World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Saturday Sept. 14, 1940
Day 380

Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of the Evening Gazette, Liverpool, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of the Birmingham Gazette, Birmingham, England.
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Note the report in columns 3-4: "Britain May Have Secret Ray Gun To Beat Raids"
(The headline is a little misleading. The report does not claim that there is a ray gun, but a new type of fire control system used on anti-aircraft batteries. In any case, there was no ray gun or ray fire control system. However, if you have been following these pages you might remember that one Milton McWhorter of Bakersfield, California, had declared that he had invented a death ray and was even going to demonstrate it for the U.S. Army.)


Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
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Note the headline: "Invasion Attempt Now Believed Imminent"
(There have been numerous reports of the "imminent" invasion that never was going to be, this is just another one.)
 
Also note the report in column 4: "Invasion Already Attempted - U.S. Report"
(Dr. C. F. Bove, head surgeon of the American Hospital in Paris, told the U.S. press that the Germans had made several attempts to invade England already, but all had failed. He then went on to say;

"All along the French coast the Germans are constantly practising [sic] for invasion."

This American doctor seem to be extremely well informed about German troop concentrations and naval operations. However, everything he said was wrong. Why he would make such absurd statements is known only to him.)
[See "July 9 Is New Blitzkrieg Date" in the Manchester News of July 4, 1940.]


Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
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Note the report in columns 7-8: "Only £680 Now Wanted To Put Spitfire Into Air"


Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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Note the headline: "Jap Fliers Drop Bomb On C.P.R. Liner" and the report in column 1: "Japs Prompt With Apology For Accident"
[The report is concluded here.]
(The liner Empress of Asia [photo at bottom center] was hit by a practice bomb dropped by a Japanese pilot. On Feb. 5, 1942 another group of Japanese pilots would drop real bombs on the ship and sink her.)


Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of the Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of Haarlem's Dagblad, Haarlem, Netherlands.
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Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
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Note the report in column 6: "Ex-Squalus to Undergo Trials"
[More about USS Squalus SS-192 here.]


Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
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Note the report in column 3: "British Ship in Distress; U.S. Liner Rushes Aid"
(St. Agnes had been torpedoed by the Italian submarine Emo. All 64 people on board were rescued by Exochorda the next day.)


Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
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(Click below for part six 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 Sherwood Anderson.)
[Click here to read Part six of "Our Country"]


Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
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Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of the Butte Montana Standard, Butte, Montana.
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Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
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Sept. 14, 1940: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
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1. Neue Brände und Explosionen in London.
(New fires and explosions in London.)
2. U-Boot versenkte 37.600 BRT. - Englischer Angriffsversuch auf Boulogne abgeschlagen.
(U-Boat sank 37,600 GRT. - English attack on Boulogne repelled.)



   
Page published Sept. 14, 2021