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• British submarine HMS Triad detected Italian submarine Enrico Toti while running on the surface 100 miles south of Taranto, Italy at 0100 hours. Triad hit Enrico Toti twice with her deck gun, but the torpedo fired missed; Enrico Toti's damage prevented her from diving. Enrico Toti returned fire, hitting Triad twice with the deck gun and sprayed her with machine gun. As Triad attempted to dive, Enrico Toti scored a hit with a torpedo, sinking Triad at about 0130 hours and killing the entire crew of 59. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Italian submarine Foca sank while laying a minefield off Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-93 sank British ship Hurunui of Allied convoy OA-228 100 miles northwest of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom just after 0000 hours; 2 were killed and 72 survived. Five hours later in the same general area, German submarine U-138 sank British ship Bonheur (all survived) and damaged British tanker British Glory (3 killed) of Allied convoy OA-228 between 0510 and 0515 hours. German submarine U-103 sank British ship Thistlegarth 100 miles northwest of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom at 1933 hours; 30 were killed and 9 survived. Far to the south, Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini sank Belgian ship Kabalo 800 miles west of Casablanca, Morocco; 1 was killed. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | CPC]
• US Marine Corps mobilized its reserve battalions, ordering that these reserve personnel to be assigned to active duty no later than 9 Nov 1940. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Adolf Hitler noted that about half the Czechs in occupied western Czechoslovakia could be assimilated into the German population. The other half, which included the intellectuals, were to be eliminated. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | CPC]

• Comandante Cappellini sighted Belgian cargo ship Kabalo in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores islands at 2315 hours, and the freighter turned away and increased speed shortly after. The cargo ship fired her stern gun at the distance of 1,500 meters, and when the distance was closed to 1,000 meters, the Italians returned fire with her deck gun, scoring a hit on the cargo ship with the third round. Shortly after, Comandante Cappellini fired three torpedoes, the first two missed and the third struck without detonating. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | Comandante Cappellini | CPC]

• Captain Sadayoshi Yamada was named the commanding officer of Kaga. ww2dbase [Kaga | CPC]
• Captain Matsuji Ijuin was named the commanding officer of Naka. ww2dbase [Naka | CPC]
• Captain Hisashi Mito was made the commanding officer of Katori, relieving Hisashi Ichioka. ww2dbase [Katori | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• The German Luftwaffe launched 5 fighter sweeps toward London and 1 over Southampton, both in England, United Kingdom; the Germans lost 16 fighter and 3 bombers, while the British lost 15 fighters with 6 pilots killed. Overnight, 400 German bombers dropped 530 tons of high explosives on London, killing 400 and wounding 900; Bristol and Birmingham were also attacked. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | England | CPC]

• It was reported that 16,000,000 Americans had already registered for National Service. ww2dbase [AC]

15 Oct 1940 Interactive Map