Air Operations, Europe

Capt Wuillame of Groupe de Chasse (Fighter Group) I/2, flying a Morane, claims 3 Me-109s in only 15 seconds over the Somme sector.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Swedish steamer Kjell Billner (1106t) is seized by German forces at Stavanger. She is renamed Helga Schroder for German service.
• The British steamer Hardingham (5415t) from Convoy FS-89 sinks on a mine in the North Sea with the loss of 2 of her crew.

German Raiders

• The German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operate off the Norwegian coast. Their aim is to attack the various convoys carrying the evacuation from Norway to Britain. They sink 3 empty ships and then find the aircraft carrier Glorious and 2 destroyers, the Acasta and the Ardent. They meet the British ships west of the Lofoten Islands. All 3 British ships are sunk west of Narvik, but not before the Acasta put a torpdeo into the Scharnhorst putting an end to the German battleship sortie. Losses on the British ships include 1474 men of the Royal Navy and 59 RAF personnel.
  

  Taken from the bridge of the Scharnhorst during the engagement with the British squadron.

  From the Scharnhorst

  A close-up view of the burning British aircraft carrier Glorious

  British Aircraft Carrier Glorious on Fire

  Despite a gallant defense by the destroyers there is no time for Glorious to escape or launch her aircraft, and although Scharnhorst is damaged by a torpedo from Acasta all 3 British ships are sunk with a loss of over 1,500 officers and men. The German casualties are 48 The British Admiralty has been careless in providing too few escorts for these waters, and it is by no means inconceivable that Scharnhorst and Gneisenau might have achieved a still greater victory by intercepting the simultaneous troop convoys. Adm Wilhelm Marschall, in command of the German operation, decides to return to base because of the damage to Scharnhorst.

• The German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper sinks the British tanker Oil Pioneer (5666t) and her escorting trawler Juniper off Jan Mayan Island. 20 crewmen are lost on the tanker. 25 survivors and and only 4 from the trawler are picked up by the Admiral Hipper and her escorting destroyers. The rest of the crew on the Juniper are lost. A short time later the British troopship Orama (19,840t) is also sunk by the Admiral Hipper. Of a total of 299 aboard the troopship, 18 are missing and 1 dies from injuries.

Norway

The evacuation of 24,000 Allied troops from Narvik and Harstad is completed. King Kaakon and his government leave Tromso with the other evacuees. An average of 4-5,000 men has been evacuated per night since Jun 3-4. Port installations at Narvik are rendered useless.

Western Front

Rommel advances 72 km and reaches the River Seine.[MORE]