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• Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies arrived in Britain for talks with Winston Churchill. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | CPC]
• The German Africa Korps made contact with British patrols for the first time in North Africa, near El Agheila between Benghazi and Tripoli in Libya. In the sea, British submarine HMS Regent attacked German ships Arta, Heraklea, Menes, and Martiza carrying German Afrika Korps troops from Naples, Italy to Tripoli escorted by Italian destroyers Freccia, Saetta, and Turbine; Menes was damaged by a torpedo hit but was able to be towed to Tripoli; Saetta counterattacked HMS Regent, causing damage. ww2dbase [Operation Sonnenblume | CPC]
• British minesweeping trawler HMT Ouse hit a mine and sank off Tobruk, Libya; 12 were killed and 9 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Italian ship Eritrea, Italian armed merchant cruisers Ramb I and Ramb II, and German supply ship Coburg broke out of Massawa, Eritrea, Italian East Africa and sailed into the Indian Ocean. Ramb I and Ramb II were ordered to sail east to raid Allied shipping in the Pacific Ocean. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer sank Greek steamer Grigorios C II (27 survivors were taken prisoner) and captured British tanker British Advocate west of the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. Advocate was to be sent to France as a prize ship. ww2dbase [Admiral Scheer | CPC]
• German Luftwaffe bombed Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom for the second consecutive night. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | CPC]
• The first Beaufighter IF figher (X7540) built at Bristol's new factory at Weston-super-Mare, England, United Kingdom was completed. ww2dbase [Beaufighter | AC]

• Hans-Joachim Marseille returned to his unit at Berck-sur-Mer, France after a period of rest at home. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | Berck-sur-Mer, Nord-Pas-de-Calais | CPC]

• The Kölnische Zeitung newspaper in Germany published an article about German mills having access to French wheat and thus improving the wheat situation in the Manheim region. This would be used by the British in later propaganda broadcasts as evidence of German plunder. ww2dbase [CPC]

20 Feb 1941 Interactive Map