Air Operations, Europe

Blenheims, escorted by Spitfires bomb the rail junction at Amiens. 21 German and 13 British fighters are shot down. The German fighter FW-190 makes its debut.

One of the new, superior Fw-190 fighters follows a Spitfire over the Channel

A New FW-190 Following a Spitfire

Battle of the Atlantic

• The attacks continue on Convoy HG-73 north of the Azores. U-201 sinks the British auxiliary fighter catapult ship Springbank 430 miles west-southwest of Cape Clear with the loss of 32 on board. 201 passengers and crew are picked up by the British corvettes Jasmine, Hibiscus and Periwinkle. U-201 also sinks the British steamers Siremalm (2468t) and Margareta (3103t) southwest of Cape Clear. The entire crew of 27 are lost on the Siremalm, but the entire crew of 34 from the Margareta are rescued by the British corvette Hibiscus.
• The British submarine Trident sinks the German anti-submarine trawler UJ-1201 off Rolvsoy Sound, Norway.

China

Japanese units penetrate into Changsha. Paratroopers are dropped behind the Chinese lines. Their forces are eliminated and the Chinese turn the battle around by moving 11 divisions north of the city in a maneuver which cuts off the Japanese troops attempting to fight their way into Changsha. About 100,000 Japanese are left with no escape route.

A Japanese soldier firing a Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun across the Milou River in September 1941.

Japanese Soldier Firing a Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun

Czechoslovakia, Home Front

Von Neurath, the German governor of Bohemia and Moravia, resigns his post. Heydrich, the 'Aryan racist with a Jewish grandmother', is appointed Reichsprotektor.

Eastern Front

In the southern sector fighting in the approaches to the Crimea the Germans take Perekop. They now stand at the threshold of the Crimean peninsula. Heavy rain is reported throughout the whole Russian front.

The fighting in the Valdai Hills continues without success for the Soviets.

The Soviets deploy Belov's II Cavalry Corps to protect the junction of the depleted 40th and 21st Armies before Sumy. German forces in the Ukraine reach Novomosskovsk and Spaskoye.

Italian East Africa

The 4,000-strong Italian garrison at Wolchefit surrenders to the besieging 25th East African Bde. The Italians here have been very short of food because they have been isolated from their main body at Gondar by guerilla activity.

Mediterranean

• As the Operation HALBERD convoy steams for Malta, both sides fail to find the main enemy force by air reconnaissance. However, an Italian S-84 aircraft of 36 Squadron hits the battleship Nelson with a torpedo, but causes no serious damage.
• The British submarine Upright sinks the Italian submarine chaser Albatross off Messina. U-371 rescues 42 survivors from the Italian ship.

United States, Production

The first batch of 14 Liberty ships is launched in the various constructing yards. The first launched in the Baltimore naval dockyard is called the Patrick Henry. It is a 10,000-ton merchantmen of a highly standardized design. Another 312 are on order. A total of 2,742 of these vessels will be delivered by the end of the war. Roosevelt dubs them 'Ugly Ducklings' but the ungainly ships become the backbone of the merchant fleet. They are built at a cost of $1.5 million each, with bonuses to the builders for earlier-than-scheduled deliveries. The total tonnage of these vessels will exceed 2,200,000 tons.