January 5th, 1940 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: London: The actress Vivien Leigh is sued for divorce.Leslie Hore-Belisha, the Secretary of State for War, has resigned from the cabinet. Mr. Chamberlain told him that he could have another senior post, but must be moved from the War Office. Mr. Hore-Belisha had quarrelled with the army generals over strategy and his own insistence on better welfare services for the troops, retorted that he preferred to leave the government.
PM Chamberlain changes his cabinet. Oliver Stanley becomes Minister of War; Lord Reith becomes Minister for Information and Sir Andrew Duncan arrives at the Board of Trade.
RAF Bomber Command: Leaflets and reconnaissance - Hamburg - Bremen. 51 Sq. Two aircraft.
Opposition moderate.
Security Patrols - Hornum - Borkum. 51 Sq. Two aircraft. Opposition moderate.
The first production Fairey Fulmer Mk. I carrier-based two-seat reconnaissance fighter, s/n N1854, makes its first flight at Ringway, Cheshire, England. The aircraft serves as the prototype. The Fulmar entered squadron service in June 1940 and 600 aircraft are built. The Fulmar remained in service until August 1945.
GERMANY:
SPAIN: The German tanker SS
Nordmeer, which sailed from Curacao, Netherlands West Indies, on 9 December
1939, reaches Vigo, Spain.
FINLAND:
The Soviet 18th Division is encircled north of Lake Ladoga.
The first contingent of Swedish volunteer troops reach Finland.
The Finnish 9th Division starts an attack in the Raate road, which leads to nearly complete destruction of Soviet's 44th Division in two days. The first Soviet air attack on the general headquarters town of Mikkeli causes 29 dead.
Both Norway and Sweden reject an Allied request to allow unofficial aid shipments to pass through them onto Finland.
U.S.S.R.: The government accuses Norway and Sweden of pursuing an "unneutral" policy.
Swedish transport Fenris sunk by gunfire from Soviet submarine SC-311.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: ASW trawler HMS Kingston Cornelian sunk in collision with French SS Chella East of Gibraltar.
U.S.A.: The first demonstration of Frequency Modulated (FM) radio transmission, developed by E H Armstrong, is given to the Federal Communications Commission. The first U.S. commercial FM radio station will begin broadcasting in Nashville, Tennessee, in March 1941.
Destroyer USS Roe commissioned.