18 Sep 1940




See all photos dated 18 Sep 1940
- Douglas Bader shot down a German Do 17 aircraft and a Ju 88 aircraft. ww2dbase [Douglas Bader | CPC]
- HMS Cumberland deployed in pursuit of French warships Gloire, Georges Leygues and Montcalm with HM Australian Cruiser Australia (Note: These ships sailed from Dakar without detection. French ships were later intercepted by HM Cruisers Cornwall and Delhi. The cruiser Gloire was persuaded to go into Casablanca but the other ships went back to Dakar). ww2dbase [Georges Leygues | Montcalm | Cumberland | Australia | DS]
- USS S-31 was recommissioned into service. ww2dbase [S-31 | CPC]
- HMS Cumberland deployed in pursuit of French warships Gloire, Georges Leygues and Montcalm with HM Australian Cruiser Australia (Note: These ships sailed from Dakar without detection. French ships were later intercepted by HM Cruisers Cornwall and Delhi. The cruiser Gloire was persuaded to go into Casablanca but the other ships went back to Dakar). ww2dbase [Gloire | DS]
- German submarine U-48 sank British ship Marina at 0007 hours; 2 were killed and 37 survived. At 1849 hours, U-48 struck again, sinking British ship Magdalena, killing the entire crew of 31. ww2dbase [CPC]
- U-48 hit the British passenger liner City of Benares, a ship evacuating 90 British children and their families to Canada, with a torpedo 600 miles west of Ireland at 0001 hours. The ship listed heavily, which prevented many of the lifeboats from being launched. She sank at about 0030 hours, taking down 121 crew and 134 passengers (including 77 children). Destroyer HMS Hurricane arrived on the following day and rescued 105 survivors. After this incident, the British government suspended the policy of sending children aboard. ww2dbase [TH]
- Emperor Kangde presided over the dedication ceremony of the National Martyr Shrine of Manchukuo in Xinjing, the capital of the puppet state. ww2dbase [Puyi | Changchun, Jilin | CPC]
- The American Library in Paris, France reopened. ww2dbase [Paris | CPC]
- Gloire departed Toulon, France for Libreville, French Equatorial Africa. ww2dbase [Gloire | Toulon, Provence-Alpes-CĂ´te d'Azur | CPC]
- Montcalm departed Dakar, French West Africa. ww2dbase [Montcalm | Dakar | CPC]
- Cruiser Georges Leygues departed Dakar, French West Africa. ww2dbase [Georges Leygues | Dakar | CPC]
- Akagi departed Kure, Japan. ww2dbase [Akagi | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]
- Italian submarine Bagnolini torpedoed and sank neutral Spanish ship Cabo Tortosa, owned by the Ybarra & Compania of Seville, off Porto, Portugal. The sinking took over 90 minutes and did not cause any loss of life but was still a regrettable incident. The Spanish vessel was suspected of having cargo destined for Great Britain, but it did not, it was simply ferrying from Huelva to Bilbao. Lieutenant Commander Tosoni Pittoni of the Bagnolini had surfaced in order to verify the identity and cargo of the ship but seeing smoke on the horizon and fearing it may have been Royal Navy Forces from Gibraltar made the decision to attack. The crew members were rescued by Spanish ship Monte Ayala. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | Porto | CPC, HM]
- Hans-Joachim Marseille scored his fifth kill, a British Spitfire fighter, over Dover, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | Dover, England | CPC]
- At about 0015 hours, an indiscriminate German air raid on London's Oxford Street severely damaged both the Peter Robinson and John Lewis stores; elsewhere, the Inner Temple Library and County Hall are also hit. At noon, 70 German Ju 88 bombers escorted by 100 Bf 109 fighters crossed the English Channel and were intercepted by British fighters of No. 11 Group RAF; 60 of the bombers would reach London, England, United Kingdom and drop their bombs. At 1600 hours, 200 bombers in multiple waves attacked targets in Kent in southern England; they were engaged by fighters of No. 11 and No. 12 Groups and suffered 23 bombers and 10 fighters lost, but they were able to shoot down 12 British fighters in exchange. Overnight, London was bombed by several waves of bombers; Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, and other cities were also attacked. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | England | CPC, AC]




See all photos dated 18 Sep 1940
18 Sep 1940 Interactive Map
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Search WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » Wreck of Samuel B. Roberts Found (27 Jun 2022)
- » Wreck of Jantina Found (4 Jan 2022)
- » WW2DB's 17th Anniversary (29 Dec 2021)
- » Wreck of Johnston Found (8 Apr 2021)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,123 biographies
- » 334 events
- » 40,455 timeline entries
- » 1,185 ships
- » 341 aircraft models
- » 199 vehicle models
- » 368 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 238 facilities
- » 467 book reviews
- » 28,526 photos
- » 383 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."Winston Churchill, on the RAF
Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!