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• American seaplane tender USS Langley with 32 P-40 fighters aboard, en route to Java, was sunk by Japanese Navy land-based aircraft. On the same day, at the Battle of the Java Sea, Japanese fleet sank Allied 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers without any losses. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java | TH]
• Operation Biting: Elements of the newly-formed British 1st Parachute Brigade dropped on Bruneval, near Le Havre, and stole a German radar unit under the noses of the defenders, losing only three men in the process. Escaping by sea the paratroopers brought the equipment back to England where scintists were able to unravel secrets of the radar which had been playing a significant role in the success of night fighters against British bombers. ww2dbase [AC]
• US submarine S-39 landed on Chebia Island in search for the 40 British refugees from Singapore rumored to be located there; none of them were found. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Nisshin was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Nisshin | CPC]
• HMS Manchester completed her repairs at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. ww2dbase [CPC]
• A Japanese force landed on northeastern Mindoro in the Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | CPC]
• Six 1st American Volunteer Group pilots arrived at Accra, Gold Coast, British West Africa by C-53 transport aircraft to pick up newly delivered P-40E fighters for use in China. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The Spanish Torino motorised division operating in southern Russia beat off massed Soviet infantry and cavalry attacks. The fighting ended with more than 700 Russian dead spread across the battlefield. ww2dbase [AC]

• HMS Indomitable departed Port Sudan, British East Africa, escorted by Australian destroyers Napier and Nestor. ww2dbase [Indomitable | Port Sudan | CPC]

• German submarine U-156 sank British collier Macgregor with the deck gun 20 miles north of the Dominican Republic at 1035 hours; 1 was killed, 30 survived. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | Truk | CPC]
• Tenryu completed her anti-aircraft weaponry refitting at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Tenryu | Truk | CPC]

• HMS Eagle departed Gibraltar with 15 Spitfire fighters on the flight deck to be delivered to Malta. ww2dbase [Eagle | CPC]

• Shokaku entered drydock at Yokosuka, Japan. ww2dbase [Yokosuka Naval Arsenal | Shokaku | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down two P-40 fighters, his 51st and 52nd kill, near Ain el Gazala, Libya. His victims were Sergeant Roger Jennings and Pilot Officer Richard Hart. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | Gazala | CPC]

• At the Battle of the Java Sea, Nachi launched scouting missions with her two floatplanes. She was surprised by the Allied Striking Force in the evening, but was able to escape without damage. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java | Nachi | Java Sea | CPC]

• Blackburn B-37 torpedo-strike fighter took its maiden flight with Flight Lieutenant Arthur Thompson in the cockpit. ww2dbase [Firebrand | AC]

• Robert Johnson began basic flying training at Randolph Field, Texas, United States. ww2dbase [Robert Johnson | San Antonio, Texas | CPC]

27 Feb 1942 Interactive Map