Читать книгу The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II - Robert J. Cressman - Страница 9

1940

JANUARY

1 Monday

Tenth Naval District with headquarters at San Juan, Puerto Rico, is established; Commander Reuben L. Walker is the first commandant (see 26 February).

U.S. freighter City of Flint, her odyssey almost at an end, is damaged in collision with British steamship Baron Blytheswood. Repairs to City of Flint will keep her at Narvik, Norway, for another six days (see 7 January).

U.S. freighter Exeter is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

Uruguayan government interns German freighter Tacoma at Montevideo, Uruguay, as an auxiliary war vessel.

2 Tuesday

Charles Edison of New Jersey becomes Secretary of the Navy; he had been Acting Secretary since the death of Claude A. Swanson on 7 July 1939.

Department of State releases statement to the press telling of the delivery of “vigorous protest” (dated 27 December 1939) to the British Foreign Office concerning the British removal and censorship of U.S. mail from British, U.S., and neutral ships.

3 Wednesday

U.S. freighter Mormacsun is intercepted by British naval vessel and diverted to Kirkwall, Scotland, into the zone designated as a combat area. Freighter Nashaba is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar; freighter Executive, detained at Gibraltar since 20 December 1939, is released to proceed on her voyage to Greece, Turkey, and Romania.

4 Thursday

U.S. freighter Exiria is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

5 Friday

German tanker Nordmeer reaches Vigo, Spain, after her voyage from the Netherlands West Indies.

6 Saturday

Admiral James O. Richardson relieves Admiral Claude C. Bloch as Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet on board battleship Pennsylvania (BB 38) at Pearl Harbor, T.H.

Admiral Charles P. Snyder hoists flag as Commander Battle Force on board battleship California (BB 44).

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 7 January).

7 Sunday

U.S. freighter City of Flint departs Narvik, Norway, for Baltimore, Maryland. For his “skill, fine judgement [sic], and devotion to duty” during City of Flint’s unscheduled voyage, Captain Joseph A. Gainard, the merchantman’s master, will receive the Navy Cross.

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities the previous day, is released.

German freighter Konsul Horn escapes from Aruba, N.W.I., and, disguised as a Soviet merchantman, manages to deceive U.S. Navy patrol planes from the Neutrality Patrol and British light cruiser HMS Enterprise (see 6 February).

9 Tuesday

U.S. freighter Western Queen is detained at Gibraltar for several hours by British authorities.

10 Wednesday

U.S. steamship President Van Buren, bound for Genoa, Italy, and New York, is detained at Port Said, Egypt, and subsequently discharges items of cargo, deemed as contraband, at Alexandria, Egypt, before being allowed to proceed.

11 Thursday

Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 6 begins at Culebra, Puerto Rico (see 13 March). Lack of transports compels the Navy to substitute combatant ships in that role for purposes of the exercise; an important exception is the prototype high speed transport Manley (APD 1), converted from a World War I-emergency program “flush-deck, four-pipe” destroyer, which amply proves her worth.

Gunboat Charleston (PG 51) suffers damage when she runs aground at Colon, C.Z.

U.S. freighter Tripp is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 13 January).

12 Friday

Interior Department motorship North Star (U.S. Antarctic Service) reaches Bay of Whales, Antarctica, and immediately begins discharging cargo to establish West Base. Ice conditions prohibit unloading at the original chosen site, King Edward VII Land.

13 Saturday

U.S. freighter Narbo, bound for Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece, is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 14 January). Freighter Tripp, detained at Gibraltar by the British since 11 January, is released, but not before some items of her cargo are seized as contraband.

14 Sunday

Auxiliary Bear (AG 29) reaches Bay of Whales, Antarctica. Along with Interior Department motorship North Star, Bear will establish the two bases to be used in the U.S. Antarctic Service’s 1939–1941 expedition under Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, USN (Retired) (see 19 January).

British Minister in Panama Charles Dodd transmits response of British government to note sent by the President of Panama on behalf of the 21 American Republics concerning the violation of American neutrality that occurred in the Battle of the River Plate, between Uruguay and Argentina. The British “reserve their full belligerent rights in order to fight the menace presented by German action and policy and to defend that conception of law and that way of life, which they believe to be as dear to the peoples and Governments of America as they are to the peoples and Governments of the British Commonwealth of Nations.” The British demonstrate their determination to assert “their full belligerant rights” less than one month later (see 12 February and 8 March).

U.S. freighter Narbo, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities the previous day, is released to continue her voyage to Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece, but not before some items from her cargo are removed as contraband.

15 Monday

Joint amphibious exercise begins in the Monterey, California, area, to provide training for the Army and Navy in planning and executing joint operations, to train Army troops in embarking and disembarking, and to afford an opportunity for elements of the GHQ Air Force and Navy patrol squadrons to work together and with ground forces (see 22 January). Commander Battle Force (Admiral Charles P. Snyder) conducts the Navy portion of the exercise.

Japanese fishing schooner No. 1 Seiho Maru is stranded on reef off southeast coast of Guam, M.I. A detail of Guam Militia (12th Company) renders necessary assistance during salvage operations (see 21 January). Minesweeper Penguin (AM 33) rescues the 24-man crew.

17 Wednesday

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan and freighter Excambion are detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; the former is kept there for only a few hours before being allowed to proceed (see 23 January).

British Foreign Office replies to U.S. protest on treatment of mail, concluding that “His Majesty’s Government find themselves unable to share the views of the United States government that their [the British] action in examining neutral mail in British or neutral shipping is contrary to their obligations under international law.”

18 Thursday

British commence censorship of air mail passing through Bermuda; censor there removes through-bound mail for European destinations from Lisbon, Portugal–bound Pan American Airways Boeing 314 American Clipper. A written protest is lodged and no assistance in the unloading process is offered.

19 Friday

Auxiliary Bear (AG 29) steams eastward to begin flight operations in the vicinity of Biscoe Bay, Antarctica; the ship’s embarked Barkley-Grow floatplane (Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, navigator) reconnoiters Sulzberger Bay to determine leads in the ice to permit Bear’s movement farther to the east (see 21 January).

20 Saturday

United States protests British treatment of American shipping in the Mediterranean.

U.S. freighter Examelia is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 31 January); passenger liner Washington, bound for Genoa, is detained only a few hours before being allowed to proceed.

21 Sunday

Auxiliary Bear (AG 29) follows leads in the ice spotted on 19 January; the ship’s Barkley-Grow floatplane flies over the northern limits of the Edsel Ford Mountains (see 25 January).

Minesweeper Penguin (AM 33) transfers 24 survivors of Japanese fishing schooner No. 1 Seiho Maru, stranded off the southeast coast of Guam, M.I., on 15 January, to Japanese freighter Saipan Maru.

British light cruiser HMS Liverpool stops Japanese passenger liner Asama Maru 35 miles off Nozaki, Chiba prefecture, Japan, and removes 21 Germans from the ship. All but nine are naval reservists, survivors of the scuttled passenger liner Columbus; the nine civilians are released. The incident further strains relations between Great Britain and Japan.

U.S. freighter Nishmaha is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 22 January).

22 Monday

Joint amphibious exercise concludes in the Monterey, California, area, having afforded the Fleet profitable experience in joint planning. It also demonstrates interservice cooperation.

Light cruiser Helena (CL 50) arrives at Buenos Aires, Argentina, on her shakedown cruise (see 29 January).

Rear Admiral Adolphus E. Watson becomes Commandant Fourth Naval District and Commandant Philadelphia Navy Yard in the wake of the death of Rear Admiral Julius C. Townsend on 28 December 1939.

U.S. freighter Excellency is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 23 January); freighter Nishmaha, detained there the previous day, is released.

23 Tuesday

Great Britain and France announce they will attack any German vessels encountered in Pan-American Safety Zone.

Destroyer J. Fred Talbott (DD 247) arrives at Wreck Bay, Galapagos Islands, to assist U.S. tuna boat City of San Diego (see 24 January).

U.S. freighter Excambion, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 17 January, is released to proceed on her voyage to Genoa, Italy, but not before 470 sacks of mail (bound for Germany and Italy) are seized; freighter Excellency, detained at Gibraltar the previous day, is released.

24 Wednesday

Interior Department motorship North Star (U.S. Antarctic Service) departs Bay of Whales, Antarctica, for Valparaiso, Chile, for additional supplies and equipment to establish East Base. Construction of West Base commences immediately at the site chosen that lies at 78°29′06″S, 163°50′10″W, two miles from the edge of the ice barrier and five miles northeast of the site of Little America I and Little America II, the previous Byrd expedition bases. Until the main building is ready for habitation, the men live in regulation army tents (see 11 February).

Gunboat Erie (PG 50) joins destroyer J. Fred Talbott (DD 247) at Wreck Bay, Galapagos Islands, to assist U.S. tuna boat City of San Diego. The gunboat takes on board the craft’s chief engineer (pneumonia) and sails the following day for Balboa, C.Z., where the man will be transferred ashore for medical attention.

25 Thursday

Auxiliary Bear (AG 29) (U.S. Antarctic Service) reaches 77°43′S, 143°52′W; it marks the deepest penetration by any ship into the Antarctic region (see 21 March).

26 Friday

United States–Japanese Trade Treaty of 1911 expires.

Minesweeper Quail (AM 15) arrives at Palmyra Island in the Central Pacific with first construction party to begin building a naval air station there.

27 Saturday

U.S. freighter Cold Harbor, bound for Odessa, Ukraine, is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 30 January).

28 Sunday

U.S. freighter Sarcoxic is detained temporarily at Gibraltar for several hours by British authorities; freighter Waban, bound for Italy and Greece, is also held there briefly but is allowed to proceed after one item of cargo is seized as contraband and 34 detained for investigation.

29 Monday

British Admiralty orders that no American ships should, under any circumstances, be diverted into the war zone delineated by President Roosevelt in the provisions of the Neutrality Act.

Light cruiser Helena (CL 50) steams from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Montevideo, Uruguay, on her shakedown cruise (see 2 February).

U.S. freighter Exochorda is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 1 February).

30 Tuesday

U.S. freighter Cold Harbor (detained at Gibraltar since 27 January) is released by British authorities.

31 Wednesday

U.S. passenger liner Washington is detained for several hours at Gibraltar by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed the same day; freighter Jomar is also detained there (see 1 February). Freighter Examelia, detained at Gibraltar since 20 January, is released.

FEBRUARY

1 Thursday

President Roosevelt writes First Lord of the Admiralty Winston S. Churchill, concerning the detention of U.S. merchantmen, and frankly informs him of adverse American reaction to the British policy. “The general feeling is,” Roosevelt informs Churchill, “that the net benefit to your people and the French is hardly worth the definite annoyance caused to us.”

U.S. freighter Exminster is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar (see 9 February); freighters Exochorda (detained since 29 January) and Jomar (detained since 31 January) are released.

2 Friday

Light cruiser Helena (CL 50), at Montevideo, Uruguay, on her shakedown cruise, sends party to inspect wreck of German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee.

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan is stopped by French auxiliary patrol vessel Vaillant about 25 miles southeast of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal, and ordered to proceed to Gibraltar for examination (see 3 and 4 February).

3 Saturday

Light cruiser Helena (CL 50) departs Montevideo, Uruguay, for Brazilian waters as her shakedown cruise continues (see 5 February).

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 4 February).

4 Sunday

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan, detained at Gibraltar the previous day, is released, but not before British authorities seize 390 sacks of German mail. American diplomatic mail pouches, however, are not disturbed.

5 Monday

Light cruiser Helena (CL 50) arrives at Santos, Brazil, on her shakedown cruise (see 10 February).

U.S. freighter Exford is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 13 February).

6 Tuesday

German freighter Konsul Horn, which had departed Aruba on 7 January, reaches Norwegian waters having eluded or deceived the U.S. Neutrality Patrol as well as British and French warships.

8 Thursday

U.S. freighter Scottsburg is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 9 February).

9 Friday

U.S. freighter Scottsburg, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities the previous day, is released. U.S. freighter Exminster, detained at Gibraltar since 1 February, is also released.

10 Saturday

Light cruiser Helena (CL 50) departs Santos, Brazil, winding up her shakedown cruise.

U.S. freighter West Chatala is detained for several hours at Gibraltar by British authorities but is released to continue her voyage.

11 Sunday

U.S. Antarctic Service West Base main building is completed sufficiently to permit occupation. Over the next two months, the base—three buildings connected by an elaborate system of tunnels and caches—is finished by the time the sun sets for the winter on 21 April.

12 Monday

War again comes to the Americas: British heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire stops German freighter Wakama 12 miles off Cabo Frio, Brazil; Wakama’s crew scuttles her so that their ship will not fall into British hands (see 16 March).¹⁷

13 Tuesday

U.S. freighter Exford, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 5 February, is released.

14 Wednesday

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan is detained at Gibraltar for several hours by British authorities but allowed to proceed; not as fortunate is freighter Exermont, which is also detained there (see 16 February).

15 Thursday

President Roosevelt embarks in heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA 37) at Pensacola, Florida, for a cruise to Panama and the west coast of Central America to discuss Pan-American defense and to inspect the Panama Canal.

Destroyer Goff (DD 247) collides with and sinks harbor tug Wicomico (YT 26) in Hampton Roads, off Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia. Goff, her bow damaged in the mishap, rescues Wicomico’s 11-man crew.

16 Friday

U.S. freighter Excalibur is detained for several hours by British authorities at Gibraltar but is released; freighter Exermont, detained since 14 February, is allowed to proceed as well.

British destroyer HMS Cossack violates Norwegian territorial waters, boards German tanker Altmark in Jössingfjord, Norway, and recovers 303 merchant seamen from ships destroyed by German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee during her commerce-raiding activities.

17 Saturday

U.S. freighter Exhibitor is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar (see 21 February).

Ten Consolidated P2Y-2s of VP 52, all but one bearing neutrality markings (red-centered blue and white star) on port and starboard sides of each flying boat’s nose, share ramp space at the U.S. Coast Guard air station, Charleston, South Carolina, with two USCG Grumman JF-2s and a USCG Douglas RD-4, 27 February 1940. VP 52 had begun operating from the Coast Guard station on 3 October 1939. (Author’s Collection)

21 Wednesday

U.S. freighter Sahale is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar (see 22 February); freighter Exhibitor, detained since 17 February, is allowed to proceed.

22 Thursday

U.S. freighter Sahale, detained by British authorities at Gibraltar the previous day, is released.

23 Friday

U.S. freighter Lehigh is detained for several hours at Gibraltar by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed the same day.

24 Saturday

U.S. freighter Scottsburg is detained for several hours at Malta by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed the same day.

25 Sunday

U.S. freighter West Camargo is stopped by unidentified French cruiser off north coast of Venezuela, 11°30′N, 66°20′W; French make no attempt to board but only request information “where from, where bound, and what cargo” before allowing the merchantman to proceed after a 20-minute delay.

U.S. freighter Exochorda is detained for several hours at Gibraltar by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed.

26 Monday

Captain Raymond A. Spruance relieves Commander Reuben L. Walker as Commandant Tenth Naval District.

U.S. passenger liner Washington is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

27 Tuesday

U.S. freighter Sundance is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

29 Thursday

U.S. freighter Cold Harbor is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

MARCH

1 Friday

U.S. freighter Exeter is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 4 March).

As the build-up of advanced bases in the Pacific continues apace, cargo ship Sirius (AK 15) steams past Bishop Point, Pearl Harbor, 21 March 1940, bound for Midway, pilings projecting over the side across her forward hatch and the non–self-propelled dump scow YD 69, laden with equipment, riding at a towline astern. (NHC, NH 96600)

2 Saturday

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities, but is released the same day. Some 80 of 200 items of cargo, however, are detained subject to guarantees as to their destinations.

4 Monday

U.S. freighter Exeter, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 1 March, is released, but not before 155 sacks of mail for Germany are removed, as are 95 sacks for Italy and 59 for Switzerland. Some 140 sacks previously removed from other neutral ships, however, are brought on board and the ship is permitted to sail.

8 Friday

War again comes to the Americas: Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine stops German freighter Hannover in Mona Passage, off the coast of the Dominican Republic, at which point the merchantman’s crew sets fire to the ship and abandons her. Boarding party from British light cruiser HMS Dunedin, however, saves Hannover from destruction. Conflicting representations by British and German diplomats as to Hannover’s exact position prompt the Dominican government to drop the question of violation of territorial waters (see 24 May).¹⁸ The effort expended to capture Hannover, however, allows German freighters Mimi Horn and Seattle to escape the Caribbean and make a break for Germany.¹⁹

9 Saturday

U.S. freighter Exmoor is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities (see 11 March).

10 Sunday

U.S. freighters Explorer, Exchester, and West Cohas are detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; all are released, however, after only several hours.

11 Monday

U.S. freighter Exmoor, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 9 March, is released.

12 Tuesday

Russo-Finnish War ends. Finnish desire to win back territory lost to Soviet encroachment (city of Viborg and areas along Finland’s eastern borders) will push them closer toward the Axis.

13 Wednesday

Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 6 concludes at Culebra, Puerto Rico. The Fleet Marine Force makes progress in developing techniques for rubber boat landings, getting heavy combat materiel ashore, and improving ship-to-shore supply.

16 Saturday

President of Panama transmits protest to King of England over British violation of Pan-American Neutrality Zone in the Wakama Incident that took place off the coast of Brazil on 12 February.

21 Thursday

Auxiliary Bear (AG 29) and Interior Department motorship North Star (U.S. Antarctic Service) depart Bay of Whales, Antarctica, for the United States. Staying behind are the men who will spend the long winter night at East and West Bases (see 5 June).

25 Monday

Heavy cruiser Augusta (CA 31) is damaged when she strikes an uncharted pinnacle in Coron Bay, P.I.

APRIL

2 Tuesday

U.S. Fleet departs West Coast for maneuvers in Hawaiian waters. Fleet Problem XXI is the last of the large prewar fleet exercises that mark the culmination of the training year. Conducted in two phases, Parts II and VI of the annual fleet exercises, it takes place in the waters of the Pacific in the vicinity of Hawaii to the westward. Part II exercises two fleets (the augmented Battle Force vs. the augmented Scouting Force) of approximately equal strength, one side concentrated and the other widely dispersed, in scouting, screening, and conducting major fleet engagements. Part VI exercises two fleets of approximately equal strength (the same opponents as in Part II), each dispersed, in scouting, screening, protecting convoys, seizing and defending advanced bases, and conducting major fleet engagements. The worsening world situation will prompt the cancellation of Fleet Problem XXII.

3 Wednesday

Destroyer Crosby (DD 164) accidentally sinks U.S. fishing boat Lone Eagle in collision in heavy seas off Point Arguello, California; Crosby rescues the seven-man crew.

4 Thursday

See photo and caption, top p. 21.

5 Friday

Operation WILFRED: British mining of Norwegian waters begins.

7 Sunday

Destroyer J. Fred Talbott (DD 247) departs Canal Zone to rendezvous at sea with Japanese steamship Arimasan Maru (see 13 April).

Destroyer Twiggs (DD 127), on neutrality patrol off the coast of Cuba, attempts to tow Norwegian freighter Spind off rocks six miles off Cape San Antonio, but is unsuccessful in two tries. Salvage tug Warbler, however, frees the merchantman from her predicament. Twiggs resumes her patrol.

8 Monday

Norway protests British minelaying operations off the Norwegian coast. Amid growing tensions in this region, U.S. freighter Charles R. McCormick arrives at Bergen, Norway, en route to her ultimate destination of Narvik. Freighter Flying Fish is also in Norwegian waters.

9 Tuesday

Operation WESERÜBUNG: Germany invades Denmark and Norway, claiming that they are only establishing a “protectorate.” Norway, however, declares that a state of war exists with Germany.

Joint Planning Committee of the Joint Board submits a new general estimate of the world situation in relation to American defense and preparations for war. This is part of the revision of existing plans, and for developing or completing new plans of the RAINBOW series. Formulators of the RAINBOW plans envision multiple, simultaneous enemies instead of individual enemies, each designated by a single color (ORANGE, for example, stands for Japan).

Submarine tender Bushnell (AS 2), operating as a survey ship under the auspices of the Hydrographic Office, arrives in Venezuelan waters to commence hydrographic surveys of the Cape San Roman to Bahia Vela de Coro region (see 15 June).

Destroyer Williams (DD 108) transports hydrographic survey party to Palmetto Island, British West Indies.

10 Wednesday

President Roosevelt, acting under the Neutrality Act of 1939, issues proclamation extending the combat zone to include the northwestern part of the USSR on a line to the southern point of Svalbard, a Norwegian possession, to the northwestern tip of the combat zone issued in the President’s proclamation of 4 November 1939.

11 Thursday

Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch relieves Rear Admiral Orin G. Murfin as Commandant Fourteenth Naval District and Commandant Navy Yard Pearl Harbor, T.H.

Carrier Saratoga (CV 3) (right) launches a Douglas TBD-1 while heavy cruiser Portland (CA 33) steams in the carrier’s screen (left), during Fleet Problem XXI, 4 April 1940. Broad black vertical stripe (adorned with an “E” and a hash mark) on Saratoga’s stack distinguishes her from her nearly identical sister ship Lexington (CV 2). Portland carries Curtiss SOC floatplanes on her catapults and on her well-deck amidships. (NA, 80-CF-372-3)

12 Friday

Submarine rescue vessel Falcon (ASR 2) and U.S. freighter El Oceano are damaged when they collide in heavy fog in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, near Hen and Chickens Lightship.

13 Saturday

Destroyer J. Fred Talbott (DD 247) returns to Canal Zone after providing medical assistance to passenger on board Japanese steamship Arimasan Maru. The warship’s medical officer remains with his patient until the Japanese vessel reaches Balboa.

15 Monday

Naval Reserve affairs pertaining to the administration of naval districts are transferred to the Naval Reserve Policy Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, to prepare for expansion.

16 Tuesday

Captain Albert C. Read relieves Captain Aubrey W. Fitch as Commandant Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida.

Great Britain issues mobilization order for men who turn 27 years of age during the months of April and May 1940.

Iceland declares its independence and asks the United States to recognize it as such.

19 Friday

Japanese government informs the United States that Japan has no aggressive intentions toward the Netherlands East Indies.

20 Saturday

Captain George J. McMillin relieves Captain James T. Alexander as Governor of Guam and Commandant U.S. Naval Station, Guam.

U.S. freighters Flying Fish and Charles McCormick are reported safe at Norwegian ports; concern had been expressed over their safety in view of the German invasion of Norway. They had been shifted from Bergen to neighboring, safer places.

21 Sunday

U.S. Military Attaché Captain Robert E. Losey is killed in German bombing raid on Dombas, Norway. U.S. Minister to Sweden Frederick A. Sterling orders Naval Attaché (Lieutenant Commander Ole E. Hagen) to proceed to receive Captain Losey’s remains.

24 Wednesday

U.S. Naval Attaché (Lieutenant Commander Ole E. Hagen) escorts party of American citizens evacuated from Oslo to the interior of Norway and thence across the border into Stockholm in neutral Sweden.

25 Thursday

President Roosevelt issues proclamation declaring that a state of war exists between Germany and Norway, and issues neutrality proclamation concerning same. In addition, he issues proclamation prohibiting Norwegian submarines from entering American waters.

29 Monday

Although the British explanation concerning the removal of German engineers from Philippine motorship Don Isidro at Port Said, Eygpt, on 5 September 1939 fails to satisfy the Department of State, the U.S. government nevertheless considers the incident closed “on the assumption that similar instances will not be permitted to occur in the future.”

30 Tuesday

Fire and rescue party detailed by Commandant Sixth Naval District extinguishes blaze in Norwegian tanker Willy (loaded with aviation gasoline) lying in the Cooper River off Charleston, South Carolina. The sailors save the ship and the city’s waterfront.

MAY

1 Wednesday

Naval Air Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico, is established effective this date, and designated as an activity of the Tenth Naval District. Captain Virgil C. Griffin Jr. is the first commanding officer.

3 Friday

Greenland, a crown colony of Denmark, seeks U.S. protection, so that Danish sovereignty can be maintained during the German occupation of the homeland.

7 Tuesday

President Roosevelt orders U.S. Fleet to remain in Hawaiian waters indefinitely as a deterrent to Japan (see 5 July and 7 October).

8 Wednesday

River gunboat Tutuila (PR 4) is damaged when she runs aground on a reef and becomes stranded as she shifts her anchorage at Chungking, China (see 13 May).

10 Friday

Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Netherlands and Belgium declare war on Germany.

British troops occupy Iceland.

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns; First Lord of the Admiralty Winston S. Churchill becomes prime minister.

Secretary of State Cordell Hull reiterates that the United States will not stand for any country establishing a protectorate over the Netherlands East Indies. Japanese Foreign Minister indicates his country’s desire to maintain the political and economic status quo in that region.

11 Saturday

President Roosevelt issues proclamations (1) recognizing the state of war that exists between Germany and Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands; (2) proclaiming American neutrality in the conflict; and (3) restricting belligerent submarines from using American ports and territorial waters, exclusive of the Panama Canal Zone.

British and French troops occupy Curaçao and Aruba, Netherlands West Indies. President Roosevelt announces that these actions are not contrary to the Monroe Doctrine.

13 Monday

River gunboat Tutuila (PR 4), stranded on a reef in the Yangtze River off Chungking, China, since 8 May, is refloated.

Dutch Royal Family and government flee to London, England.

14 Tuesday

German troops smash through French lines at Sedan and move toward the English Channel.

Dutch Army capitulates to Germany.

15 Wednesday

British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (“Former Naval Person”) pleads for U.S. aid in a personal message to President Roosevelt. Churchill’s request is six-fold. First, he requests the loan of 40 or 50 “older destroyers” to bridge the gap between what the Royal Navy has on hand and what is under construction; second, he asks for “several hundred” of the latest planes; third, he asks for antiaircraft “equipment and ammunition”; fourth, he asks that the United States continues to provide Britain with steel; fifth, he asks that a U.S. squadron visit Irish ports; and sixth, he intimates that the United States “keep that Japanese dog quiet in the Pacific, using Singapore in any way convenient” (see 16 May and 11 June).

U.S. Minister in Uruguay, Edwin C. Wilson reports to Secretary of State Cordell Hull that there has been an increase in “Nazi activities” in Uruguay. He notes “indifference and apathy . . . and in certain cases something worse” evidenced by the Uruguayan government. The situation, Wilson warns, “has serious possibilities” (see 20 May).

16 Thursday

President Roosevelt asks Congress to appropriate $546 million for the Army, $250 million for the Navy and Marine Corps, and $100 million for the President to provide for emergencies affecting the national security and defense. He also asks for authorizations for the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps to make contract obligations in the further sum of $186 million, and to the President an additional authorization to make contract obligations for $100 million. He also suggests that 50,000 planes a year be built.

President Roosevelt responds noncommittally to British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill’s telegram of the previous day. Addressing the possible loan of destroyers, Churchill’s first concern, the President informs the “Former Naval Person” that such a step cannot be taken without “specific authorization of the Congress” and that U.S. defense requirements assumed priority. He also informs Churchill that the U.S. Fleet would remain concentrated in Hawaiian waters “at least for the time being.”

17 Friday

President Roosevelt announces plans for recommissioning 35 more “flush-deck” destroyers to meet the requirements of fleet expansion and the Neutrality Patrol.

18 Saturday

British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, in a telegram to President Roosevelt, tells of British perseverance but suggests that “if American assistance is to play any part it must be available [soon].”

20 Monday

British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, in a telegram to President Roosevelt concerning the recent meeting of Lord Lothian (British Ambassador to the United States) with the Chief Executive, acknowledges U.S. difficulties but expresses continuing interest in destroyers. “If they were here in 6 weeks,” Churchill states, “they would play an invaluable part.”

President Roosevelt, in a memorandum to Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles, expresses concern over the situation in Uruguay as reported by U.S. Minister Edwin C. Wilson on 15 May. “Is there some way,” Roosevelt asks Welles, “in which the Minister of Uruguay in Washington and Mr. Wilson in Montevideo can get word to the Uruguayan Government that the United States is concerned?” Undersecretary Welles, in his response to the President that same day, reports that the Uruguayan government has taken steps to investigate Nazi activities in Montevideo (see 26 May).

21 Tuesday

German troops reach the English Channel west of Abbeville, France, splitting the Allied armies and encircling their northern remnant.

24 Friday

President of Panama addresses diplomatic notes to the government of the Dominican Republic, supporting its position in the Hannover incident of 8 March, to the British and German governments, calling attention to their violation of the Pan-American Neutrality Zone, and to the Chairman of the Inter-American Neutrality Committee in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, directing that body’s attention to the case.

Allied Supreme Command decides to evacuate its forces from Norway.

25 Saturday

Minor Landing and Base Defense Exercise begins at San Clemente Island, California (see 1 June).

26 Sunday

U.S. Minister in Uruguay Edwin C. Wilson, in a telegram to Secretary of State Cordell Hull, reports tension between the Uruguayan and German governments over the former’s searching homes and businesses of Germans and charges by the latter that the Uruguayan police were employing “rough methods” in their investigations (see 30 May).

Operation DYNAMO: Evacuation of British, French, and Belgian troops from Dunkirk, France, begins, aided by poor flying weather that limits German aerial operations (see 4 June).

28 Tuesday

National Defense Advisory Committee is established, which includes in its membership former automobile manufacturer William S. Knudsen, corporate executive Edward R. Stettinius, labor leader Sidney Hillman, and economist Leon Henderson. There is, however, no head to this group that only serves to advise President Roosevelt on defense issues (see 7 January 1941).

Belgium surrenders to Germany.

Ambassador to France William C. Bullitt, through a telegram to Secretary of State Cordell Hull, urgently asks President Roosevelt to send a cruiser to Bordeaux, France, (1) to bring arms and ammunition urgently required by the French police to quell a feared “Communist uprising” as German forces near Paris and other industrial centers and (2) to take away the French and Belgian gold reserves. “If you cannot send a cruiser of the San Francisco [CA 38] class to Bordeaux,” Bullitt implores, “please order the Trenton [CL 11] at Lisbon [Squadron 40-T flagship] to take on fuel and supplies at once for a trip to America and order her today to Bordeaux.” Consequently, heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA 44) departs Hampton Roads, Virginia, in company with destroyers Truxtun (DD 229) and Simpson (DD 221), bound for the Azores on the first leg of the voyage undertaken in response to the ambassador’s second concern (see 9 June).

Ambassador Bullitt also urges that the Atlantic Fleet be sent to the Mediterranean as “one of the surest ways” to obtain British and French cooperation in keeping German attacks away from the United States (see 30 May).

29 Wednesday

French auxiliary cruiser Ville d’Oran loads 200 tons of gold (French reserve) for shipment to Casablanca, French Morocco (see 9 June).

30 Thursday

President Roosevelt (through Secretary of State Cordell Hull) rejects Ambassador to France William C. Bullitt’s request of 28 May to send the fleet to the Mediterranean. “The presence of the fleet in the Pacific at this time,” Hull reminds the ambassador, “is a very practical contribution to the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.”

U.S. Minister in Uruguay Edwin C. Wilson reports “deteriorating” situation in Montevideo in a telegram to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Wilson describes the Uruguayan government as “well meaning but weak, undecided and confused,” with things “drifting” and “people . . . climbing on the Nazi band wagon.” Wilson also warns that an “armed movement is a possibility” (see 31 May).

31 Friday

U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Norman Armour and U.S. Minister in Uruguay Edwin C. Wilson confer in Montevideo about the deteriorating situation in Uruguay, and jointly suggest (in a telegram to Secretary of State Cordell Hull) that “if the situation in the Far East permits,” sending a “large U.S. naval force, 40 or 50 vessels . . . to the east coast of South America.” A naval visit of that nature, the diplomats believe, “would strengthen the position of those who desire to combat Nazism, as well as restore the confidence of those who are now wavering” and that the stationing of a U.S. naval squadron “more or less permanently in these waters would be an added assurance that we are prepared to give effective and immediate assistance if required.”

In reply to U.S. Minister in Uruguay Wilson’s telegram of the previous day, Secretary of State Hull informs the envoy in Montevideo that President Roosevelt has ordered heavy cruiser Quincy (CA 39) to proceed immediately to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and thence directly to Montevideo for “friendly visits of courtesy” (see 12 June).

Chief of the Division of the American Republics (Laurence Duggan) of the State Department suggests to Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles that President Roosevelt’s decision “to detach two or three cruisers to go down the east coast,” of South America be made public “in order to put a little iron in the veins of our friends in those countries.”

JUNE

1 Saturday

Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles, commenting on U.S. Minister in Uruguay Edwin C. Wilson’s suggestion to send 40 or 50 naval vessels to South American waters, suggests “at least three or four heavy cruisers and a reasonable number of destroyers . . . on the East Coast [of South America] this summer.” That same day, Welles informs U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Jefferson Caffery that heavy cruiser Quincy (CA 39) is en route to Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo “to furnish a reminder of the strength and the range of action of the armed forces of the United States.”

Battleship Washington (BB 56) is launched at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She is the first American battleship to go down the ways since West Virginia (BB 48) on 19 November 1921.

Minor Landing and Base Defense Exercise at San Clemente Island, California, begun on 25 May, concludes; for the first time one of the newly organized USMC Defense Battalions carries out the mission of defending an advanced base against a landing force supported by aircraft and ships.

U.S. freighter Charles R. McCormick, the American flag displayed prominently, departs Bergen, Norway, for the United States.

2 Sunday

Chief of Naval Operations (Admiral Harold R. Stark) sends memorandum to President Roosevelt that addresses options concerning the situation in South America; of those proposed, the President believes that the only solution lies in dispatching one additional 8-inch gun cruiser to South America, continuing destroyer shakedown cruises to South American waters, and utilizing ships already in the Atlantic Squadron, thus not weakening the fleet in the Pacific.

U.S. steamship President Roosevelt departs Galway, Ireland, with 720 American citizens fleeing the European war zone. Passenger liner Manhattan departs Genoa, Italy, the same day with 1,905 passengers.

4 Tuesday

Operation DYNAMO, begun on 26 May, is completed; all told, some 848 vessels of every size and displacement take part in the extraction of 338,226 men (including 123,000 French).²⁰

5 Wednesday

Auxiliary Bear (AG 29) arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, having proceeded from Antarctica via Valparaiso, Chile, the Panama Canal, and Key West, Florida (see 10 October).

9 Sunday

Allies complete evacuation of British, French, and Norwegian troops from Norway.

Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA 44) and destroyers Truxtun (DD 229) and Simpson (DD 221) reach Casablanca, French Morocco, having touched briefly at Ponta Delgada, Azores (4–6 June) en route. Vincennes’s mission is to load the 200 tons of gold brought to Casablanca by French auxiliary cruiser Ville d’Oran. The precious metal cargo (Bank of France gold reserves) will be transported to New York for deposit in U.S. banks (see 10 and 20 June).²¹

Destroyer Dickerson (DD 157), from Squadron 40-T, departs Casablanca with American nationals who desire passage on board U.S. passenger liner Washington, which is slated to leave Lisbon, Portugal, the next day for Ireland and the United States. Washington departs Bordeaux, France, for Lisbon with 813 U.S. citizens on board (see 10, 11, and 15 June).

10 Monday

Italy declares war on France and Great Britain; Italian troops invade France. President Roosevelt, in a speech at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, proclaims that the Italian declaration of war on France is like “the hand that held the dagger has struck it in the back of its neighbor.”

Norway capitulates to German forces.

Canada declares war on Italy.

Rear Admiral David M. LeBreton relieves Rear Admiral Charles E. Courtney as Commander Squadron 40-T on board light cruiser Trenton (CL 11) at Lisbon, Portugal.

Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA 44), escorted by destroyers Truxtun (DD 229) and Simpson (DD 221), departs Casablanca, French Morocco, for New York (see 20 June).

U.S. passenger liner Washington arrives at Lisbon, Portugal, to embark American nationals desiring passage to the United States; destroyer Dickerson (DD 157) arrives the same day with her passengers who are to embark in the liner (see 11 and 15 June).

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) arrives at Bahia, Brazil, on her shakedown cruise (see 14 June).

11 Tuesday

Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa declare war on Italy.

President Roosevelt declares Mediterranean area and mouth of Red Sea to be combat zones in accordance with Neutrality Act.

British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, in a telegram to President Roosevelt sent via the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., again raises the need for destroyers with the Italian entry into the war and the possibility of having to deal with more submarines. “To this,” Churchill declares, “the only counter is destroyers. Nothing is so important as for us to have 30 or 40 old destroyers you have already had reconditioned.”

U.S. passenger liner Washington, en route from Lisbon, Portugal, to Galway, Ireland, with 1,020 U.S. passengers, to embark more American citizens returning to the United States, is stopped by German submarine U 101 at 42°12′N, 12°50′W. The submarine, mistakenly believing the ship to be a Greek vessel, orders Washington abandoned preparatory to being sunk. Blinker signals exchanged between the two ships soon result in the Germans’ confirming Washington’s neutral identity and allowing her to proceed without further hindrance (see 15 June).

12 Wednesday

Navy Department awards contracts for 22 new warships.

Japan-Thailand Non-Aggression Pact is announced.

Heavy cruiser Quincy (CA 39) arrives at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for a port visit while she is en route to Montevideo, Uruguay (see 17 June).

13 Thursday

Rear Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. relieves Vice Admiral Charles A. Blakely as Commander Aircraft Battle Force, on board carrier Yorktown (CV 5) at Lahaina Roads, Maui, T.H., Halsey receives the temporary rank of vice admiral.

14 Friday

President Roosevelt signs “11% Naval Expansion Act” increasing the carrier, cruiser, and submarine tonnage of the Navy by 167,000 tons, auxiliary shipping by 75,000; and the useful number of authorized naval aircraft to 4,500 planes (see 15 June).

German troops occupy Paris, France.

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) departs Bahia, Brazil, on her shakedown cruise, bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina (see 20 June).

15 Saturday

Soviet forces, as allowed by the Nazi-Soviet pact, occupy Lithuania. The United States refuses to acknowledge this annexation or those of the two other Baltic states that the USSR will occupy two days later (see 17 June).

President Roosevelt approves Act of Congress to increase naval aviation to a strength of not more than 10,000 aircraft, overriding the 4,500 in the act signed the previous day.

British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, in a telegram to President Roosevelt, again asks for destroyers, calling the matter one “of life and death.” Britain will carry on the struggle “whatever the odds,” the “Former Naval Person” declares to the President, “but it may well be beyond our resources unless we receive every reinforcement and particularly do we need this reinforcement on the sea.”

Submarine tender Bushnell (AS 2) completes hydrographic surveys off the coast of Venezuela from Cape San Roman to Bahia Vela de Coro. Having begun on 9 April, she covered an area of 2,200 nautical square miles in the course of her work.

U.S. passenger liner Washington sails from Galway, Ireland, for the United States with an additional 852 American citizens, making a total of 1,872 U.S. passengers embarked. She will arrive at New York unmolested.

17 Monday

Soviet forces occupy Estonia and Latvia.

France sues for an armistice with Germany. France’s collapse prompts concern for the disposition of the French fleet. French Minister for Foreign Affairs Paul Baudouin privately informs Deputy U.S. Ambassador to France Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Jr. that the fleet “would never be surrendered to Germany.” To guarantee that pledge, Bauduoin informs Biddle that Admiral François Darlan has been appointed as Minister of Marine (see 18 June).

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Harold R. Stark asks for $4 billion to construct the “Two-Ocean Navy.”

Heavy cruiser Quincy (CA 39) departs Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Montevideo, Uruguay (see 20 June).

18 Tuesday

Secretary of State Cordell Hull directs Deputy U.S. Ambassador to France Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Jr. to inform the French government that if France fails to keep its fleet out of German hands, France would “permanently lose the friendship and goodwill of the Government of the United States.” Although those sentiments “deeply pained” the French, Minister for Foreign Affairs Paul Baudouin reiterates that the French fleet “would never be surrendered to Germany.”

U.S. Minister in Uruguay Edwin C. Wilson reports that Uruguayan government has arrested eight Nazi leaders and that Uruguay’s Chamber of Deputies, in secret session the day before, has begun considering a report on Nazi activities in their country.

British steamship Niagra is sunk by a mine at 35°53′S, 174°54′E, while en route from Auckland, New Zealand, to Vancouver, British Columbia. All passengers, including nine Americans, and crew are rescued and taken to Auckland.

20 Thursday

Bureau of Ships is established with Rear Admiral Samuel M. Robinson as chief; Bureau of Construction and Repair and Bureau of Engineering are abolished.

Office of Undersecretary of the Navy is created for duration of emergency (see 22 August).

Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA 44), escorted by destroyers Truxtun (DD 229) and Simpson (DD 221), arrives at New York Navy Yard and transfers the Bank of France gold reserves ashore for deposit in U.S. banks.

Destroyer Herbert (DD 160), attached to Squadron 40-T, departs Lisbon for French Morocco (see 21 June).

Heavy cruiser Quincy (CA 39) reaches Montevideo, Uruguay, as part of the American effort to counteract German propaganda in Latin America (see 21, 27, and 30 June).

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) reaches Buenos Aires, Argentina, as her shakedown cruise to Latin American ports continues (see 25 June).

Light cruiser Phoenix (CL 46) departs Lahaina, Maui, T.H., for the Panama Canal Zone, on the first leg of her goodwill cruise to the Pacific coast of South America (see 3 July).

Vichy France opens northern Indochina to Japanese military mission and supporting troops.

21 Friday

Heavy cruiser Wichita (CA 45), with Commander Cruiser Division 7 (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) embarked, arrives at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, en route to join heavy cruiser Quincy (CA 39) at Montevideo, Uruguay (see 27 June).

Destroyer Herbert (DD 160) arrives at Casablanca, French Morocco (see 23 June).

Destroyer Dickerson (DD 157), attached to Squadron 40-T, departs Lisbon for Bilbao, Spain (see 22 June).

22 Saturday

Franco-German armistice is signed at Compiegne, France. France is divided: One zone is occupied by the Germans, the other administered by the French government from the city of Vichy. Free French government is established in exile in England by General Charles DeGaulle. Among the terms of the armistice is the specification that the French fleet, except portions necessary to safeguard France’s colonial interests, will be gathered in French metropolitan ports and demobilized and disarmed under German and Italian control.

Destroyer Dickerson (DD 157) arrives at Bilbao, Spain; she will remain there, safeguarding American interests, until 3 July.

Prince Konoye Fumimaro forms new Japanese cabinet with General Tojo Hideki as Minister of War and Matsuoka Yosuke as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

23 Sunday

Portuguese police arrest 30 sailors (three of whom are injured in the fracas) from light cruiser Trenton (CL 11) in street brawl in Santo Amaro Oerias, a suburb of Lisbon.

Destroyer Herbert (DD 160) proceeds from Casablanca, French Morocco, to Lisbon with American refugees.

24 Monday

Charles Edison, who had devoted himself to accelerating naval construction and to technical advances in the naval service, resigns as Secretary of the Navy. Lewis Compton, Assistant Secretary of the Navy since 9 February, becomes Acting Secretary. Edison will become Governor of New Jersey.

France signs armistice with Italy.

Japan requests that British close the Burma Road, thus severing the Allied supply line to China.

Rear Admiral Charles A. Blakely relieves Rear Admiral Joseph R. Defrees as Commandant Eleventh Naval District and Commandant Naval Operating Base, San Diego, California.

25 Tuesday

Franco-German armistice becomes effective and hostilities cease.

Act of Congress abolishes Construction Corps of the Navy; constructors are given line officer status designated for Engineering Duty Only (EDO). In addition, the status of those line officers who had previously been designated for Aeronautical Engineering Duty Only (AEDO) were redesignated EDO.

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) departs Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil (see 27 June).

27 Thursday

Romania yields to Soviet ultimatum and cedes Bessarabia and northern Bukovina.

President Roosevelt declares a national emergency and invokes Espionage Act of 1917 to exercise control over shipping movements in territorial waters and in vicinity of the Panama Canal.

President Roosevelt establishes eight-man National Defense Research Committee (Dr. Vannevar Bush, Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C., chairman) to correlate and support scientific research on the mechanisms and devices of war; Rear Admiral Harold G. Bowen, Director of the Naval Research Laboratory, Anacostia Station, Washington, D.C., represents the U.S. Navy.

Heavy cruiser Wichita (CA 45), with Commander Cruiser Division 7 (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) embarked, departs Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, en route to join heavy cruiser Quincy (CA 39) at Montevideo, Uruguay (see 30 June).

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) reaches Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil, as her shakedown cruise to Latin American ports continues (see 29 June).

29 Saturday

Presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25), accompanied by auxiliary Cuyahoga (AG 26), departs Washington (D.C.) Navy Yard with President Roosevelt embarked, for a cruise down the Potomac River (see 30 June).

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) departs Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil, bound for Santos, Brazil, as her shakedown cruise to Latin American ports continues (see 1 July).

30 Sunday

Naval ships and district craft on hand (all types)—1,099. Personnel: Navy—160,997; Marine Corps—28,364; Coast Guard—13,766. Total personnel—203,127.

Heavy cruiser Wichita (CA 45), with Commander Cruiser Division 7 (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) embarked, reaches Montevideo, Uruguay, joining heavy cruiser Quincy (CA 39) to begin a tour of Latin American ports “to furnish a reminder of the strength and the range of action of the armed forces of the United States” (see 3 July).

Presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25), accompanied by auxiliary Cuyahoga (AG 26), returns to Washington (D.C.) Navy Yard with President Roosevelt embarked, after a cruise down the Potomac River.

JULY

1 Monday

Navy awards contracts for 44 ships.

Headquarters Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force (Brigadier General Ross E. Rowell, USMC) is established at the Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California.

U.S. Ambassador to France William C. Bullitt has lengthy private interview with the President of the French Council of Ministers, Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain, in which the latter informs the envoy that orders had been given “to every captain of the French Fleet to sink his ship rather than permit [it] to fall into German hands.” The same day, Bullitt also has interview with Admiral François Darlan, who informs him that if the Germans should demand the fleet, it had orders to leave at once for Martinique and Guantánamo to place its ships in U.S. hands. He echoes Marshal Pétain’s declaration that French ships had orders to scuttle if the Germans attempt to seize them.

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) reaches Santos, Brazil, as her shakedown cruise to Latin American ports continues (see 3 July).

2 Tuesday

Congress passes Export Control Act giving the President the power, whenever he deems “necessary in the interest of national defense,” to prohibit or curtail the exportation of military equipment, munitions, tools, and materials.

3 Wednesday

Operation CATAPULT: British warships attack French naval vessels at Mers-el-Kebir, near Oran, Algeria, sinking battleship Bretagne, damaging battleship Provence and battle cruiser Dunkerque, and sinking seaplane tender Commandant Teste and destroyer Mogadore; French men-of-war in British ports (principally Portsmouth and Plymouth) are seized.

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) depart Montevideo, Uruguay, for Brazilian waters (see 5 July).

Light cruiser Phoenix (CL 46) reaches Balboa, C.Z. (see 5 July).

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) departs Santos, Brazil, for Pará, Brazil (see 9 July).

5 Friday

Vichy France breaks off diplomatic relations with Great Britain.

President Roosevelt invokes Export Control Act against Japan by prohibiting exportation, without license, of strategic minerals and chemicals, aircraft engines, parts, and equipment.

Admiral James O. Richardson arrives in Washington, D.C., for conferences with the President and Navy and State Department officials concerning the retention of the U.S. Fleet in Hawaiian waters. He will depart to return to the fleet on 17 July.

Light cruiser Omaha (CL 4) relieves light cruiser Trenton (CL 11) as flagship for Squadron 40-T (Rear Admiral David M. LeBreton) at Lisbon, Portugal.

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) reach Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil (see 11 July).

Light cruiser Phoenix (CL 46) departs Balboa, C.Z., for Valparaiso, Chile (see 12 July).

8 Monday

British launch two attacks to disable French battleship Richelieu at Dakar, French West Africa. In the first, four depth charges dropped over the side of a motor boat from carrier HMS Hermes fail to explode. In the second, FAA Swordfish TSR (torpedo spotting reconnaissance) planes (No. 814 Squadron) torpedo Richelieu, rendering her incapable of steaming at more than half power. Her main battery, however, is unaffected.

9 Tuesday

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) reaches Pará, Brazil, in the course of her shakedown cruise (see 12 July).

Coast Guard cutter Campbell arrives at Boston, Massachusetts, with U.S. Consul to Greenland James K. Penfield, Governor of North Greenland E. Brun, and a group of Danish officials to discuss commerce and trade of Greenland, due to the interruption of direct contact with Denmark, Greenland’s mother country.

10 Wednesday

Battle of Britain begins with first concentrated German air attacks on British convoys in the English Channel.

11 Thursday

William Franklin (Frank) Knox of Illinois, publisher of the Chicago Daily News, takes office as Secretary of the Navy. President Roosevelt’s choice of Knox, who had been the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee in the 1936 election, reflects the Chief Executive’s desire for bipartisan support of his policies.

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) depart Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil, for Santos, Brazil (see 13 July).

Captain Laurence Wild relieves Captain Edward W. Hanson as Governor of American Samoa and Commandant of Naval Station, Tutuila, Samoa.

12 Friday

Light cruiser Phoenix (CL 46) reaches Valparaiso, Chile, for a six-day visit “to cultivate friendly relations” (see 18 July).

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) departs Pará, Brazil, for La Guaira, Venezuela (see 16 July).

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) reach Pará, Brazil, en route to Rio de Janeiro. Both destroyers are transporting marines to join the detachments in heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) and Quincy (CA 39).

U.S. passenger liner Manhattan departs Lisbon, Portugal, with approximately 800 American citizens and their families.

13 Saturday

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) reach Santos, Brazil (see 18 July).

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) depart Pará, Brazil, for Rio de Janeiro.

15 Monday

Light cruiser Trenton (CL 11) sails from Lisbon with members of the royal family of the Duchy of Luxembourg embarked (see 25 July).

16 Tuesday

Destroyer O’Brien (DD 415) arrives at La Guaira, Venezuela, completing her shakedown cruise to Latin American waters.

18 Thursday

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) depart Santos, Brazil, to pay a return call at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (see 19 July).

Light cruiser Phoenix (CL 46) departs Valparaiso, Chile, for Callao, Peru (see 22 July).

19 Friday

President Roosevelt signs Naval Expansion (“Two-Ocean Navy”) Act providing, among other things, for 1,325,000 tons of combatant shipping, 100,000 tons of auxiliary shipping, and 15,000 aircraft; this legislation will expand the fleet 70 percent.

William Franklin (Frank) Knox, former “Rough Rider,” takes oath of office as Secretary of the Navy as President Roosevelt looks on, 11 July 1940. (NHC, NH 56976)

Presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25), with President Roosevelt embarked, departs Washington Navy Yard for a cruise in Chesapeake Bay, accompanied by auxiliary Cuyahoga (AG 26) (see 21 July).

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) reach Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) arrive the same day and transfer their marine passengers; Walke’s to Wichita and Wainwright’s to Quincy.

20 Saturday

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) depart Rio de Janeiro for Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil (see 23 July).

21 Sunday

Presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25), with President Roosevelt embarked, returns to Washington Navy Yard after a cruise in Chesapeake Bay, accompanied by auxiliary Cuyahoga (AG 26).

22 Monday

Light cruiser Phoenix (CL 46) reaches Callao, Peru (see 26 July).

23 Tuesday

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) reach Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil (see 29 July).

25 Thursday

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) depart Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Bahia, Brazil (see 31 July).

Light cruiser Trenton (CL 11) arrives at Annapolis, Maryland, and disembarks members of the royal family of the Duchy of Luxembourg.

26 Friday

President Roosevelt invokes Export Control Act and prohibits exportation, without license, of aviation gasoline and certain classes of iron and steel scrap; this legislation halts flow of those important commodities to Japan.

Light cruiser Phoenix (CL 46) departs Callao, Peru, concluding her goodwill cruise to Chilean and Peruvian waters. She reaches Balboa, C.Z., on 30 July, and returns to the fleet at San Pedro, California, on 7 August.

27 Saturday

Presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25), with President Roosevelt, Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox, and House Naval Affairs Committee Chairman Carl Vinson embarked, departs Washington Navy Yard for Norfolk Navy Yard, accompanied by auxiliary Cuyahoga (AG 26) (see 29 July).

President Roosevelt, his naval aide (Captain Daniel J. Callaghan) at his side, disembarks from presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25) to inspect work in progress, Norfolk Navy Yard, 29 July 1940. (NHC, NH 96322)

29 Monday

Presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25), with President Roosevelt, Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox, and House Naval Affairs Committee Chairman Carl Vinson embarked, reaches Norfolk (Virginia) Navy Yard, accompanied by auxiliary Cuyahoga (AG 26). Roosevelt and his guests inspect the yard and Naval Operating Base before reembarking in Potomac and traveling to Fortress Monroe, which the President inspects, as well as the USAAC Langley Field and the Newport News Ship Building and Drydock Company (see 30 July).

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) depart Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil, for Buenos Aires, Argentina (see 30 July).

30 Tuesday

Act of Havana, providing for the emergency establishment of a regime of provisional administration under specified conditions “when islands or regions in the Americas now under the possession of non-American nations are in danger of becoming the subject of barter of territory or change of sovereignty” is signed by 21 nations at the Conference of Foreign Ministers of the American Republics.

Presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25), accompanied by auxiliary Cuyahoga (AG 26), returns to Washington Navy Yard with President Roosevelt embarked.

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) reach Buenos Aires, Argentina (see 3 August).

31 Wednesday

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) reach Bahia, Brazil (see 5 August).

British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, in a telegram sent from the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James (Joseph P. Kennedy) to Secretary of State Cordell Hull, again asks President Roosevelt for the loan of destroyers. In the previous 10 days, the Royal Navy has suffered the loss of four of its destroyers and damage to seven. “If we cannot get reinforcement,” Churchill states, “the whole fate of the war may be decided by this minor and easily remediable factor.”

AUGUST

1 Thursday

Navy establishes Alaskan Sector as a military command within the Thirteenth Naval District.

2 Friday

President Roosevelt and his cabinet have “long discussion” in cabinet meeting concerning “ways and means to sell directly or indirectly” 50 or 60 destroyers to the British. There is no dissent “that the survival of the British Isles under German attack might very possibly depend on their [the British] getting these destroyers.” All present agree that legislation to accomplish that goal is necessary.

3 Saturday

USSR annexes Lithuania as a Soviet Socialist Republic.

Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt relieves Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox Jr. as Commander Special Service Squadron on board gunboat Erie (PG 50).

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) depart Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Santos, Brazil (see 6 August).

5 Monday

Chief of Naval Operations establishes general ground rules to govern the exchange of scientific and technical information with the British mission under Sir Henry Tizard; arrival of the Tizard Mission begins the Anglo-American effort to jointly develop a wide range of weapons, sensors, and the technical equipment during the war.

Lord Lothian, British Ambassador to the United States, provides President Roosevelt with a note concerning the facilities that the British are prepared to “extend to the United States Government.”

Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade and French Vice Admiral Georges A. M. J. Robert conclude agreement concerning status of Vichy French warships and aircraft in French West Indies. Ships in question are carrier Bearn, light cruiser Emile Bertin, training cruiser Jeanne d’Arc, and auxiliary cruisers Esterelle, Quercy, and Barfleur; aircraft are 44 SBC-4s, 15 Hawk 75s (export version of USAAC P-36), and six Belgian Brewster fighters (export version of USN F2A) (see 2 and 3 November).

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) depart Bahia for Pernambuco, Brazil (see 9 August).

6 Tuesday

U.S. Army transport American Legion reaches Petsamo, Finland, to embark American nationals returning to the United States from European countries (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands) in which they had been residing (see 16 August).

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) reach Santos, Brazil (see 9 August).

9 Friday

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) reach Pernambuco, Brazil (see 13 August).

Gunboat Erie (PG 50) (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, Commander Special Service Squadron, embarked) departs Panama Canal Zone for a goodwill visit to Ecuador (see 12 August).

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) depart Santos, Brazil, for Rio de Janeiro (see 10 August).

10 Saturday

President Roosevelt inspects Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Navy Yard and then cruises in presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25), to Nahant, Massachusetts, escorted by destroyer Mayrant (DD 402), and then to Boston Navy Yard, which the Chief Executive inspects as well (see 11 and 12 August).

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) reach Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (see 14 August).

Japanese naval blockade of coast of China is extended to South China.

11 Sunday

Presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25) (with President Roosevelt embarked), escorted by destroyer Mayrant (DD 402), proceeds from Boston Navy Yard to Mattapoisett, Massachusetts (see 12 August).

12 Monday

Presidential yacht Potomac (AG 25) (with President Roosevelt embarked), escorted by destroyer Mayrant (DD 402), proceeds from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, to Newport, Rhode Island. There the Chief Executive, accompanied by Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox, Senator David I. Walsh, and Rear Admiral Edward C. Kalbfus, inspects the Torpedo Station and the Naval Training Station. Later the same day, the President reembarks in Potomac and cruises to the Submarine Base at New London, observing submarine operations en route. Roosevelt inspects the base and the nearby facilities of the Electric Boat Company before reembarking in Potomac for the final leg of the voyage to the Washington Navy Yard, which is reached later the same day.

Gunboat Erie (PG 50) (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, Commander Special Service Squadron, embarked) arrives at Guayaquil, Ecuador, for a goodwill visit.

13 Tuesday

President Roosevelt confers with Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, and Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles concerning the transfer of destroyers to Britain. Consequently, Roosevelt informs British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (in a telegram sent from Acting Secretary of State Welles to U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James Joseph P. Kennedy) that among other items previously sought “it may be possible to furnish to the British Government . . . at least 50 destroyers.” Roosevelt states, though, that such aid could only be given provided that “the American People and the Congress frankly recognized in return . . . the national defense and security of the United States would be enhanced.” The President thus insists that (1) should British waters be rendered untenable the British Fleet would be sent to other parts of the Empire (and neither turned over to the Germans nor sunk) and (2) that the British government would grant authorization to use Newfoundland, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad, and British Guiana as naval and air bases, and to acquire land there through 99-year leases to establish those bases (see 15 August).

Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet (Admiral Thomas C. Hart) shifts flag from heavy cruiser Augusta (CA 31) to submarine Porpoise (SS 172), Tsingtao, China, and travels to Shanghai, arriving the next day and transferring to yacht Isabel (PY 10). It is the first time a CINCAF (a submariner himself) has taken passage in a submarine in this fashion.

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) depart Pernambuco, Brazil, for Montevideo, Uruguay (see 23 August).

14 Wednesday

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) depart Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Bahia (see 15 August).

15 Thursday

British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill responds, encouraged and grateful, to President Roosevelt’s telegram of 13 August; “the worth of every destroyer that you can spare to us is measured in rubies.” The “moral value of this fresh aid from your Government and your people at this critical time will be very great and widely felt.”

Assistant Chief of Naval Operations Rear Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, Major General Delos C. Emmons (USAAC), and Brigadier General George V. Strong (USA) arrive in London for informal staff conversations with British officers.

Naval Air Station, Miami, Florida, is established, Commander Gerald F. Bogan in command.

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) reach Bahia, Brazil (see 17 August).

16 Friday

President Roosevelt, in a press conference, announces that the U.S. government is discussing with the British government the acquisition of naval and air bases to defend the Western Hemisphere and the Panama Canal. Secrecy, however, continues to shroud the ongoing discussions concerning the transfer of destroyers to the British.

U.S. Army transport American Legion departs Petsamo, Finland, for New York; on board is Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Martha of Norway and her three children, who have been invited to come to the United States by President Roosevelt. The last neutral ship permitted to leave Petsamo, American Legion also carries a crated twin-mount 40-millimeter Bofors gun “with standard sights . . . spare parts, and 3,000 rounds of ammunition.” Shipment of the gun, an almost Herculean effort that involved trucking the weapon the entire length of Sweden, has required the cooperation of the British, Swedish, and Finnish governments (see 28 August).

17 Saturday

German government establishes “total blockade” of the British Isles and warns that all ships will be sunk without warning.

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) depart Bahia, Brazil, for Pará, Brazil (see 21 August).

18 Sunday

President Roosevelt and Prime Minister W. L. MacKenzie King of Canada sign Ogdensburg Agreement, providing for Permanent Joint Board for the Defense of the United States and Canada (see 26 August).

21 Wednesday

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) reach Pará, Brazil (see 23 August).

22 Thursday

James V. Forrestal, former Administrative Assistant to the President and Wall Street broker, becomes first Undersecretary of the Navy. His office will become “the most important coordinating agency for procurement and materiel in the Navy Department.”

23 Friday

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens Commander, Cruiser Division 7, embarked) and Quincy (CA 39) arrive at Montevideo, Uruguay (see 28 August).

Destroyers Walke (DD 416) and Wainwright (DD 419) wind up their shakedown/goodwill cruise in Latin American waters, departing Pará, Brazil, for Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

26 Monday

Permanent Joint Board on Defense (United States and Canada), set up by President Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister W. L. MacKenzie King on 18 August, convenes in Ottawa, Canada. U.S. representatives are Fiorello H. LaGuardia (President, U.S. Conference of Mayors), Lieutenant General Stanley D. Embick, USA (Commanding Fourth Corps Area), Captain Harry W. Hill and Commander Forrest Sherman (War Plans Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), Lieutenant Colonel Joseph T. McNarney, USAAC, and John D. Hickerson (Assistant Chief, Division of European Affairs, Department of State).

27 Tuesday

President Roosevelt signs joint resolution authorizing him to call Army Reserve components and National Guard into federal service for one year.

Legislation is enacted authorizing the appointment of naval aviators of the Navy and Marine Corps Reserves to the line of the regular Navy and Marine Corps, in order to augment the Naval Academy as a source of regular aviators.

President Roosevelt confers with Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and Secretary of State Cordell Hull concerning a compromise to resolve the impasse that has arisen over the proposed destroyers-for-bases agreement. Subsequently, Roosevelt meets with Admiral Harold R. Stark (Chief of Naval Operations), Secretary of the Navy Knox, Secretary of State Hull, and British Ambassador Lord Lothian; these men review the proposal arrived at earlier that day. Admiral Stark certifies that the destroyers involved are no longer essential to the defense of the United States, thus clearing the way for their transfer.

Attorney General Robert H. Jackson delivers to President Roosevelt a ruling in which the legal framework for the transfer of destroyers to the British can be accomplished.

28 Wednesday

Destroyers Biddle (DD 151) and Blakeley (DD 150) escort U.S. Army transport American Legion on the final leg of her voyage from Petsamo, Finland, to New York City. The 40-millimeter Bofors gun she carries among her cargo is subsequently shipped to the Naval Proving Ground at Dahlgren, Virginia.

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) depart Montevideo, Uruguay, for Buenos Aires, Argentina (see 29 August).

29 Thursday

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) reach Buenos Aires, Argentina (see 3 September).

Rear Admiral John Downes relieves Rear Admiral William C. Watts as Commandant Ninth Naval District and Commanding Officer Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois.

30 Friday

Rear Admiral Charles S. Freeman relieves Rear Admiral Edward B. Fenner as Commandant Thirteenth Naval District and Commandant Puget Sound (Washington) Navy Yard.

Vichy France consents to Japanese military occupation of ports, airfields, and railroads in northern Indochina.

31 Saturday

President Roosevelt calls 60,000 National Guardsmen into federal service.

SEPTEMBER

2 Monday

Secretary of State Cordell Hull and British Ambassador Lord Lothian exchange notes, concluding the agreement to trade destroyers for bases; the United States will provide, by executive agreement, 50 over-age (World War I Emergency Program) destroyers in return for 99-year leases on bases in the Bahamas, Antigua, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Jamaica, and British Guiana. The British will provide bases at Newfoundland and Bermuda as outright gifts.

3 Tuesday

President Roosevelt announces the “destroyers-for-bases” agreement; Commander Destroyers Atlantic Squadron (Captain Ferdinand L. Reichmuth) is placed in charge of the transfer operation.

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) depart Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (see 6 September).

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49) sails from Norfolk, Virginia; embarked is an evaluation board, headed by Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade, which will evaluate base sites recently acquired from the British (see 5 September).

5 Thursday

Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox and Commander Aircraft Scouting Force, Rear Admiral Arthur B. Cook, depart San Francisco, California, in XPB2Y-2 for Pearl Harbor, T.H. (see 6 September).

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49) arrives at Hamilton, Bermuda, with Greenslade Board embarked (see 8 September).

6 Friday

Destroyers Aaron Ward (DD 132), Buchanan (DD 131), Crowninshield (DD 134), Hale (DD 133), Abel P. Upshur (DD 193), Welborn C. Wood (DD 195), Herndon (DD 198), and Welles (DD 257) arrive at Halifax, Nova Scotia, along with destroyer Russell (DD 414), with Commander Destroyers Atlantic Squadron (Captain Ferdinand L. Reichmuth) embarked, and destroyer tender Denebola (AD 12). “By the long arm of coincidence” (as British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill puts it) the Royal Navy crews assigned to man the ships arrive simultaneously (see 9 September).²²

Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox and Commander Aircraft Scouting Force, Rear Admiral Arthur B. Cook, arrive at Pearl Harbor, T.H., in XPB2Y-2. Secretary Knox is visiting the fleet as it carries out operations in Hawaiian waters (see 9 September).

Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) reach Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the last port of call on their cruise to South America (see 10 September).

8 Sunday

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49) departs Hamilton, Bermuda, for Norfolk, Virginia, with Greenslade Board embarked (see 10 September).

9 Monday

Germany warns that all ships in war zones prescribed by Axis are subject to attack regardless of nationality.

First eight destroyers are transferred to Britain under destroyers-for-bases agreement at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Aaron Ward (DD 132) becomes HMS Castleton, Buchanan (DD 131) becomes HMS Campbeltown, Crowninshield (DD 134) becomes HMS Chelsea, Hale (DD 133) becomes HMS Caldwell, Abel P. Upshur (DD 193) becomes HMS Clare, Welborn C. Wood (DD 195) becomes HMS Chesterfield, Herndon (DD 198) becomes HMS Churchill, and Welles (DD 257) becomes HMS Cameron.

Navy awards contracts for 210 new-construction ships, including 12 aircraft carriers and seven battleships.

Aircraft carrier Yorktown (CV 5) and submarine Shark (SS 174) are damaged in collision, Hawaiian Operating Area.

Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox breaks his flag in carrier Enterprise (CV 6) to observe operations; Enterprise is being used as fleet flagship for a trial period by Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet (Admiral James O. Richardson). Knox will fly in to Pearl Harbor in the Enterprise Air Group Commander’s SBC to emphasize the rapid pace of modern naval operations.

10 Tuesday

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49) arrives at Norfolk, Virginia, with Greenslade Board embarked (see 12 September).

Heavy cruiser Wichita (CA 45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA 39) wind up their South American cruise. They depart Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on this date and reach Norfolk, Virginia, on 24 September.

Destroyers Leary (DD 158) and Shubrick (DD 268), New York Navy Yard, painted in navy gray with black-shadowed white hull numbers, 3 September 1940. Shubrick, deployed during the summer of 1940 in training naval reservists, will be one of the last group of destroyers turned over to the Royal Navy at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 26 November 1940. As HMS Ripley, she escorts convoys in the Atlantic for the remainder of her active service under the White Ensign; she will be scrapped in 1945. Leary will remain in USN service (see 24 December 1943). (NHC, NH 82138)

12 Thursday

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49) departs Norfolk, Virginia, with Greenslade Board embarked, bound for her ultimate destination on this leg of the voyage, St. John’s, Newfoundland (see 16 September).

16 Monday

President Roosevelt signs Selective Training and Service Act, thus establishing the first peacetime draft in the history of the United States.

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, arrives at St. John’s, Newfoundland (see 18 September).

17 Tuesday

Special Service Squadron (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt), consisting of gunboats Erie (PG 50) and Charleston (PG 51) and destroyers J. Fred Talbott (DD 156) and Tattnall (DD 125), is disbanded (see 21 September).

18 Wednesday

Second group of ships involved in the transfer to Britain—Kalk (DD 170), Maddox (DD 168), Cowell (DD 167), Foote (DD 169), Hopewell (DD 181), Abbot (DD 184), Thomas (DD 182), and Doran (DD 185)—arrives at Halifax, Nova Scotia (see 23 September).

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, shifts from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Argentia (see 21 September).

19 Thursday

Battleship Oklahoma (BB 37) collides with U.S. tug Goliah, Puget Sound, Washington.

20 Friday

Third group of ships involved in the destroyers-for-bases agreement—Mackenzie (DD 175), Haraden (DD 183), Williams (DD 108), Thatcher (DD 162), McCook (DD 252), and Bancroft (DD 256)—arrives at Halifax, Nova Scotia (see 24 September).

21 Saturday

Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt hauls down his flag as Commander Special Service Squadron; gunboat Erie (PG 50) is assigned to the Fifteenth Naval District and sister ship Charleston (PG 51) to the Thirteenth.

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, departs Argentia, Newfoundland, for Boston, Massachusetts (see 23 September).

22 Sunday

Vichy France signs pact at Hanoi ceding airfields and agreeing to admit Japanese troops into northern Indochina.

23 Monday

Second group of ships involved in the transfer to Britain is turned over to Royal Navy crews at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Kalk (DD 170) becomes HMS Hamilton, Maddox (DD 168) becomes HMS Georgetown, Cowell (DD 167) becomes HMS Brighton, Foote (DD 169) becomes HMS Roxborough, Hopewell (DD 181) becomes HMS Bath, Abbot (DD 184) becomes HMS Charlestown, Thomas (DD 182) becomes HMS St. Albans, and Doran (DD 185) becomes HMS St. Marys.

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, arrives at Boston, Massachusetts, but sails for Norfolk, Virginia, the same day (see 25 September).

24 Tuesday

Defense Communication Board is established; membership includes Director of Naval Communications (Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes).

Third group of ships involved in the destroyers-for-bases agreement is turned over to the Royal Canadian Navy at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Mackenzie (DD 175) becomes HMCS Annapolis, Haraden (DD 183) becomes HMCS Columbia, Williams (DD 108) becomes HMCS St. Clair, Thatcher (DD 162) becomes HMCS Niagara, McCook (DD 252) becomes HMCS St. Croix, and Bancroft (DD 256) becomes HMCS St. Francis.

Operation MENACE, the British–Free French attempt to take Dakar, French West Africa, commences (see 25 September).

25 Wednesday

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) departs Colón, C.Z., for Recife, Brazil, on the first leg of her goodwill cruise to Latin American ports.

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, arrives at Norfolk, Virginia (see 29 September).

Operation MENACE, the British–Free French attempt to take Dakar, French West Africa, is abandoned as Vichy French resistance proves surprisingly vigorous.

French port of Nouméa, New Caledonia, sides with Free France.

Rear Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, USN (Retired) (former Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet, 1936–1939), Admiral Harold R. Stark (Chief of Naval Operations), Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox, and Admiral James O. Richardson, Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet, meet in the Secretary of the Navy’s office, Washington, D.C., 7 October 1940. (Author’s Collection)

27 Friday

Germany, Italy, and Japan sign Tripartite Pact at Berlin, thus establishing the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis.

29 Sunday

Midway Detachment, Third Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force (Major Harold C. Roberts, USMC) arrives on Midway Island to begin construction of defenses. The marines are transported by cargo ship Sirius (AK 15) and light minelayers Pruitt (DM 22), Sicard (DM 21), and Tracy (DM 19).

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, departs Norfolk, Virginia, for Guantánamo Bay, Cuba (see 2 October).

OCTOBER

1 Tuesday

Coast Guard cutter Campbell reports to Chief of Naval Operations for duty. She will then proceed to Lisbon, Portugal (see 18 and 22 October).

2 Wednesday

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, arrives at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba (see 19 October).

5 Saturday

Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox places all Organized Reserve divisions and aviation squadrons of the Organized Reserve on short notice for call to active duty and grants authority to call fleet reservists as necessary. Before this date, Naval Reserve personnel had been ordered to active duty on a voluntary basis only.

Fourth group of ships involved in the destroyers-for-bases agreement—Branch (DD 197), Hunt (DD 194), Mason (DD 191), Satterlee (DD 190), Laub (DD 263), Aulick (DD 258), Edwards (DD 265), and McLanahan (DD 264)—arrives at Halifax, Nova Scotia (see 6 October).

6 Sunday

Fourth group of ships involved in the destroyers-for-bases agreement is turned over to Royal Navy crews at Halifax. Branch (DD 197) becomes HMS Beverley, Hunt (DD 194) becomes HMS Broadway, Mason (DD 191) becomes HMS Broadwater, Satterlee (DD 190) becomes HMS Belmont, Laub (DD 263) becomes HMS Burwell, Aulick (DD 258) becomes HMS Burnham, Edwards (DD 265) becomes HMS Buxton, and McLanahan (DD 264) becomes HMS Bradford.

7 Monday

Admiral James O. Richardson arrives in Washington, D.C., for conferences with the President and Navy and State Department officials concerning the retention of the U.S. Fleet in Hawaiian waters as a deterrent to Japan. He will depart to return to the fleet on 11 October.

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) arrives at Recife, Brazil, as she begins her goodwill cruise to Latin American ports (see 14 October).

8 Tuesday

Legislation approved authorizes the appointment to commissioned rank in the Line of the Regular Navy of those Naval Reserve officers who receive their commissions upon graduation from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps.

United States advises American citizens to leave the Far East (see 14 October).

Japan protests U.S. embargo on aviation gasoline and scrap metal.

10 Thursday

Auxiliary Bear (AG 29) sails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Annapolis, Maryland, and the Panama Canal on the first leg of her voyage toward the Antarctic (see 10 January 1941).

12 Saturday

Commander Atlantic Squadron (Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis), in destroyer Rhind (DD 404), visits Port-au-Prince, Haiti.²³

Carrier Wasp (CV 7), off the Virginia capes, launches 24 USAAC P-40s and nine O-47s to gather data on comparative takeoff runs of naval and army aircraft. For the first time army planes are flown off a navy carrier.

13 Sunday

Surveying ship Bowditch (AG 30) arrives at Placentia Harbor, Newfoundland, to make hydrographic surveys, having transported army engineers who will make a shore requirements survey.

14 Monday

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) departs Recife, Brazil, for Rio de Janeiro, as she continues “showing the flag” in Latin American waters (see 18 October).

Department of State announces that the U.S. passenger liners Monterey, Mariposa, and Washington are being sent to the Far East to repatriate American citizens from that region in view of prevailing “abnormal conditions” there. This move is made because of the shortage of accommodations on the ships already engaged in the Far East trade. Monterey is to go to Yokohama, Japan, and Shanghai, China; Mariposa will proceed to Shanghai and Chinwangtao, China, and Kobe, Japan.

USAAC Curtiss P-40s (8th Pursuit Group) and North American O-47s (3rd Observation Squadron) warm up on board carrier Wasp (CV 7), off the Virginia capes, in preparation for takeoff, 12 October 1940; plane guard destroyer astern (left) is either Plunkett (DD 431) or Niblack (DD 424). (NA, 80-G-66095)

15 Tuesday

Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida is established, Captain Charles P. Mason in command.

16 Wednesday

Sixteen million men register for the draft under the Selective Training and Service Act.

Fifth group of ships involved in the destroyers-for-bases agreement—Twiggs (DD 127), Philip (DD 76), Evans (DD 78), Wickes (DD 75), McCalla (DD 253), Rodgers (DD 170), Conner (DD 72), Conway (DD 70), Stockton (DD 73), and Yarnall (DD 143)—arrives at Halifax, Nova Scotia (see 23 October).

18 Friday

Coast Guard cutter Campbell arrives at Lisbon, Portugal (see 22 October).

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) arrives at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as she continues “showing the flag” in Latin American waters (see 24 October).

19 Saturday

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, departs Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for San Juan, Puerto Rico (see 20 October).

20 Sunday

Oiler Ramapo (AO 12) delivers district patrol craft YP 16 and YP 17 at Apra Harbor to augment the local defenses at Guam.

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, arrives at San Juan, Puerto Rico (see 21 October).

21 Monday

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, departs San Juan, Puerto Rico, for return visit to Hamilton, Bermuda (see 24 October).

22 Tuesday

Squadron 40-T (Rear Admiral David M. LeBreton) is disbanded. Coast Guard cutter Campbell assumes “to a certain extent the duties previously performed by Squadron 40-T.”

23 Wednesday

Japan gives one-year notice of abrogation of North Pacific Sealing Convention of 1911.

Fifth group of ships involved in the destroyers-for-bases agreement is turned over to Royal Navy crews at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Twiggs (DD 127) becomes HMS Leamington, Philip (DD 76) becomes HMS Lancaster, Evans (DD 78) becomes HMS Mansfield, Wickes (DD 75) becomes HMS Montgomery, McCalla (DD 253) becomes HMS Stanley, Rodgers (DD 170) becomes HMS Sherwood, Conner (DD 72) becomes HMS Leeds, Conway (DD 70) becomes HMS Lewes, Stockton (DD 73) becomes HMS Ludlow, and Yarnall (DD 143) becomes HMS Lincoln.

24 Thursday

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) departs Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Montevideo, Uruguay, as she continues to “show the flag” in Latin American waters (see 28 October).

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, arrives at Hamilton, Bermuda (see 25 October).

German freighter Helgoland sails from Puerto Colombia, Colombia; despite the efforts of destroyers Bainbridge (DD 246), Overton (DD 239), and Sturtevant (DD 240) to pursue her over the ensuing days, Helgoland will make good her attempt to escape the confines of the Caribbean (see 3 and 30 November).

25 Friday

Japanese naval land attack planes (13th Kokutai) raiding Chungking, China, follow a course that takes them directly over the U.S. Embassy and river gunboat Tutuila (PR 4). Due to what is later explained as a malfunctioning release mechanism, Japanese bombs fall north, east, and west of the embassy and the gunboat, the nearest falling 300 yards away. In response to American protests, Japanese naval authorities will advise the air commander in the region “to take necessary steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents” (see 15 June and 30 July 1941).

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49), with Greenslade Board embarked, departs Hamilton, Bermuda, for Norfolk, Virginia (see 27 October).

27 Sunday

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL 49) arrives at Norfolk, Virginia, thus winding up her mission transporting the Greenslade Board to evaluate base sites acquired from the British in exchange for the provision of destroyers.

28 Monday

Italy invades Greece.

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) arrives at Montevideo, Uruguay, as she continues to “show the flag” in Latin American waters (see 3 November).

30 Wednesday

Because of delay in the arrival of crews assigned to the last of the destroyers to be transferred to the Royal Navy, Commander Destroyers Atlantic Squadron (Captain Ferdinand L. Reichmuth) departs Halifax, Nova Scotia, in destroyer tender Denebola (AD 12). Destroyer Russell (DD 414) accompanies the auxiliary.

31 Thursday

British forces occupy Crete in response to Italian invasion of Greece.

German auxiliary minelayer Passat begins laying mines in Bass Strait, the body of water between Australia and Tasmania (see 1, 7, and 8 November).

German freighter Rio Grande sails from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; she eludes the Neutrality Patrol and ultimately reaches Bordeaux, France, six weeks later.

NOVEMBER

1 Friday

Atlantic Squadron (Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis) is renamed Patrol Force U.S. Fleet.

Submarine Force Scouting Force, ceases to exist; in its stead are two type commands: Submarines Scouting Force Pacific Fleet and Submarines Atlantic Fleet. Rear Admiral Wilhelm L. Friedell becomes Commander Submarines Scouting Force.

Naval Air Station, Alameda, California, is established, Captain Frank R. McCrary in command.

German auxiliary minelayer Passat completes laying barrage off Australian coast in Bass Strait (see 7 and 8 November).

2 Saturday

Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade arrives in Fort-de-France, Martinique, to confer with Vice Admiral Georges A. M. J. Robert on the economic distress afflicting Martinique and Guadeloupe, French West Indies, and on the status of French warships and aircraft there (see 3 November).

3 Sunday

Typhoon devastates Guam, M.I., rendering the U.S. Navy Yard at Piti a shambles, damaging the Marine Barracks, blowing away dwellings and poultry, destroying crops, and completely disrupting the lives of the native farmers; it also reduces the Pan American Airways hotel to “kindling wood.” In addition, one of the recently arrived district patrol craft (YP 16 or YP 17) is sunk; dredge YM 13, being used to dredge a channel near Sumay, Guam, is blown ashore. Greek freighter Axios, in the harbor for repairs, parts her moorings at the height of the typhoon, and despite the fact that she possesses neither harbor chart nor pilot miraculously escapes foundering on nearby reefs. Governor of Guam (Captain George J. McMillin) later praises the people of the island for their “cheerful willingness and unremitting effort . . . to repair or replace their homes” that reflected “character of which any group . . . might be proud.”

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) departs Montevideo, Uruguay, for Buenos Aires, Argentina, as she continues to “show the flag” in Latin American waters (see 4 November).

Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade departs Fort-de-France, Martinique, after concluding talks with Vice Admiral Georges A. M. J. Robert. Among Admiral Greenslade’s recommendations are that every effort be made to alleviate the distress of the inhabitants by easing restrictions on frozen assets to allow for purchase of food, medical supplies, and gasoline for automobiles and trucks; that the naval observer and U.S. vice consul maintain careful and complete liaison with Vice Admiral Robert; that a patrol plane make daily visits to Fort-de-France to improve communications and survey the situation from the air; and that the patrols off Martinique and Guadeloupe, French West Indies, be continued.

German freighter Helgoland, which had departed Colombian waters on 24 October, skirts the Antilles near St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, in her bid for freedom (see 30 November).

4 Monday

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) arrives at Buenos Aires, Argentina (see 12 November).

5 Tuesday

President Roosevelt, in his bid for a third term, defeats Republican challenger Wendell Willkie for the presidency.

7 Thursday

British freighter Cambridge is sunk by mine (laid by German auxiliary minelayer Passat on 31 October–1 November) off Wilson’s Promontory, Australia (see 8 November).

8 Friday

Admiral Nomura Kichasaburo is appointed Japanese Ambassador to the United States.

U.S. freighter City of Rayville is sunk by a mine (laid by German auxiliary minelayer Passat on 31 October–1 November) east of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, Australia; City of Rayville is first U.S. merchant ship sunk in World War II. Third Engineer Mack B. Bryan, who drowns during the abandonment, is the first merchant marine casualty of World War II. The other 37 crewmen (one of whom is injured) reach safety at Apollo Bay.

11 Monday

Twenty-one FAA Swordfish TSR (torpedo spotting reconnaissance) planes, flown by 16 crews from carrier HMS Illustrious (No. 815 and No. 819 Squadrons) and five crews from HMS Eagle (No. 813 and No. 824 Squadrons), launched from Illustrious, begin night attack against Italian fleet at Taranto, Italy (Operation JUDGMENT) (see 12 November).

12 Tuesday

British attack (Operation JUDGMENT) against Italian fleet at Taranto concludes. At the cost of two Swordfish lost (one crew is captured), battleships Littorio and Caio Duilio are damaged and Conte de Cavour sunk; heavy cruiser Trento and destroyer Libeccio are hit by dud bombs. Battleships Vittorio Veneto, Andrea Doria, and Julio Cesare sail for Naples; heavy units of the Italian Fleet will not base at Taranto until May 1941. Word of the Taranto raid is received in the Navy Department with “great satisfaction.” Secretary of the Navy William Franklin (Frank) Knox asks the Special Naval Observer in London, Rear Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, to “learn more details of how the attack was carried out, especially as to what extent aerial torpedoes were used.” Secretary Knox tells Ghormley the successful operation “did not a little to promote a most optimistic attitude hereabouts.”²⁴

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) departs Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Santos, Brazil, as she continues her goodwill cruise in Latin American waters (see 15 November).

Six Douglas B-18As (27th Reconnaissance Squadron) fly over San Juan, Puerto Rico, 5 November 1940. Ships in harbor beyond include destroyers Moffett (DD 362), Rowan (DD 405), and Trippe (DD 403), and small seaplane tender Gannet (AVP 8). (NASM 20330 A.C.)

13 Wednesday

Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles, on the strength of a report that French battleships Richelieu (then at Dakar) and Jean Bart (then at Casablanca) were to be moved, perhaps to Toulon, France (within the German sphere of influence), requests the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in Spain, H. Freeman Matthews, to let the appropriate French authorities know that the U.S. government would be prepared to contemplate purchase of both capital ships if the French government were willing to dispose of them with the agreement that they would not be used in the present war (see 16, 18, and 21 November).

15 Friday

Destroyer Plunkett (DD 431), on Neutrality Patrol off Tampico, Mexico, observes German freighter Orinoco and tanker Phrygia making preparations for sea (see 16 November).

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) arrives at Santos, Brazil, as she continues her goodwill cruise in Latin American waters (see 25 November).

16 Saturday

Destroyer McCormick (DD 223), on Neutrality Patrol off Tampico, Mexico, foils attempt by German freighter Orinoco to make a break for Europe. Destroyer Plunkett (DD 431), by her very presence, thwarts German tanker Phrygia’s bid for freedom; Phrygia’s crew scuttles her.

In accordance with Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles’s request of 13 November, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim H. Freeman Matthews meets with Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain concerning the possible move of French battleships Richelieu and Jean Bart. Pétain assures the U.S. envoy that the two capital ships would be used to defend French territory and would never be used against the British. “Under present circumstances,” Pétain informs Matthews, “I have neither the right nor the possibility of selling them” (see 18 and 21 November).

17 Sunday

PBYs (VP 54) inaugurate flight operations from Bermuda; seaplane tender (destroyer) George E. Badger (AVD 3) provides support.

18 Monday

Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles directs Chargé d’Affaires ad interim H. Freeman Matthews to communicate President Roosevelt’s concern over the French battleships Richelieu and Jean Bart being moved to a port such as Toulon to Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain, and reiterate the U.S. offer to acquire those two ships “as well as any other vessels of the French Navy” (see 21 November).

20 Wednesday

Hungary joins the Axis.

21 Thursday

Sixth and last group of ships involved in the destroyers-for-bases agreement—Bailey (DD 269), Meade (DD 274), Shubrick (DD 268), Swasey (DD 273), Claxton (DD 140), Fairfax (DD 93), Robinson (DD 88), Ringgold (DD 89), Sigourney (DD 81), and Tillman (DD 135)—arrives at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Turnover of the last 10 ships is under the charge of Commander Destroyer Squadron 33 (Captain Schuyler F. Heim) (see 26 November).

Chargé d’Affaires ad interim H. Freeman Matthews meets with Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain concerning the French battleships Richelieu and Jean Bart; the French admiral responds immediately: “Then why not leave those vessels at Dakar and Casablanca where they now are? I shall keep them there and if there should be any change in this plan I will give you previous notice.” This information, received in Washington, D.C., on the morning of 22 November, is communicated through channels by the President to the “Former Naval Person” (Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill) on 23 November.

23 Saturday

Romania joins the Axis.

Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet (Admiral Thomas C. Hart) shifts his flag from heavy cruiser Augusta (CA 31) to sister ship Houston (CA 30) at Manila, P.I. Augusta departs this day to proceed to the United States via waters north of the Hawaiian chain to investigate reports of Japanese tankers operating in the region.

25 Monday

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) departs Santos, Brazil, for Rio Grande du Sol, continuing her goodwill cruise in Latin American waters (see 29 November).

26 Tuesday

Sixth and last group of ships involved in the destroyers-for-bases agreement is turned over to Royal Navy crews at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bailey (DD 269) becomes HMS Reading, Meade (DD 274) becomes HMS Ramsey, Shubrick (DD 268) becomes HMS Ripley, Swasey (DD 273) becomes HMS Rockingham, Claxton (DD 140) becomes HMS Salisbury, Fairfax (DD 93) becomes HMS Richmond, Robinson (DD 88) becomes HMS Newmarket, Ringgold (DD 89) becomes HMS Newark, Sigourney (DD 81) becomes HMS Newport, and Tillman (DD 135) becomes HMS Wells.

27 Wednesday

Battle of Cape Spartivento: Two U.S. Naval Observers, Lieutenant Commander A. Dayton Clark in British battle cruiser HMS Renown and Lieutenant Commander Frederick P. Hartman in light cruiser HMS Southampton, witness the action that takes place between British and Italian forces off the coast of Sardinia.

29 Friday

Destroyers Simpson (DD 221) and Broome (DD 210), on Neutrality Patrol off Tampico, Mexico, trail German freighters Idarwald (see 8 December) and Rhein (see 11 December) as the latter ships make a bid for freedom.

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) arrives in Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil, as she continues her goodwill cruise in Latin American waters (see 3 December).

30 Saturday

United States lends $50 million to China for currency stabilization and grants an additional $50 million credit for purchase of supplies.

German freighter Helgoland, which has eluded the Neutrality Patrol, reaches St. Nazaire, France.

DECEMBER

1 Sunday

Headquarters for Alaskan units of Coast Guard is established at Ketchikan.

3 Tuesday

President Roosevelt embarks in heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA 37) at Miami, Florida, to inspect base sites acquired from the British under the destroyers-for-bases agreement. During the cruise, he will broach the lend-lease concept that he will implement upon his return to Washington, D.C. (see 11 March 1941).

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) departs Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil, to pay a return call at Rio de Janeiro, as her goodwill cruise continues in Latin American waters (see 6 December).

4 Wednesday

Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired), tenders his resignation as Governor of Puerto Rico effective the following day (see 5 December).

5 Thursday

Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired), takes oath of office as Ambassador to Vichy France (see 23 December).

Seaplane tender (destroyer) George E. Badger (AVD 3) runs aground in high winds off Hamilton, Bermuda, but is refloated without damage.

6 Friday

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) returns to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as she continues to “show the flag” in Latin American waters (see 6 December).

8 Sunday

Destroyer Sturtevant (DD 240) stands by while British light cruiser HMS Diomede intercepts German freighter Idarwald. Idarwald’s crew, however, scuttles their ship near the Yucatan Channel to prevent her capture by the British.

10 Tuesday

Naval Air Station, Tongue Point, Oregon, is established; although incomplete when placed in operation, it is being prepared for operation of patrol planes.

11 Wednesday

German freighter Rhein, having been trailed by destroyer Simpson (DD 221) and, later, MacLeish (DD 220), is intercepted by Dutch destroyer leader Van Kinsbergen near the Florida Straits, and is scuttled by her own crew to avoid capture. MacLeish and McCormick (DD 223) are present as the German ship’s bid to escape fails.

12 Thursday

Rear Admiral John M. Smeallie, Commandant Sixteenth Naval District and Commandant Cavite Navy Yard, is hospitalized at Cañacao, P.I., after attempted suicide (see 27 December).²⁵

Lord Lothian, British Ambassador to the United States, dies in Washington, D.C. President Roosevelt, at sea in heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA 37), sends telegram to King George VI of England expressing his regrets at Lord Lothian’s passing. “I am very certain,” Roosevelt informs the King, “that if he had been allowed by Providence to leave us a last message he would have told us that the greatest of all efforts to retain democracy in the world must and will succeed.”

15 Sunday

Headquarters, Eighth Naval District, is closed at Charleston, South Carolina, and established at New Orleans, Louisiana; Captain Thaddeus A. Thomson Jr. is Acting Commandant.

16 Monday

Patrol Wing 10 is formed in Asiatic Fleet organization.

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) departs Rio de Janeiro for Bahia, Brazil, as she continues her goodwill cruise in Latin American waters (see 18 December).

17 Tuesday

Rear Admiral Ernest J. King relieves Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis as Commander Patrol Force U.S. Fleet on board battleship Texas (BB 35).

18 Wednesday

Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA 28) arrives at Bahia, Brazil, as she continues to “show the flag” in Latin American waters (see 5 January 1941).

19 Thursday

Palmyra Island in the Central Pacific is placed under control of Secretary of the Navy.

20 Friday

President Roosevelt names a four-man defense board, to be headed by industrialist William S. Knudsen, to prepare defense measures and expedite aid to Great Britain.

23 Monday

Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired), newly appointed Ambassador to Vichy France, accompanied by his wife Louise, embarks in heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA 37) at Norfolk, Virginia, for the transatlantic passage to take up his diplomatic post “at a very critical time in the relations between the United States and France.” Destroyers Madison (DD 425) and Upshur (DD 144) escort Tuscaloosa on the initial stage of her voyage (see 30 December).

Naval Air Station, Key West, Florida, is established.

27 Friday

Captain Eugene T. Oates assumes temporary duty as Commandant Sixteenth Naval District and Commandant Cavite Navy Yard (see 11 January 1941).

30 Monday

Heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA 37) arrives at Lisbon, Portugal, and disembarks Admiral and Mrs. Leahy, who will then proceed to Vichy via Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, and Montpellier, France (see 3 and 8 January 1941).