This Date in History: September 18

 

On August 19, 1939 the U-38 departed Wilhelmshaven under the command of Heinrich Liebe for operations off Lisbon, Portugal.  She hit two ships on this patrol.  On September 6, 1939 at 7:44 a.m. off Portugal the U-38 sank the British 7,242-ton Manaar carrying government stores from Liverpool to Calcutta, India with deck-gun fire and three torpedoes, killing seven, after the Manaar opened fire with her own deck-gun as the U-boat approached.  At 1:50 p.m. on September 11, 1939 southwest of Ireland the U-38 sank the British 9,456-ton tanker Inverliffey, carrying 13,000 tons of gasoline from Trinidad to Coryton, England, with torpedoes and gunfire.  As the ship exploded, Liebe towed the ship’s lifeboats to safety.  The U-38 returned to Wilhelmshaven on September 18, 1939.  (Dönitz’s Crews: Germany’s U-Boat Sailors in World War II)

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Geli Raubal, Hitler’s half-niece and sweetheart, reportedly committed suicide with Hitler’s pistol on September 18, 1931 in Munich.  (2,000 Quotes From Hitler’s 1,000-Year Reich)