military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (09/25/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Wednesday, 25 September, 1940 Naval action continues off Dakar, and HMS Resolution, hit yesterday by a 15" shell, is struck by a torpedo from the French submarine Bevezier. The battleship is forced to retire for repairs. German bombers damage the Bristol airplane factory at Filton. Vichy bombers stage a second raid on Gibraltar. In occupied Norway, a puppet government is established under Quisling. Harry Clark, a U.S. cryptoanalyst, breaks the Japanese "Purple Code." This enables U.S. military intelligence to decipher Japanese military and diplomatic transmissions on a daily basis. The project is placed under strict secrecy, and code-named "Magic." The U.S. Metals Reserve Company, formed by the government, contracts for $30 million worth of tungsten from China. This has the dual purpose of increasing reserves of this vital metal and bolstering China's economy. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "I have no doubt that President Roosevelt would drag us into this war by the heels if he could." - John F. Ryan, President of the Newspaper Guild of New York