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• Norwegian merchant vessel Segovia, with 750 tons of general cargo (including 140 tons of oil) became missing off western Scotland; her crew of 23 was never seen again. She might had been attacked and sunk by German submarine U-55. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax criticized First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill's speech of 20 Jan 1940, noting that by stating support for Finland in the war with Soviet Union he was meddling with foreign policy. ww2dbase [Halifax | CPC]
• The Finns, with Swedes and Norwegians already fighting with them, announced the formation of a "Foreign Legion" which would include British volunteers. ww2dbase [AC]
• USS Helena arrived at Buenos Aires, Argentina. ww2dbase [Helena (St. Louis-class) | CPC]
• Oberleutnant zur See Otto Harms was made the commanding officer of U-56, relieving Wilhelm Zahn. ww2dbase [U-56 | CPC]

• The unescorted Norwegian 2,589-ton merchant steamer Songa was stopped by German submarine U-25 in calm seas 200 miles west of the Scilly Islands. Viktor Schütze ordered the Songa's crew to abandon the ship after he declared her cargo of copper, tin and foodstuffs to be contraband. A single torpedo then sent the vessel to the bottom; the submarine's crew supplied the Norwegians with rum and gave them a course to steer the two lifeboats towards the shipping lanes. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | HM]

• The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Furious left the Clyde, Scotland, United Kingdom with two squadrons of Swordfish torpedo-bombers to seek German shipping off Norway. ww2dbase [Furious | Firth of Clyde, Scotland | AC]

22 Jan 1940 Interactive Map