In the Month of August 1940

US NAVY

Thursday, 1 August 1940

            Navy establishes Alaskan Sector as a military command within the Thirteenth Naval District.

Friday, 2 August 1940

            President Roosevelt and his cabinet have "long discussion" in cabinet meeting concerning "ways and means to sell directly or indirectly" 50 or 60 destroyers to the British. There is no dissent "that the survival of the British Isles under German attack might very possibly depend on their [the British] getting these destroyers." All present agree that legislation to accomplish that goal is necessary.

Saturday, 3 August 1940

            USSR annexes Lithuania as a Soviet Socialist Republic.

            Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt relieves Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox, Jr., as Commander Special Service Squadron onboard gunboat Erie (PG‑50).

            Destroyers Walke (DD‑416) and Wainwright (DD‑420) depart Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Santos, Brazil.

Monday, 5 August 1940

            Chief of Naval Operations establishes general ground rules to govern the exchange of scientific and technical information with the British mission under Sir Henry Tizard; arrival of the Tizard Mission begins the Anglo‑American effort to jointly develop a wide range of weapons, sensors, and the technical equipment during the war.

            Lord Lothian, British Ambassador to the U.S., provides President Roosevelt with a note concerning the facilities which the British were prepared to "extend to the United States Government..."

            Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade and French Vice Admiral Georges A.M.J. Robert conclude agreement concerning status of Vichy French warships and aircraft in French West Indies. Ships in question are carrier Bearn, light cruiser Emile Bertin, training cruiser Jeanne d'Arc and auxiliary cruisers Esterelle, Quercy, and Barfleur; aircraft are 44 SBC‑4s, 15 Hawk 75s (export version of USAAC P‑36) and 6 Belgian Brewster fighters (export version of USN F2A) (see2‑3 November).

            Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA‑45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA‑39) depart Bahia for Pernambuco, Brazil.

Tuesday, 6 August 1940

            U.S. Army transport American Legion reaches Petsamo, Finland, to embark American nationals returning to the United States from European countries (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands) in which they had been residing (see 16 August).

            Destroyers Walke (DD‑416) and Wainwright (DD‑420) reach Santos, Brazil.

Friday, 9 August 1940

            Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA‑45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA‑39) reach Pernambuco, Brazil.

            Gunboat Erie (PG‑50) (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, Commander Special Service Squadron, embarked) departs Panama Canal Zone for a goodwill visit to Ecuador (see 12 August).

            Destroyers Walke (DD‑416) and Wainwright (DD‑420) depart Santos, Brazil, for Rio de Janeiro.

Saturday, 10 August 1940

            President Roosevelt inspects Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Navy Yard and then cruises in presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25), to Nahant, Massachusetts, escorted by destroyer Mayrant (DD‑402), and thence to Boston Navy Yard, which the Chief Executive inspects as well (see 11‑12 August).

            Destroyers Walke (DD‑416) and Wainwright (DD‑420) reach Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

            Japanese naval blockade of coast of China is extended to South China.

Sunday, 11 August 1940

            Presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25) (with President Roosevelt embarked), escorted by destroyer Mayrant (DD‑402), proceeds from Boston Navy Yard to Mattapoisett, Massachusetts (see 12 August).

Monday, 12 August 1940

            Presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25) (with President Roosevelt embarked), escorted by destroyer Mayrant (DD‑402), proceeds from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts to Newport, R.I. There the Chief Executive, accompanied by Secretary of the Navy Knox, Senator David I. Walsh and Rear Admiral Edward C. Kalbfus, inspects the Torpedo Station and the Naval Training Station. Later the same day, the President reembarks in Potomac and cruises to the Submarine Base at New London, observing submarine operations en route. Roosevelt inspects the base and the nearby facilities of the Electric Boat Company before reembarking in Potomac for the final leg of the voyage to the Washington Navy Yard, which is reached later the same day.

            Gunboat Erie (PG‑50) (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, Commander Special Service Squadron, embarked) arrives at Guayaquil, Ecuador, for a goodwill visit.

Tuesday, 13 August 1940

            President Roosevelt confers with Secretary of the Navy Knox, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, and Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles concerning the transfer of destroyers to Britain. Consequently, Roosevelt informs British Prime Minister Churchill (in telegram sent from Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles to Ambassador Kennedy) that among other items previously sought "it may be possible to furnish to the British Government... at least 50 destroyers..." Roosevelt states, though, that such aid could only begiven provided that "the American People and the Congress frankly recognized in return...the national defense and security of the United States would be enhanced." The President thus insists that (1) should British waters be rendered untenable the British Fleet would be sent to other parts of the Empire (and neither turned over to the Germans nor sunk) and (2) that the British government would grant authorization to use Newfoundland, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and British Guiana as naval and air bases, and to acquire land there through 99‑yearleases to establish those bases (see 15 August).

            Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet (Admiral Thomas C. Hart) shifts flag from heavy cruiser Augusta (CA‑31) to submarine Porpoise (SS‑172), Tsingtao, China, and travels to Shanghai, arriving the next day and transferring to yacht Isabel (PY‑10). It is the first time a CINCAF (a submariner himself) has taken passage in a submarine in this fashion.

            Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA‑45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA‑39) depart Pernambuco, Brazil, for Montevideo, Uruguay.

Wednesday, 14 August 1940

            Destroyers Walke (DD‑416) and Wainwright (DD‑420) depart Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Bahia.

Thursday, 15 August 1940

            British Prime Minister Churchill responds, encouraged and grateful, to President Roosevelt's telegram of 13 August1940; "the worth of every destroyer that you can spare to us is measured in rubies..." The "moral value of this fresh aid from your Government and your people at this critical time will be very great and widely felt."

            Assistant Chief of Naval Operations Rear Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, Major General Delos C. Emmons (USAAC), and Brigadier General George V. Strong (USA) arrive in London for informal staff conversations with British officers.

            Naval Air Station, Miami, Florida, is established, Commander Gerald F. Bogan in command.

            Destroyers Walke (DD‑416) and Wainwright (DD‑420) reach Bahia, Brazil.

Friday, 16 August 1940

            President Roosevelt, in press conference, announces that the U.S. government is discussing with the British government the acquisition of naval and air bases to defend the Western Hemisphere and the Panama Canal. Secrecy, however, continues to shroud the ongoing discussions concerning the transfer of destroyers to the British.

            U.S. Army Transport American Legion departs Petsamo, Finland, for New York; on board is Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Martha of Norway and her three children, who have been invited to come to the United States by President Roosevelt. The last neutral ship permitted to leave Petsamo, American Legion also carries a crated twin‑mount 40‑millimeter Bofors gun "with standard sights...spare parts, and 3,000 rounds of ammunition. Shipment of the gun, an almost Herculean effort that involves trucking the weapon the entire length of Sweden, has required the cooperation of the British, Swedish, and Finnish governments.

Saturday, 17 August 1940

            German government establishes "total blockade" of the British Isles, and warns that all ships will be sunk without warning.

            Destroyers Walke (DD‑416) and Wainwright (DD‑420) depart Bahia, Brazil, for Pará, Brazil.

Sunday, 18 August 1940

            President Roosevelt and Prime Minister MacKenzie King of Canada sign Ogdensburg Agreement, providing for Permanent Joint Board for the Defense of the United States and Canada (see 26 August 1940).

Wednesday, 21 August 1940

            Destroyers Walke (DD‑416) and Wainwright (DD‑420) reach Pará, Brazil.

Thursday, 22 August 1940

            James V. Forrestal, former Administrative Assistant to the President and Wall Street broker, becomes first Undersecretary of the Navy. His office will become the most important coordinating agency for procurement and materiel in the Navy Department.

Friday, 23 August 1940

            Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA‑45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) (Commander, Cruiser Division 7, embarked) and Quincy (CA‑39) arrive at Montevideo, Uruguay.

            Destroyers Walke (DD‑416) and Wainwright (DD‑420) wind up their shakedown/goodwill cruise in Latin American waters, departing Pará for Guantanamo Bay.

Monday, 26 August 1940

            Permanent Joint Board on Defense, United States and Canada, set up by President Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister W.L. MacKenzie King on 18 August 1940, convenes in Ottawa, Canada. U.S. representatives are: Fiorello H. LaGuardia (President, U.S. Conference of Mayors), Lieutenant General Stanley D. Embick, USA, (Commanding Fourth Corps Area), Captain Harry W. Hill and Commander Forrest P. Sherman (War Plans Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations), Lieutenant Colonel Joseph T. McNarney, USAAC, and John D. Hickerson (Assistant Chief, Division of European Affairs, Department of State).

Tuesday, 27 August 1940

            President Roosevelt signs joint resolution authorizing him to call Army Reserve components and National Guard into federal service for one year.

            Legislation is enacted authorizing the appointment of naval aviators of the Navy and Marine Corps reserve to the line of the regular Navy and Marine Corps, in order to augment the Naval Academy as a source of regular aviators.

            President Roosevelt confers with Secretary of the Navy Knox, Secretary of War Stimson and Secretary of State Hull concerning a compromise to resolve the impasse that has arisen over the proposed destroyers‑for‑bases agreement. Subsequently, Roosevelt meets with Admiral Harold R. Stark, Chief of Naval Operations, Secretary of the Navy Knox and Secretary of State Hull, and British Ambassador Lord Lothian; these men review the proposal arrived at earlier that day. Admiral Stark certifies that the destroyers involved are no longer essential to the defense of the United States, thus clearing the way for their transfer.

            Attorney General Robert H. Jackson delivers to President Roosevelt a ruling in which the legal framework for the transfer of destroyers to the British can be accomplished.

Wednesday, 28 August

            Destroyers Biddle (DD‑151) and Blakeley (DD‑150) escort U.S. Army transport American Legion on the final leg of her voyage from Petsamo, Finland, to New York City. The 40‑millimeter Bofors gun she carries is subsequently shipped to the Naval Proving Ground at Dahlgren, Virginia.

            Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA‑45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA‑39) depart Montevideo, Uruguay, for Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Thursday, 29 August 1940

            Heavy cruisers Wichita (CA‑45) (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and Quincy (CA‑39) reach Buenos Aires, Argentina. Rear Admiral John Downes relieves Rear Admiral William C. Watts as Commandant, Ninth Naval District, and Commanding Officer, Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois.

Friday, 30 August 1940

            Rear Admiral Charles S. Freeman relieves Rear Admiral Edward B. Fenner as Commandant Thirteenth Naval District and Commandant Puget Sound Navy Yard.

            Vichy France consents to Japanese military occupation of ports, airfields, and railroads in northern Indochina.

Saturday, 31 August 1940

            President Roosevelt calls 60,000 National Guardsmen into federal service.