Today in World War II History—December 3, 1940

British poster, WWII (Imperial War Museum)
80 Years Ago—Dec. 3, 1940: Britain allots each person an extra 4 oz of sugar and 2 oz of tea for Christmas.
CBS correspondent William Shirer makes his final broadcast from Berlin.

De Havilland Sea Vampire Mk.10 flown by Lt. Cdr. Eric “Winkle” Brown taking off from the carrier HMS Ocean on 3 December 1945 (British government photo)
75 Years Ago—Dec. 3, 1945: First British jet landing on a carrier: Lt. Cdr. Eric “Winkle” Brown lands a Vampire on HMS Ocean.
America’s first jet fighter group becomes operational, the 412th Fighter Group, equipped with P-80s at March Field, CA.