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• Italian destroyers Manin, Sauro, Battisti, and Nullo attacked Allied convoy BN-7 in the Red Sea at 0219 hours. Nullo was damaged by HMS Kimberley and Australian sloop HMAS Yarra as the escorts counterattacked; she fled back towards Massawa, Italian East Africa and ran aground, but drew Kimberley close enough to the shore guns to hit the British ship, killing 3. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British minesweeping trawler HMS Waveflower hit a mine and sank off Alderburgh, Suffolk, England; 15 were killed and 7 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British motor torpedo boat MTB-17 hit a mine and sank off Ostend, Belgium. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German guns near Calais, France fired 6 shells at Dover, England, United Kingdom between 1400 and 1600 hours; only some of the shells detonated. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Friedrich Ruge was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. ww2dbase [Friedrich Ruge | CPC]

• Waldemar Kophamel was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Waldemar Kophamel | CPC]

• Scirè departed La Spezia, Italy for Gibraltar with three manned torpedoes on board. ww2dbase [Scirè | La Spezia, Liguria | CPC]

• Between 1100 and 1400 hours, heavy fog limited Germans to small raids against southern England, United Kingdom and kept British fighters on the ground; as the result, bombs were successfully dropped on London, Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Sussex, and Kent; 1 Ju 88 bomber was lost. Overnight, London, Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Liverpool, and South Wales were bombed. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | England | CPC]

21 Oct 1940 Interactive Map