6 Jul 1940
  • The first German U-boat base in France was opened at Lorient. ww2dbase [TH]
  • German aircraft and minesweepers sank four British submarines (Narwhal, Spearfish, Shark, and Thames). ww2dbase [TH]
  • Operation Lever: British Royal Navy Force H under Vice Admiral James Somerville returned to Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria. At dawn, Swordfish aircraft from carrier HMS Ark Royal scored several torpedo hits on French battleship Dunkerque, killing 154 and wounding 8. One torpedo hit patrol boat Terre Neuve, detonating depth charges, killing 8; shock waves from the explosion further damaged Dunkerque. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
  • British cruisers HMS Capetown and HMS Caledon and destroyers HMS Janus, HMS Juno, HMS Ilex, and HMS Imperial shelled Bardia, Libya near the Egyptian border at 0537 hours, sinking Italian ship Axum and damaged another merchant ship. Italian bombers arrived at 0820 hours, but caused no damage against the British warships. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • British submarine HMS Shark, damaged by attacks from German auxiliary minesweepers M1803 (trawler Spitzbergen), M1806 (trawler Cuxhaven), and M1807 (trawler Mulsum) in Boknafjord near Stavanger, Norway on the previous day, became captured by the Germans. She was in the process of being towed by the German ships when she suddenly sank, killing 3. The remaining 32 crew members were rescued and became prisoners of war. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • German radio stations played the song "Denn wir fahren gegen Engeland" for the first time. ww2dbase [CPC]
Atlantic Ocean
  • German submarine U-34 sank Estonian collier Vapper south of Cape Clear, Ireland; 1 was killed and 32 took to lifeboats; German submarine U-99, which had chased Vapper for the past 90 minutes, observed the sinking. To the south, U-30 sank Egyptian ship Angele Mabro west of Brest, France, killing all aboard. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • Stephen Beattie was made the commanding officer of destroyer HMS Vivien. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 6 Jul 1940
Ordnance QF 4.5 inch Howitzer and its New Zealand Expeditionary Force crew during an inspection by King George VI at Burley in the New Forest, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, 6 Jul 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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29 killed German sailors of U-85 buried with military honors at Hampton National Cemetery, Hampton, Virginia, United States, 15 Apr 1942




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