Air Operations, Europe

• In the siege of Leningrad, 60 Stukas make repeated attacks on the Russian Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt Harbor. The battleship Marat is sunk and the battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya is hit by 6 bombs and 2 cruisers are damaged.

  The damaged Soviet battleship of the Baltic Fleet October Revolution. On September 21, 1941 the battleship was hit by three bombs in the bow. A bomb penetrates the middle deck and causes great destruction, but does not damage vital spaces of the ship.

  Soviet Battleship October Revolution

• The RAF Mosquito flies its first operation, a reconnaissance.

Baltic Sea

German bombing sinks 2 Soviet warships in the Baltic, the destroyer Frunza east of Tendra Island and the submarine Stereguschy off Peteroff.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-201 sinks the British steamers Runa (1575t), Lissa (1511t) and Rhineland (1381t) from Convoy OG-74 north-northeast of the Azores. 14 crewmen are lost from the Runa, 9 survivors are picked up by the British sloop Deptford. All 26 of her crew are lost from the Lissa as well as all 26 from the Rhineland.
• The British tanker Vancouver (5729t) sinks on a mine about 2 miles from the Sunk Light Vessel off Harwich.

Eastern Front

The Russians admit the fall of Kiev. German forces reach the Sea of Azov and cut off the Crimea.

The Leningrad sector becomes relatively quiet, with only small-scale actions taking place. West of the city the XXXVIII Corps counterattacks, halting the 8th Army's attacks at Oranienbaum.

Heavy fighting rages around Glukhov and Romny as the Germans launch strong counterattacks. There is also bitter fighting inside the Kiev pocket as the leaderless Southwest Front fights its last bloody, uncoordinated battles. An increasing number of Soviet soldiers surrender, the 2nd Panzer Group alone claiming 30,000 prisioners, the 1st Panzer Group 43,000 and the 6th Army a further 63,000. To the southeast of Kiev the 37th Army begins to surrender.

In the Midst of Heavy Fighting, 21 September 1941