75 Years Ago: March 1940

[fast.git]

1 March 1940


US Secretary of State meets with German Foreign Minister


Although the United States had withdrawn its Ambassador to Germany in protest at the outbreak of war, it remained a neutral country and continued to seek to communicate with different European States. To this end, President Roosevelt sent his Secretary of State, Sumner Welles to Rome, Berlin, Paris and London in early 1940 for exploratory talks.

Sumner Welles - US Sec of State & Envoy to Europe




Having just visited Mussolini in (neutral) Italy, Welles arrived in Germany on the 1st and met immediately with the German Foreign Minister, Joachim Ribbentrop, in Berlin. According to Welles, it was a one-sided affair that began with a diatribe about the poor state of US-German relations and concluded with expressions of Ribbentrop’s dislike of England. Welles found him to be an unlikable fellow, and noted a number of inaccuracies in the positions claimed by the German Foreign Minister.

German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, in 1940




His instructions from President Roosevelt, however, were to seek a basis for peace and to offer the United States’ services as mediator. To this end, Welles would meet with Adolf Hitler on a number of occasions over the next three days, finding him “dignified,” but accomplishing nothing of significance.

Welles would continue on to France, and then England, meeting with each country's leaders in the coming days, culminating in a peace proposal on 10 March 1940.

[fast.git]

2 March 1940

German He 111s of X. Fliegerkorps fly their first sortie out over the Channel, attacking the cargo-liner SS Domala, which was carrying mainly British Indian subjects repatriated from Germany. Strafed and hit by two 250 kg bombs off the Isle of Wight, the vessel was set ablaze and beached. The Dutch ship Jonge Willem, which rescued 48 of the 183 survivors, was also strafed. Domala was later repaired and went back into service under as the 7,524-ton armed steam merchant Empire Attendant, only to be torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-582 south of the Canary Islands on 15 Jul 1942 with the loss of all 59 hands.

X. Fliegerkorps Heinkel He 111




British 8,441-ton cargo liner Domala




British 7,524-ton Steam Merchant Empire Attendant (formerly Domala)

[fast.git]

3 March 1940

The Queen Elizabeth Escapes!

When war was declared on 1 September 1939, the Queen Elizabeth remained unfinished and Cunard waited for a decision to be made about workers to complete her. Work continued, albeit infrequently, as much of the effort was focused on preparing the Royal Navy’s ships for wartime service.

26 February 1940 saw the almost completed liner leaving her fit-out berth under her own power as she sailed from the Clyde to an anchorage just off Gourock. Queen Elizabeth remained there, her fate apparently undecided, until 3 March 1940 when she left anchorage without notice and sailed out to sea.

RMS Queen Elizabeth Clyde to NYC (3 March 1940)




In the preceding days, a story had been circulated that this was Queen Elizabeth’s positioning voyage to Southampton, but the truth was known to only those at the highest levels of the Admiralty: Queen Elizabeth was going to America!

Only once she was out at sea was Captain Townley permitted to open his safe and read the sealed orders directing him to make for New York at best possible speed. In was in this way that Captain Townly and a skeleton crew of 400, despite the fact that she had yet to undergo deep sea speed trials, took Queen Elizabeth on what turned out to be her maiden voyage.

Decked out in wartime grey, the rather dour-looking Queen Elizabeth entered New York harbor four days later.

RMS Queen Elizabeth Arrives NYC (7 Mar 1940)




British disinformation appears to have paid off in this instance, as a force of Luftwaffe aircraft attacked targets in and around Southampton the afternoon of Queen Elizabeth’s supposed arrival.

(L to R) SS Normandie, RMS Queen Mary, and RMS Queen Elizabeth (New York, March 1940)

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Seeing this Chris I could not resist repeating the telegram sent from the captain of HMS Queen Elizabeth as he passed the liner in mid Atlantic.




SNAP!

Rob.

[fast.git]

Seeing this Chris I could not resist repeating the telegram sent from the captain of HMS Queen Elizabeth as he passed the liner in mid Atlantic.




SNAP!

Rob.

[fast.git]

4 March 1940

James D. Mooney, an engineer, President of the American firm General Motors Overseas, and a holder of the German Grand Cross of the German Eagle medal for his services to Germany, meets with Adolf Hitler in an attempt to dissuade Hitler from escalating the war.




Mooney’s meeting with Hitler grew out of a series of talks he arranged between Hermann Göring’s representative, Helmuth Wohlthat, and American ambassador Joseph Kennedy, Sr. Originally intended to help Americans better understand German economic goals and discuss possible loans in exchange for more open trade conditions between the two nations, these talks led to a series of informal discussions – with Adolf Hitler and then with Göring – in which Mooney presented President Roosevelt's views to both men, and recorded their replies.

An early leader in managerial theory, Mooney recording his theories and real-life experiences in the widely read Onward Industry (1931), revised and reissued as The Principles of Organization. This work described his successes in applying American approaches to a great range of conditions in other countries, post-World War I Germany included.

Although Mooney played a role in international affairs in the 1930s and early 1940s, his career was disrupted in 1940 when several American newspapers and magazines – including the Chicago Daily News, Time, Life, the New York Herald Tribune, the Saturday Evening Post, and PM Magazine – accused of pro-German views and Nazi sympathies and attacked him for his contacts with the Nazis. These contacts were far from unusual, as many American companies developed such ties during the 1930s (including Texaco, ITT, Ford Motor Company, and Standard Oil).

Although Mooney resigned from his position as President of General Motors Overseas in 1940, partially in response to this criticism, he accepted the opportunity to head a small team of directors charged with gearing up GM for wartime production before moving on to work in the Production Engineering Section of the Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer, the U.S. Navy’s material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959) and on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations.

The Order of the German Eagle (Ger: Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler) was a diplomatic and honorary award of the German National Socialist regime, predominantly given to prominent foreigners who were considered sympathetic to Nazism. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler.

[fast.git]

5 March 1940

Two days after Joseph Stalin and the five Politburo members approved the execution of captured Polish officers and land owners, Polish officers in captivity were declared to be “hardened and uncompromising enemies of Soviet authority.” As it was feared the officers would organize resistance movements against Soviet occupation if released back into the population, Stalin issued their death warrant: an NKVD order condemning more that 21,000 prisoners to "the supreme penalty: shooting."

Note:

During April & May 1940, Polish prisoners were moved from their internment camps and taken to several execution sites. The killings probably continued after May 1940, and the total number of victims may have exceeded 27,000. As of 2008, ongoing excavations in Ukraine and Russia continued to turn up more Polish corpses, so this number may increase.

[Jager]

5 March 1940

Two days after Joseph Stalin and the five Politburo members approved the execution of captured Polish officers and land owners, Polish officers in captivity were declared to be “hardened and uncompromising enemies of Soviet authority.” As it was feared the officers would organize resistance movements against Soviet occupation if released back into the population, Stalin issued their death warrant: an NKVD order condemning more that 21,000 prisoners to "the supreme penalty: shooting."

Note:

During April & May 1940, Polish prisoners were moved from their internment camps and taken to several execution sites. The killings probably continued after May 1940, and the total number of victims may have exceeded 27,000. As of 2008, ongoing excavations in Ukraine and Russia continued to turn up more Polish corpses, so this number may increase.

[fast.git]

My thoughts, exactly.

[fast.git]

7 March 1940

Ignoring Mussolini's plea that German coal is "an indispensable necessity for the life and work of the Italian people," British warships intercepted as many as 15 Italian ships carrying more than 100,000 tons of this coal through the English Channel, en route from Dutch ports to Italy. Eight of the vessels were forced into the contraband control base at The Downs, off Deal, Kent, England and ordered unloaded. Six others arrived too late in the evening to permit disposal of their cases, and another was exempted when it was determined to have left port before the 1 March 1940 deadline decreed by the British.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Another bit of information that slipped under my Radar.
Thanks once again Chris.
Rob.

[fast.git]

8 March 1940

When attempting to return to Germany from its refuge in the Netherlands Antilles, the German 5,537-ton steam liner Hannover was intercepted and captured by the British light cruiser HMS Dunedin and Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine near Jamaica. Despite attempts to set fire to and scuttle Hannover, a boarding party from Dunedin secured the vessel, and she was brought under tow.

SS Hannover listing the morning of 8 March 1940, shortly before her capture




Reflagged and renamed first Sinbad (1940), then Empire Audacity (1940-41), and then HMS Empire Audacity (1941), Hannover would eventually be converted into the escort carrier HMS Audacity.

HMS Audacity after her conversion to an escort carrier in 1941




HMS Dunedin would meet a tragic end on 24 Nov 1941, when – at a range of more than three miles – she was struck by two torpedoes from U-124, sinking in under 17 minutes. More than 250 of her crew were able to escape the sinking vessel, but it was more than three days before the surviving crew were picked up by the American steam merchant Nishmaha. By that time, only 4 officers and 63 ratings were still alive, the remainder having succumbed to sharks, the elements, and/or injuries sustained during the attack.

Light Cruiser HMS Dunedin (D 93)

[fast.git]

9 Mar 1940

German submarine U-14 sank 3 British steamers off of the Belgian coast near Zeebrugge: the 1,097-ton Borthwick at 05.42 hours, the 643-ton steam merchant Akeld 23.45 hours, and the 1,585-ton steam merchant Abbotsford at 23.55 hours.

Borthwick was struck by a single torpedo, broke in two, and sank before dawn. The master and entire crew of 20 were picked up by the pilot ship Loodsboot No.9.

British 1,097-ton steam merchant SS Borthwick




Abbotsford was hit in the foreship by one torpedo at 23.30 hours and caught fire. According to German reports, the Akeld traveling in line ahead of Abbotsford and turned around, apparently to help the torpedoed ship. U-14 fired another torpedo at 23.45, striking Akeld amidships and sending her to the bottom in under a minute.

British 643-ton steam merchant SS Akeld




Dead in the water, Abbotsford was sunk by a coup de grâce 10 minutes later.

British 1,585-ton steam merchant SS Abbotsford under her former name Cyrille Danneels




The two masters and all 30 crew members (two gunners) from the Abbotsford and Akeld were lost.

[Marechallannes]

Yes those German subs were a real pain for the British Empire.

I have to say it again that only a minority knows what hughe economic damage (allied) US submarines achieved in the Pacific versus Japanese civil & military ships and how big their part in winning the Pacific war was.

[fast.git]

Yes those German subs were a real pain for the British Empire.

I have to say it again that only a minority knows what hughe economic damage (allied) US submarines achieved in the Pacific versus Japanese civil & military ships and how big their part in winning the Pacific war was.

Absolutely. The US campaign against Japanese shipping was, arguably, far-more effective than that of the Germans against the Allies.

[fast.git]

11 March 1940

Blenheim bombers of 82 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, attacked German submarine U-31, on sea trials in the Jade Bight (Ger: Jadebusen), near Wilhelmshaven. Two of four bombs struck the Type VIIA submarine, killing all 58 (48 crew and 10 dock workers) on board.

Blenheim IVs of No 82 Sqn in 1939




U-31 was raised later in the month, repaired, and returned to service in July 1940, only to be sunk again, this time on 2 November by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Antelope. The 44 (of 46) surviving crew members were picked up by Antelope.

U-31 was the only WW2 ship to suffer the misfortune of being sunk twice in the war.

German Submarine U-31 before the war

[Flying Officer Kyte]

AH! At last the Empire strikes back.
Rob.

[Jager]

Absolutely. The US campaign against Japanese shipping was, arguably, far-more effective than that of the Germans against the Allies.

I would say inarguably.
Karl

[Jager]

Short career for the U-31. Not sure I'd like to go aboard a sub that's already been sunk once
Karl

[CappyTom]

Thanks for the history lesson.

Thomas

[Doug]

Thanks lots of good information there

[fast.git]

I would say inarguably.
Karl

Fair point.

[fast.git]

13 March 1940

At 02.00 hours in Moscow (01.00 hours Finland time) Finnish and Soviet representatives signed the Moscow Peace Treaty prepared on the previous day. Despite noting that the treaty was “the most awful document I have ever had to sign,” Finnish President Kyösti Kallio acquiesced to the terms, ensuring that the ceasefire would take place at 11.00 hours that same day. Both sides, however continued to bombard the other with ferocity until the appointed time.

So ended the 105-day war which was a disaster for Finland on many levels:

• nearly 70,000 casualties
• ceded to the Soviet Union 11% of the territory (including its 2nd larget city) and 30% of the economic assets of pre-war Finland
• 12% of Finland’s population (roughly 422,000 Karelians) lost their homes and were evacuated

Although “victorious,” modest gains at the cost of roughly 320,000 casualties embarrassed the Soviet Red Army, resulting in widespread reforms (unfinished by the start of Operation Barbarossa).

Similarly, the lack of meaningful or timely international support for the heavily-outnumbered Finns demonstrated the inability (or unwillingness) of the Western Allies to act in a crisis.

[fast.git]

14 March 1940

While proceeding independently in the vicinity of the Nicobar Islands (bordering on the Andaman Sea, off the northern tip of Sumatra), a 250 lb (110 kg) bomb accidentally explodes in HMS Eagle’s forward bomb magazine, killing 14 (13 ratings and 1 officer) and seriously injuring three. The damage is largely confined to the magazine, but two generators are knocked out as well. The explosion flashes upward through the port bomb lift, igniting the wing of one of the Swordfish stowed in the hangar, triggering the automatic fire suppression system. The fire in the hanger area was extinguished, but the corrosive salt-water spray system damaged all but four of Eagle’s complement of 18 Swordfish.

Eagle arrived at Singapore on 16 March, remaining there until 9 May when – repairs having been completed – the ship sailed for the Mediterranean.

HMS Eagle at Alexandria (20 Jul 1940), note HMS Warspite in background




The Admiralty purchased the unfinished Chilean Dreadnought battleship Almirante Cochrane on 28 February 1918 and converted her for use as an aircraft carrier. She was launched as Eagle on 8 June 1918, with conversion for deployment in this new role being completed on 20 February 1924 (construction was halted when it became obvious that Eagle would not be completed before war’s end).

Eagle’s layout – as completed – was found to be unsatisfactory, necessitating further changes, including provision for an island structure on the starboard side. The ship finally entered service in 1925.

Note: The subsequent Board of Inquiry determined the most likely cause of the explosion to have been a safety device damaged during the heavy landing of an aircraft, even though rigorous procedures were in place to check this mechanism after any suspect damage.

On HMS Eagle, Cmdr (F) Charles Lindsay "KP" Keighly-Peach (DSO) unstraps from Sea Gladiator N5517



Keighly-Peach trained two Swordfish pilots (Lieutenants Keith and Massy) to fly the three (or four) Sea Gladiators collected from Malta on the outbreak of war with Italy. This trio provided the early fighter defense of the Mediterranean Fleet until the arrival of HMS Illustrious.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Another very interesting snippet of information there Chris.
Even if for a moment I did think I was in the wrong site...........

"While proceeding independently in the vicinity of the Nicobar Islands (bordering on the Andaman Sea, off the northern tip of Sumatra),"
I was half expecting Jack Aubrey to pop up at any moment and give me a course correction.
Rob.

[fast.git]

Eagle had been escorting convoys, but was returning to Singapore in the company of HMAS Hobart. Eagle had diverted to investigate a "suspicious vessel" in the Bay of Bengal when the explosion occurred.

It does sound as though the RN was using a carrier as if it were an 18th century frigate.

[fast.git]

16 March 1940

Ju 88As II.KG30 over Norway




At dusk, 15 German Junkers Ju 88s of 1/KG-30 bombed the Royal Navy Home Fleet base at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. The County-class heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk received a direct hit with one bomb hitting the quarter deck, passing through the upper, main, and lower decks before exploding near the Y turret magazine, blowing a hole some 14 feet wide just below the waterline. Four men were killed, and four officers and three ratings badly wounded. The ship stayed afloat, however, and was then sailed to the Clyde shipyard for repairs on 19 March where she remained until June 24

RN County-class heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk




HMS Iron Duke (depot ship) was also damaged by two near misses, and HMS Rodney was attacked but not hit.

The first wave of five aircraft came in low, climbing on reaching Scapa Flow to make dive bombing attacks on the fleet, dropping about 20 bombs. The remaining aircraft dropped a large number of high explosive and incendiary bombs near Hatston Aerodrome and Bridge of Wraith on the road between Kirkwall and Stromness. Although the airfield at Hatson was cratered, no significant damage was done to RAF facilities.

In addition, two cottages were damaged at Bridge of Wraith, with one civilian being killed (James Isbister, the first British civilian to be killed by enemy action in World War II) and seven injured.

Mr. James Isbister

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Incredible to think that they got through to Scapa without any Fighter opposition. i bet that wouldn't happen later in the war.
Rob.

[Jager]

Incredible to think that they got through to Scapa without any Fighter opposition. i bet that wouldn't happen later in the war.
Rob.

Things like this tend to awaken even the most comatose command staff.
Karl

[fast.git]

17 March 1940

The 5,375-ton Danish motor merchant Argentina was reported missing in the North Sea, after sending her last radio message on 17 March. Her disappearance coincides with a claim made by German Type IX submarine U-38. At 23.25 hours, she fired a spread of two torpedoes at an illuminated steamer of about 5000 GRT east of Unst, Shetlands. The ship sank within 10 minutes after being hit by one torpedo, taking her entire crew to the bottom.

Most believe the victim to have been the Argentina and her 33-man crew.

5375-ton Danish Motor merchant Argentina




U-38 docked at Wilhelmshaven on 18 April 1940




U-38 returning to Kiel

[fast.git]

18 March 1940

German HE-111 bombers of Kampfgeschwader 26 attacked the Dutch trawler Protinus FV off Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, killing the captain and first mate. The remaining ten crewmen found their way to the lifeboat, but two of them would perish before they were rescued by British submarine HMS Unity 6 days later.

He 111 H of Stab I/KG 26, Schiphol, Amsterdam (1940)




Survivors of Dutch trawler Protinus after rescue by HMS Unity




RN Submarine HMS Unity

[fast.git]

19 March 1940

Both the Chamberlain and Deladier governments come under fire within their respective Parliaments for their hesitation and inaction during the Winter War. Whereas a vote of no confidence results in Deladier’s resignation (he will be appointed Minister of War by his successor only three days later, despite being from different parties), Chamberlain defends his actions by noting that Finland never officially requested British military aid.

Chamberlain would resign his Premiership (but not his position within the Conservative Party) less than two months later, on 10 May 1940.

[fast.git]

20 March 1940

German Type IIB submarine U-19, patrolling the Moray Firth, sinks four ships in only seven hours. U-19 carried only five torpedoes.

U-19 spotted two steamers at 21.35 hours, attacking the first at 22.21 hours with one torpedo, which struck the 1,229-ton Danish steam merchant Minsk’s engine room, sinking her within six minutes. A second torpedo was fired at 22.37 hours, striking the 1,026-ton Danish steam merchant Charkow in the stern and sending her to the bottom with her entire crew in less than four minutes.

1229-ton Danish Steam Merchant Minsk




1026-ton Danish Steam Merchant Charkow




Minsk’s nine survivors would be picked up by a Royal Navy E-class Destroyer, HMS Esk (H 15).

Six hours later, at 04.15 hours, U-19 spotted two steamers northeast of the Moray Firth and, 20 minutes later, fired a single torpedo that missed the first ship. A second torpedo was fired at 04.57 hours, striking the 1,153-ton Danish steam merchant Viking in the engine room and sinking her immediately (two survivors). The second steamer, the 2,109-ton Danish steam merchant Bothal, was struck amidships at 05.15 hours and sank after breaking in two (five survivors).

1153-ton Danish Steam Merchant Viking




2109-ton Danish Steam Merchant Bothal




Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke (Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves) would go on to sink more than 150,000 tons of shipping (including seven ships totaling 24,601 tons in one day) before being killed when his Type VIIB U-boat was sunk on 17 March 1941 south-east of Iceland, after being rammed and depth charged by the British destroyers HMS Walker and HMS Vanoc. Only 6 of U-100’s 44-man crew survived.

U-100 was the first U-boat sunk after being located by radar. HMS Vanoc discovered her during an overcast night that normally would have kept U-100 safe from lookouts.

Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Looks like open season on the Danes Chris.
Rob.

[fast.git]

They had the misfortune of running into the 11th most successful U-boat commander... 37 ships sunk (or a total loss) weighing in at more than 155,000 tons!

[fast.git]

23 March 1940

While en route to Copenhagen, the 2,189-ton German steam merchant Edmund Hugo Stinnes IV is intercepted by Royal Navy T-class submarine Truant (N68) in the Skagerrak, six miles off the coast of Denmark. According to the submarine’s logs, Truant stalked the Stinnes for 90 minutes and approached after confirming its position in international waters:

“When Truant was 2 cables off the contacts Port quarter the stern of the contact was illuminated with an Aldis lamp. Edmund Hugo Stinnes 4 / Hamburg was read and the Nazi ensign was sighted.”

After being ordered in plain English to heave to without radioing for help, Stinnes increased speed and made for Danish territorial waters despite a warning shot from Truant’s QF 4” (101mm) Mk. XXII gun. Two additional rounds to the bridge superstructure brought Stinnes to a halt, but it took an additional 5 rounds to silence the merchant’s radio.

By this time, Stinnes had entered Danish territorial waters (two miles from Thors Minde Light House), but was seen to be listing as her crew took to their boats. Truant closed with the boats, took the master prisoner, and learned that her entire crew had abandoned ship after scuttling her.

Truant sped up the process by putting two torpedoes into Stinnes.

-----------------------------------------------

This encounter illustrates well the difficulty in researching events in the past. Whereas some accounts identify Truant as the RN submarine responsible for Stinnes’ sinking, others claim it was Trident (N52). Similarly, Truant’s OC (then-Lt. Cdr. C. H. Hutchinson, DSO, OBE, CE) is identified as being Lt. Cdr. Seale (OC of Trident) in at least one account. Finally, even the date is in question, as various sources indicate 23, 24, or 25 March 1940 as correct.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Also highlights the problem of identifying weather craft are in International waters or not.
A problem not unknown to us today despite all the refined GPS we have.
Thanks for another interesting bit of information. Could be a good starting point for a scenario.
Rob.

[fast.git]

24 March 1940

The L'Adroit-class French destroyer La Railleuse (5th Destroyer Division) suffers an accidental torpedo detonation in her forward torpedo tubes when departing Casablanca, Morocco. La Railleuse broke in two and sank in minutes, killing 28 and wounding another 24 of her 142-man crew. She was the first French warship lost in WWII.

[fast.git]

25 March 1940

Bypassing previous neutrality laws, the United States officially gave contractors to the United States Army Air Corps the authority to sell modern types of combat aircraft to anti-Axis governments .

Wary of becoming entangled in another European war, American legislators had passed a number of laws during the 1930s strictly limiting the sale and export of munitions to belligerents. This “neutrality legislation” was not, however, met with universal approval. As early as January of 1939, President Roosevelt expressed concerns to Congress that “our neutrality laws may operate unevenly and unfairly – may actually give aid to an aggressor and deny it to the victim.”

These fears seem to be borne out as successive German and Japanese victories made it appear expedient that the United States extend material aid to nations resisting these aggressors.

The first step in progressively relaxing neutrality restrictions, the removal of the arms embargo feature, was effected on 5 November 1939. The new “Cash and Carry” policy allowed belligerents to acquire arms within the United States by cash purchase. Although seemingly even-handed, in reality, this applied to the Allies. Under this Act, various Air Corps models, some obsolescent, some more modern, were released to France, England, and other anti-Axis nations.

Congress expanded this program on 25 March 1940, adopting a far more liberal foreign release policy, which authorized the sale of several modern types to foreign states (B-17, B-24, B-25, B-26, A-20A, P-40, O-52, PT-13B, PT-17, PT-18-19, BT-13, and BT-14) as soon as a superior type or model could be furnished to the Air Corps.

The crisis brought on by rapid German victories during the next three months greatly stimulated the demand for planes on the part both of Britain (roughly 14,000 aircraft, as they had assumed all aircraft contracts of the fallen French government) and the United States (21,740 aircraft for the Air Corps alone, to be delivered by 1 April 1942). These huge orders, in addition to increasing Navy demands, drove American industry onto a war footing and paved the way for the more than 300,000 aircraft which would exit US factories between 1940-45.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Good job for us that the US made the decision to relax the restrictions.
Rob.

[Jager]

Good job for us that the US made the decision to relax the restrictions.
Rob.

Yes, a more isolationist administration probably would have had a detrimental effect on the war overall.
Karl

[Marechallannes]

24 March 1940

The L'Adroit-class French destroyer La Railleuse (5th Destroyer Division) suffers an accidental torpedo detonation in her forward torpedo tubes when departing Casablanca, Morocco. La Railleuse broke in two and sank in minutes, killing 28 and wounding another 24 of her 142-man crew. She was the first French warship lost in WWII.

That's not the way to start a maritime campaign...