Monday, February 20, 2012

Day 905 February 21, 1942

U-boats take a toll on Allied traffic through the Caribbean. At 1.23 AM 125 miles Southeast of Ocean City, Maryland, U-432 sinks US freighter Azalea City carrying 7806 tons of linseed from Trinidad to Philadelphia (all 38 hands lost). At 3.32 PM 7 miles off Dutch island of Curaçao, U-67 sinks Norwegian tanker Kongsgaard (38 killed by burning oil, 8 survivors). At 10.44 AM 300 miles Southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, U-107 torpedoes empty Norwegian tanker Egda, which counterfloods to correct a list to port and proceeds to Halifax under her own power. At 11.13 PM 20 miles West of Trinidad, U-161sinks British tanker Circe Shell (1 killed, 57 survivors).

German battleship Admiral Scheer, cruiser Prinz Eugen and 5 destroyers sail from Brunsbüttel (at the mouth of the Kiel canal), Germany, to Bergen, Norway. They are spotted in the North Sea off Denmark by a British reconnaissance aircraft which is shot down by German fighters. RAF coastal command dispatches bombers but only 1 bomber finds the ships and this is shot down by anti-aircraft fire.

Mediterranean. Italian resupply convoy K7 for Rommel leaves Messina, Sicily, and the Greek island of Corfu for Tripoli, Libya (5 freighters and a tanker escorted by 3 cruisers, 13 destroyers and 2 torpedo boats).

200 miles West of the Japanese island of Kyūshū, US submarine USS Triton encounters 2 Japanese freighters, sinking Shokyu Maru before being chased off by an aircraft.

Burma. As Indian 17th Division retreats to the Sittang River, in danger of being cut off by Japanese troops, British 7th Armored Brigade arrives at Rangoon by sea from Egypt.

Singapore. Japanese begin Sook Ching massacre, machinegunning Chinese nationals to impose order on the civilian population. Japanese claim 5000 Chinese are slaughtered but estimates range up to 100,000.

No comments:

Post a Comment