Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Day 302 June 28, 1940

British Bristol Blenheims bomb Tobruk. After the air raid, Marshal Italo Balbo (Italian Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa and "heir apparent" to Benito Mussolini) returns from a reconnaissance flight. He is killed when his plane is shot down by Italian anti-aircraft fire. Marshal Graziani is appointed to replace him.

At 2 AM, U-30 sinks British SS Llanarth (carrying 7980 tons of flour from Australia) 250 miles West of Brest, France. 16 crew are picked up by British corvette HMS Gladiolus on June 30 and landed at Plymouth. 19 others are rescued by a Spanish trawler and landed at San Sebastian. British trawler Castleton goes missing in the Orkney Islands, probably sunk by U-102 which does not return from this patrol.
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/390.html

Luftwaffe bombs the harbours of Guernsey and Jersey in the British Channel Islands, mistaking tomato trucks for troop carriers (48 civilians killed).

British government recognizes General de Gaulle as "Leader of All Free Frenchmen."

Soviet Union occupies Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina, ceded by Romania.

Italian destroyers Espero, Zeffiro & Ostro are sighted by air reconnaissance and intercepted by British light cruiser squadron from Alexandria, Egypt. Espero is sunk in the Ionian Sea, but the other two destroyers escape and continue to Tripoli. British cruiser HMS Liverpool is hit by a single 4.7 inch shell, cutting the degaussing wire.

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