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• Joseph Bech was born in Diekirch, Luxembourg. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Settsu arrived at Mako, Hoko Prefecture, Taiwan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Richard O'Connor was Mentioned in Despatches. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Kliment Voroshilov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The keel of Portland was laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | DS]

17 Feb 1930 Interactive Map

• A new German law gave the Nazi Party Courts (introduced by Hitler as early as 1921) full judicial status with the right to investigate and punish petty misdemeanours by NSDAP members (e.g. Failure to pay dues, immoral behaviour, a criminal record or simply loss of interest in Party affairs). ww2dbase [AC]
• King Albert I of Belgium died in a mountaineering accident. He would be succeeded by his son, Prince Leopold. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

• Major Marine units of the US Marine Corps completed their participation in Fleet Landing Exercise No . 2 at Culebra, Puerto Rico. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Spanish Nationalist General Juan Yagüe's Moroccan forces crossed the River Alfambra in Spain, effectively cutting off Teruel from the north. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

• Ellet was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Norway protested British neutrality violation of attacking the German ship Altmark in Norwegian waters. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• As it was customary for new corps commanding officers to dine with the Führer, Hitler's aide Colonel Schmundt arranged such a meeting for Hitler and Manstein. Manstein presented his plan for the invasion of France and the Low Countries, which impressed Hitler. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German submarine U-37 sank British ship Pyrrhus 75 miles west of La Coruña, Spain at 1600 hours, killing 8. 77 survivors were rescued by British merchant ships Uskside and Sinnington Court, which delivered them to Gibraltar. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-48 sank Finnish ship Wilja south of Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly, southwestern England at 2036 hours. All 27 crew members were rescued by Dutch steamer Maasdam and were to Havanna, Cuba. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Karl Hermann Frank and Anna Müller were divorced. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• At 0200 hours, the 1,819-ton Norwegian freighter Kvernaas sailing unescorted was hit by a single torpedo from German submarine U-10 (Oberleutnant zur See Joachim Preuss) and sank after just 5 minutes 4 miles north-west of Schouwen Bank, Netherlands. The crew got off in 2 lifeboats and were picked up by a Dutch steamer Oranjepolder on her way to London, ENgland, United Kingdom, but turned back and took the survivors to the pilot station at Hoek van Holland the following day. Various sources say that the Kvernaas struck a mine. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC, HM]

17 Feb 1940 Interactive Map

• An Italian Auto-Saharan Company detachment counterattacked Free French and British forces near Kufra, Libya in failure. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German submarine U-101 sank British ship Gairsoppa 370 miles west of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom shortly after 0000 hours, killing 84. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-103 damaged British tanker Edwy R. Brown with five torpedoes 100 miles south of Iceland between 0633 and 0833 hours, eventually sinking the tanker. 50 took to two lifeboats, but they were never seen again. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-69 sank British ship Siamese Prince 200 miles northwest of Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom at 2212 hours. 57 took to lifeboats, but they were never seen again. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Turkey and Bulgaria signed a friendship agreement in Sofia, Bulgaria. Under pressure from Germany, Turkey also agreed to not protest German troop movements through Bulgaria. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• British Admiral Sir Percy Noble was appointed Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches. ww2dbase [AC]
• The decision to despatch a British Expeditionary Force to Greece was communicated to General Bernard Freyberg VC, General Officer Commanding New Zealand Division. The force initially was planned to consist of the New Zealand Division, 1st British Armoured Brigade, 6th Australian Division, Polish independent Brigade Group and 7th Australian Division. However Erwin Rommel's sudden advance into the Cyrenaica of Libya would result in the Poles and 7th Australian Division being held back to defend Tobruk. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

• Albacore was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Triton sank Japanese freighter Shinyo Maru No. 5 and damaged another ship off Kyushu island, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• "Seabees" of the US Navy First Naval Construction Battalion arrived at Bora Bora, Society Islands. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Dutch Marines attempted to disarm an unexploded torpedo at Aruba, launched by German submarine U-156 during the prior day's attack. The torpedo detonated unexpectedly, killing 4. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• A detachment of the submarine tender USS Canopus, sailors from the Cavite Naval Ammunition Depot, and the majority of the general duty men in the area were transferred to the 4th Marine Regiment based on Corregidor, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German submarine U-136 sank British transport Empire Comet 250 miles south of Iceland at 2217 hours, killing all 46 aboard. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Paul von Kleist was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Warrant Officer Nobuo Fujita, flying an E14Y floatplane from Japanese submarine I-25, flew over Sydney Harbor, Australia at 0430 hours, conducting a reconnaissance mission. He was back aboard I-25 by 0730 hours. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Japanese troops crossed the Bilin River north of Rangoon, Burma and began to encircle the Indian 17th Infantry Division. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• 9 Japanese troop transports departed Ambon for Timor in the Dutch East Indies at 0800 hours. Later in the evening, Japanese transports Sasego Maru and Sagami Maru departed Makassar, Celebes, Dutch East Indies with invasion troops for Bali. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Japanese carrier aircraft from Ryujo sank Dutch destroyer HMNS Van Nes, escorting Dutch troopship Sloet van Beele, in the Bangka Strait; 69 were killed, 60 survived. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Nachi provided support for the landings at Dili, Portuguese Timor. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• Japanese occupation administration at Singapore sent 3,000 British civilians to Changi prison and 50,000 British, Australian, and Indian captured troops to Selarang Barracks. Some of the captured Indian troops were taken to hear Captain Mohan Singh at Farrer Park, who attempted to persuade them to collaborate with the Japanese. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

17 Feb 1942 Interactive Map

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Rabaul, New Britain and departed later on the same day. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• Lexington (Essex-class) was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• American forces east of Kasserine Pass, Tunisia retreated into the pass. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder became AOC-in-C Mediterranean Air Command with responsibility for all air operations. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]
• Adolf Hitler arrived at the headquarters of German Army Group South. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Wahoo declared readiness for her next war patrol while at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Legendary Russian fighter pilot Lydia Litvak (The White Rose of Stalingrad) was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

• USS Haddock arrived at Midway, ending her third war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

17 Feb 1943 Interactive Map

• USS Cero fired four torpedoes at a Japanese transport north of Dutch New Guinea; all torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Tang sank Japanese transport Gyoten Maru, hitting her with three of four torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Pintado departed Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• 35,000 of ther 56,000 Germans encircled by the Soviets at Korsun, Ukraine managed to slip through the net but in doing so left behind all their armor and equipment. ww2dbase [AC]

• Destroyer Yuzuki arrived at Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands with Convoy No. 1,123, which was to be the last convoy to successful reach Rabaul. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• After dark and into the next date, ships of US Navy Destroyer Squadron 12 bombarded Rabaul, New Britain, expending 3,800 5-inch shells. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Naka departed Truk, Caroline Islands. She was discovered, attacked, and sunk by the third attack wave of SB2C Helldiver and TBF Avenger carrier aircraft 65 kilometers west of Truk; about 240 were killed, 210 survived including commanding officer Captain Yoshimasa Sutezawa. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched highly successful raids occurred on Truk (Chuuk), Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | DS]
• US carrier aircraft began a two-day attack on Truk in the Caroline Islands; by the end of 18 Feb 1944, 270 Japanese aircraft would be destroyed. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Ferdinand Schörner was awarded oak leaves to his Knight's Cross the Iron Cross medal. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Indian 4th Division attacked Monte Cassino, Italy, failing to make advances and suffering heavy casualties. In parallel, Maori troops of the New Zealand Division established a small bridgehead across the nearby Rapido River. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Italian Admiral Giuseppe Sparzani was summoned to meet German Admiral Karl Dönitz. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Portland bombarded Parry Island, Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands as part of the Battle of Eniwetok ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | DS]
• US Marines landed on Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• G4M aircraft of Japanese Navy Air Group 744 damaged USS Intrepid with a torpedo hit. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC, DS]
• USS Alabama escorted carriers while carrier aircraft attacked Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

17 Feb 1944 Interactive Map

• USS Snook ended her eighth war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• US Third Army penetrated the Siegfried Line/Westwall and launched massive assault into German territory. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• Venezuela declared war on Germany and Japan. ww2dbase [AC]
• HMS Bluebell (Lieutenant G. H. Walker) was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-711 in the Kola Inlet off Murmansk, Russia. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]
• Soviet Deputy Commissar for Foreign Affairs Dekanozov sent a note to his superior Vyacheslav Molotov suggesting that Hungarian Count István Bethlen, who was already in Soviet custody, should be transferred to Moscow, Russia for interrogations for his past pro-British actions. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Captain Ryo Kurusu, son of Japanese diplomat Saburo Kurusu, was killed in an accident on the ground at an airfield. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Dmitry Karbyshev was doused with cold water and was left outside in the winter night at Mauthausen Concentration Camp in occupied Austria. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• Despite being wounded in both ankles and then hit in both legs, Lieutenant Prakash Singh dragged himself around the battlefield to direct his troops against a Japanese force in Burma. Even when hit again and mortally wounded, he inspired his men to victory by shouting their traditional Dogra war cry until he died. Singh was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. ww2dbase [AC]
• Indian 17th Division completed its crossing of the Irrawady River in Burma. Meanwhile, the Japanese counterattack on the Indian 7th Division at Nyaungu, Burma was turned by the Anglo-Indian troops, and the Japanese troops began falling back into the town. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Count Folke Bernadotte of Sweden arrived in Berlin, Germany to negotiate for the repatriation of Swedish woman who had married a German man but now widowed or deserted. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Springer departed Guam, Mariana Islands for her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Wisconsin arrived off Iwo Jima, Japan and bombarded Japanese positions on the island. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) and TF58 strike the Tokyo area of Honshu, Japan before heading toward the Bonin Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | DS]
• Air Group 80 aircraft from USS Hancock flew 2 strikes against Tokyo, Japan; no men and no aircraft were lost. ww2dbase [Main Article | DS]

• The Japanese Army SB craft formerly known as Navy landing ship No. 114 was sunk by US aircraft in the Pacific Ocean off Taiwan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Allied convoy RA-64 departed the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Nicholas Winton was promoted to the brevet rank of flying officer. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Saint Paul was commissioned into service with Captain Ernest Herman von Heimburg in command. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

17 Feb 1945 Interactive Map

• Alaska was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Enterprise was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Franklin was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Guam was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Wasp was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Eighty-year-old Imam Yahya, the ruler of Yemen, was assassinated. During the war Imam Yahya had been courted by Adolf Hitler and received presents from him, but had turned down a treaty with Germany and maintained a policy of neutrality. His son and successor, Imam Ahmed, moving quickly to despatch thirty of his father's conspirators by having them publicly beheaded by a large grinning slave in the square at Hajjah. Ahmed would begin his reign by publicly blaming Britain for his father's death; claiming that dissident groups like "The Free Yemini" movement were sponsored by the British administration in Aden. ww2dbase [AC]

• Lorraine was struck from the French Navy list. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• US 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron departed Chiayi Air Base in southern Taiwan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

17 Feb 1955 Interactive Map

• Light cruiser Voroshilov was reclassified a testing vessel for missile weaponry and would soon be decommissioned for this conversion. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Maxim Gorkiy was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Menhaden arrived at the west coast of the United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Kliment Voroshilov was given the medal commemorating "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR". ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Chuichi Hara passed away. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Submersibles Pisces IV and Pisces V of the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory conducted extensive surveys of the wreck of I-14. She was broken into two pieces. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

17 Feb 2009 Interactive Map