1 Sep 1940
  • British Destroyer HMS Ivanhoe sank after hitting a mine off the Dutch coast. ww2dbase [TH]
  • British minesweeping trawler HMT Royalo hit a mine and sank off Penzance, Cornwall, England; 7 were killed. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • British submarine HMS Sunfish collided with patrol launch Mesme shortly after departing Grangemouth, Scotland, United Kingdom. Mesme sank with the entire crew of 3 lost. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • German submarine U-101 sank Greek ship Efploia 100 miles northwest of Ireland just after 0000 hours; the entire crew survived on two lifeboats and were rescued by British destroyer HMS Anthony. 200 miles west of Isle of Lewis, Scotland, United Kingdom at 1725 hours, U-32 attacked British cruiser HMS Fiji, killing 5 and badly damaging the ship; Fiji would be able to sail to the Clyde, Scotland under her own power for repairs. To the south, near Brest, France, British submarine HMS Tigris sank the small French fishing vessel Sancte Michael with the deck gun. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | CPC]
  • Cruisers HMS Orion and HMAS Sydney and destroyers HMS Decoy and HMS Ilex shelled the Italian Dodecanese islands of Scarpanto (now Karpathos) and Stampalia (now Astypalea) in the Aegean Sea. HMS Ilex rammed and sank Italian motor torpedo boat MAS537. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Otto Skorzeny was promoted to the rank of Oberscharführer and was transferred to the 2nd SS Division "Das Reich". ww2dbase [Otto Skorzeny | CPC]
  • German naval shipping began to move from North Sea ports to ports further south in preparation for the invasion of Britain. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Vyacheslav Molotov complained that the Second Vienna Arbitration was in violation of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed in 1939. ww2dbase [Soviet Demands on Romania and the Second Vienna Arbitration | CPC]
Italy
  • The Italian Navy established a frogmen training school at the Naval Academy at Livorno, Italy under the command of Lieutenant Wolk. ww2dbase [Livorno, Toscana | CPC]
Poland United Kingdom
  • Formations of German fighters arrived in Britain in the morning to lure British fighters, but the tactic did not succeed. At 1100, 1330, and 1730 hours, large German raids attacked Debden, Biggin Hill, Hawkinge, Lympne, Kenley, Detling, Eastchurch, Tand Sherburn, as well as the Tilbury Docks in the East End of London. Luftwaffe lost 17 fighters and 8 bombers, while the RAF lost 15 fighters (with 6 pilots killed). Overnight, German bombers attacked Kent, Bristol Channel, and South Wales. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | England | CPC]
  • The survivors of Dutch steam passenger ship Volendam were disembarked by Norwegian fruit freighter Olaf Fostenes at Greenock, Scotland, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | Greenock, Scotland | HM]
United States
  • In an unprecedented event in United States history, conscription in peace-time was signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | AC]
US Pacific Islands
  • The US Marine Corps Midway Detachment of the Fleet Marine Force, consisting of 9 officers and 168 enlisted Marines and approximately one-third of the 3rd Defense Battalion's equipment, was established. ww2dbase [Midway Bases | Midway | CPC]

1 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




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Famous WW2 Quote
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win the war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!"

George Patton, 31 May 1944


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