Friday, November 19, 2010

Day 447 November 20, 1940

Hungary joins the Axis. Hungarian Prime Minister Count Teleki and Foreign Minister Count Csaky sign a protocol in Vienna, joining the German-Italian-Japanese Tripartite Pact.

British cruiser HMS York delivers anti-aircraft guns to Piraeus near Athens, Greece, and returns to Alexandria, Egypt. British bombers sink Italian steamer Ardita III in the Red Sea off Assab, Eritrea. Off Brindisi, Italy, Italian torpedo boat Confienza sinks after colliding with Italian armed merchant cruiser Capitano A. Cecchi.

In the Indian Ocean 1000 miles West of Perth, Australia, German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin spends all day chasing British steamer Maimoa (carrying 5,000 tons of frozen meat, 1,500 tons of butter, 1,500 tons of grain, 16 million eggs) finally stopping her with shellfire from 12 miles. Maimoa is scuttled and all 87 crew are taken prisoner.

Overnight, Birmingham in the English Midlands is bombed again. 116 aircraft drop 132 tons of high explosive bombs and 296 incendiary canisters.

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