Battle of the Atlantic

• A Focke-Wulf Condor is shot down in mid-ocean by a Hurricane catapulted from the HMS Maplin, a British CAM (catapult-armed merchantman) ship which is a merchant vessel converted to carry fighter aircraft and a catapault mechanism with which to launch them. 4 more Condors a destroyed in later operations.

  Hurricane Ready for Launch

  A Hurricane ready for launch on a CAM ship - when rockets would propel it along the rails to get it airborne.

• U-401 is sunk by Convoy SL-81 escorts, the British destroyers Wanderer and St Albans and the corvette Hydrangea, south of Iceland. The entire crew of 44 are lost.

Eastern Front

After destroying big formations west of Pervomaysk on the Bug River, in the south the 1st Pzr Group under von Kleist joins up with the 17th Army under von Stülpnagel enveloping large numbers of Russians.

There is a night raid on Moscow by the Luftwaffe.

Heavy fighting continues around Lake Ilmen as the 16th Army increases its attacks.

Units of the IX Corps link up with the XXIV Panzer Corps south of Roslavl, encircling 70,000 men of the 28th Army.

The Germans have encircled the Soviet 6th, 12th and part of the 18th Armies between Uman and Pervomaisk, a total of more than 200,000 men. The Germans consolidate their positions around the Uman pocket as Marshal Semyon Budenny orders the 26th Army to counterattack from the Dniepr and relieve the encircled armies, but this formation is in a weakened state. Kostenko's army has already suffered heavy losses in the fighting with the IV Corps along the Dniepr. On the Dniepr line the 37th and 38th Armies become operational while a new 6th Army assembles around Dnepropetrovsk.

Mediterranean

The Belgian motor vessel Escaut (1087t) is sunk in a German air attack southwest of South Beacon Ships Head, Attika Bay, Suez.