(Homeland's sense of sacrifice is worthy of the heroic deeds at the front.)
2. 2.Kriegs-WHW.vom Führer eröffnet
(Seconnd World War-WWH opened by the Führer.)
[WHW= Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes (Winter Relief of the German People), commonly known by its abbreviated form an annual donation drive by the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (National Socialist People's Welfare) to help finance charitable work.]
3. Stolzer U-Boot-Erfolg: 51,507 BRT. versenkt!
(Proud U-boat success: 51,507 GRT. sunk!)
[Announcing the success of Oberleutnant zur See Engelbert Endrass, commanding officer of U-46. While the report does not seem to mention it, Hitler awarded him the Knight's Cross on this day.]



   
Page published Sept. 5, 2021