18 Nov 1940
- Overnight, RAF bombers raided Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr region of Germany, bombing the Scholven/Buer hydrogenation plant, which made aviation fuel, and Gelsenberg-Benzin-AG plant, which converted bituminous coal to synthetic oil. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | CPC]
- German submarine U-65 sank British tanker Congonian 125 miles west of Freetown, Sierra Leone at 1802 hours; 1 was killed and 35 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
- British cruiser HMS York departed Port Said, Egypt with a battalion of troops for Suda Bay, Crete, Greece, and anti-aircraft guns for Piraeus, Greece. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | York | CPC]
- HMS Edinburgh departed Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde, Scotland, United Kingdom to escort Allied convoy WS4B to Freetown, British West Africa. ww2dbase [Edinburgh | CPC]
- Maggiore Baracca set course for Bordeaux, France in the northern Atlantic Ocean at 1130 hours. At about 1735 hours, she spotted smoke, but an accidental fire in the starboard diesel engine caused her to slow her approach. Nevertheless, she caught up with British freighter Lilian Moller of Allied convoy SLS 53D, carrying pig iron from Calcutta in India for the United Kingdom, at 2147 hours. She fired a torpedo from a bow tube, which missed. At 2303 hours, she fired another torpedo from a bow tube, hitting the freighter in the stern. Lilian Moller sank at 2347 hours. One lifeboat with survivors was observed, but it would never been seen again, thus all 49 aboard the freighter were lost as the result of the sinking. 42 of those lost were Chinese sailors. ww2dbase [Maggiore Baracca | CPC]
- Capitano Tarantini began patrolling waters northwest of Ireland. ww2dbase [Capitano Tarantini | CPC]
18 Nov 1940 Interactive Map
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
- » Wreck of USS Edsall Found (14 Nov 2024)
- » Autumn 2024 Fundraiser (7 Nov 2024)
- » Nobel Peace Prize for the Atomic Bomb Survivors Organization (11 Oct 2024)
- » Wreck of USS Stewart/DD-224 Found (2 Oct 2024)
- » See all news
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,150 biographies
- » 337 events
- » 43,917 timeline entries
- » 1,241 ships
- » 350 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 374 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 260 facilities
- » 470 book reviews
- » 28,544 photos
- » 432 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"We no longer demand anything, we want war."Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister, Aug 1939