17 Nov 1940
  • Adolf Galland claimed his 53rd, 54th, and 55th victories. ww2dbase [Adolf Galland | CPC]
  • British Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding was removed as the head of RAF Fighter Command after losing a political struggle with Sholto Douglas and other Big Wing proponents. ww2dbase [Hugh Dowding | CPC]
  • German submarine U-137 attacked Allied convoy HG-46 40 miles north of Ireland, sinking British ship Saint Germain at 2014 hours (entire crew of 18 survived) and Swedish ship Veronica at 2040 hours (17 killed, 3 survived). ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Greek 3rd Army Corps engaged in heavy fighting with Italian 9th Army near Korcë, Albania. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | CPC]
  • Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld scored his first victory; his victim was a British Wellington bomber. ww2dbase [Egmont | CPC]
  • Maggiore Baracca spotted a German aircraft in the northern Atlantic Ocean at 1200 hours. ww2dbase [Maggiore Baracca | CPC]
France Germany Mediterranean Sea
  • British aircraft carrier HMS Argus launched 12 Hurricane and 2 Skua aircraft to reinforce Malta, but 6 Hurricane aircraft were ditched at sea and 1 Skua aircraft crash landed on Sicily, Italy after becoming lost. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • Radio Travail, a black radio station operated by the propaganda section (S01) of SOE, began broadcasting from Britain, though claiming to be from France. ww2dbase [Special Operations Executive | CPC]

17 Nov 1940 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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