Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas died of toxemia brought on by a throat infection in Athens, Greece. M. A. Korizis took over as the new Premier of Greece upon his predecessor’s death. General Ioannis Metaxas, the Premier of Greece and hero of his country’s resistance to the Italian aggressors, died at the age of 70. “Premier for life,” he died of a throat infection in his suburban home in Kiphissia at 6:20 AM while his soldiers were fighting in Albania, on the snow-covered soil of the Italians who invaded them, fighting for the life of Greece. A soldier who was exiled for being too pro-German in the Great War, he was a fervent royalist and nationalist. He was the “father” of the modern Greek army. As chief of staff on three occasions, he reorganized the army, built a northern defensive line, and established a military academy. Above all he imbued the Greeks with his own fighting spirit, and when he contemptuously rejected Mussolini’s ultimatum the country united behind him. His monument will be Greece’s string of victories over the Italians.
Metaxas remains a very divisive figure in Greece to this day. He also was a man of many contradictions, as he was fervently pro-German during World War I and later came to fear them. Some deplore his authoritarian style and dictatorial policies, while others remember him as a populist who always put Greece and the Greek people first. One thing is for certain: he left Greece in a much better military posture than anyone thought possible. Not only is the Greek army shoving the Italians all over Albania, he also gives the Greek state at least a chance of holding off the Germans along the Bulgarian border with his chain of fortifications known as the Metaxas Line.
Alexandros Koryzis became Prime Minister of Greece upon the death of Ioannis Metaxas.
Elements of British 7th Armoured Division outflanked Italian artillery overlooking Derna, Libya, forcing General Bergonzoli to withdraw the guns overnight. The Italians evacuated Derna, Libya, which was subsequently occupied by units of the 6th Australian Division. The Italians continued their westward retreat across North Africa in the face of the Allied advance. The Australian 2/11th Battalion enters Derna and finds that the Italians had evacuated the town.
Approximately 1,000 German technicians and airmen now are stationed in Libya to aid the Italians against the British, an Italian prisoner said tonight. The technicians represent the majority of Germans and the “German dive-bomber pilots have been raiding the British army and fleet,” he said. This prisoner was one of thousands pouring into Tobruk to board military transports shuttling steadily between this captured Fascist port and Egyptian bases. Many of these prisoners talked eagerly when they saw the American correspondent’s insignia on my uniform. One who said his father lived in New York said: “The Australians are good men.”
The Battle of Trebeshina began in southeastern Albania. On 27 January, the Greek III/4 Battalion under Major Ioannis Baldoumis captured Height 1923 and set up defensive positions in deep snow, while the I/5 Battalion under the command of Major Antonios Goulas captured Height 1620. Due to heavy snow and blizzards, the Greeks were soon forced to abandon Trebeshina, which was subsequently occupied by two Italian Blackshirt battalions.
II Corps, reinforced with the Cretan 5th Division from III Corps, repulsed the Italian attack by 29 January and then attacked towards the Trebeshina massif. On the same day, the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas died from an infection and was replaced by Alexandros Koryzis. Metaxas’s death damaged the morale of the Greek troops. Against stiff resistance, the Cretan Division captured Trebeshina on 2 February, and the 15th Division captured the village of Bubeshi. On 14 February 1941, the 6th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Division, under Colonel Ioannis Theodorou, repelled an Italian attack on the Skutara line near Height 504. The attack aimed to dislodge the Greek defensive line in the coastal sector, near the Albanian port city of Vlorë. The Greeks suffered 109 killed and wounded in the engagement.
On 13 February, the Cretan Division broke through the Trebeshina massif, capturing the Maricaj Heights; however, their offensive was halted by the bad weather on 18 February. It was a costly victory, particularly for the Cretan Division, which suffered 5,776 killed, wounded, or missing and had ceased to exist as a combat-worthy formation. The Greek positions at Trebeshina were subject to the main attack of Operazione Primavera during the Italian Spring Offensive in early March, but were held until the Greek withdrawal south following the German invasion of Greece on 6 April.
CIGS to Wavell: “Please tell me urgently when you hope to capture Benghazi. Information will be kept strictly secret but is required in connection with assistance it may be necessary to give to Turkey.”
British forces based in Kenya led by General Sir Alan Cunningham crossed the border from Kenya into Italian Somaliland and began attacking the Italian colonial garrison. Meanwhile the South African troops came ashore in Italian Somaliland. This combined with British advances through Eritrea made the Italian armies in the Horn of Africa increasingly in danger of being surrounded.
Major-General Noel Beresford-Peirse’s British 4th Indian Division ends a fake diversionary attack it has been staging against Mount Itaberrè and Mount Caianac, north of Agordat. It also fails to capture Mount Laquatat, which it really does want to take. These are rare failures for the advancing British forces, which otherwise have had little opposition on their advance into Italian East Africa. Beresford-Pierse sends the 1st Battalion of the 6th Rajputana Rifles Regiment to take Mount Cochen, which it does. The Italian troops in the sector, however, are in good fighting form and make plans to try to retake the mountain.
A British military authority suggested today that the expected early attempt of the Germans to invade England might be abandoned because of the necessity of giving large-scale help to the Italians and the exigencies of Nazi military adventures in the Balkans. If the Germans do in fact try the thrust across the channel, he added, they will time it to begin “before American aid becomes too pronounced.” As to the Balkans, the informant declared that Nazi mechanics and technical troops in civilian dress were preparing airfields in Bulgaria and that there were 8 to 10 German divisions in Rumania. These preparations, he added, might signal a Nazi drive southwards to Salonika to isolate the Greeks in Albania and, with a strong concentration of bombers, to attempt to close the Mediterranean to large British convoys. Despite all this, he said that the German army, vast as it is, is spread out from Narvik to Massena and from Brest to Bucharest and has large garrisons, for example 70 divisions in Poland that are “in ticklish position.”
Winston Churchill sends a lengthy memo to Secretary of State for War David Margesson. Among many other things, he expands a criticism he has made to General Wavell in North Africa about the “tooth to tail” ratio of fighting men to service troops. He says that “our main objective in this theatre” of the Middle East is the transfer of forces to Greece and/or Turkey. He contemplates having 12 divisions available for this purpose “by July.”
Prime Minister Winston Churchill remains hacked off about Minister of Shipping Ronald Cross making statements that Churchill did not like. Upset at some of Cross’ statements, Churchill required that all press comments by “junior ministers” be cleared by him. Today, he casts his net a bit further and memos the Minister of Information, Alfred Duff Cooper. In this memo, Churchill demonstrates his worst authoritarian streak and outright bans Cross from giving weekly radio broadcasts (which presumably is within his wartime powers… sort of). The interesting thing is that he does not (apparently) tell Cross this himself, but instead tells the news outlets not to air him.
Churchill also states in the same memo that he is upset at broadcasts by socialist John Boynton “J.B.” Priestley. Churchill states that he “is far from friendly to the Government, and I should not be too sure about him on larger issues.” Quite a tacit implication there. Priestley, however, is extremely popular with ordinary citizens — only Churchill himself draws larger audiences — perhaps because he espouses populist left-wing ideas These resonate deeply with the population (which Churchill will find out definitively to his own regret in 1945). This memo eventually leads to the cancellation of Priestley’s popular radio talks — though Priestley’s son says in 2015 that in fact, it was the Cabinet that disliked Priestley and poisoned Churchill against him rather than the other way around. In any event, the days of Priestley’s talks now are numbered.
The British government has started installing 600,000 bunks in public air-raid shelters in London, 22,000 of them in the Tube stations. Regular shelterers are now given a ticket for a specific bunk. Sanitary facilities are being provided and the larger shelters provide snacks. There are food trains which run from station to station each evening and early in the morning. Some shelters are run by marshals or voluntary committees, which expel undesirables (down-and-outs have their own shelter under the rail arches at Charing Cross). One Tube shelter even has its own newspaper, ‘The Swiss Cottager’. Some have regular concerts and many hold card parties. There have been reports of plagues of lice and mosquitoes, but no epidemics. The number of people sheltering in Tube stations has fallen from a peak of 177,000 to 96,000.
Franz Schlegelberger became the German Minister of Justice upon the death of Franz Gürtner.
The Fenno-Soviet negotiations on the fate of Petsamo (Petchenga) nickel mines begin at Moscow. Finland received the Petsamo area in the Treaty of Tartto (Dorpat) in 1920 from the Soviet Russia, thus gaining an outlet to Arctic Sea. In the next year rich nickel deposits were found there, and ultimately the rights to mine the nickel ore were leased to an Anglo-Canadian consortium. The mine started to operate in late 1930s, and it proved to be one of the richest sources of nickel in Europe. In the Winter War the Soviets captured the Petsamo area, but for one reason or another Stalin decided to give it back to Finland after the war in March 1940. The reason for that is not known, but possibly Stalin’s foreknowledge of German plans to invade Norway played part. During the so-called interim peace between the Winter and Continuation wars (March 1940 to June 1941), Petsamo was of utmost importance to Finland as the only relatively safe outlet to the rest of the world. But the Soviets still greatly desired to have the nickel. In January 1941 was experienced what the Finns called the Nickel Crisis. The Soviets began to demand a share of the nickel mined in Petsamo, using very threatening expressions. For a time it seemed the Soviets were going to use the Petsamo nickel as a pretext to invade Finland yet again. Negotiations were started, but soon Germans began advising Finns to stay firm. Finally a compromise was reached: over British and Canadian objections it was decided that the Germans and Soviets could share the output of the mine. After the start of the Operation BARBAROSSA Germany naturally had the whole output of the mine. After the end of the Continuation War Petsamo was ceded to the Soviet Union, and the nickel mines there are now a major environmental hazard.
German submarines attacked Allied convoy SC.19 en route from Nova Scotia, Canada to Britain at about 200 miles northwest of Ireland. Between 0348 and 0405 hours, U-93 sank British ship King Robert, British tanker W. B. Walker, and Greek ship Aikaterini. At 0629 hours, U-94 sank British ship West Wales. At 0715 hours, U-106 sank Egyptian ship Sesostris. U-101 also attempted to attack, but she was chased off by British destroyers.
After an extended period (ten nights) without major air attacks, the Luftwaffe ramps back up slowly, sending 36 bombers against London. Many Londoners, feeling a false sense of security due to the lack of recent raids, have gone back to sleeping at home. This raid sends many back to the shelters and tubes.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 1 Blenheim during the day to Amsterdam which turned back.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 25 Wellingtons and 9 Hampdens overnight to Wilhelmshaven. The target was the Tirpitz but it could not be located and only 19 aircraft reported bombing in the target area. Wilhelmshaven reports many houses and an old water-tower destroyed and 18 people killed with many injured. No aircraft lost.
RAF Bomber Command continues its persistent and fruitless attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz at Wilhelmshaven. It sends 25 Wellingtons to attack it, to no effect. If ever there were a warship that earned its keep by simply remaining afloat as a persistent target, it is the Tirpitz.
The Luftwaffe sends planes to bomb the Suez Canal again. Previously, it has failed, as the canal lies at the extreme range of German planes. This time, however, the Germans succeed, dropping mines from Heinkel He 111 bombers.
The prototype Tupolev ANT-58 (which would later be developed into the successful Tu-2 medium bomber) made its maiden flight.
U-93, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Claus Korth, sank British steamer King Robert (5886grt), British tanker W.B. Walker (10,468grt), and Greek steamer Aikaterini (4929grt) from convoy SC.19 in 56N, 15-23W.
At 0348 hours the King Robert (Master Leslie Trail) in convoy SC.19 was torpedoed and sunk by U-93 south of Rockall. The master and 21 crew members were picked up by HMS Anthony (H 40) (LtCdr V.C.F. Clark, RN) and landed at Gourock. 20 crew members were picked up by HMS Lady Madeleine (FY 283) (T/Lt P.H. Potter, RNR) and also landed at Gourock. The 5,886 ton King Robert was carrying grain and was bound for Cardiff, Wales.
At 0355 hours the W.B. Walker (Master William Barnes Simpson) in convoy SC.19 was hit amidships by one G7a torpedo from U-93 about 150 miles southwest of Rockall. Four crew members were lost. The tanker was taken in tow by HMS Anthony (H 40) (LtCdr V.C.F. Clark, RN) and HMS Arab (FY 202) (Lt C.A. Shillan), but she broke in two on 1 February. The forepart was scuttled by gunfire from an escort on 6 February, while the afterpart sank on 13 February in 58°15N/07°01W. The master and 42 crew members were picked up by HMS Anthony (H 40) and HMS Antelope (H 36) (LtCdr R.T. White, DSO and Bar, RN), transferred to HMS Arab (FY 202) and landed at Gourock. The 10,468 ton W.B. Walker was carrying aviation and motor fuel and was bound for Avonmouth, England.
At 0405 hours the Aikaterini in station #71 of convoy SC.19 was hit on the port side aft by one G7e torpedo from U-93 and sank 111 miles south-southwest of Rockall. The ship had tried to ram the U-boat before she was torpedoed. One crew member was picked up by HMS Arab (FY 202) (T/Lt C.A. Shillan, RNVR) but died shortly after being rescued. 30 survivors were picked up by HMS Anthony (H 40) (LtCdr V.C.F. Clark, DSC, RN) and landed at Greenock on 31 January. The 4,929 ton Aikaterini was carrying 7844 tons of grain, bound for Dublin, Ireland.
U-94, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Herbert Kuppisch, sank British steamer West Wales (4354grt), which was straggling from convoy SC.19, in 56N, 15-23W. At 0618 hours the West Wales (Master Frederick Charles Nicholls), a straggler from convoy SC-19, was hit amidships by one G7e torpedo from U-94 south-southwest of Rockall. At 0629 hours, she was hit by a second G7e torpedo and settled by the stern. Immediately afterwards, the U-boat was forced to dive by gunfire from a destroyer and several times unsuccessfully attacked with depth charges. The master, 14 crew members and one gunner were lost. 17 crew members were picked up by HMS Antelope (H 36) (LtCdr R.T. White, DSO and Bar, RN) and four crew members by HMS Anthony (H 40) (LtCdr V.C.F. Clark, RN) and landed at Gourock. The 4,353 ton West Wales was carrying steel and was bound for Newport, Wales.
U-106, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Jürgen Oesten, sank Egyptian steamer Sesostris (2962grt), which was straggling from convoy SC.19, in 56N, 15-23W. At 0715 hours the Sesostris was hit near the bridge by a stern torpedo from U-106 and sank by the bow within ten minutes. The U-boat had spotted two stragglers from convoy SC.19 and a destroyer at 0550 hours and missed the Sesostris with a first torpedo at 0607 hours. After that, the ship successfully prevented several attack runs by hard turning and firing flares. The 2,962 ton Sesotris was bound for Dublin, Ireland.
German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau continue heading northeast toward a rendezvous with an oil tanker. The weather remains very rough, and the German ships are beyond the range of RAF reconnaissance, so they proceed unmolested.
Destroyers HMS Intrepid and HMS Impulsive arrived at Scapa Flow at 1045 from the Humber.
Destroyer HMS Legion departed Scapa Flow for Greenock to refit radio direction finding equipment. The destroyer arrived on the 30th.
Destroyer HMS Eclipse arrived at Scapa Flow from Rosyth after boiler cleaning.
Destroyer HMS Cottesmore departed Scapa Flow at 1700 for Aberdeen to escort steamer Ben My Chree. The steamer arrived at Scapa Flow at 1030/30th. The destroyer had become separated during the night. At 1300/31st, the steamer departed Scapa Flow, escorted by destroyer Cottesmore, for Aberdeen. The destroyer arrived back at Scapa Flow at 1100 on 1 February.
Heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland departed Buenas Aires to patrol off South America.
Light cruiser HMS Neptune departed Gibraltar for Scapa Flow arriving on 5 February.
German raider Kormoran sank British steamer Eurylochus (5723grt) carrying crated aircraft to Takoradi at 8-15N, 25-04W. Fifteen crewmen were lost and thirty eight were taken prisoner. Twenty eight survivors were picked up by Spanish steamer Monte Teide (6202grt).
British steamer Afric Star (11,900grt) was sunk by German raider Kormoran at 8N, 25W, four hundred miles west of St Vincent. All crew members were made prisoners of war.
Heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk was sent to protect SL convoy routes. Heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire was sent to the Eurylochus sinking area.
British steamer Westmoreland (8967grt) was damaged on a mine three miles 270° from Bar Light Vessel. The steamer abandoned by the crew. The steamer was assisted by destroyer HMS Wild Swan, barrage balloon vessel HMS Vigilant, and rescue tugs Alfred, Coburg, Slone, Wapping, and Alexander. The ship was later reboarded. The steamer arrived at Liverpool on the 31st in tow.
Submarine HMS Upright departed Malta to patrol the Tunisian coast route from Sicily to Tripoli.
Minesweeper HMS Stoke, minesweeping off Tobruk, lost her sweeping gear. Minesweeper HMS Huntley relieved the minesweeper off Tobruk.
British steamers Devonshire and Dilwara, formerly of convoy US.008/1, departed Port Said escorted by destroyer HMS Wryneck. On arrival at Haifa, the destroyer returned to Alexandria.
Convoy FN.395 departed Southend, escorted by destroyers HMS Southdown, HMS Vivien, and HMS Woolston, and arrived at Methil on the 31st.
Convoy FS.399 departed Methil, escorted by destroyers HMS Westminster and HMS Wolfhound. Destroyer HMS Pytchley joined on the 30th, and arrived at Southend on the 31st.
Secretary Morgenthau told the Ways and. Means Committee today in speaking for a bill to increase the national debt limit from $49,000,000,000 to $65,000,000,000 that actual and contemplated appropriations for national defense would exhaust the Treasury’s borrowing power late in the fiscal year 1942 and might require an additional $3,500,000,000.
Discussing with committee members the government’s probable financial needs in what was described as more of a “huddle” than a hearing, Mr. Morgenthau said that in consideration of these needs, he and his advisers had been “very conscious of the Lend-Lease bill” and its provisional commitments for financial aid to Great Britain in the form of providing material which would be lent or leased.
Mr. Morgenthau described to the committee plans to issue certificates and stamps of small denomination to help finance the defense program out of the “real savings of the people,” rather than out of bank deposits. He also urged that the income of future issues of government bonds be made taxable.
Secret U.S.-British-Canadian staff conversations begin in Washington to determine joint strategy in case of the U.S. becoming involved in the war. Secret U.S.-British-Canadian staff conversations begin in Washington to determine joint strategy in case of U.S. involvement in the war; the talks will continue until 27 March. They produce conclusions code named ABC-1 which state that Allied policy in the event of war with Germany and Japan should be to put the defeat of Germany first. The talks mark an important stage in the development of cooperation between the US and Britain. As well as their important decisions they accustom the staffs to working with each other. One decision was that U.S. and Allied representatives would meet in Singapore on April 21, 1941, to discuss development of common defense policies and procedures.
A proposal to place an outright ban on the use of United States naval vessels to convoy supplies to Britain was rejected by the House Foreign Affairs Committee today as it neared the end of its consideration of the Lend-Lease program for aiding countries battling the axis. The committee did, however, approve an amendment stating that the measure neither authorizes nor permits the use of American vessels. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives voted today to incorporate four amendments in the Administration’s Lend-Lease Bill, which it has under consideration. They were as follows:
- “No defense article not manufactured or procured under paragraph (1) shall in any way be disposed of under this paragraph, except after consultation with the Chief of Staff of the Army or the Chief of Naval Operations of the Navy, or both.
- “Neither the President nor the head of any department or agency shall, after June 30, 1943, exercise any of the powers conferred by or pursuant to subsection (a), except to carry out a contract or agreement with such a government made before July 1, 1943.
- “Nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize or to permit the authorization of convoying vessels by naval vessels of the United States.
- “The President from time to time, but not less frequently than once every ninety days, shall transmit to the Congress a report of operations under this act except such information as he deems incompatible with the public interest to disclose. Reports provided for under this subsection shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, if the Senate or House of Representatives, as the case may be, is not in session.”
The amendments, which were adopted by the Democratic majority of the committee against the votes of the Republican members, were designed to counteract middle-of-the-road opposition in both parties. In their general sense, they constituted declarations of Congressional policy rather than limitations on the powers proposed to be delegated to the President, but they were written in response to criticisms which have been expressed during the public hearings on both sides of the Capitol. Meanwhile, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at its public hearings on the Lend-Lease Bill, had Secretary Stimson on the witness stand the entire day. Mr. Stimson urged adoption of the bill as drafted.
Secretary Morgenthau told the Ways and. Means Committee today in speaking for a bill to increase the national debt limit from $49,000,000,000 to $65,000,000,000 that actual and contemplated appropriations for national defense would exhaust the Treasury’s borrowing power late in the fiscal year 1942 and might require an additional $3,500,000,000. Discussing with committee members the government’s probable financial needs in what was described as more of a “huddle” than a hearing, Mr. Morgenthau said that in consideration of these needs, he and his advisers had been “very conscious of the Lend-Lease bill” and its provisional commitments for financial aid to Great Britain in the form of providing material which would be lent or leased. Mr. Morgenthau described to the committee plans to issue certificates and stamps of small denomination to help finance the defense program out of the “real savings of the people,” rather than out of bank deposits. He also urged that the income of future issues of government bonds be made taxable.
Henry Ford has notified Washington that he will never operate his huge industrial organization under “closed shop” conditions and, if ordered to do so by a labor board decree, will retire from American business and offer his factories to the government for federal operation at a dollar-a-year fee, it was learned today. Ford delivered this ultimatum to a high defense official when asked to meet with Sidney Hillman, C.I.O, leader and labor chieftain, in the O.P.M., in an effort to solve all labor issues affecting the Ford industry. Ford flatly refused to consult with Hillman, declaring he would never permit the C.I.O. leader to “tell me what to do.”
Nationalist Chinese soldiers and Kuomintang guerrillas recover Zhenyang from the Japanese. The Nationalist Chinese capture Zhenyang from the Japanese, while the Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade captures Huai-yang. In the Battle of Southern Honan, the Japanese 11th Army holds its ground against attacks by the Chinese 5th War Area.
The Japanese brokered armistice talks begin between the French and Thais. An unofficial cease-fire remains in effect. Seven Japanese, six French and six Thai representatives held a forty-five-minute session and it was reported that the armistice document would be signed tomorrow. This would formalize a cessation of border hostilities pending a Japa nese-mediated peace settlement at Tokyo. The head French negotiator was Georges Gautier, Resident Superior and 1lrector of the Cabinet of Governor General Admiral Jean Decoux. Japanese naval units in the Saigon vicinity on the occasion of the negotiations were reported by a witness arriving by boat at Saigon to Include, besides the Natori, a seaplane tender, two torpedo boats, an armored cruiser and a naval oil tanker-eight miles off Cap St. Jacques, about forty miles southeast of Saigon.
Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka told the House last night that he had not yet given up hope regarding Japan’s relations with the United States. He stressed the importance of the appointment of Admiral Nobumasa Nomura as Ambassador to the United States.
The Australian Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, stops at Singapore and is appalled at the neglect of the island’s defenses, which he considers an easy target for Japan. Menzies is continuing his long journey to London and now is in Singapore. In his diary entry for today, he notes that the new Commander in chief of the Far East, Air Chief Marshall Sir Robert Brooke-Popham has “shoulders a little stooped” and his “hair and mustache are both sandy and wispy and a little indeterminate.” On the other hand, Menzies likes the governor, Sir Shenton Thomas, who strikes Menzies as “brisk and I should think efficient.” He also notes that Brooke-Popham says that, at his meeting with Churchill before assuming his position in Singapore, Churchill had told him to “Hold out to the last, my boy, God bless you” — which does not seem overly optimistic.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 126 (-2.6)
Born:
Bill Nelsen, NFL quarterback (Pro Bowl, 1969; Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns), in Los Angeles, California (d. 2019).
Kern Carson, AFL halfback (San Diego Chargers, New York Jets), in Hope, Arkansas (d. 2002).
Bob Hogsett, NBA and ABA power forward (Detroit Pistons; ABA: Pittsburgh Pipers), in Holston Valley, Tennessee (d. 1984, murdered).
Died:
Ioannis Metaxas, 69, Prime Minister of Greece.
Naval Construction:
The Royal Australian Navy Bathurst-class minesweeper-corvette HMAS Wollongong (J 172) is laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co. Ltd. (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia).
The U.S. Navy Benson-class destroyer USS Bailey (DD-492) is laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Corp. (Staten Island, New York, U.S.A.).
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ranger-class fleet tanker RFA Blue Ranger (X 57; postwar A 157) is launched by Harland and Wolff (Govan, Scotland).
The Royal Navy Bangor-class (Turbine-engined) minesweeper HMS Ilfracombe (J 95) is launched by William Hamilton & Co. (Port Glasgow, Scotland); completed by Whites M.E.
The Royal Navy Dance-class ASW trawler HMS Polka (T 139) is launched by Hall, Russell & Co. Ltd. (Aberdeen, Scotland).
The U.S. Navy Mackerel-class submarine USS Marlin (SS-205) is launched by the Portsmouth Navy Yard (Kittery, Maine, U.S.A.).
The Royal Navy “L”-class destroyer HMS Lively (G 40) is launched by the Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, U.K.).
The Royal Navy Fairmile B-class motor launch HMS ML 194 is commissioned.
The U.S. Navy “O”-class submarine USS O-4 (SS-65) is recommissioned as a training boat.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type IID U-boat U-152 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Peter-Erich Cremer.
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