4 Feb 1940
  • Members of the Balkan Entente (Romania, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey) declared neutrality. ww2dbase [Balkan Pact | CPC]
  • Japanese 26th Division captured Linhe, Suiyuan Province, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Wuyuan | CPC]
Atlantic Ocean
  • German submarine U-37 (Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartmann) sank 2 merchant steamers whilst on patrol off the Shetland Islands, the first was the small 1,365-ton Norwegian freighter Hop in ballast and heading for Middlesborough, England, United Kingdom. The ship sank rapidly and there were no survivors. Hop was 1 of the 55 Norwegian ships lost during the neutrality period between 3 Sep and 8 Apr 1939. The second vessel was the 4,330-ton British Leo Dawson, carrying iron ore to Immingham, England. A single torpedo hit aft at 2125 hours and she sank stern first taking her entire crew of 35 men with her including 15 year old Mess Room Boy, John Wynn. ww2dbase [North Sea | HM]
Photo(s) dated 4 Feb 1940
Destroyed Lutheran church of Sortavala, Finland, 4 Feb 1940

4 Feb 1940 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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A6M Zero, damaged by concentrated anti-aircraft fire, diving on USS Essex, 14 May 1945

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Famous WW2 Quote
"We no longer demand anything, we want war."

Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister, Aug 1939


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