Neville Chamberlain gave a speech to the Conservative Party in London stating he was confident of victory and that Hitler had “missed the bus” by not taking advantage of Germany’s military superiority over Britain at the beginning of the war. Prime Minister Chamberlain ordered a secret House of Commons session for next Thursday to debate the world-wide economic warfare by which the allies seek to “drain the life blood out of our enemy.” Speaking outside the house he declared he was “ten times as confident” now of winning the war as he was when the conflict broke out because Adolf Hitler “missed the bus” in failing to launch a blitzkrieg last September… Rarely in history has a speech been so piteously and embarrassingly ill-timed.
The Katyn massacre of Polish prisoners by the Soviet NKVD commences. Over 20,000 Polish police, military officers, and intellectuals were massacred by the NKVD. The first transport, on 4 April 1940, carried 390 people, and the executioners had difficulty killing so many people in one night. The following transports held no more than 250 people. The executions were usually performed with German-made Walther Modell 2 pistols supplied by Moscow, but Soviet-made Nagant M1895 revolvers were also used. The executioners preferred to use German weapons rather than the standard Soviet revolvers, as the latter were said to offer too much recoil, which made shooting painful after the first dozen executions. Vasili Mikhailovich Blokhin, chief executioner for the NKVD — and quite possibly the most prolific executioner in history — is reported to have personally shot and killed 7,000 of the condemned, some as young as 18, from the Ostashkov camp at Kalinin prison over a period of 28 days in April 1940.
The NKVD reports to Molotov: out of the 22,000 Polish officers, 395 are “of value” and thus should be spared. The rest should be liquidated per the Politburo’s decision of 5 March 1940. The way to get on the “of value” is to be an informer in one of the camps, or to have some foreign connection that would make their sudden absence noticed abroad.
Hitler approves staff talks between OKW and Italian Comando Supremo.
Goring broadcasts an appeal aimed at German youth which notes that Germany will defeat Britain and France and create the greatest empire in the world. He notes that German young people must behave with decency and morality.
British newspapers reported concentrations of troops in German ports.
Winston Churchill traveled to Paris, France to persuade the French on a plan to mine Norwegian waters. Unable to convince French leadership to mine the Rhine River at the same time, Churchill decided that the British would mine Norwegian waters without French cooperation.
The British Treasury forms a company to trade with the Balkans in an effort to counter German economic penetration in the region.
It is raining heavily all along the Western Front, so there is little action today.
34 French communists convicted of illegally attempting to reorganize the Communist Party were sentenced to five years in prison. Eight others received suspended sentences of four years. The charge is illegally attempting to reorganize the banned Communist Party. It is now illegal, subject to the death penalty for treason, to read or spread communist or anti-war propaganda.
The French Minister of Marine reports that the French Navy has destroyed 23 U-boats during the conflict. In actual fact, the number of U-boats destroyed in the war is well below a dozen, and none of those were due to the French Navy.
The Netherlands declared itself in a state of siege.
Germany was reported authoritatively today to have agreed to refrain from asking an increase in oil shipments to the Reich if Rumania would promise to send Germany $10,000,000 worth of wheat this year.
Floods drove 20,000 Yugoslavs from their homes today. The Danube river town of Novisad, imminently endangered, mobilized dike-building crews from among its 15,000 residents.
Great Britain has warned Yugoslav ships that they may be halted by British warships and their cargoes seized if they carry bauxite for Germany through the Adriatic to Trieste, Italy, it was revealed today.
RAF bombers attack Kriegsmarine warships at the Jade estuary near Wilhelmshaven.
RAF Sunderland flying boats encounter six Stukas (Ju 87) over the North Sea. They shoot one down and force another to crash-land in Norway.
The British Norwegian Campaign (Operation WILFRED) commences under the command of Vice-Admiral William “Jock” Whitworth, a veteran of World War I. 16 submarines begin moving from the North Sea into the Skagerrak and the Kattegat. Admiral Sir Edward Evans (British commander of the Narvik operation) hoisted his flag on light cruiser HMS Aurora which arrived in the Clyde on the 4th. Aurora and another light cruiser at Scapa Flow were to escort a large transport to Narvik. Another large transport with troops and supplies for Trondheim was also in the Clyde.
British Vice Admiral Max Horton ordered British submarine HMS Snapper to depart Harwich naval base for the Skagerrak between Denmark and Norway and French submarines Amazone and Antiope (under British command) to depart Harwich for the Frisian Islands and Heligoland.
The Royal Navy drifter HMT Golden Dawn sank at Ardrossan, Ayrshire whilst on Admiralty service.
The Norwegian passenger liner Mira reaches Norway after its 107 passengers and crew have suffered numerous (failed) Luftwaffe attacks during its 6-day crossing.
In the North Atlantic, the German U-boat U-37 was supplied with fuel and oil by the German raider Ship 16 (Atlantis).
German fishing trawler Friesland (247grt) was captured by destroyer HMS Hostile in 70 06N, 17 01E, northwest of Tromso, Friesland. She was taken to Kirkwall arriving on the 10th.
Convoy OA.123GF departs Southend.
Convoy OB.123 departs Liverpool.
Convoy HN.24 with three British, twelve Norwegian, five Swedish, fourteen Danish, three Finnish and three Estonian ships departed Bergen escorted by destroyers HMS Somali, HMS Matabele, HMS Mashona and HMS Tartar. Light cruisers HMS Penelope, HMS Sheffield and anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Cairo provided close support. Destroyers HMS Codrington (D.1) and HMS Janus departed Scapa Flow at 1300/5th and were ordered to search for a German submarine reported in 59 00N, 0 52W. At daylight on the 6th, Codrington joined destroyer HMS Kimberley, which had departed Scapa Flow at 1200/5th with anti-submarine trawlers HMS Man O’ War (517grt) and HMS Lady Elsa (518grt) to escort six ships of the west coast portion of the convoy. HN.24 arrived safely at Methil on the 7th. Kimberley and Codrington reached Scapa Flow at 0630/7th after the convoy dispersed off Cape Wrath.
Convoy FN.137 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer HMS Wolsey and sloop HMS Auckland. The convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 6th.
Convoy FS.138 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloop HMS Fleetwood and HMS Hastings. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 6th.
Convoy MT.44 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer HMS Westminster and the anti-submarine trawlers of the 19th Anti-Submarine Group. The convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day.
The War at Sea, Thursday, 4 April 1940 (naval-history.net)
Battleship WARSPITE with destroyers GRIFFIN, MOHAWK, HERO, and JUPITER departed Scapa Flow at 0130 for the Clyde. JUPITER was relieved later on the 4th by destroyer DELIGHT . Destroyer ASHANTI departed the Clyde at 0400/4th to relieve HERO which returned to Scapa Flow arriving at 0600/5th. The force arrived at the Clyde without incident at 0600/5th. Upon arrival, GRIFFIN and MOHAWK returned to Scapa Flow. WARSPITE departed the Clyde on the 7th escorted by destroyers HESPERUS, HAVANT, and MACKAY. She was due to arrive at Gibraltar on the 12th to return to the Mediterranean Fleet, but was soon recalled due to events in Norway.
Submarine NARWHAL, which departed Rosyth on the 2nd,laid mines at 0413 in the Heligoland Bight area in 54-37N, 6-35E. This minefield, designated FD.1, had no confirmed victims, but may have been responsible for U-1’s loss. German trawler DEUTSCHLAND (432grt) was damaged on this field on the 13th.
Convoy HN.24 with three British, twelve Norwegian, five Swedish, fourteen Danish, three Finnish and three Estonian ships departed Bergen escorted by destroyers SOMALI, MATABELE, MASHONA, and TARTAR. Light cruisers PENELOPE and SHEFFIELD and anti-aircraft cruiser CAIRO provided close support. Destroyers CODRINGTON (D.1) and JANUS departed Scapa Flow at 1300/5th and were ordered to search for a German submarine reported in 59 00N, 0 52W. At daylight on the 6th, CODRINGTON joined destroyer KIMBERLEY, which had departed Scapa Flow at 1200/5th with anti-submarine trawlers MAN O’ WAR (517grt) and LADY ELSA (518grt) to escort six ships of the west coast portion of the convoy. HN.24 arrived safely at Methil on the 7th. KIMBERLEY and CODRINGTON reached Scapa Flow at 0630/7th after the convoy dispersed off Cape Wrath.
Convoy FN.137 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer WOLSEY and sloop AUCKLAND. The convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 6th.
Convoy FS.138 departed the Tyne, escorted by sloop FLEETWOOD and HASTINGS. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 6th.
Convoy MT.44 departed Methil, escorted by destroyer WESTMINSTER and the anti-submarine trawlers of the 19th Anti-Submarine Group. The convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day.
Blockship REDSTONE (3110grt) departed Rosyth at 1030 under the tow of tug IRISHMAN for Scapa Flow escorted by destroyers BRAZEN and ELECTRA. The ship was joined in heavy weather on the 6th by tug BRIGAND from Kirkwall. REDSTONE arrived at Scapa Flow at 1900/6th and was sunk as a blockship at Scapa Flow on 2 May.
NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN
BRITISH TRANSPORTS FOR ALLIED LANDINGS
Admiral Sir Edward Evans (British commander of the Narvik operation) hoisted his flag on light cruiser AURORA which arrived in the Clyde on the 4th. AURORA and another light cruiser at Scapa Flow were to escort a large transport to Narvik. Another large transport with troops and supplies for Trondheim was also in the Clyde.
ALLIED SUBMARINE MOVEMENTS IN ANTICIPATION OF NORWEGIAN OPERATIONS
Composition of the Submarine Flotillas in Home waters just prior to the start of the Norwegian campaign. Vice Admiral Submarines – Vice Admiral Sir Max K Horton.
2nd Submarine Flotilla (Captain G C P Menzies)
Depot ship FORTH
Submarines THISTLE (Lt Cdr W F Hanselfoot), TRIAD (Lt Cdr E R.J Oddie), TRIBUNE (Lt Cdr G P S Davies, refitting, Lt E F Balston from 8 May), TRIDENT (Lt Cdr A G L Seale, Lt Cdr G M Sladen from 18 April), TRITON (Lt Cdr E F Pizey), TRUANT (Lt Cdr C H Hutchinson, Lt Cdr H A V Haggard from early May), TRIUMPH (Lt J S Stevens, refitting, Lt E Bruce from 13 April), SEAL (Lt Cdr R.P Lonsdale), PORPOISE (Cdr P Q Roberts), Polish ORZEL (Lt Cdr Jan Grudzinski, ORP) and WILK (Lt Cdr Boguslaw Krawczyk, ORP) refitting
3rd Submarine Flotilla (Captain P Ruck-Keene)
Depot ship CYCLOPS
Submarines SALMON (Lt Cdr E O B Bickford DSO) refitting, SEALION (Lt Cdr B Bryant), SEAWOLF (Lt Cdr J W Studholme), SHARK (Lt Cdr P N Buckley), SNAPPER (Lt W D A King), STERLET (Lt Cdr G H S Haward), SUNFISH (Lt Cdr J E Slaughter)
6th Submarine Flotilla (Captain J S Bethell)
Depot ship TITANIA
Submarines STURGEON (Lt G D A Gregory), UNITY (Lt J F B Brown, Lt F J Brooks from 20 April), URSULA (Lt Cdr W K A N Cavaye), SPEARFISH (Lt Cdr J H Forbes), SWORDFISH (Lt P J Cowell), CLYDE (Lt Cdr R.L S Gaisford, Lt Cdr D C Ingram from 18 April), SEVERN (Lt Cdr B W Taylor), NARWHAL (Lt Cdr R.J Burch)
10th French Submarine Flotilla (Capitaine de Vaisseau F H R.De Belot)
Depot ship JULES VERNE
Submarines SYBILLE (Capitaine de Corvette A J R.Raybaud), AMAZONE (Lieutenant de Vaisseau R.H G Richard), ANTIOPE (Lieutenant de Vaisseau M A L Balastre)
Nineteen allied submarines were ordered to patrol areas in the Kattegat, Skagerrak and southern North Sea in anticipation of German military reaction to the British Norwegian operations. During the morning of 8 April the submarines were located as follows. French AMAZONE and ANTIOPE, which departed Harwich on the 4th, were on patrol off the Frisian Islands and Heligoland, respectively. SHARK and SEAWOLF, which departed Harwich on the 7th, were en route to patrol in the southwest North Sea, off Terschelling west of Jutland. UNITY, which departed Blyth on the 2nd, was in the Heligoland Bight off Horn’s Reef. In the Kattegat or en route. TRITON, which departed Rosyth on 29 March, was north of Laeso. SUNFISH, which departed Harwich on the 2nd, was in the Kattegat north of Anholt. SEALION, which departed Harwich on the 1st, was in the Kattegat. SNAPPER, which departed Harwich on the 4th, was north of the German declared area in the Skagerrak. On patrol in the Skagerrak or en route. URSULA, which departed Blyth on the 8th, was west of the German declared mine area in the Skagerrak.
CLYDE, which departed Scapa Flow on the 7th, was en route to Egersund; she was being hindered by German aircraft and did not arrive until 0300/9th. SEVERN, which departed Portsmouth with new submarine TARPON on the 5th and joined convoy FN.39 for the passage to Rosyth. SEVERN was in the area of Hartlepool on passage to vicinity of 57-00N, 6-00E. TRUANT, which departed Rosyth on the 6th to relieve submarine TRIDENT, was off Egersund. TRIAD, which departed Rosyth on the 8th to relieve submarine TRITON, was on passage east of the Skaw. THISTLE, which departed Scapa Flow on the 7th, was west of the Skagerrak. SPEARFISH, which departed Blyth on the 5th to relieve SWORDFISH, was north of the German declared area in the Skagerrak off the northwest coast of Denmark. STERLET, which departed Harwich on the 8th, was on passage to the Skagerrak. TRIDENT, which departed Rosyth on 25 March, was in Bohus Bay off Larvik. Polish ORZEL, which departed Rosyth on the 3rd, was off Kristiansand. SEAL departed Rosyth on the 6th to patrol off the Norwegian coast between Egersund and Lindesnes. She was north of the German declared mine area in 56-00N, 5-20E on the 8th. After the loss of THISTLE on the 10th, she entered Stavangersfjord.
NARWHAL returned to Blyth from minelaying mission FD.1 on the 6th, briefly docked to correct leaks, proceeded to Immingham to embark mines for another minelay and set off on the 10th. PORPOISE arrived back from convoy duty at Rosyth on the 4th and after refueling and repairs left on patrol on the 13th. SWORDFISH arrived back at Blyth on the 8th from patrol and again departed after refueling and repairs on the 16th. French SYBILLE arrived at Harwich on the 5th after a six-day patrol in the North Sea. She departed on the 9th to patrol off Horn Reef. TARPON (Lt Cdr H J Caldwell) departed Portsmouth on the 5th in company of SEVERN for working up at Rosyth, but was ordered to patrol in the Heligoland Bight. TARPON was west of the Skagerrak on the 8th. TAKU (Lt Cdr V J Van Der Byl) departed Portsmouth on the 2nd for the Clyde escorted by destroyer MALCOLM. At 0730 next morning off Start Point, MALCOLM was relieved by destroyer FOXHOUND. TAKU and FOXHOUND arrived in the Clyde at 0600/5th. TAKU departed Greenock for patrol on the 11th to relieve submarine CLYDE off Egersund, but was diverted en route to Molde. TETRARCH (Lt Cdr R.G Mills) departed Portsmouth escorted by sloop FOXGLOVE on the 13th for working up at Rosyth, but en route was diverted off Flamborough Head on the 14th to patrol off Lister.
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Destroyer SALADIN sustained damage to her hull plating while going alongside another ship in the Western Approaches Command.
German fishing trawler FRIESLAND (247grt) was captured by destroyer HOSTILE in 70 06N, 17 01E, northwest of Tromso, Friesland. She was taken to Kirkwall arriving on the 10th. This was not the trawler FRIESLAND used for British service; that was a Dutch trawler (180grt).
U-37 refueled from German armed merchant cruiser ATLANTIS. The next day, U-37, which was unable to keep up with ATLANTIS in heavy seas, was detached from the escort of ATLANTIS in the Denmark Strait.
French destroyer BISON departed Oran escorted armed merchant cruisers EL D’JEZAIR, EL MANSOUR, EL KANTARA, and VILLE D’ORAN to Brest, arriving on the 8th for Norwegian operations.
President Roosevelt discussed navy reorganization plans with Representatives Vinson and Darden and political and relief conditions in Missouri with Governor Lloyd C. Stark.
The Senate considered the resolution to extend the trade treaties program, heard Senator Holt criticize actions of United States diplomatic representatives, received the Vandenberg resolution for an investigation of German White Book assertions and the Pepper bill to increase the 1940 relief appropriation to $1,627,000,000 and recessed at 5:07 PM until 11 AM tomorrow.
The House passed the $784,999,094 War Department Appropriation Bill, received the Smith bill to restrict political activities of labor unions and adjourned at 3:39 PM until noon tomorrow.
Four more attempts to amend the Administration’s resolution to extend the trade-agreements program for another three years were rejected by the Senate today. Senator Barkley, majority leader, predicted at the close of the session that the resolution would be passed tomorrow as it came from the House of Representatives. At no time today did the Administration leaders appear to doubt their ability to vote down proposed changes or limitations on the power to negotiate foreign trade agreements. They left the floor, for the most part, to the supporters of the amendment proposals.
The Republicans maintained their solidarity and voted for every amendment that was offered. They were joined by a group of Democrats on each ballot, but at no time did the margin in favor of the Administration go under six votes. A development of the day in the trade-agreements debate came in a shift by the Oklahoma Senators, who have hitherto voted with the Administration in support of the trade program.
Senators Thomas and Lee both voted for two amendments which would have prohibited any trade-agreement concessions which would lower the tariff to a point below the difference in foreign and domestic production cost. The Oklahomans were influenced, Mr. Lee stated on the floor, by a factor resulting from the Canadian agreement. A concession on zinc, turned out to be a benefit to Mexican rather than Canadian producers, and the matter was under review, he stated, adding that this example had sufficed to swing the Oklahoma Senators in favor of restricting the field of negotiation.
The first amendment to be voted down was the proposal by Senator O’Mahoney, to require approval by a majority vote in both houses of Congress for each new agreement or for the abrogation of an existing agreement. This was defeated by 44 to 36. Senator Adams brought up his amendment to provide that all new agreements might be put into effect only after the “approval” of the Senate, presumably by a majority vote. This was defeated, 46 to 34. The longest debate of the day was occasioned by Senator McCarran’s amendment to forbid tariff concessions which would reduce protection below the difference in foreign and domestic production costs. It was finally defeated, 42 to 36.
Sumner Welles, U.S. Undersecretary of State, tonight branded as “fantastic nonsense” German charges that he and French Premier Reynaud (then finance minister) recently discussed a map depicting French plans to “whittle down” the territory of the Reich. In Berlin, a German spokesman had said Welles, President Roosevelt’s fact-finding emissary to Europe, had been guilty of “bad taste’ in posing for a photograph in front of the map with Reynaud.
The statement of Gordon Conant, Attorney General of Ontario, in a speech last night that it was the duty of Canada to do everything to draw the United States into the war on the Allied side brought a stinging rebuke today from U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and open criticism by members of the Senate in debate.
The House passed the War Department’s 1941 supply bill today after eliminating a $1,000,000 item for land acquisition at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The measure was sent to the Senate carrying $784,999,094, a cut of $88,357,660 below the budget estimates. Little debate marked consideration of the measure, which contains almost half of the funds Congress was requested to appropriate for national defense during the next fiscal year. The House defeated, 178 to 17, a motion by Representative Marcantonio of New York, to recommit the bill with direction for a 10 percent reduction. Representative Clarence Cannon of Missouri, ranking member of the committee, told the House that passage of the measure, the last of the eleven regular supply bills, set a record for their early disposal. The only remaining major bill is the relief measure, which is put in the emergency category.
A statement indicating that the Administration will supplement its requests for 1941 relief funds to bring the total to an amount between $1,250,000,000 and $1,500,000,000 was read to the House Appropriations Committee today by Colonel F. C. Harrington, Works Projects Commissioner, who was delegated by President Roosevelt to present relief needs without regard to Bureau of the Budget estimates.
Asserting that he was not a candidate for President, that he had not “the slightest delusion about being nominated,” but would accept the nomination if it were offered him, Wendell L. Willkie, president of the Commonwealth and Southern Corporation, presented a three-point program yesterday for the rehabilitation of the country and for the return to what he termed traditional American liberalism. In a section of his address criticizing the “intolerant and authoritarian attitude” of the New Dealers, Mr. Willkie said he had been informed that a file on his activities was being kept in Washington and quoted a government official as having said that “we are going to get him if it is the last thing we ever do.”
Election of a Republican President will increase jobs and good business and mean “another era of Republican prosperity,” Alfred M. Landon, 1936 Presidential candidate, declared today at the State Republican convention in Wichita, Kansas.
Phil Frankfeld, executive secretary of the New England branch of the Communist party, declined today to answer any questions of the Committee to Investigate un-American Activities. His appearance was marked by a fury of shouts on all sides. His defiance of the committee aroused even the audience, He took this position when permission was refused him to read into the record a denunciation of the committee allegedly passed by a mass meeting of “10,000 citizens” in Boston a few days ago. Representative Martin Dies, chairman, was supported by the unanimous vote of the committee in a decision to seek a citation against Mr. Frankfeld for contempt of the House.
A dust storm, kicked up by a high north wind, blew in Weatherford, Oklahoma for the third consecutive day, with visibility falling at times to less than a mile. Farmers said the severe drought had halted wheat growth and most ponds, springs and cisterns were dry.
Curtiss-Wright’s Chief Test Pilot H. Lloyd Child flies the first production P-40 Warhawk, c/n13033, Air Corps serial number 39-156, at Buffalo, New York. The Curtiss-Wright Corporation Hawk 81 (P-40 Warhawk) was a single-seat, single-engine pursuit. It was a low-wing monoplane with an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear (including the tail wheel). The airplane was of all-metal construction and used flush riveting to reduce aerodynamic drag. Extensive wind tunnel testing at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory refined the airplane’s design, resulting in a significantly increased top speed.
The cruising speed of the P-40 is 272 miles per hour (438 kilometers per hour) and the maximum speed is 357 miles per hour (575 kilometers per hour) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The Warhawk has a service ceiling of 30,600 feet (9,327 meters) and the absolute ceiling is 31,600 feet (9,632 meters). The range is 950 miles (1,529 kilometers) at 250 miles per hour (402 kilometers per hour). These are all good figures for 1940, and the Air Corps designates the fighter as “pursuit.”
The musical stage comedy “Higher and Higher” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart premiered at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway.
Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer’s musical “Walk With Music”, opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC; runs for 50 performances.
Chinese Winter Offensive: Chinese 8th War Area halts offensive operations around this date. The Chinese 8th War Area, having recovered Wuyuan and other objectives, changes to the defensive. The Winter Offensive is now for all intents and purposes over. It was a huge success, bringing down the Japanese government and sending Japanese forces reeling.
Summary of the Chinese Winter Offensive:
Japanese military casualties: 50,000;
Chinese military casualties: 150,000;
Chinese civilian casualties: unknown.
There is a possibility that the Chungking Government soon will make “a supreme effort” to obtain decisive aid from Russia in the war against Japan, a reliable informant said today. Moscow, the informant said, has demanded increased representation in Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s “all-China anti-Japanese front” as a price for the assistance the government wants and there are indications that this demand will be met.
The British reply to veiled Japanese threats that any attempt to enforce naval contraband control in the Northwestern Pacific might be met by Japanese naval action was a polite but firm statement to the effect that Britain would respect Japanese sensibilities but intended to continue to exercise her rights as a belligerent.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 150.41 (+0.76)
Born:
Vladimir Timofeyevich Isakov, Russian cosmonaut (MIR CapCom; never flew in space), in Zilair, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
Richard Attwood, British racing driver, in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom.
Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (“Breaking the Waves”, “Dead Man”, “Korczak”), in Willemstad, Curaçao, Kingdom of the Netherlands (d. 2018).
Sharon Sheeley, American songwriter (“Somethin’ Else”), in Los Angeles, California (d. 2002).
Naval Construction:
The Royal Navy “S”-class (Third Group) submarine HMS Sibyl (P 217) is ordered as P 67 from the Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, U.K.).
The Royal Navy “S”-class (Third Group) submarine HMS Sea Rover (P 218) is ordered as P 68 from the Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Greenock, Scotland)
The Royal Navy “S”-class (Third Group) submarine HMS P 222 (P 222) is ordered as P 72 from Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.).
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Barrie (K 138) is laid down by the Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. (Collingwood, Ontario, Canada).
History Diaries 