Battle of the Atlantic

• The British naval trawler Chestnut (506t) sinks on a mine off North Foreland with loss.
• U-101 sinks the British steamer Aracataca (5378t) 230 miles west of Rockall with the loss of 36 of her crew. 18 survivors are picked up by the British steamer Potaro and 15 by the British ship Djurdjura.

The Blitz

The first of 2 consecutive night raids on Southampton occurs. 147 aircraft are involved. 12 He-111s begin the attack by dropping flares to light the way. 135 bombers follow dropping 135 tons of high explosives and 21,000 incendiaries. 2 1,800 kg 'Satan' mines are also dropped. Damage to the port area is light, but the center of the city suffers extensive damage. Almost two-thirds of the main shopping district is destroyed. There are about 200 casualties.

Scenes of Devastation in Southampton

Diplomatic Relations

The US loans $100,000,000 to Chiang Kai-shek and gives 50 aircraft to Claire Chennault's secret group of US volunteer airmen, the Flying Tigers, to help Chiang at Chungking in China.

China, Politics

Japan officially recognizes the puppet Nanking government led by President Wang Ching-wei.

German Raiders

• The German auxiliary cruiser Komet returns to Hamburg after 516 days at sea.
• The German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin captures the British steamer Port Wellington (8301t) in the Indian Ocean. The ship is scuttled the next morning. 2 of the crew are lost in the incident; the rest are made prisoners of war.

Greek-Albanian Front

The Greek advance from Macedonia continues. They win an important victory near Pogradec, Albania after a 7-day battle. Civilian air raid casualties since Oct 28: 604 killed and 1070 injured.