26 Sep 1940
  • British submarine HMS Tribune fired four torpedoes at German submarine U-138 off Lorient, France. All torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
  • German armed merchant cruiser Thor sank Norwegian whaling factory ship Kosmos 400 miles northwest of Natal, Brazil with her deck gun after imprisoning the crew of 89; Captain Kahler of Thor would later be criticized for not transferring Kosmos' valuable cargo of whale oil aboard before sinking the ship. German submarine U-137 fired three torpedoes at Allied convoy OB-218 10 miles off the Mullet Peninsula, Ireland between 0050 and 0052 hours, sinking British ship Manchester Brigade (44 crew and 8 navy personnel killed, 4 survived) and damaging British ship Ashantian (4 killed). At 0135 hours, U-137 struck again, sinking British ship Stratford of the same convoy; 2 were killed and 32 survived. About 20 minutse later, German submarine U-46 sank British ship Coast Wings 350 miles southwest of Ireland at 0153 hours, killing the entire crew of 16. Further out to sea, at 0234 hours, German submarine U-32 attacked an Allied convoy 400 miles west of Ireland, damaging British ship Corrientes (entire crew of 50 rescued by Swedish ship Kolsnaren), sinking Norwegian ship Tancred (entire crew of 36 survived) at 0811 hours, and sinking British ship Darcoila (entire crew of 31 killed) at 0137 hours. In the evening at 2120 hours, U-64 struck again, sinking Swedish ship Siljan; 9 were killed and 18 survived. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
  • In the late evening, the German ambassador in the Soviet Union shared the news that Japan was about to join Germany and Italy in a military alliance. The Soviet Union immediately complained that, according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the text of such an alliance should have been shared with the USSR prior to the pact being signed, including any secret clauses. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
  • Erich Raeder met with Adolf Hitler, noting that the Italian territories in the Mediterranean Sea was in danger of being attacked by the British as he deduced from the importance the British had placed on the region historically. To prevent this, he recommended Hitler to make plans to seize Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, and the Suez Canal. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
French Indochina
  • Japan conducted an amphibious landing at Dong Tac, Indochina; later that day, Japanese troops captured the Gia Lam airfield and several rail yards near Hanoi. In the evening, Emperor Showa ordered fighting to stop in Indochina since the French had already surrendered on the previous day. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • At 1630 hours, 100 German aircraft attacked Southampton in England, United Kingdom, causing damage to the factory at Woolston producing Spitfire fighters. RAF fighters claimed 16 bombers and 16 fighters shot down, which was likely over-estimated, while losing 10 fighters and 3 pilots. Overnight, London, England was bombed for the 26th consecutive night, while Liverpool and other towns and cities were also attacked. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
  • In Britain, Henry Willink, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Croydon, was appointed Special Commissioner for the Homeless with particular instructions to organise the aid services for those citizens who had been made homeless through enemy air raids. ww2dbase [AC]
Photo(s) dated 26 Sep 1940
King Christian X of Denmark riding through Copenhagen on his 70th birthday, 26 Sep 1940Formations of German He 111 bombers flying over Britain, seen through the the gun camera of British Pilot Officer J. D. Bisdee

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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