The Ordeal of Convoy SC.42
In a curt, don’t-bother-me-again reply to General Kirponos’ 10 September 1941 request to withdraw from Kyiv, Joseph Stalin personally responds:
“Do not abandon Kiev and do not blow up the bridges without Stavka permission.”
The Soviet troops stay put even as the German panzers continue driving toward each other to the east to close an encirclement.
[Ed: Stalin was a goddamned idiot.]
German artillery bombarded Leningrad, Russia throughout the day.
Joseph Stalin fired Semyon Budyonny as Commander-in-Chief of the Southwest Direction and replaced him with Semyon Timoshenko.
RAF Hawker Hurricane fighters from the No. 151 Wing based in Murmansk, Soviet Union saw their first action.
Konstantin Rokossovsky was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.
The Soviet government warns Bulgaria against allowing its territory to be used as a basis of attack by Germany and Italy.
Turkey has rejected a German demand to permit the Italian fleet to pass through the Dardanelles into the Black Sea to aid in the attack on Odessa, diplomatic sources said today. The Turkish stand was attributed to the stabilizing effect of the Anglo-Russian occupation of Iran.
The commandant of Stalag 318 (later Stalag VIII-F and known as the “Russian Camp”), Colonel Falkenberg, notes on September 11, 1941:
“These cursed Untermenschen [sub-humans] have been observed eating grass, flowers and raw potatoes. Once they can’t find anything edible in the camp they turn to cannibalism.”
Hermann Göring hears of this comment and retells it, with some embellishments, often at parties.
Hans-Joachim Marseille claimed shooting down a South African Maryland bomber over Libya, but the kill was not confirmed.
German submarines U-82, U-202, U-207, U-432, and U-433 attacked Allied convoy SC.42, sinking seven merchant ships 100 miles east of Greenland. On 11 September 1941, Kriegsmarine Wolfpack Markgraf, composed of 14 U-boats in a picket line, confronts Convoy SC,42 in the North Atlantic 100 miles southeast of Greenland. The convoy departed from Nova Scotia on 30 August 1941 bound for Liverpool.
It is a wild affair, with ships sinking all around, some on fire, and men in the water and in lifeboats. The action is confusing and so are the historical records, with different sources identify different ships sunk on different days. However, it is confirmed across all sources that September 10 and September 11, 1941, are horrendous days for Convoy SC,42.
U-82 (Kptlt. Siegfried Rollmann), on its first patrol out of Trondheim, is in the thick of it. It sank 7,465-ton British freighter Empire Hudson on the 10th, and today sinks three ships and seriously damages a fourth in quick succession just after midnight:
• 7,519-ton British freighter Bulysses;
• 3,915-ton British freighter Gypsum Queen;
• 1,999-ton Swiss freighter Scania (damaged);
• 5,463-ton British freighter Empire Crossbill.
However, that is not the only punishment that the Wolfpack inflicts today.
Three other U-boats get in on the action:
U-432 (Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze) sinks 1,231-ton Swedish freighter Garm.
U-207 (Oberleutnant zur See Fritz Meyer.) sinks British freighters 4,924-ton Berury and 4,803-ton Stonepool.
U-207’s crew does not have very long to celebrate its two kills. U-207 was sunk in the Denmark Strait by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Leamington and HMS Veteran, killing all 41 aboard.
To add to the devastation, U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe) finds a convoy straggler 1,549-ton Panamanian-flagged freighter Montana (a Panamanian flag generally indicates that it is a United States ship).
To date, Convoy SC.42 has lost 15 of its 65 ships. It still has a long way to Liverpool, too. However, as reinforcements, the Admiralty sends naval trawler Buttermere and Flower-class corvettes HMCS Wetaskiwin, HMCS Mimosa, and HMS Gladiolus from convoy HX 147 and the 2nd Escort Group consisting of the Admiralty type flotilla leader HMS Douglas (Commander WE Banks senior officer), the Town-class destroyer HMS Leamington, the V and W-class destroyer HMS Veteran and S-class destroyers HMS Skate and HMS Saladin. This armada guards Convoy SC.42 the rest of the way but SC.42 will lose yet another ship on the way to its destination.
Winston Churchill, defending one of his ministers from charges of hostility toward Britain’s Russian allies, was called a blackguard and liar today by William Gallacher, the only Communist member of parliament, who later apologized to both the prime minister and the house. The brief and ugly storm arose over allegations made recently by Jack Tanner, a labor leader, that Col. J. T. C. Moore-Brabazon, the minister for aircraft production, had expressed a hope that the German and Soviet armies would exterminate each other. It brought an incidental and official disclosure that hundreds of British fighting planes already are being sent out to Russia by Moore-Brabazon’s ministry. “Very deep and bitter feeling” existed amongst trades unionists over the colonel’s alleged remark concerning Russia, Gallacher said at the outset.
Admiral Nicholas Horthy, the Hungarian Regent, paid a three-day visit to Reichsführer Hitler at the Führer’s headquarters this week, according to an official communiqué issued tonight.
King Leopold III of Belgium, whilst a prisoner of the Germans, secretly married London-born Lilian Baels. As this had no validity under Belgian law a second ceremony was conducted on 6 Dec 1941.
The Reich military expenditure during the first two years of the war approximated 100,000,000,000 marks, financial experts in Berlin estimated today from data given in an article by Fritz Reinhardt, assistant minister of finance, published in the current issue of the leading Nazi economic weekly, Deutsch Volkswirtschaft.
Powerful shortwave radio stations broadcast throughout the world tonight U.S. President Roosevelt’s warning that the United States navy had been ordered to shoot first any axis war-craft found in areas considered vital to the country’s defense.
RAF Bomber Command, Day of 11 September 1941
23 Blenheims on shipping sweeps from Holland to Norway. A convoy off Holland was attacked without success. No aircraft lost.
RAF Bomber Command, Night of 11/12 September 1941
Rostock
56 aircraft – 39 Hampdens, 12 Wellingtons, 5 Manchesters – to the Heinkel factory and to the harbour but there was much cloud and most crews attacked the town. 2 Hampdens lost.
Kiel
55 Wellingtons to shipyards. 2 aircraft lost.
Most crews bombed the town area. Kiel reports bombs in the Deutsche Werke U-boat yard, a margarine factory, a grain warehouse, a brickworks and on private housing. 4 people were killed and 2 injured.
Warnemünde
32 Whitleys to attack the docks but most crews bombed the general town area. 1 Whitley lost.
Minor Operations: 20 Wellingtons to Le Havre, 8 aircraft to Boulogne, 20 Hampdens minelaying in the Frisians and off Heligoland and Warnemünde. 1 Whitley from the Boulogne force was lost.
No. 56 Squadron at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, becomes the first RAF squadron to receive the Hawker Typhoon Mk. IA.
British Fleet Air Arm fliers early yesterday bombed and strafed Gambut and Monastir airdromes in Cyrenaica, destroying two grounded Axis planes at Gambut and damaging others. This brought their total bag for seven days to fifteen German and Italian planes.
U-105, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe, sank Panamanian steamer Montana (1549grt) in 63-40N, 35-50W. At 1650 hours on 11 September 1941 the unescorted and neutral Montana (Master Martin Arnold Marinus Knudsen) was hit on port side by one of four G7e torpedoes fired by U-105 in very bad visibility about 330 miles northeast of Cape Farewell. The torpedo struck just ahead of the bridge and caused the ship to sink slowly by the bow with a heavy list to port. The survivors were observed to abandon ship in two lifeboats by an Allied aircraft, but they were never found. The 1,549-ton Montana was carrying timber and was bound for Reykjavik, Iceland.
The epic Battle of Convoy SC.42 continues.
U-82, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Siegfried Rollmann, sank British tanker Bulysses (7519grt) in 62-40N, 38-50W and steamer Gypsum Queen (3915grt) in 63-05N, 37-50W. At 0151 hours on 11 September 1941 U-82 fired four torpedoes at the convoy SC.42 south of Cape Farewell. The first three torpedoes missed and the fourth hit the Bulysses, which exploded. The stern shot at 0212 hours hit the Gypsum Queen, which sank within one minute.
Four crew members from the Bulysses (Master Bartram Lamb) were lost. The master, 50 crew members and six gunners were picked up by the Polish steam merchant Wisla from the same convoy and landed at Liverpool. The 7,519-ton Bulysses was carrying gas oil and was headed for Stanlow, England.
The master, eight crew members and one gunner from the Gypsum Queen (Master Alban Jason Chapman) were lost. 23 crew members and three gunners were picked up by the Norwegian steam merchant Vestland and landed at Belfast. The 3,915-ton Gypsum Queen was carrying sulfur and was headed for Glasgow, Scotland.
U-432, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Heinz-Otto Schultze, sank Swedish steamer Garm from the convoy in 63-02N, 37-51W. At 0406 hours on 11 Sep 1941, U-432 fired two torpedoes at two overlapping ships in the convoy SC.42 and observed one hit after 3 minutes 15 seconds. The ship hit was probably the Garm in station #24. The survivors were shortly thereafter rescued from their lifeboats by the Bestum and were landed at Reykjavik three days later. Of the ship’s complement, 6 died and 14 survived. The 1,231-ton Garm was carrying lumber and was headed for Kings Lynn, England.
U-433, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Hans Ey, possibly damaged Norwegian steamer Bestum (2215grt) in 63N, 37W. In an attack on the morning of 11 Sep 1942, U-433 missed two escorts and attacked at 0408 hours a burning ship. The SOE (Senior Officer Escort) reported a torpedo hit on the Bestum, which had stopped to pick up survivors from the torpedoed Swedish steam merchant Garm. But it is doubtful that the Bestum was hit (It is possible that U-433 had hit the damaged Garm). The Norwegian ship reached Reykjavik three days later with 14 survivors of the Garm on board.
U-207, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Fritz Meyer, sank British steamer Stonepool (4815grt) in 63-05N, 37-50W, British steamer Berury (4924grt) in 62-40N, 38-50W. At 0245 hours on 11 Sep 1941 the Stonepool at station #111 and five minutes later the Berury at station #112 in convoy SC.42 were torpedoed and sunk east of Cape Farewell. There are no attack reports for this time from the German side, so the attacker must have been U-207, which was sunk a few hours later by the escorts.
The master, 33 crew members and eight gunners from Stonepool (Master Joseph Hewitson Nicholson) were lost. Six crew members and one gunner were picked up by HMCS Kenogami (K 125) (LtCdr R. Jackson, RCNVR) and landed at Loch Ewe. The 4,803-ton Stonepool was carrying grain, oats and trucks and was headed for Avonmouth, England.
The Berury (Master Francis Joseph Morgan) was sunk with gunfire by a escort ship. One crew member was lost. The master, 36 crew members and four gunners were picked up by HMCS Kenogami (K 125) (Lt P.J.B. Cook) and landed at Reykjavik and HMCS Moosejaw (K 164) (Lt L.D. Quick), landed at Loch Ewe. The 4,924-ton Berury was carrying general cargo, including army stores and was headed for Belfast, Ireland.
U-82 next sank British steamer Empire Crossbill (5463grt) and damaged Swedish steamer Scania (1980grt) in 63-14N, 37-12W. At 0705 hours on 11 Sep 1941, U-82 (Rollmann) fired three torpedoes at three ships in the convoy SC.42 east of Cape Farewell and observed two hits. The Empire Crossbill sank immediately and the Scania was later sunk by U-202.
The Empire Crossbill (Master Eric Robinson Townend) sank with all hands: the master, 38 crew members, nine gunners and one passenger were lost. The 5,463-ton Empire Crossbill was carrying steel and relief goods and was headed for Hull, England.
U-202, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Hans-Heinz Linder, sank damaged Swedish steamer Scania (1980grt), straggling behind the convoy, in 63-14N, 37-12W. There were no casualties on the steamer Scania. The Scania was abandoned after the first hit by U-82 and fell behind the convoy where she was sunk by two torpedoes from U-202 at 1332 and 1347 hours. The 1,999-ton Scania was carrying lumber and was headed for Hull, England.
U-207 was sunk in the Denmark Strait in 63-59N, 34-48W. The U-207 was sunk in the Straits of Denmark southeast of Angmassalik, Greenland by depth charges from the destroyers HMS Leamington (G 19) and HMS Veteran (D 72). All of the ship’s complement of 41 died. During its career the U-207 sank 2 ships for a total of 9,727-tons.
Light cruiser HMS Kenya departed Scapa Flow for repairs in the Clyde. These repairs were to complete repairs to damage from her collision with destroyer HMS Brighton on 25 June. The light cruiser arrived in the Clyde on the 12th. The flag of CS.10 was transferred to light cruiser HMS Sheffield.
T/Sub Lt M. S. Mills RCNVR, was killed in motor gunboat MGB.67 in “action.”
British steamer Cormead (2848grt) was damaged by German bombing in 52-33N, 2-05E. The steamer anchored at Great Yarmouth Roads on the 12th.
British steamer trawler War Grey (246grt) was damaged by German bombing off Sunderland.
Destroyers HMAS Napier, HMS Kingston, and HMS Havock departed Alexandria for Tobruk with supplies. On their return, Senior Naval Officer, Inshore Squadron, Captain A. L. Poland DSO DSC, took passage to Mersa Matruh in destroyer Napier. The destroyers returned to Alexandria on the 12th.
Italian steamer Alfredo Oriani (3059grt) was sunk by British Blenheim bombers in 35-05N, 20-16E. The steamer which had departed Petrasso on the 11th was escorted by torpedo boat Cantore.
Light cruiser HMS Edinburgh (CS 18) departed Simonstown after escorting convoy WS.10 to Capetown. The cruiser arrived at Freetown on the 17th and Gibraltar on the 21st for Operation HALBERD.
Convoy ON.15 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyers HMS Keppel, HMS Sabre, HMS Shikari, and HMS Venomous, corvettes HMS Alisma, HMS Dianella, and HMS Sunflower, and anti-submarine trawlers HMS Lady Elsa, HMS Man O’ War, and HMS Northern Dawn. Destroyer Venomous and corvette Sunflower were detached on the 13th, destroyer Sabre on the 14th, and destroyer Keppel on the 15th. The remainder of the escorts remained with the convoy until it was dispersed on the 16th.
Convoy SC.44 departed Sydney, CB, escorted by armed merchant cruiser HMS Wolfe and corvettes HMCS Lethbridge, HMCS Napanee, and HMCS Shediac. Corvette HMCS Agassiz joined on the 12th. The escort which left with the convoy on the 11th was detached on the 14th when relieved by destroyer HMS Chesterfield and corvettes Alysse, HMS Honeysuckle, HMCS Levis, and HMCS Mayflower. Corvette HMCS Levis was lost on the 20th. Corvettes HMCS Arrowhead and HMCS Eyebright joined on the 20th. Corvette Honeysuckle was detached on the 21st and destroyer Chesterfield and corvettes HMCS Agassiz, Alysse, HMCS Arrowhead, HMCS Eyebright, and HMCS Mayflower were detached on the 22nd. Destroyers HMS Amazon, HMS Belmont, HMS Bulldog, and HMS Georgetown and corvettes Aconit and HMS Heartsease, and anti-submarine trawlers HMS Angle, HMS Cape Warwick, HMS Daneman, HMS Notts County, and HMS St. Apollo joined on the 22nd. Destroyers Amazon and Bulldog and corvettes Aconit and Heartsease were detached on the 27th. Destroyers Belmont and Georgetown and the trawlers were detached on the 28th. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on the 30th.
President Roosevelt, in a radio address, announced that the United States Army and Navy had been ordered to protect all waters considered essential to American defense and warned German and Italian warships to enter them at their peril.
The Senate received the preliminary report of the committee which investigated the petroleum shortage; received the Nye resolution for an investigation of the Greer incident and adjourned at 12:48 PM until noon on Monday. An Interstate Commerce sub-committee heard John T. Flynn in its investigation of alleged propaganda in the movies.
The House met and adjourned at 12:06 PM until noon on Monday.
In a broadcast to the nation at 9 PM (EDT) tonight, President Roosevelt issues the “Shoot on Sight” order to naval forces in the Atlantic in regard to German U-Boats. Roosevelt announced that American warships will attack German and Italian submarines on sight during his “fireside chat” radio address, equating their attacks to piracy. President Roosevelt, in the wake of the Greer / U-652 incident, announces order to Navy (“Shoot on Sight”) to attack any vessel threatening U.S. shipping or ships under American escort. Roosevelt declares that if German or Italian vessels of war enter American-protected waters, they “do so at their own risk.” President Roosevelt firmly warned the axis tonight that “no matter what it takes, no matter what it costs,” German and Italian warships will be sunk on sight if they enter areas vital to American defense. At the same time, delivering a world-wide address in reply to recent attacks on American shipping, the chief executive offered the protection of the United States navy to any merchant vessel “of any flag” plying those waters. And, he asserted: “No act of violence or intimidation will keep us from maintaining intact two bulwarks of defense: first our line of supply of material to the enemies of Hitler, and, second, the freedom of our shipping on the high seas.” He cautions, however, against overreacting to these “acts of international lawlessness.”
“We have sought no shooting war with Hitler, we do not seek it now.”
Roosevelt vows to keep open the seas “no matter what it costs” and likens U-boats to rattlesnakes.
President Roosevelt conferred early today at the White House with Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress to give them an advance outline of his speech which Stephen Early, White House secretary, stated “would leave no unanswered questions.”
Charles A. Lindbergh tonight charged the Roosevelt administration with seeking to put the nation into war as part of a British plot to “make us responsible for the war financially, as well as militarily.” “The prestige of the Roosevelt administration depends upon the success of Great Britain,” he declared before a rally of the America First Committee at Municipal Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. Lindbergh tells an audience of 7,500 that Jews are seeking to force America into the war and warns them of the consequences. Lindbergh sparked charges of anti-Semitism with his speech in which he blamed “the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration” for trying to draw the United States into World War II. Lindbergh said “the British, the Jews, and the Roosevelt administrations… [are] … the three most important groups who have been pressing this country toward war.” Lindbergh said he admired the British and Jewish races, but claimed that the Jews’ “greatest danger to this country lies in their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio and our government..” This remark and others during the speech are similar to the public statements of Adolf Hitler. Lindbergh had joined the America First Committee which opposed U.S. entry into the war.
Wendell L. Willkie, Republican candidate for President in 1940, called upon all Americans today to rally to the support of President Roosevelt in the policy enunciated in his radio address. Mr. Willkie declared that, while no man could say that the naval action ordered by the President “will involve us in war, any thoughtful person knows that if the President were less firm, disastrous war would be inevitable.”
President Roosevelt submitted report on lend-lease $7,000,000,000 appropriation to Congress.
The special Senate committee investigating the reports of a gasoline shortage on the Eastern seaboard reported today that not only was there no shortage but that “had an adequate analysis been made by those to whom the responsibility of coordination was delegated the confusion of the past few months might have been avoided.”
A joint Senate-House committee was reported agreed tonight that income tax exemptions should be reduced from $2,000 to $1,500 for married persons and from $800 to $750 for single persons. The treasury estimated this would yield an additional $30,000,000 annually and bring 4,911,000 additional persons under the income tax structure.
The ground-breaking ceremonies for the Pentagon building take place in Arlington, Virginia on a patch of farmland. It will take two years to build at a cost of $83 million. The Pentagon is planned to consolidate 17 War Department buildings into one complex. It has been ordered by Brig. General Brehon B. Somervell. The 9-11 attacks would come exactly 60 years after this day. Construction of the Pentagon is completed on January 15, 1943. Designed by architect George Bergstrom and built by contractor John McShain, construction is overseen by Leslie Groves
Secretary Stimson told reporters at a press conference today that he thought that the morale of troops In the Army was “not half as bad as you might think from the things said by critics.” It would be improved, he said, with the imminent weeding out of unfit officers and with gradual supplying of full equipment.
Executive order provides that such additional Coast Guard vessels, units, or people, should be transferred to the Navy as should be agreed upon between the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Chief of Naval Operations (see 6 August and 1 November).
U.S. Marine Corps 6th Defense Battalion relieved the 3rd Defense Battalion as the garrison force at Midway.
Unarmed U.S. freighter Arkansan is damaged by antiaircraft shell fragments during heavy air raid on Port Suez; there are no reported casualties among the 38-man crew.
Major League Baseball:
Scoring five runs in the fifth inning after a grounder rolled between Bill Werber’s legs, the Giants gained a 6–0 victory today at Crosley Field as they opened their farewell series against the Reds. Bob Carpenter got the shutout victory.
In a twelve-inning game, the Detroit Tigers’ Alton Benton outduels Marius Russo to beat the New York Yankees, 5–4
Herman Besse celebrated his return from the Toronto farm today by pitching the Athletics to a six-hit victory over the White Sox. The score was 2–1. Only one White Sox batter made it as far as third base, when Joe Kuhel tripled and scored.
The Pirates split a double-header with the Braves today, annexing the first game, 7–5, and dropping the nightcap, 10–0, but managed to pick up a half-game on the Reds, whom they now trail by a half-game in their third-place battle.
The Dodgers collect a 3-run homer from Dolph Camilli to tie the Cards 4–4 in regulation. They push across two runs in the 11th on Dixie Walker’s single, and Hugh Casey, in relief of veteran Fred Fitzsimmons, picks up the save. Brooklyn leads the Cards again by 2 games.
The Indians turned back the last-place Senators twice today, 8–5 and 3–2, behind Al Smith’s shaky hurling in the opener and Al Milnar’s five-hit pitching in the nightcap.
New York Giants 6, Cincinnati Reds 0
Detroit Tigers 5, New York Yankees 4
Chicago White Sox 1, Philadelphia Athletics 2
Boston Braves 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 7
Boston Braves 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 0
Brooklyn Dodgers 6, St. Louis Cardinals 4
Cleveland Indians 8, Washington Senators 5
Cleveland Indians 3, Washington Senators 2
A United Press dispatch from Tokyo gives the following information: “Emperor Hirohito today took direct command of Japanese Army Headquarters and moved to assure close Army collaboration with Premier Fumimaro Konoye’s Government, which appeared to be trying to keep Japan out of war even if that meant drifting away from her Axis ties.” Emperor Hirohito takes personal command of the Japanese Imperial Army. This is merely a ceremonial command, but some analysts in the United States wrongly interpret this as a peaceful gesture.
Admiral Yamamoto and his staff continue planning the attack on Pearl Harbor as he begins ten days of meetings with the Imperial Japanese Navy’s General Staff. The Japanese Combined Fleet conducts a training exercise in the North Pacific.
Unofficial Japanese sources, after a first reading of the advance text of President Roosevelt’s speech, said the President had borne out forecasts here that American interest has shifted from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It was considered significant that the President made only passing reference to the Far East and problems of the Pacific. From the Japanese viewpoint, unofficial observers said, there would seem to be no need for a United States naval patrol system in the Pacific such as that in the Atlantic.
British steamer Ellenga departed Singapore for Penang. The steamer departed Penang on the 13th, escorted by light cruiser HMS Dauntless to 10N, 84E. Steamer Ellenga arrived at Madras on the 20th.
George advises MacArthur that the total end strength of the FEAF ought to be 27 pursuit squadrons, eighteen light or medium bomber squadrons, and thirty heavy bomber squadrons.
Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor was damaged by the premature explosion of a depth charge off Bathurst. Destroyer Nestor arrived at Freetown on the 12th. After temporary repairs at Freetown, the destroyer proceeded to Gibraltar, arriving on the 25th. The destroyer departed Gibraltar on the 26th and proceeded to Devonport for permanent repairs, completing on 5 December.
Norwegian steamer Silvaplana (4793grt) was captured by German raider Atlantis at 26-16S, 164-25W.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 127.15 (+0.62)
Born:
Marc Dufour, Canadian NHL right wing (New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings), in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec (d. 2015).
Died:
Alipio Ponce, 35, Peruvian police officer, was killed in an ambush in the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War.
Naval Construction:
The U.S. Navy PC-461-class submarine chaser USS PC-475 is laid down by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co. (Bay City, Michigan, U.S.A.).
The U.S. Navy PC-461-class submarine chasers USS PC-569 and USS PC-570 are laid down by the Albina Engine & Machine Works (Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-658 is launched by Howaldtswerke Hamburg AG, Hamburg (werk 807).
The Royal Navy Fiji-class (Crown Colony-class) light cruiser HMS Bermuda (52) is launched by the John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd. (Clydebank, Scotland).
The U.S. Navy Accentor-class coastal minesweeper USS Chachalaca (AMc-41) is placed in service. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant (j.g.) John E. Stonington, USNR.
The U.S. Navy Accentor-class coastal minesweeper USS Acme (AMc-61) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant Marcus L. Whitford.
The Royal Navy Bangor-class (Reciprocating-engined) minesweeper HMS Peterhead (J 59) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant William Kilvington Tadman, RNR.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-587 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Ulrich Borcherdt.
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Summerside (K 141) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is T/Lieutenant Francis O’Brien Gerity, RCNR.
The Вое́нно-морско́й флот СССР (ВМФ) (Soviet Navy) Project 45-class destroyer Opytny (Опытный, “Experimental”), sole ship of her class, is commissioned.
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