27 Jun 1940
  • German forces reached the Franco-Spanish border. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | TH]
  • German submarine U-47 shelled Norwegian merchant ship Lenda off southwest Ireland at 0400 hours; 1 was killed and 27 survived. At 1700 hours, U-47 shelled Dutch tanker Leticia in the same area; 25 of the crew took to lifeboats, while the other 3 who dove into the water were rescued by U-47 and brought to the lifeboats; the crew of U-47 offered the survivors first aid material, sausages, and wine before leaving. ww2dbase [U-47 | CPC]
  • Romania ceded Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union. ww2dbase [Soviet Demands on Romania and the Second Vienna Arbitration | CPC]
  • US President Roosevelt declared a national emergency and re-invoked the Espionage Act of 1917 to control shipping in American waters and in waters near the Panama Canal Zone. On the same day, he also established the National Defense Research Committee under chairman Vannevar Bush to coordinate the development of war related sciences and technologies. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | Vannevar Bush | CPC]
  • Heavy cruiser USS Wichita, with Commander Cruiser Division Seven Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens aboard, departed Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Destroyer USS O'Brien arrived at Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil. ww2dbase [O'Brien | CPC]
  • The escaping French battleship Jean Bart, which had been fitting out at Saint-Nazaire when France fell, reached safety at Casablanca, French Morocco. ww2dbase [Jean Bart | AC]
  • Capitano Tarantini started her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Capitano Tarantini | CPC]
Atlantic Ocean
  • The destroyer HMS Versatile (D 32) (Commander J.H. Jauncey, RN (retired)) picked up 13 survivors from the British special service vessel HMS Cape Howe about 150 nautical miles off Ushant, France. The Q-ship, disguised as the Prunella, had been torpedoed and sunk on 21 Jun 1940 by German submarine U-28. ww2dbase [HM]
Italy
  • Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Castellammare di Stabia, Italy at 0810 hours for exercises, returning at 1705 hours. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | Napoli, Campania | CPC]
Mediterranean Sea
  • The Italian submarine Console Generale Liuzzi was attacked by the British destroyers HMS Dainty, HMS Ilex, HMS Decoy and HMS Defender together with Australian destroyer HMAS Voyager south of the island of Crete, Greece. The Italian commander Capitano di Corvetta Lorenzo Bezzi ordered the submarine to be scuttled and chose to go down with the ship. ww2dbase [Console Generale Liuzzi | HM]
United Kingdom
  • Despite Admiral Darlan's previous assurances that French ships would not fall into German hands, the British War Cabinet ordered the Royal Navy to seize or destroy all French warships in British and North African ports. In turn, Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville was ordered to take the newly-formed Force H to Algeria. ww2dbase [British Attacks on the French Fleet | CPC]
United States
  • The keel for battleship Iowa was laid down at the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard in New York, United States. ww2dbase [Iowa | Brooklyn, New York | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 27 Jun 1940
Submarine Gar under construction, Groton, Connecticut, United States, 27 Jun 1940; topside view looking aftRear Admiral Clark Woodward driving the first rivet for battleship Iowa at the keel laying ceremony, New York Navy Yard, New York, United States, 27 Jun 1940

27 Jun 1940 Interactive Map

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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