Air Operations, Europe

15 RAF Bomber Command Blenheims attack the Stavanger-Sola area. Shipping at Bergen is raided by the Fleet Air Arm.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-49 is sunk by destroyers Brazen and Fearless off Harstad. A chart is recovered showing U-Boat dispositions.
• U-14 sinks the Danish steamers Rhone (1064t) Sleipner (1066t) in the North Sea. 9 of the crew are lost from the Rhone with the rest of the crew and all the crew from the Sleipner are picked up by the British destroyer Kipling and the Swedish fishing boat Standard.
• U-26 sinks the Norwegian steamer Steinstad (2476t) 50 miles off the Clare, Ireland coast with the loss of 13 crewmen.
• U-37 sinks the Danish steamer Aase (1206t) south of Ireland. 15 of her crew are lost with 1 survivor being picket up by the British destroyer Verity on the 17th.
• U-48 sinks the Dutch tanker Den Haag (8971t) south of Ireland with the loss of 26 crewmen. Her 13 survivors are picked up by the British steamer Glen Orchy.
• U-50 sinks the Danish steamer Maryland (4895t) west of Scotland with the loss of her entire crew of 34.
• The British steamers Salerno (870t) and Salmon Pool (4803t) are seized by German forces at Saudafjord north of Stavanger. The vessels are named Markirch and Putzig, respectively, for German service.
• The British submarine Snapper sinks the German auxiliary minesweepers M.1701, trawler H. M. Behrens (525t) and M.1702, trawler Carsten Janssen (472t), north of Laeso Island.
• The British steamers North Cornwall (4304t) and Mersington Court (5141t) are scuttled by their German prize crews at Narvik. 17 crewmen from the North Cornwall arrive in England while 4 of the crew are interned in Sweden. 28 of the crew from the Mersington Court are interned in Sweden with 8 later arriving in England.
• The Dutch steamer Bernisse (951t) is scuttled by her prize crew at Narvik. All of the crew are rescued.

Denmark

The demobilization of the Danish Army begins.

Norway

Quisling resigns and is replaced for the moment by Ingolf Christensen as the head of the German-sponsored puppet government.

The main body of the 24th British Guards Bde arrives at Harstad. A combined British, French and Polish force land near Narvik. This is essentially a diversionary effort, the intent being to maintain a toehold in Norway. Within 3 days 4 battalions are ashore, but they are rendered helpless by the German control of the air.

The siege of Hegra begins. A Norwegian detachment holds the antiquated Hegra Fortress, east of Trondheim, against strong German ground and air forces for 3 weeks. It ends May 5.

King Haakon issues a proclamation appealing for all Norwegians to the utmost 'to save the freedom and independence of our beloved country'. He denounces the Blitzkrieg 'by a nation with which we always maintained friendly relations'.

Secret War

At Bletchley Park in England cryptographers decipher the Enigma code used during the invasion of Norway.

Western Front

The Anglo-French 'Plan D' is amended to include a drive by the French mechanized 7th Army, led by Gen Giraud, into southern Holland.