Air War: Minor daylight raids on Southeast England (bad weather). Night raids on London by 150 aircraft; damage in West End.
Goring orders fresh attacks on RAF Fighter Command, which he still hopes to crush within 4-5 days; aircraft factories also earmarked for attack. Small formations of fast bombers to be closely escorted by large numbers of Me109s.

Sea War Mediterranean: Royal Navy carrier raid on Benghazi: Swordfish aircraft from Illustrious torpedo one Italian destroyer and 2 cargo ships and sink second destroyer with mine (night September 16-17).

Neutrals, USA: Conscription Bill signed by Roosevelt.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1940

Air War: Large formations of Me109s carry out sweeps over Kent. Germans lose 8 aircraft; RAF, 5 fighters. Night raiders (total 268) destroy 3 large dept.stores in Oxford Street, London. One Ju88 shot down. Glasgow bombed - factories hit and cruiser Sussex badly damaged on the Clyde.
RAF night raids on Channel ports: 26 invasion barges and 500-t ammunition dump destroyed at Dunkirk.

Picture: the RAF was bombing the port of Le Havre at the French Channel coast.

Sea War: (MAIN EVENT) HITLER ORDERS INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT OF OPERATION SEA LION - the proposed invasion of England.
German disguised raider Atlantis sinks Free French liner Commissaire Ramel (10,000 t) in Indian Ocean.
City of Benares Affair: U-48 sinks liner carrying 102 children to Canada under the CORB scheme (Children's Overseas Reception Board). 77 children and 248 crew dead. Activities of CORB suspended October 2.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1940

North Africa: Italian 10th Army halts near Sidi Barrani, Egypt (captured September 16), and remains inactive for next 3 months because of 'supply difficulties' - despite its overwhelming numerical superiority over defending British and Australian forces.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1940

Sea War: Hitler orders dispersal of invasion fleet to reduce losses from British bombing raids.

Home Front Britain: Waterloo railway station reopened (bombed September 7).

Home Front Rhodesia: Fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Southern Rhodesia.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1940

Sea War Atlantic: First successful U-boat Wolf-pack operation: three of the 'ace' commanders - Schepke (U-100), Prien (U-47) and Kretschmer (U-99) - scatter Convoy HX.72 in Northwestern Approaches and sink 12 ships totalling 77,900 t. (September 20-22).

Picture: two U-boats of a Wolf-pack in the Northern Atlantic.

Diplomacy: Japanese ultimatum to Vichy authorities in French Indo-China, demanding air bases, use of Haiphong harbour and freedom to transport troops to China via Indo-China. (Vichy French agree September 22.)

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1940

Air War: RAF bomb Sidi Barrani.

Sea War: German invasion fleet in Channel ports now totals 155 steamers, 1,277 barges, 471 tugs and 1,161 motor boats.
U-100 sinks 7 ships of Convoy HX.72 in 4 hours; 12 out of 41 ships lost.

Home Front Australia: General Election (results announced October 11): United Australia Party, 24 seats; Country Party (allied with UAP), 14 seats; Labour, 32; Non-Communist Labour, 4. The Prime Minister Robert Menzies increases his personal majority eightfold, despite having 5 opponents.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1940

Neutrals, Egypt: Saadist Party ministers withdraw from Coalition Government in protest against Prime Minister's failure to declare war on Italy.