World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Monday Sept. 30, 1940
Day 396

Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 6: "Italians Say They Sank Submarine"
(The report states that a British submarine torpedoed and sank a 700-ton Italian ship. The unnamed ship is probably the 813-ton Famiglia, which was sunk by HM Submarine Pandora. The report also states that the torpedo boat Cosenz [I can find no record of an Italian torpedo boat with that name] depth charged the submarine, which came to the surface and sank, presumably with the entire crew. This was untrue, no British submarines were lost in Sept. of 1940. However, I am sure that just the headline, which was unverified, was more than enough to cause anguish in every family member of a British submariner, wondering if their relative was now among the war dead. Do reporters ever consider the repercussions of what they are writing, especially when it comes from dubious sources? It's no different today, sadly, and it probably will never be.)
Also note the report in column 3: "Nazi Airman Held"
(The report states that the son of a close advisor of Adolf Hitler [who is not named] is being held as a POW.)
Also note the report in column 3: "Nazis Drown Gestapo"
(I have no idea if this was true or not, but it makes a good propaganda story.)
Also note the report in column 7: "Two British Vessels Torpedoed"
(Both true, Blairangus was sunk by U-48 and Elmbank was sunk by U-47 & U-99.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of the Birmingham Gazette, Birmingham, England.


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 7: "Goebbels' Tribute To R.A.F."
(A tribute to the R.A.F. was not exactly what Goebbels had meant by his remarks.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of Haarlem's Dagblad, Haarlem, Netherlands.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline: "Hint Gas May Be Next War Horror"
(The report at top right "Britons See New October Crisis, Gird For Attack" seems to indicate that the Germans were much more concerned about the British using poison gas on them than the British were about the Germans using it. In fact, no belligerent power used poison gas in combat during World War II.)
Also note the report in columns 7-8: "Gibraltar Doom Reported Sealed"
(Another musing from the Fascist editor Virginio Gayda.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 3: "High Japanese Officer Is Slain in Shanghai"


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report at top left: "Japs Beat American Sailor In Attempt To Get Information"
Also note the report in columns 4-5: "Polio Is Misunderstood"
(Click below for part nineteen 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 Taylor Caldwell.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Kingsport Times, Kingsport, Tennessee.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
1. Jüngstes Gericht über London Hereingebrochen.
Last judgment given on London.]
2. Seit Freitag pausenloser Durchbruch durch die Sperren
Uninterrupted breakthrough through the locks since Friday.)
 
3. Angriff wie seit dem 15. September nicht mehr.
(Attack like no other since 15th. September.)


Sept. 30, 1940: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Von 8 Uhr abends bis in die Vormittagsstunden - Ununterbrochener Angriff auf London.
(From 8'o'clock in the evening until the morning - uninterrupted attack on London.)
2. Britische Vorstoßversiche auf Berlin durch unsere Flak abgewehrt.
(British attack on Berlin repulsed by out Flak.)



   
Page published Sept. 30, 2021