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• » 6 Feb 1943

• Wilkinson Sword Limited received renewed contracts to produce more Fairbairn-Sykes commando daggers; they would be the firm's final government contracts of the war. ww2dbase [Fairbairn-Sykes | CPC]
• USS Tunny patrolled off Shantou, China. ww2dbase [Tunny | CPC]
• The keel of escort carrier Wake Island was laid down in Vancouver, Washington, United States. ww2dbase [Wake Island | CPC]
• Brazil, which was already at war with Germany and Italy, now declared war upon Japan. ww2dbase [AC]

• USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her fifth war patrol. ww2dbase [S-28 | Unalaska | CPC]

• The convoy KMF-8 (Gibraltar to Bône (now Annaba), Algeria) was attacked by two formations of German Ju 88 bombers of FK II and Heinkel 111 torpedo aircraft from 4th Staffel from II/KG.26 led by Hauptmann Rudolf Schmidt. The Flower-class corvette HMCS Louisburg was hit by bombs and torpedoes and sank. Less than half of the ship's crew were rescued. Two Heinkel aircraft were shot down with the crew being rescued by a Spanish trawler, the British freighter Fort Babine was torpedoed and damaged by the Heinkel IIIs of 4/KG.26. As the convoy sailed on to about 80 miles west of Algiers, German submarine U-77 (Oberleutnant zur See Otto Hartmann) attacked. The British merchant steamers Empire Banner and Empire Webster were torpedoed and sunk. ww2dbase [HM]

• Adolf Hitler met with Erich von Manstein at Rastenberg, East Prussia, Germany. The Field Marshal had been flown 900 miles from Donetsk, Ukraine to the Führer's Wolfsschanze headquarters in Hitler's personal Focke-Wulf Fw200 V3 "Immelmann III". At the four hour conference, only five days after the surrender at Stalingrad, Russia, the Army Group South commander persuaded Hitler to allow him to retreat to the River Mius. ww2dbase [Erich von Manstein | Rastenburg, Ostpreußen | AC]

• USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Finback | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese transport in the Sunharon Roadstead off Tinian, Mariana Islands, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. After sundown, she attacked a destroyer in the same area; the 1 torpedo fired missed. ww2dbase [Flying Fish | Tinian | CPC]

• USS S-44 departed Naval Base Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone. ww2dbase [S-44 | Coco Solo | CPC]

• All female prisoners at Auschwitz Concentration Camp were gathered for a general roll call at 0330 hours then marched outside the camp. They were kept outdoors until 1700 hours, then were ordered to run back to the camp, prodded by swinging clubs. About 1,000 women died during this forced march. Those who were not able to keep up but survived were rounded up and sent to block 25 in the BIa sector of the camp, from which location they would later be transported to the gas chambers. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]

• Cleveland-class cruiser Pasadena was laid down at the Bethlehem Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. ww2dbase [Bethlehem Fore River Shipyard | Pasadena | Quincy, Massachusetts | DS]

6 Feb 1943 Interactive Map