military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (10/11/89)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Wednesday, 4 October, 1939 In Occupied Poland, the secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party, Nikita Kruschhev, announces the "Communisation" of East Poland. The U.S. War Department contracts with American Car and Foundry to produce 329 M2A4 Light Tanks, doubling the size of the American tank force. With a 37mm gun and only one inch of armor, the tank is already obsolescent by European standards. It will remain in production until 1941, but will be used mostly for training, with limited service in the early Pacific campaign. Total budget for the tanks is $6 million, $17,790 per tank. (1) New York Times headlines attribute the sinking of the SS Clement to the "Pocket Battleship" Admiral Scheer (she was, in fact, sunk by the Admiral Graf Spee). Witnesses report that the ship fired 25 rounds, and then torpedoed the cripple. Japan admits to having lost 18,000 men in the recent Mongolian border dispute, and cites similar losses for the Mongol/Soviet forces. The dispute ended with a truce on 16 September, following a Soviet victory at Khalkin Gol under the leadership of General Georgi K. Zhukov. (1) New York Times, 10-4-39. p.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "There is no intent, so far as can be learned in official circles, of attempting to seek parity in tank equipment with European armies..." - New York Times