23 Nov 1939 | World War II Database

23 Nov 1939

Rawalpindi stumbled upon German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. When asked to abandon ship, Captain Edward Kennedy turned toward the German ships in an attempt to get into range of her 6-inch guns. She was to be sunk by the German 11-inch guns before she could get close enough. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]
RAF claimed seven Luftwaffe aircraft over France. ww2dbase [TH]
Adolf Hitler gathered the top German leaders and lectured them on his vision for the future of Germany, which involved an invasion of France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
In an aerial battle over the French border, Leutnant Werner Methfessel became the Luftwaffe's first Bf 110 fighter pilot ace (although the veracity of his claim remained in some doubt). ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

Poland

All Jews above the age of 10 in the General Government in German-occupied Poland were required to wear the Star of David. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

United Kingdom

Britain recovered a magnetic mine from muddy fields near River Thames in southern England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

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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