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• British battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Warspite shelled Italian defensive positions at Vlorë, Albania overnight in support of Greek advances. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | Warspite | CPC]
• German submarine U-37 mistakenly torpedoed and sank Vichy French submarine Sfax (4 killed, 69 survived) and support ship Rhône (11 killed) 7 miles north of Cape Juby, Morocco. The captain of U-37 chose to not record this incident on the ship's logs. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British gunboat HMS Aphis bombarded Bardia, Libya in support of Operation Compass. Meanwhile, General O'Connor reported that in the first 10 days of the offensive his forces had suffered 141 killed or missing and 387 wounded. ww2dbase [Operation Compass | CPC]
• Italian submarine Bagnolini sank British ship Amicus 200 miles west of Ireland, killing all aboard. ww2dbase [CPC]
• U-56 was assigned to 22nd Flotilla to serve as a school boat. ww2dbase [U-56 | CPC]

• Alpino Bagnolini sighted British freighter Amicus in the Atlantic Ocean at 1750 hours and submerged to approach. At 1915 hours, she lost sight of the target, and surfaced in order to regain contact. At 2010 hours, the Italian submarine fired a bow torpedo. At 2011 hours, with the first torpedo still traveling (the target's distance was further than the Italians had estimated), a second bow torpedo was fired. 10 seconds after the launch of the second torpedo, the first one scored a hit, sinking Amicus 20 minutes later. All 36 aboard were lost. HMS Westcott was dispatched to assist survivors, though there would be none. Commanding officer Franco mistakenly reported the name of the victim as Amiens. ww2dbase [Alpino Bagnolini | CPC]

• Archbishop Sapieha of Krakow, Poland sent a letter to Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss requesting permission for Christmas mass to be held in the camp for Catholic prisoners. Höss turned down the request because the camp rules did not permit religious observations, but did agree that approximately 6,000 one-kilogram food parcels could be sent to all the prisoners over the holidays. ww2dbase [Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Rudolf Höss | Oswiecim | CPC]

• British destroyers HMS Veteran and HMS Verity collided in Lough Foyle near the Royal Navy base at Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. HMS Verity's engine room was flooded, requiring her to remain out of commission for repairs until 5 Mar 1941. ww2dbase [Londonderry, Northern Ireland | CPC]

19 Dec 1940 Interactive Map