It started September 1st 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

The pictures of the Ju-88G6 aircraft you have on here are from very late in the war. Not 1939.

They are night fighters with radar sets mounted in the nose. Probably from the summer of 1944 or later.

Good Hunting.

MR

The Reich Foreign Minister to the German Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Schulenburg)
Telegram
BERLIN, October 18, 1939-12:40 a. m.
Received Moscow, October 18, 1939-10:05 a. m.
No. 594 of October 17

For the Ambassador in person.

At an occasion soon to arise, I intend to speak in public about the foreign political situation and shall then, with reference to Chamberlain's last speech, deal with the future aims of England and the British propaganda of lies. In this connection I would also like to refute a lie recently circulated in quite specific form by the enemy press, alleging that during my stay in Moscow I had asked the Soviet Union for military assistance, but had met with an outright refusal. I propose to say on this subject approximately the following:

"In its grave disappointment at the recent development in the international situation, which has been strongly influenced by the establishment of friendly relations between Germany and the Soviet Union, British propaganda has left nothing untried to discredit and disturb this development and German-Russian relations. In its well-known manner, it stopped at nothing and has made use of the grossest and most absurd lies. Thus, for instance, it has circulated the statement that in the Moscow negotiations I had asked Herr Stalin for military assistance against Poland, France, and England. To this, Herr Stalin, however, is said to have given only the tart reply: 'Not a single soldier.' But what in reality was the course of these Moscow negotiations? Let me reveal it to you:

"I came to Moscow on August 23 for the purpose of negotiating and concluding in the name of the Führer, a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. I commenced the negotiations with Stalin and Molotov with the statement that I had not come to Moscow, as the British and French delegates had come at the time, to ask the Soviet Union for armed assistance in case a war should be forced upon the German Government by England. The German Government was not in need of assistance for this contingency, but would, in this event, have sufficient military strength to take up the struggle alone against Poland and its Western foes and to carry it to a victorious conclusion. To this, Stalin, with his characteristic clarity and precision, replied spontaneously: 'Germany was taking a proud attitude by rejecting at the outset any armed assistance from the Soviets. The Soviet Union, however, was interested in having a strong Germany as a neighbor and in the case of an armed showdown between Germany and the Western democracies the interests of the Soviet Union and of Germany would certainly run parallel to each other. The Soviet Union would never stand for Germany's getting into a difficult position.' I thereupon thanked Stalin for his clear and precise statement and told him that I would report to the Führer on this broad-minded attitude of the Soviet Government. Thus the German-Russian negotiations were opened and this exchange of views created from the outset a broadminded and friendly climate, in which within 24 hours the Non-aggression Pact and, in the course of further developments, at the end of September, the Boundary and Friendship Treaty were concluded. Upon the political foundation, it was likewise decided immediately to inaugurate a comprehensive economic program, the implementation of which is now being discussed at Moscow. Germany has need of the raw materials of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union has need of manufactured articles. There is no reason why the flourishing trade of the past between the two nations should not soon revive. On the contrary, I am firmly convinced that the former traditional friendship between Germany and Russia has now been restored, and that it will grow stronger and stronger and that the exchange of goods, which is complementary by nature, will result in an undreamed-of prosperity for both nations in the future. Upon the same political foundation, the German-Soviet declaration of September 28, 1939, has also been agreed upon, to the effect that both Governments would work toward the restoration of peace upon conclusion of the Polish campaign. In case these efforts should fail-as they have-the responsibility of England and France for the continuation of the war would be established and at the same time provision would be made for a consultation between the Government of the Reich and the Soviet Government, in this contingency, on the necessary measures to be taken. These consultations are now under way and are proceeding in the same friendly spirit as the Moscow negotiations, and on the firm basis of kindred interests. In this connection, we expect an early visit of Herr Molotov to Berlin. I believe that this brief account is sufficient to sink once and for all the whole raft of lies of the British Ministry of Lies and the other blundering propaganda centers of our enemies, about the present German-Russian negotiations and the future pattern of relations between the two greatest countries of Europe."

Please inform Herr Stalin as promptly as possible of the account of the Moscow negotiations as given above and wire me his approval.

RIBBENTROP

On 18 October 1939, 41 Squadron was ordered to Wick, Caithness. The pilots took off with their 12 Spitfires, followed by the servicing party in a Whitley aircraft of 102 Squadron, which crashed on take-off. Sergeant Pilot Albert Harris, Aircraftman 1st Class Horace Jones, Sergeant Arthur Vincent and four of the Whitley's crew were killed, whilst Sergeant D. Gibbs and Corporal Jenkinson were seriously injured. Gibbs did not return to the Squadron from sick leave until 9 December 1939. (Source: 41 Squadron ORB, PRO Air 27/424)

Late in the day the crew of this aircraft were tasked to fly to Catterick and from there ferry a load of ammunition to Wick. After loading the stores, five passengers boarded the aircraft. Sgt Gaut selected the longest available take-off run, but when about half way across the airfield the Whitley suddenly rose to about 10 feet, followed by a near vertical climb at full throttle. Eye witnesses state that the bomber stalled below 100 feet, and dived nose first into the ground exploding on impact. Miraculously two of the five passengers survived the impact. Among those killed was Sgt Harris, a Spitfire pilot, who on the day previous had shared in the destruction of an He 111 20 miles east of Whitby, Yorks. Those killed were Sgt H. J. Gaut (Pilot), Plt. Off. R. A. M. Luckman, AC1 C. Paterson, AC.1 J. B. Clark, Sgt A. Vincent (41 Sqdn), Sgt. A. H. Harris (41 Sqdn) and AC1 H. Jones (41 Sqdn). Sgt. Gibbs and Cpl. Jenkinson were injured. (Source: RAF Bomber Command Losses, W. R. Chorley)

The details of those killed are:

    *

      HARRIS, Albert, aged 27, Sergeant Pilot, 563150, 41 Squadron RAF, buried in South Hinskey (St. Lawrence) Churchyard, Berkshire, England, Section O, Grave 209. Son of Arthur and Eva Harris, and husband of Violet Ann Harris, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    *

      JONES, Horace, Aircraftman 1st Class (W. Op./Mech. U/T), 533682, 41 Squadron RAF, buried in Droylsden Cemetery, Lancashire, Section F, Grave 482
    *

      VINCENT, Arthur, aged 30, Sergeant, 560443, 41 Squadron RAF, buried in Sunderland Southwick Cemetery, Durham, Section D, Grave 1243. Son of Albert and Dorothy Jane Vincent, of Sunderland and husband of Olga Vincent, of Humbledon, Sunderland
    *

      CLARK, John Baker, aged 20, Aircraftman 1st Class, 567489, 102 Squadron RAF, buried in Thurrock (Corringham) Cemetery, Essex, England, Row D, Grave 1. Son of John Pullen Clark and Gladys Ann Clark, of Corringham
    *

      GAUT, Herbert John, Sergeant Pilot, 562936, 102 Squadron RAF, buried in Sidbury Church Cemetery, Devon, England
    *

      LUCKMAN, Reginald Arthur Morton, aged 27, Pilot Officer, 39744, 102 Squadron RAF, buried in Herne Bay Cemetery, Kent, England, Section BBR, Grave 54. Son of Cyril Herbert Morton and Mary Luckman, and husband of Phyllis Luckman
    *

      PATERSON, Charles, aged 22, Aircraftman 1st Class, W.Op. U/T, 620054, 102 Squadron RAF, buried in Aberdeen (Grove) Cemetery, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Grave 1761

© Sources: "Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War", Volume 1, by W. R. Chorley, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the 41 Squadron ORB, PRO Air 27/424

Super DREADNOUGHT-Class Battleship ordered under the 1911 Programme and built by HM Dockyard, Portsmouth. The ship was laid down on 15th January 1912 and and launched by the wife of the 4th Duke of  Wellington on 12th October 1912 as the 2nd RN ship to carry the name, previously used for an ironclad in 1870. Build was completed on 9th March 1914. She was deployed in the Grand Fleet during WWI and was Flagship of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. After the armistice she took part in Black Sea operations to support the White Russians. She remained on the Active List until 10th December 1931 when Paid-of and  de-militarised. B and Y turrets, the torpedo tubes and some of the armour plating were removed. The ship was then deployed at Portsmouth as Gunnery Firing Ship and after 1936 used as Boys Training ship. In August 1939 she attended  the Review of the Reserve Fleet and took up her war station on 26th August for use as a Depot  Ship at  Scapa Flow. She was one of the last British battleships to be coal fired..

Deportation of Jews from Austria to Nisko (Lublin), October 1939

Further to the Note on the conversation between SS Hauptsturmbannfuehrer Eichmann, Dr. Ebner of the Gestapo and the Special Representative of Reichskommissar Dr. Becker, it is stated that the Resettlement operation to Poland will begin at 22.00 hours on October 20, 1939, with the first transport of 1,000 Jews fit for work, from the Aspang Rail Station in Vienna.

The Jews were supplied by the Jewish Community with tools for the erection of a barracks village at Nisko, where transports of Jews fit for work have already been sent from Maehrisch-Ostrau. The Jews on the transport will also be given foodstuffs for 4 weeks.

Further transports will leave regularly on Tuesdays and Fridays of each week with 1,000 Jews. The second and third transports will consist of Jews and Jewesses at present under arrest in Vienna, whose departure date has been set by the Gestapo. From the fourth transport on, complete families will already be sent.

When the barracks village at Nisko has been completed, the Jews who arrived with the first transport will in continuous progression be distributed to the interior to the formerly Jewish villages in that area.

The composition of the transports is arranged by the Jewish Community of Vienna (as long as this remains possible) and a Jewish transport management is responsible for the transports. In addition, each transport is accompanied by 25 police (Schupo) officers under the command of a police captain, who must prevent all danger of escape by use of arms.

Dokumentationsarchiv des oesterreichischen Widerstandes (Document Archives of the Austrian Resistance), 2536

"The Bremen left New York harbor [on Aug. 30] at her full speed of 32 knots in the direction of the English Channel. The captain changed direction 200 miles from New York, removed all flags and declined to answer radio calls.

"While she was speeding on, we worked hard and painted the ship grey all over. We were told to paint or drown. On September 3, Captain [Adolf] Ahrens told us that war had started and that the situation was bad.

" 'I don't know why the American Spitzbuben [young rascals] detained us,' he said. 'I am pledged that the enemy shall not get us. I would rather go down and shoot myself.'

"All the crew 'Heil Hitlered' except me, and sang psalms. . . . Eventually we realized we were sailing north. The captain said we were near Iceland, and later disclosed that he was warned just in time that between Iceland and Britain one British ship was watching every ten miles.

"The crew of 940 were trained in lifeboat drill daily and hardly slept. Drums of gasoline stood on deck in order to burn the Bremen at any moment. Lifeboats were kept swung over the side, and intake valves on the hull were ready to be opened.

"We sailed between Iceland and Spitsbergen, and on the morning of September 6 viewed Murmansk and saw a Russian cruiser. The Bremen had luck: fuel for half a day was left when we arrived.

"The old man [Captain Ahrens] brought us through, and no matter what you might say about a Nazi captain, he, together with all these clever boys, outwitted the British Navy."

On 9 Oct, 1939, the City of Flint (Master Joseph A. Gainard) was taken as prize by the German pocket battleship Deutschland en route from New York to the United Kingdom in the North Atlantic, because she was suspected to carry contraband. On 21 October, she arrived in Tromsø, Norway, for water. The Norwegian government ordered the ship to leave and she sailed for Murmansk.
On 23 October, the ship arrived at Murmansk, where the German prize crew was interned by the Soviet authorities the next day. On 27 October, the City of Flint was returned to German control and she left the following day and set course to Germany. The master, an inactive US Navy reserve officer, was not allowed to communicate with the US Embassy in Moscow during this time. On 3 November, the City of Flint was stopped by the Norwegian minelayer Olav Tryggvason off the Norwegian coast and ordered to go to Haugesund, Norway. She was finally released at Bergen on 14 November.