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World War II Database

14 Sep 1939

Atlantic Ocean
  • The new aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, was operating west of the Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom when lookouts spotted the tracks of torpedoes passing astern. Her escorting destroyers counter-attacked and sank the German submarine U-39. ww2dbase [Ark Royal | AC]
  • German submarine U-39 attacked HMS Ark Royal; the torpedoes swam straight at the carrier but they prematurely detonated. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | CPC]
China
  • Japanese 106th Division under Lieutenant General Ryotaro Nakai engaged with Chinese 184th Division near Fengxin County, Jiangxi Province China. ww2dbase [Fengxin, Jiangxi | CPC]
United States
  • The world's first production helicopter, the Sikorsky VS-300, made its maiden flight. Sikorsky would go on to equip military units in both Britain and the US. ww2dbase [AC]
  • Aircraft carrier USS Ranger and battleships USS New York and Texas are designated as a striking force held in reserve at Hampton Roads, Virginia in support of destroyers and Coast Guard cutters on Neutrality Patrols in the Atlantic. ww2dbase [United States Neutrality Patrol | Texas | Louisville | Ranger | Hampton Roads, Virginia | DS]
Photo(s) dated 14 Sep 1939
Aerial view of destroyed buildings between Zielna and Marszalkowska Streets in Warsaw, Poland, Sep 1939Polish Bofors anti-aircraft gun abandoned after the column was attacked by German aircraft during the Battle of the Bzura, near Kutno, Poland, Sep 1939

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Ceremony at the Cenotaph at Central, Hong Kong marking the liberation of Hong Kong, 30 Aug 1945, photo 1 of 4

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Captain Henry P. Jim Crowe, Guadalcanal, 13 Jan 1943


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