Sunday 8 October 1939

A Lockheed Hudson.

Air Operations, England: On Sunday, 8 October 1939, the air war over the United Kingdom begins when a Lockheed Hudson shoots down a Dornier Do18 flying boat. Hudsons were hasty patch-ups of civilian Model 14 Super Electra airliners to meet immediate RAF needs, but they served admirably throughout the war, first in front-line units for RAF Coastal Command, and later for training and transport. Due to their derivation, Hudsons were luxurious and roomy by military standards and had an automatic pilot ("George" to RAF crew) to reduce the tedium.

German Diplomacy: Following the lightning victory over Poland, Hitler issues a decree annexing large areas of the country to the German Reich. A subsequent decree amplifying on the first follows on 12 October. Hitler includes the territories which Germany had lost under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, such as the Polish Corridor, West Prussia and Upper Silesia, and also territory to the east that Germany had never previously possessed, including the city of Łódź. This is a harbinger of Hitler's extensive ambitions in the East.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-37 sinks Swedish merchant "Vistula."

Convoy HX 4 departs Halifax for London.

Convoy OB 16 departs Liverpool.

Holocaust: The Germans establish a ghetto in Piotrków Trybunalski in the Lódz district, Poland.

Switzerland: Orders deportation of all refugees who entered after 6 September 1939.

China: The Chinese 9th War area captures Chiuhsientang. Japanese 11th Army withdraws north across the Hsinchiang River.

America, Home Front: The NY Yankees defeat the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field, 7-4, and close out the World Series title. Joe Dimaggio goes 2-5 and gets an RBI, while relief man Johnny Murphy takes the win in the 10th inning.

Future History: Australian actor Paul Hogan is born on 8 October 1939. He will achieve worldwide fame in the "Crocodile Dundee" series of films over forty years later.

Judy Garland on the cover of Danish Uge Magasinet, 8 October 1939.

October 1939

October 1, 1939: Occupation of Warsaw
October 2, 1939: Hel Peninsula Falls
October 3, 1939: The Diamantis Incident
October 4, 1939: Otto Kretschmer Gets Rolling
October 5, 1939: Polish Resistance Ends
October 6, 1939: Hitler Peace Effort
October 7, 1939: The British Have Arrived
October 8, 1939: First RAF Kill from UK
October 9, 1939: "City of Flint" Incident
October 10, 1939: Lithuania Under Pressure
October 11, 1939: The Atomic Age Begins
October 12, 1939: England Rejects Hitler's Peace Offer
October 13, 1939: Charles Lindbergh Speaks Out
October 14 1939: Royal Oak Sunk
October 15, 1939: Cuban Rockets
October 16, 1939: First Aircraft Shot Down Over UK
October 17, 1939: Marshall Mannerheim Returns
October 18, 1939: Prien Receives His Award
October 19, 1939: Preliminary Plan for Fall Gelb
October 20, 1939: Hitler Grapples with the Jews
October 21, 1939: Hurricanes to the Rescue!
October 22, 1939: Goebbels Lies Through His Teeth
October 23, 1939: Norway the Center of Attention
October 24, 1939: German "Justice" Gets Rolling
October 25, 1939: Handley Page Halifax Bomber First Flies
October 26, 1939: Jozef Tiso Takes Slovakia
October 27, 1939: King Leopold Stands Firm
October 28, 1939 - First Luftwaffe Raid on Great Britain
October 29, 1939: Tinkering with Fall Gelb
October 30, 1939: Defective Torpedoes
October 31, 1939: Molotov Issues an Ultimatum

2019