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• German submarine U-93 attacked Allied convoy OA-228 300 miles northwest of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom, sinking Norwegian ship Dokka at 0317 hours (10 killed, 7 survived) and British ship Uskbridge at 0339 hours (2 killed, 6 survived); U-93 was depth charged at 0400 hours by HMS Folkestone, depth charged at 1015 hours, and attacked by aerial bombs in the evening; none of the attacks caused damage. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | CPC]
• German submarine U-48 fired 3 torpedoes at Allied convoy SC-7 400 miles northwest of Ireland at 0553 hours, sinking British ship Scoresby and damaging British tanker Languedoc; British corvette HMS Bluebell scuttled Languedoc with gunfire and rescued the 39 survivors from Scoresby and 39 survivors from Languedoc. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | CPC]
• At 1052 hours, German submarine U-38 sank Greek ship Aenos with the deck gun in the Atlantic Ocean; 4 were killed and 25 survived. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | CPC]
• In the North Sea, German motor torpedo boats S-24 and S-27 attacked Allied convoy FN.311 10 miles off Lowestoft, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom; British ship Hauxley was damaged by a torpedo, killing 1, sinking on the next day. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | North Sea | CPC]
• 4 German destroyers and 6 torpedo boats departed from Brest, France to attack shipping in the Bristol Channel, but they were detected by British reconnaissance aircraft at 0719 hours; British cruiser HMS Newcastle, cruiser HMS Emerald, and 5 destroyers were dispatched from Plymouth at 1100 hours to intercept; at 1600 hours, the British ships found their targets and exchanged fire at the range of 11 miles; no hits were made by either side. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | CPC]
• Alessandro Malaspina sighted U-37 in the Atlantic Ocean at 0330 hours. ww2dbase [U-37 | Alessandro Malaspina | CPC]

• A message from Joachim von Ribbentrop to Joseph Stalin to invite Vyacheslav Molotov to Berlin, Germany to speak about the recent deterioration of German-Soviet relations was delivered, at a few days delay, to Vyacheslav Molotov. Ribbentrop was not happy regarding the delay, and the fact that the letter was delivered to the Soviet foreign ministry rather than to Stalin himself. ww2dbase [Joachim von Ribbentrop | Moscow | CPC]

• The German Luftwaffe mounted four raids against southern England, United Kingdom during the day. Meanwhile, at 1530 hours, at the Air Council room at the Air Ministry in London, British fighter commanders including Portal, Douglas, Dowding, Park, Bader, and others gathered to discuss strategy; specifically, Park's approach was attacked by some of the others. Overnight, London, Liverpool, and Birmingham were heavily bombed. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | England | CPC]
• British minesweeper HMS Dundalk hit a mine 20 miles northeast of Harwich, England, United Kingdom, killing 4 and wounding 7; she was towed into the harbor for repairs, but she would sink on the next day. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | Harwich, England | CPC]

17 Oct 1940 Interactive Map