October 1939
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31

Axis Oct-39 Allied Neutral
Germany TotalClass Total Great Britain France Canada Australia New Zealand Poland USA Japan Italy Soviet Union Argentina
5 5 Battleship 18 13 5 0 0 0 0 15 9 2 2 2
0 0 Fleet Carrier 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 0 0 0
0 0 Light Carrier 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
2 2 Heavy Cruiser 21 12 7 0 2 0 0 19 15 7 2 4
5 5 Light Cruiser 56 39 11 0 4 2 0 17 19 14 3 1
33 33 Destroyer 250 167 68 7 5 0 3 153 114 96 47 16
55 55 Submarine 139 59 78 0 0 0 2 58 56 100 180 3
0 0 Escort Carrier 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
10 10 Escorts 73 42 29 0 2 0 0 0 7 36 18 0
3 3 Other 58 53 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

 

Neutral
Class BrazilChileColumbia PeruNetherlandsNorway Denmark SwedenPortugal Spain Yugoslavia GreeceTurkey RomaniaThailand
Battleship 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Fleet Carrier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Light Carrier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Heavy Cruiser 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 2 0 0
Light Cruiser 2 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 0
Destroyer 7 8 2 2 8 10 6 15 5 16 9 19 4 7 10
Submarine 4 9 0 4 22 9 8 15 3 4 4 6 7 1 4
Escort Carrier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Escorts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 7 0 0 0 2 0 0 4

 

Sunday 01 October 1939
Daily Report
Country Vessel Type Report Description
USSR M 85 Submarine Lost Mined 3 miles E of Heisternnest, Danzig Bay 54.45N 18.45E 01/10/1939
Monday 02 October 1939
Daily Report
Tuesday 03 October 1939
Daily Report
Military

British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) move to French-Belgian border
Wednesday 04 October 1939
Daily Report
Other

The first game of the Baseball World Series Cincinnati Reds 1 New York Yankees 2, Yankee Stadium, New York City
Thursday 05 October 1939
Daily Report
Politics

Latvia sign 10-year Mutual Assistance Pact with the Soviet Union which allowed 25,000 Soviet troops in military bases in Latvia. Stalin promises to respect Latvian independence
Other

The second game of the Baseball World Series Cincinnati Reds 0 New York Yankees 4, Yankee Stadium, New York City
Friday 06 October 1939
Daily Report
Politics

Adolf Hitler offers peace with the United Kingdom and France during his Reichstag speech
Saturday 07 October 1939
Daily Report
Other

The third game of the Baseball World Series New York Yankees 7 Cincinnati Reds 3, Crosley Field, Cincinnati
Sunday 08 October 1939
Daily Report
Country Vessel Type Report Description
Great Britain Faulknor Destroyer Damaged Damaged by heavy weather during a patrol in the North Sea. The ship suffered serious structural damage 08/10/1939
Germany U-12 Submarine Lost Mined in British minefield in the English Channel near Dover 27 dead 08/10/1939. Body of captain washed ashore near Dunkirk 29/10/1939
Other

The fourth game of the Baseball World Series New York Yankees 7 Cincinnati Reds 4 (10 innings), Crosley Field, Cincinnati. Yankees win 4-0
Monday 09 October 1939
Daily Report
Military

Germany orders preparation of Case Yellow the plan to invade the low countries and France
Other

World Welterweight Boxing Title Henry Armstrong (USA) beat Al Manfredo (USA) Ko 4, Riverview Park, Des Moines.
Tuesday 10 October 1939
Daily Report
Naval

German Navy suggests to Hitler that they need to occupy Norway to safeguard Swedish iron ore supplies
Politics

Lativa sign 15-year Mutual Assistance Pact with the Soviet Union which allowed 20,000 Soviet troops in military bases in Lithuania

British PM Neville Chamberlain declines Hitler's peace offer
Military

All Polish military resistance comes to an end surrendering to German forces
Wednesday 11 October 1939
Daily Report
Thursday 12 October 1939
Daily Report
Politics

French PM Edouard Daladier declines Hitler's peace offer

Soviet Union demand that Finland give up a military base near Helsinki and exchange some territories to protect Leningrad
News

Adolf Eichman starts deporting Jews from Austria and Czechoslovakia into occupied Poland
Friday 13 October 1939
Daily Report
Country Vessel Type Report Description
Great Britain Echo Destroyer Damaged Damaged running aground whilst entering Plymouth in fog 13/10/1939
Germany U-40 Submarine Lost Mined in British minefield in the Straits of Dover, English Channel 50.41.6N 00.15.1E 45 dead, 3 survivors 13/10/1939
Germany U-42 Submarine Lost Damaged by gunfire from British merchant ship SS Stonepool, forcing the submarine to dive, when she resurfaced & unable to steer she was sunk by gunfire from British warships Imogen & Ilex SW of Ireland 26 dead, 20 survivors 49.12N 16.00E 13/10/1939
Other World Welterweight Boxing Title Henry Armstrong (USA) beat Howard 'Cowboy' Scott (USA) Ko 2, The Amory, Minneapolis.
Saturday 14 October 1939
Daily Report
Naval

Orzel Incident: Polish submarine Orsel, escaping internment in Estonia, arrives off the coast of Scotland. The submarine signalled to a British destroyer in broken English. The Orzel's arrival was a surprise as the submarine was thought to have been lost.
Country Vessel Type Report Description
Great Britain Royal Oak Battleship Lost Torpedoed by German submarine U-47 whilst ship was at anchor Scapa Flow Naval Base, the Orkney Islands, the ship rolled over & sank 783 dead, 14/10/1939
Germany U-45 Submarine Lost Depth charged by British warships Inglefield, Ivanhoe & Intrepid, SW of Ireland 38 dead, 0 survivors 50.58N 12.57W 14/10/1939
Politics

Soviet and Finnish official meet again, Stalin threating that an accident between troops if negotiations last too long
Other BBC wireless commentary of wartime friendly football match between Blackpool and Manchester United was picked up by French radio and relayed to the BEF in France
Sunday 15 October 1939
Daily Report
Monday 16 October 1939
Daily Report
Country Vessel Type Report Description
Great Britain Southampton Light Cruiser Damaged Damaged by a bomb from German Ju 88 aircraft whilst at anchor at Rosyth, Scotland, 500 Kg bomb hit the corner of pom-pom magazine, passed through three decks & out through hull of the ship, before exploding 16/10/1939
Great Britain Mohawk Destroyer Damaged Damaged by two near misses from bombs dropped by German Ju 88 aircraft in the Firth of Forth, bomb splinters causing damage & injuries,16 dead, 29 injured 16/10/1939
Military

First German air raid on Great Britain, Luftwaffe attack ships in the Forth of Firth, Scotland
Tuesday 17 October 1939
Daily Report
Wednesday 18 October 1939
Daily Report
Thursday 19 October 1939
Daily Report
Politics

Parts of Poland formally inducted into Germany
News

First Jewish ghetto established in Lubin
Friday 20 October 1939
Daily Report
Country Vessel Type Report Description
USSR ShCh 424 Submarine Lost Rammed in error by Soviet fishing trawler RT-43 off Kola Inlet 20/10/1939
Other

World Welterweight Boxing Title Henry Armstrong (USA) beat Ritchie Fontaine (USA) Ko 3, Civic Auditorium, Seattle.
Saturday 21 October 1939
Daily Report
Other

Start for the new wartime league season in England & Wales
Sunday 22 October 1939
Daily Report
Country Vessel Type Report Description
Great Britain Javelin Destroyer Damaged Damaged in collision with merchant ship SS Mordant, in the North Sea, ship's stern damaged & towed by British warship Jupiter, 2 dead 22/10/1939
Monday 23 October 1939
Daily Report
Tuesday 24 October 1939
Daily Report
Other

World Welterweight Boxing Title Henry Armstrong (USA) beat Jimmy Garrison (USA) Pts 10, Cleveland Arena, Cleveland.
Wednesday 25 October 1939
Daily Report
Country Vessel Type Report Description
Germany U-16 Submarine Lost Depth charged from British warships Cayton Wyke & Puffin near Dover 51.09N 01.28E 28 dead 25/10/1939
Thursday 26 October 1939
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Friday 27 October 1939
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Saturday 28 October 1939
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Sunday 29 October 1939
Daily Report
Politics

Belgium announces its neutrality
Monday 30 October 1939
Daily Report
News

British Government release report on concentration camps being built in occupied Europe
Other World Welterweight Boxing Title Henry Armstrong (USA) beat Bobby Pacho (USA) Ko 4, Municipal Auditorium, Denver.
Tuesday 31 October 1939
Daily Report