Battle of the Atlantic

• German aircraft attack a convoy; 4 ships are damaged. Goebbels boasts 9 ships of 42,000 tons sunk. The British Admiralty describe German claims as '42,000 tons in excess of the actual facts'.
• U-44 is sunk by the destroyer HMS Fortune off Narvik, Norway.
• The British steamer Barn Hill (5439t) is badly damaged by German bombers from KG-26 3 miles SSW of Beachy Head with the loss of 5 crewmen.

France, Politics

Losing a vote of confidence, Edouard Daladier, the French prime minister, is forced to resign. On Mar 21 Paul Reynaud forms the new government. Daladier has been criticized for failing to bring effective help to Finland. In France this has been seen as a way for the Allies to seize the initiative in the war and take the fighting away from French soil and, by association, avoid all the horrors of World War I.

Germany, Home Front

(17th?) Dr Fritz Todt is appointed Minister of Armaments and War Supplies.