6 July 1940 The first depth charge is used by a Royal Air Force anti-submarine warfare aircraft. The weapon in question is the 450 pound MkVII depth charge, which gradually replace the earlier, ineffective anti-submarine bombs used by RAF Coastal Command.
6 July 1944. Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that 2,754 flying bombs have been launched against Britain since 13 June, causing 2,752 fatalities.
USS HELENA (July 6, 1943) American light cruiser of 13,327 tons, sunk at the Battle of Kula Gulf 10 miles north of Kolombangara in New Georgia. Hit by three torpedoes from Japanese warships, the Helena jack-knifed and sank with 186 of her crew of 888. The survivors were picked up by other US warships. About 400 of them later served on board the new USS Houston. The Helena was the last but one of the 10 American cruisers lost in WWII. The USS Helena was awarded 7 Battle Stars.
July 6, 1944 Georges Mandel, French patriot, is executed On this day in 1944, Georges Mandel, France's minister of colonies and vehement opponent of the armistice with Germany, is executed in a wood outside Paris by collaborationist French. Born into a prosperous Jewish family (his given name was Louis-Georges Rothschild, though no relation to the banking family) in 1885, Mandel's political career began at age 21 as a member of the personal staff of French Premier Georges Clemenceau. He went on to serve in the National Assembly from 1919 to 1924, and then again from 1928 to 1940. Although a political conservative, he fell into conflict with fellow conservatives over their too-often pro-German sympathies, especially during the two world wars. In 1940, he was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior by then French Premier Paul Reynaud, with whom he shared the conviction that no armistice should be made with the German invaders, and that the battle should continue, even if only from France's colonies in Africa. After the resignation of Reynaud and the establishment of the Petain/Vichy government, Mandel sailed to Morocco, where he was arrested and sent back to France and imprisoned. He was then handed over to the Germans, and put in concentration camps in Oranienburg and Buchenwald. On July 4, 1944, he was shipped back to Paris, where the French security police, the Milice, took him out to a wood and shot him. As he was being handed over to his countrymen by the German SS, he said: "To die is nothing. What is sad is to die without seeing the liberation of the country and the restoration of the Republic."
July 7, 1942 Himmler decides to begin medical experiments on Auschwitz prisoners On this day in 1942, Heinrich Himmler, in league with three others, including a physician, decides to begin experimenting on women in the Auschwitz concentration camps and to investigate extending this experimentation on males. Himmler, architect of Hitler's program to exterminate Europe's Jewish population, convened a conference in Berlin to discuss the prospects for using concentration camp prisoners as objects of medical experiments. The other attendees were the head of the Concentration Camp Inspectorate, SS General Richard Glueks (hospital chief), SS Major-General Gebhardt and Professor Karl Clauberg (one of Germany's leading gynecologists). The result of the conference was that a major program of medical experimentation on Jewish women at Auschwitz was agreed upon. These experiments were to be carried out in such a way as to ensure that the prisoners were not aware of what was being done to them. (The experimentation would take the form of sterilization via massive doses of radiation or uterine injections.) It was also decided to consult with an X-ray specialist about the prospects of using X rays to castrate men and demonstrating this on male Jewish prisoners. Adolf Hitler endorsed this plan on the condition that it remained top secret. That Heinrich Himmler would propose such a conference or endorse such a program should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with his resume. As head of the Schutzstaffel ("Armed Black Shirts or Protection Squad"), the SS, the military arm of the Nazi Party, and assistant chief of the Gestapo (the secret police), Himmler was able over time to consolidate his control over all police forces of the Reich. This power grab would prove highly effective in carrying out the Fuhrer's Final Solution. It was Himmler who organized the creation of death camps throughout Eastern Europe and the creation of a pool of slave laborers.
7 July 1944 RAF Bomber Command mounts its first attack against enemy troop positions in support of Allied forces in Normandy (Operation Charnwood). A total of 467 aircraft (283 Avro Lancasters, 164 Handley Page Halifaxes and 20 de Havilland Mosquitoes attacked German positions in front of the Canadian 1st and British 2nd Armies north of Caen - much of the northern suburbs of the town was destroyed.
7-8 July 1941 The Victoria Cross is awarded to Sergeant J.A. Ward for climbing onto the wing of an aircraft in flight in an attempt to extinguish a fire while returning from an attack on Munster in Germany. The aircraft involved was Vickers Wellington L7818, No.75 (New Zealand) Squadron, RAF Bomber Command. JAMES ALLEN WARD No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron Extract from “The London Gazette” of 5th August, 1941 Sergeant James Allen Ward, Royal New Zealand Air Force, No. 75 (N.Z.) Squadron. On the night of 7th July, 1941, Sergeant Ward was second pilot of a Wellington returning from an attack on Munster. When flying over the Zuider Zee at 13,000 feet, the aircraft was attacked from beneath by a Messerschmitt 110, which secured hits with cannon shell and incendiary bullets. The rear gunner was wounded in the foot but delivered a burst of fire which sent the enemy fighter down, apparently out of control. Fire then broke out near the starboard engine, and, fed by petrol from a split pipe, quickly gained an alarming hold and threatened to spread to the entire wing. The crew forced a hole in the fuselage and made strenuous efforts to reduce the fire with extinguishers and even the coffee in their vacuum flasks, but without success. They were then warned to be ready to abandon the aircraft. As a last resort, Sergeant Ward volunteered to make an attempt to smother the fire with an engine cover which happened to be in use as a cushion. At first he proposed to discard his parachute, to reduce wind resistance, but was finally persuaded to take it. A rope from the dinghy was tied to him, though this was of little help and might have become a danger had he been blown off the aircraft. With the help of the navigator, he then climbed through the narrow astro-hatch and put on his parachute. The bomber was flying at a reduced speed, but the wind pressure must have been sufficient to render the operation one of extreme difficulty. Breaking the fabric to make hand and foot holds where necessary, and also taking advantage of existing holes in the fabric, Sergeant Ward succeeded in descending three feet to the wing and proceeding another three feet to a position behind the engine, despite the slipstream from the airscrew, which nearly blew him off the wing. Lying in this precarious position, he smothered the fire in the wing fabric and tried to push the cover into the hole in the wing and on to the leaking pipe from which the fire came. As soon as he moved his hand, however, the terrific wind blew the cover out and when he tried again it was lost. Tired as he was, he was able with the navigator’s assistance to make successfully the perilous journey back onto the aircraft. There was now no danger of the fire spreading from the petrol pipe, as there was no fabric left nearby, and in due course it burnt itself out. When the aircraft was nearly home some petrol which had collected in the wing blazed up furiously but died down quite suddenly. A safe landing was then made despite the damage sustained by the aircraft. The flight home had been made possible by the gallant action of Sergeant Ward in extinguishing the fire on the wing in circumstances of the greatest difficulty and at the risk of his life. James Allen Ward - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sergeant J. A. Ward, VC | NZETC
July 8, 1941 German general's diary reveals Hitler's plans for Russia On this day in 1943, upon the German army's invasion of Pskov, 180 miles from Leningrad, Russia, the chief of the German army general staff, General Franz Halder, records in his diary Hitler's plans for Moscow and Leningrad: "To dispose fully of their population, which otherwise we shall have to feed during the winter." On June 22, the Germans had launched a massive invasion of the Soviet Union, with over 3 million men. Enormous successes were enjoyed, thanks in large part to a disorganized and unsuspecting Russian army. By July 8, more than 280,000 Soviet prisoners had been taken and almost 2,600 tanks destroyed. The Axis power was already a couple of hundred miles inside Soviet territory. Stalin was in a panic, even executing generals who had failed to stave off the invaders. Franz Halder, as chief of staff, had been keeping a diary of the day-to-day decision-making process. As Hitler became emboldened by his successes in Russia, Halder recorded that the "Fuhrer is firmly determined to level Moscow and Leningrad to the ground." Halder also records Hitler's underestimation of the Russian army's numbers and the bitter infighting between factions within the military about strategy. Halder, among others, wanted to make straight for the capital, Moscow; Hitler wanted to meet up with Field Marshal Wilhelm Leeb's army group, which was making its way toward Leningrad. The advantage Hitler had against the Soviets would not last. Winter was approaching and so was the advantage such conditions would give the Russians.
8 July 1941. The Royal Air Force (RAF) makes the first daylight attack on Wilhelmshaven using Fortress I. This is the first operational use of the Boeing B17.
July 9, 1941 Enigma key broken On this day in 1941, crackerjack British cryptologists break the secret code used by the German army to direct ground-to-air operations on the Eastern front. British experts had already broken many of the Enigma codes for the Western front. Enigma was the Germans' most sophisticated coding machine, necessary to secretly transmitting information. The Enigma machine, invented in 1919 by Hugo Koch, a Dutchman, looked like a typewriter and was originally employed for business purposes. The Germany army adapted the machine for wartime use and considered its encoding system unbreakable. They were wrong. The Brits had broken their first Enigma code as early as the German invasion of Poland and had intercepted virtually every message sent through the occupation of Holland and France. Britain nicknamed the intercepted messages Ultra. Now, with the German invasion of Russia, the Allies needed to be able to intercept coded messages transmitted on this second, Eastern, front. The first breakthrough occurred on July 9, regarding German ground-air operations, but various keys would continue to be broken by the Brits over the next year, each conveying information of higher secrecy and priority than the next. (For example, a series of decoded messages nicknamed "Weasel" proved extremely important in anticipating German anti-aircraft and antitank strategies against the Allies.) These decoded messages were regularly passed to the Soviet High Command regarding German troop movements and planned offensives, and back to London regarding the mass murder of Russian prisoners and Jewish concentration camp victims.
9 July 1943 Duncan Sandys reports to a Parliamentary committee, established to investigate German weapon development, that there is evidence that the Germans might use pilotless aircraft (the V1 'flying bomb') and long range guns, as well as rockets (V2) for attacks on Britain.
9-10 July 1943 The invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) opens with an airborne assault mounted from airfields in North Africa. United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and Royal Air Force transport aircraft tow in the gliders (sailplanes) of the 1st British Airborne Division and drop the paratroops of the US 82nd Airborne Division. Poor weather, combined with the inexperience of many of the USAAF transport aircraft crews that participate in the operation, results in only 250 of the 3,000 US paratroops reaching designated drop zones. The 1st Airborne Division's air landing fare even worse, as 69 out of the 137 gliders released land in the rough seas, drowning large numbers of men. Only twelve gliders, all towed by RAF aircraft with crews better versed in night operations, reach the correct landing zones. Fortunately the sea-borne landing fared rather better.
9 July 1944 A second phase of the V1 campaign commences with the firing of the first air-launched V1. The weapons were launched at night by specially modified Heinkel He111 aircraft, operated initially by the third Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 3 (KG 3) and subsequently by Kampfgeschwader 53 (KG 53). Air-launched V1 attacks continued until KG 53 ceased operations due to fuel shortages on 14 January 1945. In an attempt to frustrate this campaign, the Royal Air Force (RAF) patrolled possible launch areas in a concerted effort to destroy the V1 carriers before the missiles could be launched. 77 He 111 launch aircraft were lost and 16 of these had been shot down by Allied nightfighters.
TAIHEI MARU (July 9, 1944) Troopship of the Imperial Japanese Army sunk off the Chishima Islands in the Kuril Islands chain, probably by an American submarine. The ship departed from the port of Otaro in Hokkaido with around 2,000 troops and crew on board. The troops included 182 Koreans who were conscripted into the Japanese army during the Pacific War. Casualty toll on the Taihei Maru amounted to 956 deaths. (A total of 708 Koreans died while fighting for Japan during WWII)
July 10, 1940 The Battle of Britain begins On this day in 1940, the Germans begin the first in a long series of bombing raids against Great Britain, as the Battle of Britain, which will last three and a half months, begins. After the occupation of France by Germany, Britain knew it was only a matter of time before the Axis power turned its sights across the Channel. And on July 10, 120 German bombers and fighters struck a British shipping convoy in that very Channel, while 70 more bombers attacked dockyard installations in South Wales. Although Britain had far fewer fighters than the Germans-600 to 1,300-it had a few advantages, such as an effective radar system, which made the prospects of a German sneak attack unlikely. Britain also produced superior quality aircraft. Its Spitfires could turn tighter than Germany's ME109s, enabling it to better elude pursuers; and its Hurricanes could carry 40mm cannon, and would shoot down, with its American Browning machine guns, over 1,500 Luftwaffe aircraft. The German single-engine fighters had a limited flight radius, and its bombers lacked the bomb-load capacity necessary to unleash permanent devastation on their targets. Britain also had the advantage! of unified focus, while German infighting caused missteps in timing; they also suffered from poor intelligence. But in the opening days of battle, Britain was in immediate need of two things: a collective stiff upper lip--and aluminum. A plea was made by the government to turn in all available aluminum to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. "We will turn your pots and pans into Spitfires and Hurricanes," the ministry declared. And they did.
Date: 10 July 1940 First day of The Battle of Britain. Weather: Showery in south-east England and Channel. Continuous rain elsewhere. Day: Convoy raids off North Foreland and Dover. Night: The east coast, home counties and western Scotland attacked. Summary of action During the day the main effort was concentrated in two attacks on shipping. At approximately 1100 hours a convoy was attacked off Manston by 1 Dornier escorted by 10 Me109s but in consequence of timely action by two of our fighter squadrons, the enemy aircraft were driven off. They suffered losses of 1 Me109 confirmed and 4 Me109s probable. At 1325 hours a large force of about 120 enemy aircraft collected behind Calais and approached a convoy between Dover and Dungeness. Fighter interception by 5 squadrons resulted in 6 Me110s, 1 Me109, 1 Do17 and 1 Do215 being confirmed as having been shot down, and 2 Me110s, 5 Me109s and 4 Do215s as probable casualties. Further enemy harassing raids took place along the West, South and East coasts. This was especially heavy in the West. Towards the evening, owing probably to bad weather, activity decreased. 1 Ju88 was shot down by AA fire. In the east, casual shipping was attacked and a few localities bombed including Raynham Aerodrome. During the course of these attacks 1 Do17 and 1 He111 were shot down and 1 Do17 and 1 He111 are probable casualties. No. 242 Squadron took part and accounted for one certain and one unconfirmed (included in the above). A few sporadic raids took place over the Scottish coast, none of these were intercepted. Between 2130 and 0530 hours, 12 raids were plotted between Firth of Tay and Beachy Head. Owing to adverse weather, none of our fighters were up. Bombs were dropped on Guisborough, Canewdon, Hertford, Isle of Grain, Tobermory (Isle of Mull, West Coast of Scotland), Colchester, Welwyn and Ely. Statistics Casualties: Enemy: Fighters - 8 confirmed, 11 unconfirmed; Bombers - 4 confirmed, 6 unconfirmed. Own: 2 Hurricanes confirmed. 2 Hurricanes crashed on landing. Patrols: 200 patrols were flown involving 641 aircraft. Balloons: Flying 1087, Casualties 81. Aerodromes: Catterick unserviceable. Organisation: No. 79 Squadron from Hawkinge to Turnhouse. No. 605 Squadron from Drem to Dyce. No. 72 Squadron operational by day only. Air Intelligence Reports Inspection of an Me109 which was shot down recently, confirmed that this aircraft is armed with 2 cannon, 1 in each wing, and 2 machine guns firing through the airscrew [propeller]. Previous reports that this aircraft carried 3 cannon are incorrect. A reliable source in a neutral country reports a marked change in highly placed Germans in that country during the last ten days, from one of extreme optimism to one of hesitation. Ten days ago the Germans were confident that England would be invaded almost at once and that we should quickly be compelled to seek and Armistice. However, they are now doubtful when invasion will take place and are becoming increasingly doubtful whether, if attempted, the operation would succeed. They stated our constant air attacks [by Bomber Command] were making it difficult to assemble troops and stores. Home Security Reports Report on Enemy Raids on Aerodromes Martlesham Aerodrome. At 0515 hours, 5 HE [High Explosive] bombs fell on the RAF station. No damage reported. Honington Aerodrome. At 0517 hours, 2 HE bombs (either 100 or 250lbs) one of which fell within 100 yards of Wellington at dispersal point, i.e. 600 yards of hangar and the other within 400 yards of same hangar. (Dornier aircraft concerned was reported shot down by No. 66 Squadron). West Raynham Aerodrome. At 0544 hours, seventeen bombs (type unspecified) estimated between 50 and 100 lbs each, were dropped, causing minor damage to plant and setting a hangar on fire. Three Ansons and one Gladiator were burnt out in the hangar. Three Battles and one Tutor were superficially damaged. The effect on operational ability was nil. Marham Aerodrome. At 0557 hours, about 14 bombs (type unspecified) fell in cornfield 300 yards north-east of the aerodrome. Wires on the road nearby were cut. No damage to the station.
USS MADDOX (DD 622) (July 10, 1943) During Operation ‘Husky’ (the invasion of Sicily) the American two stack destroyer Maddox, on antisubmarine duty 15 miles off Gela Point, Sicily, was singled out by a lone JU-88 bomber of KG-54 Group. Two 250 pound bombs were dropped, the second struck the No 5 gun turret. The blast triggered off an explosion in the magazine, demolishing the rear end of the ship. She then rolled over and started to sink below the waves stern first, her depth charges exploding as she went under. It was all over in less than two minutes after the bomb hit the ship, the fastest sinking of any US vessel in WWII. Those men in the bowels of the ship had no chance, 212 of them going down with the vessel. There were 74 survivors who were rescued by a tug nearby. (After the war, the pilot of the JU-88 was traced in Germany and invited to a survivors reunion in May, 1998, a reunion which the pilot, Kurt Fox, now Dr Fox, was delighted to attend)
Date: 11 July 1940 The Battle of Britain. Weather: Channel overcast. Cloud base 5,000ft, Visibility fair. Thunderstorms and bright intervals in the midlands and north. Day: Convoys attacked off Suffolk. Portland harbour raided. Night: Activity over south-west England, East Anglia, Yorkshire coast and Portsmouth. Enemy action by day Between 0600 and 0900 hours a number of raids by single aircraft were carried out between Yarmouth and Flamborough Head and inland. Bombs were dropped at several places including the Royal Engineer Headquarters at Melbourne in Derbyshire, and at Bridlington where a truck containing ammunition was blown up. Although weather conditions were not good, a Do17 was intercepted by fighters and shot down off Cromer by No. 242 Squadron. One of our Hurricanes was shot down during the combat but the pilot is reported safe. In the South, attacks on shipping were reported off the Isle of Wight and at 0741 hours a raid of six aircraft appeared in the Cherbourg area. Three sections of fighters were ordered to patrol Poole and on the approach of the enemy were reinforced by a further squadron. A fight ensued and 604 Squadron shot down a Ju87 confirmed and possibly a Ju87 unconfirmed. Between 0900-1100 hours, there was little enemy activity, probably due to bad weather. Of four raids, however, one, a Do17, was intercepted by No 601 Squadron and shot down off Selsey Bill. Another raid bombed Swansea and carried out a shipping reconnaissance of Milford Haven. After 1100 hours considerable activity started with an attack on Portland and a convoy off the coast, some fifty enemy aircraft taking part. These aircraft were plotted from Cap Hague and Jersey. Five of our squadrons intercepted and succeeded in shooting down 8 Me110s for certain and 8 Me110s and 1 Ju87 probable. In addition, one Hurricane which attacked one of our sections and which bore red and blue checked markings on the wings was shot down. The AA at Portland shot down three enemy aircraft, one He111, 1 Ju88 confirmed and one unidentified enemy aircraft unconfirmed. As a result of this engagement, a Me110 landed near Weymouth practically undamaged and the occupants arrested before they could destroy the aircraft. In the afternoon several attacks on convoys off Suffolk were reported. Continuous fighter patrols were maintained over these convoys and no reports of damage have been received. One enemy aircraft carried out a reconnaissance over Aldershot, Upper Heyford and out over Norfolk. At 1744 hours, a raid of some fifty aircraft attacked Portsmouth. Guided by accurate AA fire, two of our squadrons intercepted the enemy and in the ensuing combat, No 601 Squadron shot down 4 He111s and 1 Me110 for certain and 4 He111s probable. No 145 Squadron shot down 1 Me110 and 3 He111s for certain and lost one hurricane (pilot safe). Bombs fell on Portsmouth setting fire to the gas works and causing some casualties. Pilots report that during this engagement, enemy bombers threw out various objects which appeared to be metal turnings, plates and wire, in great quantity. One raid was plotted North of Glasgow at 1913 hours and was tracked east over the Firth of Forth and out to sea. This is considered significant in view of a raid which was plotted at about 2330 hours on the night of 10/11th July going westwards with no trace of its return. By Night After 2100 hours several raids penetrated into the West Country and bombs were dropped in South Wales, Somerset, Bristol, Portland, Dorchester and Plymouth areas. A few raids also crossed the East coast and bombs were dropped in the Hull, Ipswich, Harrogate, Doncaster, Colchester and Harwich areas. No serious damage is reported. Reports of bombs which exploded in the air were received. Our fighters carried out 32 sorties during the night but no interceptions have been reported. Cloud conditions obtained over the West of England. Statistics Casualties: Enemy: Fighters - 10 confirmed, 2 unconfirmed; Bombers - 13 confirmed, 12 unconfirmed; Type unspecified - 1 Of the above totals, AA at Portland claims 2 confirmed and 1 unconfirmed. [*]Ours: 3 Hurricanes (1 pilot safe), 2 Spitfires. Patrols: 119 patrols involving 447 aircraft were flown. Balloons: Deployed 1077, casualties 24. Aerodromes: Catterick unserviceable by night. Organisation: No. 609 Squadron (Spitfire) "B" Flight at Warmwell, Red Section at Boscombe Down, Yellow Section at Middle Wallop. No. 79 Squadron (Hurricane) non-operational. Awaiting move to Turnhouse. Nos. 73 and 245 Squadrons operational by day only. Air Intelligence Reports Nil. Home Security Reports Not available.
11 July 1942. The longest-range daylight raid to date is carried out by aircraft of RAF Bomber Command, when they attack shipyards at Danzig in Poland.
DUCHESS OF YORK (July 11, 1943) The twin funnelled 20,021 ton passenger liner/troopship owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway was in convoy with the liner SS California and the munitions ship SS Port Fairy en route to Freetown, Sierra Leone. About three hundred miles off Vigo in Spain the convoy was attacked by three FW-200 German bombers during the evening of the 11th. The two liners were hit amidships and set on fire. The three escort destroyers, HMS Douglas, HMS Moyola and the Canadian destroyer H.M.C.S. Iroquois proceeded to transfer passengers and crews. The Iroquois rescued 628 from the Duchess of York but sadly 89 men lost their lives. Soon after midnight on the 12th the blazing hulk of the two ships were then sunk by torpedoes from the convoy escorts. The SS Port Fairy was then escorted safely to Casablanca where all survivors were disembarked.
