26 Mar 1940
- German submarine U-38 stopped Norwegian merchant ship Cometa 65 miles northwest of Noup Head, Orkney Islands, Scotland and gave Cometa's crew one hour to abandon ship. At 0220 hours, U-38 hit the abandoned Cometa with one torpedo. The crew of 31, 6 Swedish passengers, and 5 British sailors were later rescued by HMS Northern Sky. ww2dbase [CPC]
- French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud called for his country to wage total war against Germany. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Chinese troops evacuated Wuyuan, Suiyuan Province, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Wuyuan | CPC]
- German submarine U-22 became missing in the North Sea, its crew of 27 was never seen again. It was probable that she hit a mine. ww2dbase [North Sea | CPC]
- Joseph Stalin refused to meet Adolf Hitler to discuss an issue regarding a border dispute in occupied Poland. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | CPC]
- The British War Cabinet debated French Prime Minister Reynaud's proposal of attacking Soviet oilfields at Baku on the Caspian Sea and Soviet shipping in the Black Sea. Agreeing with the British Prime Minister Chamberlain, the proposals were rejected by the cabinet. ww2dbase [London, England | CPC]
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Please help us spread the word: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Change View
Desktop ViewSearch WW2DB
News
- » Japanese Emperor Visited Iwoto (Iwo Jima) (8 Apr 2025)
- » Race, Holocaust, and African-American WW2 Histories Removed from the US Naval Academy Library (7 Apr 2025)
- » US Government Plans to Purge WW2 Information (17 Mar 2025)
- » WW2DB's 20th Anniversary (29 Dec 2024)
- » See all news
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,167 biographies
- » 337 events
- » 44,601 timeline entries
- » 1,243 ships
- » 350 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 376 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 261 facilities
- » 470 book reviews
- » 28,501 photos
- » 366 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
