15 Feb 1940

Atlantic Ocean
8 Apr 1940

Atlantic Ocean
24 May 1940

Atlantic Ocean
  • French destroyer Chacal, under command of Commander J. E. N. Estieene, was sunk in the English Channel off Boulogne, France by German aircraft. ww2dbase [English Channel | HM]
17 Jun 1940

Atlantic Ocean
  • The 1,147-ton Norwegian merchant steamer Komet, built in 1912 by Laxevaags of Bergen as the Norwegian cargo steamer Pluto for B.Stolt-Nielsen of Haugesund and renamed Charles Schiaffino in 1921 and Komet in 1924, was bombed and sunk by German aircraft in the English Channel near Caen, France. Two of her crew were killed in the attack. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | English Channel | HM]
30 Sep 1940

Atlantic Ocean
1 Oct 1940

Atlantic Ocean
8 Oct 1940

Atlantic Ocean
9 Oct 1940

Atlantic Ocean
  • Seeadler completed her patrol off the Isle of Wight, southern England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Seeadler | English Channel | CPC]
11 Oct 1940

Atlantic Ocean
  • German torpedo boats Falke, Greif, Kondor, Seeadler, and Wolf sank British anti-submarine trawler HMT Warwick Deeping (no deaths), French submarine chasers Ch.6 (9 killed, 12 captured) and CH.7 (12 killed, 8 captured), and French armed trawler Listrac (12 killed, 25 wounded) in the English Channel off the Isle of Wight overnight. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | Wolf | Falke | Kondor | Greif | Seeadler | English Channel | CPC]
  • Seeadler patrolled in the English Channel. ww2dbase [Seeadler | English Channel | CPC]
12 Oct 1940

Atlantic Ocean
29 Oct 1940

Atlantic Ocean
30 Oct 1940

Atlantic Ocean
7 Nov 1940

Atlantic Ocean
  • Free French minesweeping trawler Poulmic hit a mine and sank off Plymouth, England, United Kingdom; 11 were killed and 7 survived. ww2dbase [English Channel | CPC]
2 Dec 1940

Atlantic Ocean
3 Dec 1940

Atlantic Ocean
  • Seeadler began laying mines in the English Channel near Dover, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Seeadler | English Channel | CPC]
  • Jaguar and Iltis completed laying a minefield off Dover, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Jaguar | Iltis | English Channel | CPC]
4 Dec 1940

Atlantic Ocean
  • Seeadler completed laying mines in the English Channel near Dover, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Seeadler | English Channel | CPC]
14 Dec 1940

Atlantic Ocean
  • The 680-ton French-built Melpomène-class torpedo boat HMS Branlebas, a poorly designed former French Navy craft now operating with the Royal Navy with a mixed French and British crew, broke her back at the after end of the engine room due to a heavy head sea in the English Channel off Eddystone Rocks at 0900 hours. She had been escorting a convoy out of Darthmouth, England, United Kingdom but had fallen behind and lost contact with the convoy. Her stern section separated, turned over and sank immediately. Only three sailors survived, and they were picked up from a life raft four days later. One of the British survivors was telegraphist Wilfred Sealey. ww2dbase [English Channel | HM]
21 Dec 1940

Atlantic Ocean
22 Dec 1940

Atlantic Ocean
23 Jan 1941

Atlantic Ocean
24 Jan 1941

Atlantic Ocean
5 Feb 1941

Atlantic Ocean
  • The Royal Navy 641-ton HMS Tourmaline (T 42) had been taken over by the Admiralty in Nov 1935 and commissioned as an anti-submarine trawler and armed with a 1.4-inch gun. Under command of Lieutenant Henry Patterson Carse RNVR, the ship was patrolling the English Channel when attacked and sunk by German aircraft off North Foreland, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Carse survived the attack and went on to command both HMS Asphodel (K 56) a Flower class corvette and HMS Awe (K526), a frigate. He was one of only six survivors when the Asphodel was torpedoed and sunk on 10 Mar 1944. ww2dbase [English Channel | CPC, HM]
25 Feb 1941

Atlantic Ocean
  • Jaguar and Iltis began laying a minefield off Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Iltis | Jaguar | English Channel | CPC]
26 Feb 1941

Atlantic Ocean
  • Jaguar and Iltis completed laying a minefield off Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Iltis | Jaguar | English Channel | CPC]
5 Mar 1941

Atlantic Ocean
  • Jaguar and Iltis began laying a minefield off Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Iltis | Jaguar | English Channel | CPC]
6 Mar 1941

Atlantic Ocean
  • Jaguar and Iltis completed laying a minefield off Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Iltis | Jaguar | English Channel | CPC]
9 Mar 1941

Atlantic Ocean
  • British minesweeping trawler HMT Gulfoss hit a mine and sank in the English Channel 3 miles south of Dungeness, Kent, England, United Kingdom, killing 10. ww2dbase [English Channel | CPC]
12 Feb 1942

Atlantic Ocean
  • 2 RAF Spitfire fighters on patrol unexpectedly spotted a large German fleet escorted by torpedo boats sailing through the English Channel at 1042 hours. British coastal guns at South Foreland, England, United Kingdom fired 33 rounds at the fleet, all of which missed. A number of aircraft were launched to attack, which failed to destroy the fleet, while 37 aircraft were shot down in the process, killing 23 airmen. The only damage sustained by the Germans were by mines; Scharnhorst struck two and Gneisenau struck one. ww2dbase [Scharnhorst | Prinz Eugen | Gneisenau | Operation Cerberus | English Channel | CPC]
  • Torpedo boats Jaguar and Seeadler made rendezvous with battleship Scharnhorst, battleship Gneisenau, and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen off Cap Gris-Nez, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. ww2dbase [Operation Cerberus | Jaguar | Seeadler | English Channel | CPC]
12 Mar 1942

Atlantic Ocean
  • Torpedo boats Jaguar and Seeadler began escorting merchant raider Michel as the raider attacked British shipping in the English Channel. ww2dbase [Seeadler | Jaguar | English Channel | CPC]
2 Apr 1942

Atlantic Ocean
12 May 1942

Atlantic Ocean
  • Seeadler began escorting merchant raider Stier as the raider attacked British shipping in the English Channel. ww2dbase [Seeadler | English Channel | CPC]
14 May 1942

Atlantic Ocean
  • Seeadler was hit by a torpedo from a British motor torpedo boat, capsized, and then broke in half. 85 of her crew members were killed in the sinking. ww2dbase [Seeadler | Second Happy Time | English Channel | CPC]
20 Jul 1942

Atlantic Ocean
1 Aug 1942

Atlantic Ocean
3 Feb 1943

Atlantic Ocean
  • Francis Gabreski, in a Supermarine Spitfire Mark IX fighter, was attacked by German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters over the English Channel. ww2dbase [Francis Gabreski | English Channel | CPC]
15 Apr 1943

Atlantic Ocean
  • Flight Lieutenant Mathews and Flying Officer H. D. Johnson (No. 91 Squadron RAF based at Hawkinge), acting as spotters to a USAAC sweep over Europe, came across a dinghy in the English Channel with two Thunderbolt aircraft circling around above. An Air-Sea-Rescue Walrus was duly scrambled which picked up Lieutenant Colonel Chesley G. Peterson, the most decorated officer in the USAAC. ww2dbase [English Channel | AC]
21 Mar 1944

Atlantic Ocean
22 Mar 1944

Atlantic Ocean
24 May 1944

Atlantic Ocean
  • While sailing from Cherbourg to Le Havre, France, torpedo boats Greif, Möwe, Falke, Kondor and Jaguar were attacked by Allied aircraft early in the day. Greif was struck by two bombs and lost all power at about 0600 hours. Without power, she drifted and collided with Falke (causing little damage). Möwe attempted to tow Greif, but failed to save her as Greif sank at 0632 hours. ww2dbase [Greif | Jaguar | Falke | Kondor | Möwe | English Channel | CPC]
6 Jun 1944

Photo(s) dated 6 Jun 1944
A United States Navy LST ferrying a US Army field hospital unit toward Omaha Beach, Normandie, France, 6 Jun 1944.
14 Jun 1944

Atlantic Ocean
22 Jun 1944

Atlantic Ocean
25 Jun 1944

Atlantic Ocean
20 Jul 1944

Atlantic Ocean
  • Flight Officer Micheal Williams and the Navigator Flight Officer Arthur Waples failed to return to their base at Castle Camps. The last report from their Mosquito XVII aircraft was over the sea near Dover, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [English Channel | HM]
8 Aug 1944

Atlantic Ocean
  • A British Mosquito night fighter of 604 squadron reported that they had brought down a German Do 217 aircraft, which was operating over the English Channel launching V-1 flying bombs; tragically it was found that their victim was an Allied Albemarle transport aircraft flown by the SOE to drop supplies to agents in France; the crew of Australians were lost. ww2dbase [English Channel | HM]
26 Aug 1944

Atlantic Ocean
  • Whilst engaged escorting RAF Marauder bombers on a mission Flight Officer Ted Topham (91 Squadron), flying his Spitfire LFIX fighter, sighted a V-1 flying bomb heading across the English Channel which he chased and brought down into the sea. This was his 10th kill and would be the squadron's 186th and final V-1 flying bomb brought down. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 1 | V-Weapons Campaign | English Channel | HM]
15 Dec 1944

Atlantic Ocean
  • Noted American dance band leader Glenn Miller departed England, United Kingdom aboard a Noorduyn C-64A Norseman aircraft piloted by Flight Officer John R. S. "Nipper" Morgan for Villacoublay, France. The aircraft disappeared somewhere over the English Channel. ww2dbase [Glenn Miller | C-64 Norseman | English Channel | AC]

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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Shunroku Hata (left) and Terauchi Hisaichi (right) at Xuzhou, China, 1938


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