25 Sep 1940 | World War II Database

25 Sep 1940

Vichy France instituted a court-martial body for crimes committed against the state. There was no appeal, and sentence was to be carried out within 24 hours. ww2dbase [TH]
The German merchant ship Weser was captured off the coast of Manzillo, Mexico by the Royal Canadian Navy armed merchant cruiser Prince Robert. ww2dbase [TH]
France surrendered Indochina to Japan, but fighting continued. ww2dbase [Indochina Campaign | TH]
Operation Lucid: The British Royal Navy filled each of the two old tankers War Nizam and War Nawab with 2,000-3,000 tons of heavy fuel oil, diesel oil, and gasoline, then dispatched them from Sheerness in southeast England and Portsmouth in southern England with destroyers, minesweepers, and torpedo boats as escorts. These two oil tankers were meant to act as fire ships against the German invasion barges which had gathered in French ports along the English Channel, but the operation was canceled when War Nizam broke down. ww2dbase [CPC]
Operation Menace: The British fleet bombarded Dakar in French West Africa in the morning. At 0900 hours, French submarine Beveziers attacked British battleship HMS Resolution, damaging her; she had to be towed back by battleship HMS Barham while the rest of the British warships fell back. The British War Cabinet decided to cancel the operation after all attempts to enter Dakar failed. Meanwhile, Vichy French bombers from Algeria and Morocco again bombed Gibraltar in retaliation to the British and Free French attacks on Dakar, lighting damaging port facilities and sinking British anti-submarine trawler Stella Sirius. ww2dbase [British Attacks on the French Fleet | CPC]
German submarine U-32 sank British ship Mabriton 500 miles west of Ireland at 0325 hours; 12 were killed and 25 survived. German submarine U-43 sank British ship Sulairia 400 miles west of Ireland at 1330 hours; 1 was killed and 56 survived. Shortly after at 1400 hours in the same general area west of Ireland, German submarine U-29 attacked British ship Eurymedon; she would sink two days later; the final casualty list included 20 crew and 9 passengers killed; 42 crew and 22 passengers survived. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | CPC]
Adolf Galland was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross by Adolf Hitler for achieving 40 kills. ww2dbase [Adolf Galland | AC]
Joachim von Ribbentrop alerted the German embassy in the Soviet Union that Japan was likely to join Germany and Italy in an alliance. Should this happen, the ambassador was to alert the Soviet Union of this news, and to ensure the USSR that this alliance was meant to deter the United States from entering the war and in no way was meant to be formed against Soviet interests. ww2dbase [The Tripartite Pact | CPC]

United Kingdom

At 1145 hours, 27 German bombers escorted by 30 fighters attacked the Bristol Aeroplane Company factory at Filton in southwestern England, United Kingdom; construction sheds and 8 newly-built aircraft were destroyed, while 132 were killed and 315 were wounded; the Germans lost 6 aircraft (8 killed, 10 taken prisoner), while the British lost 4 fighters (1 killed). At 1647 hours, 24 German bombers escorted by 12 Bf 110 fighters attacked Plymouth in southern England, losing 1 bomber. Overnight, London and other cities were bombed, while other German bombers laid mines in the Thames Estuary. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | England | CPC]
The British government conceded public defeat with a declaration to the press that the use of London tube stations as air raid shelters has been officially recognised. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | London, England | AC]

Photo(s) dated 25 Sep 1940

Gun camera footage from a Spitfire Mk I fighter of No. 609 Squadron RAF, showing its tracer ammunition hitting a German He III aircraft over Filton, Bristol, England, United Kingdom, 25 Sep 1940

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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