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• German submarine U-20 torpedoed and sank Norwegian ship Hosanger; 17 men were killed and 1 was rescued. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Finnish Army General Hägglund ordered the Finnish IV Corps to attack the Pieni-Kelivaara and Lemetti West encirclements to test various tactics. ww2dbase [The Winter War | CPC]
• Submarine Tautog was launched. ww2dbase [Tautog | CPC]
• Adolf Hitler ordered Wilhelm Keitel to continue with the planning of an invasion of Norway. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | CPC]
• U-56 began her sixth patrol. ww2dbase [U-56 | CPC]

• German submarine U-20 (Kapitänleutnant Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt) attacked a convoy of merchant ships in the North Sea southeast of Copinsay, Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom. At 2003 hours, the small 844-ton Norwegian vessel Faro was damaged by a torpedo that detonated early before hitting the ship. Faro's master ordered the abandonment of the ship and two lifeboats were launched, one drifted away and it and the 8 men in it were never found; the master would try to save the ship on the next day, but to no avail. The 2,319-ton Danish vessel England (2,319-tons) together with the Fredensborg (2,094-tons) both tried to assist the Faro but were torpedoed as they did so. The England broke in half and sunk 2 minutes after the attack, killing 20; Fredensborg capsized soon after, also losing 20 men. Only one seaman from the two ships survived. Two hours later the 1,591-ton Norwegian merchant Hosanger was hit. The explosion blew off the stern and the ship went straight down. One, Magnus Sandvik, a deck boy, managed to get to a raft with three others, they were found after 15 hours by HMS Northern Reward. A line thrown to the raft but Sandvik, who was the only one left alive was too cold to hold it. A seaman from the Royal Naval vessel dived into the sea and saved him. Both were hospitalized in Kirkwall, Orkney. ww2dbase [North Sea | CPC, HM]

• Construction work at Palmyra Atoll began to improve its military facilities. ww2dbase [Palmyra | CPC]

27 Jan 1940 Interactive Map