24 Jan 1941
- All Italian outposts surrounding Tobruk, Libya were captured by the Allies. Meanwhile, en route to Derna, Libya, Allied troops encountered units of the newly organized Italian Special Armoured Brigade and defeated them near Mechili, destroying 9 Italian tanks at the cost of 7 British tanks. ww2dbase [Operation Compass | CPC]
- German He 114 seaplane from armed merchant cruiser Atlantis attacked British ship Mandasor 300 miles east of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Atlantis soon arrived, stopping Mandasor with gunfire, killing 6. A launch from Atlantis drove away sharks with machine gun fire as the Germans rescued 82 survivors. Mandasor was eventually sunk with a torpedo. As the He 114 aircraft attempted to land in the water for recovery, the rough seas caused her to capsize and become lost. Four Allied cruisers later arrived on the scene in response, but Atlantis had already departed. ww2dbase [Atlantis | CPC]
- Lord Halifax arrived at Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, United States aboard battleship HMS King George V. He had arrived to take up his new post as the British ambassador to the United States. ww2dbase [Halifax | CPC]
- German submarine U-123 sank Norwegian ship Vespasian with a torpedo 200 miles west of Ireland at 2148 hours, killing the entire crew of 18. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Seeadler completed laying mines in the English Channel. ww2dbase [Seeadler | English Channel | CPC]
- Alessandro Malaspina shifted her patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean some distance to the south. ww2dbase [Alessandro Malaspina | CPC]
- Thai aircraft bombed the airfield at Angkor near Siem Reap, Cambodia, French Indochina; the resulting dogfights would be the final air battle of the Franco-Thai War. ww2dbase [Franco-Thai War | CPC]
- Comandante Cappellini departed Port of Las Palmas (Puerto de La Luz), Gran Canaria, Canary Islands at 0038 hours to intercept HMS Tribune, but she would not be able to locate her. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canarias | CPC]
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Change View
Desktop ViewSearch WW2DB
News
- » WW2DB's 19th Anniversary (29 Dec 2023)
- » Looted Painting "Madonna with Child" Returned to Poland (2 Jun 2023)
- » Wreck of USS Mannert L. Abele Found (29 May 2023)
- » Wreck of Montevideo Maru Found (25 Apr 2023)
- » Accidental Detonation of a WW2-Era Bomb in Great Yarmouth (10 Feb 2023)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,146 biographies
- » 336 events
- » 43,422 timeline entries
- » 1,237 ships
- » 349 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 372 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 259 facilities
- » 468 book reviews
- » 28,395 photos
- » 432 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years."James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 Feb 1945