World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » Events
• » 21 Nov 1941

• The construction of the future Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point began in North Carolina, United States. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Heinz Guderian wrote Franz Halder from Russia, noting the miserable cold and fierce Soviet resistance. ww2dbase [Heinz Guderian | CPC]
• The horse-drawn sleigh team returned to Leningrad, Russia from Kobona, bringing back flour, sugar, and fat across the frozen Lake Ladoga for the first time since the city was surrounded. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | CPC]
• British submarine HMS Utmost attacked and damaged Italian cruiser Trieste 10 miles east of Catania, Sicily, Italy at 2312 hours. ww2dbase [Trieste | CPC]
• Hans-Joachim Marseille was officially awarded the German cross in Gold, but he would not physically receive this medal until 17 Dec 1941. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | CPC]

• Comandante Cappellini sighted an Allied Catalina aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1210 hours and submerged to avoid detection. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | CPC]

• Joseph Rochefort's US Navy cryptanalytic team in Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii detected the arrival of a Japanese submarine squadron in the Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Attack on Pearl Harbor | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Honolulu, Oahu | Detailed Timetable | CPC]

• Japanese Navy acquired luxury ocean liner Hikawa Maru for use as a hospital ship; Hikawa Maru was assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District, Japan. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• The Allied garrison at Tobruk, Libya attempted a breakout to link up with the main attack force coming from Egypt, which engaged with German 15th Panzer Division in a large-scale tank battle that would last for the next three days near Sidi Rezegh. Pressed for fuel, Erwin Rommel dispatched Italian cruiser Cardona from Brindisi, unescorted, to bring fuel to Benghazi. ww2dbase [Operation Crusader | CPC]

• Destroyer USS Shaw and fleet oiler USS Sabine suffered a collision at sea that required Shaw to put into Pearl Harbor for repairs. ww2dbase [Shaw | CPC]

21 Nov 1941 Interactive Map