Deutschland Seizes City Of Flint; F.D.R. P.O.'d By Patrol Delays

MON 9 OCT 1939
President Roosevelt, in memorandum for the Acting Secretary of the Navy, expresses displeasure with "the slowness of getting the East Coast, Caribbean, and Gulf Patrol under way," the "lag between the making of contacts and the follow-up of the contact," and the weakness of the liaison between the Navy, the Coast Guard and the State Department. The Chief Executive emphasizes that "in this whole patrol business time is of the essence and loss of contact with surface ships will not be tolerated." Roosevelt urges that patrol planes and naval or Coast Guard ships "may report the sighting of any submarine or suspicious surface ship in plain English" (see 20 October).

German armored ship Deutschland seizes U.S. freighter City of Flint, en route from New York to the United Kingdom, as "contraband carrier" and places a prize crew on board (see 21, 23, 24, 27 and 28 October and 3 November).

British Northern Patrol continues operations between the Shetlands, Faeroes, and Iceland; light cruiser HMS Belfast captures German passenger ship Cap Norte.