Canada Declares War

MON 4 SEP 1939
British passenger liner Athenia sinks as the result of damage sustained the previous day when torpedoed by German submarine U-30. After the sinking of Athenia is confirmed through radio intelligence and news broadcasts, the German Naval War Staff radios all U-boats at sea that the Führer has ordered that no hostile action be taken "for the present" against passenger ships, even if they are travelling in convoy (see 16 September). Publicly, Germany will continue to deny responsibility for the sinking of Athenia until the post-war Nuremberg Trials bring the truth to light.

Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OpNav) orders Commander Atlantic Squadron to establish, as soon as possible, a combined air and ship patrol to observe and report, in cipher, the movements of warships of warring nations, east from Boston along a line to 42°30'N, 65°00'W then south to 19°N then around the seaward outline of the Windward and Leeward Islands, to the British island of Trinidad.

European war again comes to the Americas: British light cruiser HMS Ajax intercepts German freighter Carl Fritzen 200 miles east-southeast of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 33°22'S, 48°50'W, and sinks the merchantman with gunfire.

Captain Alan G. Kirk, U.S. Naval Attaché, and Commander Norman R. Hitchcock, Assistant Naval Attaché and Assistant Naval Attaché for Air, are flown to Galway, Ireland, where they interview Athenia's surviving officers and men. The attaché's investigation concludes that Athenia was torpedoed by a submarine.

President Roosevelt proclaims the neutrality of the United States in the war between Germany and France, Poland, the United Kingdom, India, Australia and New Zealand, and orders the Navy to form a Neutrality Patrol (see below).

Chief of Naval Operations (Admiral Harold R. Stark) directs Commander Atlantic Squadron (Rear Admiral Alfred W. Johnson) to maintain an offshore patrol to report "in confidential system" the movements of all foreign men-of-war approaching or leaving the east coast of the United States and approaching and entering or leaving the Caribbean. U.S. Navy ships are to avoid making a report of foreign men-of-war or suspicious craft, however, on making contact or when in their vicinity to avoid the performance of unneutral service "or creating the impression that an unneutral service is being performed" (see 9 October). The patrol is to extend about 300 miles off the eastern coastline of the United States and along the eastern boundary of the Caribbean (see 6 September). Furthermore, U.S. naval vessels are to report the presence of foreign warships sighted at sea to the district commandant concerned.

Destroyers Davis (DD-395) and Benham (DD-397) (two 327-foot Coast Guard cutters will be assigned later) are designated as the Grand Banks Patrol. They are to render rescue and other neutral assistance in emergencies and to observe and report ("in confidential system") movements of all foreign warships. They are to patrol across existing steamer lanes to the southward of the Grand Banks and to approximately 50° Maritime Commission (Hydrographic Office Special Warning No. 9) directs that all U.S. merchant ships en route to or from Europe are not to steer a zig-zag course, are not to black out at night, and are to paint the U.S. flag on each side of the hull, on hatches fore and aft, and on sun decks of passenger vessels, and to illuminate the colors flying from the flagstaff at night. In Hydrographic Office Special Warning No. 12 (promulgated the same day), U.S. merchant vessels engaged in domestic, "near-by foreign" or transpacific trade are not required to paint the flag on hull, hatches and decks, but otherwise are to follow the other instructions contained in Special Warning No. 9.

U.S. freighter Black Osprey bound for Rotterdam, Holland, and Antwerp, Belgium, is stopped by British warship off Lizard Head and ordered into the port of Weymouth, one of the five "contraband control bases" (the others are Ramsgate, Kirkwall, Gibraltar and Haifa) established by the British government (see 13 September and 31 October). Freighter Lehigh, bound for Hamburg, Germany, is detained by the British (see 7 September).

Philippine motorship Don Isidro, on her maiden voyage en route from her builders' yard at Kiel, Germany, to Manila, P.I., clears the Suez Canal; U.S. government immediately protests British authorities having removed, at Port Said, two German engineers (on board "to guarantee construction and demonstrate proper manning" of the new vessel) from Don Isidro (which is under the American flag) as illegal and a violation of the neutral rights of the United States (see 29 April 1940).

U.S. steamship President Roosevelt off-loads British Scott-Paine-type motor torpedo boat PT-9 at New York; PT 9 will be the prototype for the motor torpedo boats constructed by the Electric Boat Company.

Commander Atlantic Squadron (Rear Admiral Alfred W. Johnson) begins to establish the off-shore Neutrality Patrol. Seaplane tenders Gannet (AVP-8) and Thrush (AVP-3) sail for San Juan, Puerto Rico, to establish a seaplane base there.

Rear Admiral Charles E. Courtney relieves Rear Admiral Henry E. Lackey as Commander Squadron 40-T, on board light cruiser Trenton (CL-11), the squadron flagship, at Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. Squadron 40-T had been formed in 1936 to protect American lives and property during the Spanish Civil War; its ships operate directly under the control of the Chief of Naval Operations.

French authorities remove two seamen of German nationality from U.S. freighter Exochorda at Marseilles, France.

British Northern Patrol (7th and 12th Cruiser Squadrons) commences operation between Shetland and Faeroe Islands, and Iceland. Light cruisers HMS Caledon, HMS Calypso, HMS Diomede, HMS Dragon, HMS Effingham, HMS Emerald, HMS Cardiff and HMS Dunedin are the ships that undertake this work. The patrol stops 108 merchantmen over the next three weeks, ordering 28 into the port of Kirkwall to have their cargoes inspected.

Cruiser Division 7 (Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) sails to establish patrol off the eastern seaboard between Newport, Rhode Island, and Norfolk, Virginia. Heavy cruisers Quincy (CA-39) and Vincennes (CA-44) depart first, San Francisco (CA-38) (flagship) and Tuscaloosa (CA-37) follow. The ships, burning running lights, are to observe and report the movements of foreign men-of-war, and, as required, render prompt assistance to ships or planes encountered.

British steamer Olivegrove is stopped, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-33 200 miles northwest of Spain, 49°05'N, 15°58'W; upon receiving Olivegrove's distress signal, U.S. passenger liner Washington, en route to the British Isles to evacuate American citizens from the European war zone, alters course and increases speed to reach the scene. Meanwhile, U 33's commanding officer, Kapitanleutnant Hans-Wilhelm von Dresky, treats the British survivors courteously, and aids in their rescue by having distress rockets fired to guide Washington to the two lifeboats containing the 33-man crew, which she picks up without loss.

U.S. freighter Lehigh, detained by British authorities since 5 September, is released; freighter Warrior is detained by the British (see 18 September).

U.S. passenger liner Santa Paula is hailed by British cruiser (unidentified) 30 miles off Curaçao, N.W.I. and ordered to stop; after a delay of 20 minutes, Santa Paula is allowed to proceed (see 8 September 1939). Tanker I.C. White is challenged by cruiser (nationality unidentified) 15 miles off Baranquilla, Colombia, but is allowed to proceed without further hindrance.

Incident to the European war, the U.S. Naval Observatory is closed to all visitors except those specifically authorized by the Secretary of the Navy.

President Roosevelt proclaims a "limited national emergency" and orders enlisted strength of all armed forces increased--naval enlisted men from 110,813 to 145,000; Marine Corps from 18,325 to 25,000--and authorizes recall to active duty of officers, men, and nurses on retired lists of Navy and Marine Corps.

Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles and British Ambassador to the U.S. Lord Lothian have "off-the-record talk" (at the former's request) concerning the brief detention of U.S. passenger liner Santa Paula the day before. Lord Lothian is informed that Santa Paula's captain had been asked "to give formal assurances whether there were any German passengers on board, the implication being that if the captain had not given such assurances, the officers of the cruiser would have boarded [Santa Paula] to search for German passengers and possibly might have taken some off." Undersecretary Welles goes on to say that "any act by British cruisers affecting American ships in waters so close to the United States involving possible boarding of them and taking off of civilian passengers would create a very highly unfortunate impression upon American public opinion at this time and was something undesirable in itself, since if civilian passengers actually had been taken off, such act would be clearly counter to international law." Lord Lothian agrees and promises to "take the necessary steps to prevent occurrences of this kind from happening."
Allies announce a long-range blockade of Germany.

British authorities seize cargo (phosphates and cotton) of U.S. freighter Saccarappa; after the items deemed contraband are unloaded, the ship is released to continue on her voyage.

U.S. freighter Wacosta bound from Glasgow, Scotland, to New York, is stopped by German submarine (unidentified). Wacosta is detained for three hours while the Germans examine her papers and search her holds, but is permitted to proceed.

U.S. steamship President Harding is detained by French authorities and various items of her cargo (including 135 tons of copper and 34 tons of petroleum products) seized as contraband. The ship is released promptly.

Canada declares war on Germany.

U.S. freighter Hybert is detained for two hours by a U-boat (unidentified); Hybert is released but the Germans warn the merchantman not to use her radio for 24 hours.