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• German troops landed at Verdal and Kirknessvag, Norway, causing the British 146th Brigade near Trondheim to withdraw to Vist. Around Lake Mjøsa, British 148th Brigade reinforced Norwegian positions, but on the same day German forces broke through the line, causing the entire Norwegian-British force to withdraw north toward Lillehammer. Out at sea, German submarine U-26 sank British merchant vessel Cedarbank of convoy AP-1 50 miles northwest of Ålesund, killing 15; destroyer HMS Javelin rescued 30 men, but the vehicles, anti-aircraft weapons, ammunition, and food destined for the British 148th Brigade near Lillehammer were all lost. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | CPC]
• American air attaché to the Nordic countries, US Army Captain Robert Losey, was killed while observing a German bombing on the railway junction at Dombås, Norway; Losey was the first American military casualty of WW2. US Minister to Sweden Frederick A. Sterling ordered Naval Attaché Lieutenant Commander Ole E. Hagen to Norway to retrieve Losey's remains. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Togo was damaged by British naval mines in the Kattegat east of Skagen, Denmark. ww2dbase [Togo / Coronel | Kattegat | CPC]

• U-1 was listed as missing. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | U-1 | CPC]

• Maggiore Baracca was launched. ww2dbase [Maggiore Baracca | CPC]

• Italian "Grado" naval infantry battalion landed at Split (Italian: Spalato), Croatia, Yugoslavia. ww2dbase [Split, Croatia | CPC]

21 Apr 1940 Interactive Map