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• » 17 Feb 1942

• 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 [Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns | CPC]
• Albacore was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Albacore | 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 [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | CPC]
• Paul von Kleist was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. ww2dbase [Paul von Kleist | CPC]
• German submarine U-136 sank British transport Empire Comet 250 miles south of Iceland at 2217 hours, killing all 46 aboard. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
• USS Triton sank Japanese freighter Shinyo Maru No. 5 and damaged another ship off Kyushu island, Japan. ww2dbase [Triton | CPC]
• "Seabees" of the US Navy First Naval Construction Battalion arrived at Bora Bora, Society Islands. ww2dbase [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 [Nobuo Fujita | Sydney | CPC]

• Japanese troops crossed the Bilin River north of Rangoon, Burma and began to encircle the Indian 17th Infantry Division. ww2dbase [Invasion of Burma | 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 [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Sumatra | CPC]
• Australian Bill Reynolds, an official with the Johore Government Service, captured small Japanese fishing vessel Krait and took on 70 survivors of HMS Kuala, an auxiliary patrol boat serving as a civilian evacuation transport and sunken by Japanese aircraft three days prior. Krait would be successful in delivering the survivors from Pompong island to Tembilahan, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [Kuala | Pompong, Riau | HM]
• 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 [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java | CPC]

• Nachi provided support for the landings at Dili, Portuguese Timor. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java | Nachi | Dili | 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 [Changi Prison and Selarang Barracks | Invasion of Malaya and Singapore | Singapore | CPC]

17 Feb 1942 Interactive Map