20 Jan 1940
  • German submarine U-44 torpedoed and sank Greek steamer Ekatontarchos Dracoulis off Portugal at 0415 hours, killing 6. U-44 had been hunting for Ekatontarchos Dracoulis for the past 6 hours. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • German submarine U-57 torpedoed and sank Norwegian steamer Miranda 30 miles off of Scotland at 0826 hours, killing 14. 3 survivors were rescued on the next day by exploration ship Discovery II and taken to Kirkwall. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • British tanker MV Caroni River hit a mine laid the day before by German submarine U-34 in Falmouth Bay, England, United Kingdom and sank; she was on her sea trials. during sea trials in Falmouth Bay, England. All 43 aboard survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, speaking to the Parliament, voiced support for Finland while criticizing brutal Soviet attacks. The Finnish government presumed that this meant British support would soon arrive, but it never did. The German government interpreted the speech as a hint on British involvement in Scandinavia, thus plans for the invasion of Norway were re-prioritized. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Chinese troops captured Licheng, Shanxi Province, China. ww2dbase [Winter Offensive | CPC]
  • Yukikaze was commissioned into service with Commander Kenjiro Tobita in command. ww2dbase [Yukikaze | CPC]
  • Corvette Trillium was ordered. ww2dbase [Trillium | CPC]

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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T/Sgt. Raymond A. Heilman, Jr. and fellow crew of the 11th Bomber Group Heavy of the USAAF 42nd Squadron posing by a B-18 Bolo bomber, Schofield Barracks, US Territory of Hawaii, circa 1940


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