In the Month of April 1940

US NAVY

Tuesday, 2 April 1940

            U.S. Fleet departs West Coast for maneuvers in Hawaiian waters. Fleet Problem XXI is the last of the large prewar fleet exercises that mark the culmination of the training year. Conducted in two phases, Parts II and VI of the annual fleet exercises, it takes place in the waters of the Pacific in the vicinity of Hawaii to the westward. Part II exercises two fleets (the augmented Battle Force vs. the augmented Scouting Force) of approximately equal strength, one side concentrated and the other widely dispersed, in scouting, screening, and conducting major fleet engagements. Part VI exercises two fleets of approximately equal strength (the same opponents as in Part II), each dispersed, in scouting, screening, protecting convoys, seizing and defending advanced bases, and conducting major fleet engagements. The worsening world situation will prompt the cancellation of Fleet Problem XXII.

Wednesday, 3 April 1940

            Destroyer Crosby (DD‑164) accidentally sinks U.S. fishing boat Lone Eagle in collision in heavy seas off Point Arguello, California; Crosby rescues the seven‑man crew.

Friday, 5 April 1940

            Operation Wilfred: British mining of Norwegian waters begins.

Sunday, 7 April 1940

            Destroyer J. Fred Talbott (DD‑247) departs Canal Zone to rendezvous at sea with Japanese steamship Arimasan Maru (see 13 April).

            Destroyer Twiggs (DD‑127), on neutrality patrol off the coast of Cuba, attempts to tow Norwegian freighter Spind off rocks six miles off Cape San Antonio, but is unsuccessful in two tries. Salvage tug Warbler, however, frees the merchantman from her predicament. Twiggs resumes her patrol.

Monday, 8 April 1940

            Norway protests British minelaying operations off the Norwegian coast. Amidst growing tensions in this region, U.S. freighter Charles R. McCormick arrives at Bergen, Norway, en route to her ultimate destination of Narvik. Freighter Flying Fish is also in Norwegian waters.

Tuesday, 9 April 1940

            Operation Weserobung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway, claiming that they are only establishing a “protectorate." Norway, however, declares that a state of war exists with Germany.

            Joint Planning Committee of the Joint Board submits a new general estimate of the world situation in relation to American defense and preparations for war. This is part of the revision of existing plans, and for developing or completing new plans of the rainbow series. Formulators of the rainbow plans envision multiple, simultaneous enemies, instead of individual enemies each designated by a single color (ORANGE, for example, stands for Japan).

            Submarine tender Bushnell (AS‑2), operating as a survey ship under the auspices of the Hydrographic Office, arrives in Venezuelan waters to commence hydrographic surveys of the Cape San Roman‑to‑Bahia Vela de Coro region (see15 June).

            Destroyer Williams (DD‑108) transports hydrographic survey party to Palmetto Island, British West Indies.

Wednesday, 10 April 1940

            President Roosevelt, acting under the Neutrality Act of 1939, issues proclamation extending the combat zone to include the northwestern part of the USSR on a line to the southern point of Svalbard, a Norwegian possession, to the northwestern tip of the combat zone issued in the President's proclamation of 4 November 1939.

Thursday, 11 April 1940

            Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch relieves Rear Admiral Orin G. Murfin as Commandant Fourteenth Naval District and Navy Yard Pearl Harbor, T.H.

Friday, 12 April 1940

            Submarine rescue vessel Falcon (ASR‑2) and U.S. freighter El Oceano are damaged when they collide in heavy fog in Buzzards Bay, near Hen and Chickens Lightship.

Saturday, 13 April 1940

            Destroyer J. Fred Talbott (DD‑247) returns to Canal Zone after providing medical assistance to passenger on board Japanese steamship Arimasan Maru. The warship's medical officer remains with his patient until the Japanese vessel reaches Balboa.

Monday, 15 April 1940

            Naval Reserve affairs pertaining to the administration of naval districts are transferred to the Naval Reserve Policy Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, to prepare for expansion.

Tuesday, 16 April 1940

            Captain Albert C. Read relieves Captain Aubrey W. Fitch as Commandant Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida.

            Great Britain issues mobilization order for men who turn 27 years of age during the months of April and May 1940.

            Iceland declares its independence and asks the United States to recognize it as such.

Friday, 19 April 1940

            Japanese government informs United States that Japan has no aggressive intentions toward the Netherlands East Indies.

Saturday, 20 April 1940

            Captain George J. McMillin relieves Captain James T. Alexander as Governor of Guam and Commandant U.S. Naval Station, Guam.

            U.S. freighters Flying Fish and Charles McCormick are reported safe at Norwegian ports; concern had been expressed over their safety in view of the German invasion of Norway. They had been shifted from Bergen to neighboring, safer places.

Sunday, 21 April 1940

            U.S. Military Attaché Captain Robert E. Losey is killed in German bombing raid on Dombas, Norway. U.S. Minister to Sweden Frederick A. Sterling orders Naval attaché Lieutenant Commander Ole E. Hagen to proceed to receive Captain Losey's remains.

Wednesday, 24 April 1940

            U.S. Naval Attaché (Lieutenant Commander Ole E. Hagen) escorts party of American citizens evacuated from Oslo to the interior of Norway and thence across the border into neutral Sweden, into Stockholm.

Thursday, 25 April 1940

            President Roosevelt issues proclamation declaring that a state of war exists between Germany and Norway, and issues neutrality proclamation concerning same. In addition, he issues proclamation prohibiting Norwegian submarines from entering American waters.

Monday, 29 April 1940

            Although the British explanation concerning the removal of German engineers from Philippine motorship Don Isidro at Port Said on 5 September 1939 fails to satisfy the Department of State, the U.S. government nevertheless considers the incident closed "on the assumption that similar instances will not be permitted to occur in the future."

Tuesday, 30 April 1940

            Fire and rescue party detailed by Commandant Sixth Naval District extinguishes blaze in Norwegian tanker Willy (loaded with aviation gasoline) lying in the Cooper River off Charleston, South Carolina. The sailors save the ship and the city's waterfront.