January 17th, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)
EUROPE: 79 degrees of frost are reported in Moscow, and the sound between Denmark and Sweden freezes over.UNITED KINGDOM: The British Foreign Office replies to the U.S. protest on the treatment of mail, concluding that "His Majesty's Government find themselves unable to share the views of the United States government that their [the British] action in examining neutral mail in British or neutral shipping is contrary to their obligations under international law."
At 1700, SS Cairnross (Master Laurence Halcrow) in Convoy OB-74 struck a mine, laid on 6 January by U-30 and sank seven miles 276° from the Bar Lightvessel, Liverpool. The master and 47 crewmembers were picked up by HMS Mackay and landed at Liverpool.
At 1156, U-25 spotted two steamers 6-7 miles north of Muckle Flugga, Shetland Isles and fired one torpedo at 1235 hours that missed the first ship, the Enid. Ten minutes later, another torpedo was fired at the second ship, the Polzella, which was hit near the bridge and sank in 12 seconds with the loss of all men. The Norwegian ship went to her assistance and the order was given to lower the boats, but the U-boat surfaced and fired a shot across the bow to stop her. When the ship turned away they opened fire and after three shots the crew abandoned ship. Then the U-boat fired 21 rounds from the deck gun and hit seven times. At 1410 a coup de grāce was fired that broke off the forepart and caused the ship to sink. One part of the Norwegian crew reached land in their lifeboats, while the rest were rescued by a Danish ship of A. P. Mųller and Co and taken to Las Palmas.
Submarine HMS Traveler laid down.
Corvette HMS Convovulus laid down.
FRANCE: Polish cryptographers break the Luftwaffe Enigma key of October 28th. This allows for routine decoding hereafter.
AUSTRIA AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA: RAF Whitley bombers make night leaflet raids on Prague and Vienna.
FINLAND: Russians on the Salla front are driven back 12 miles by the Finnish Army.
GIBRALTAR: US passenger liner SS Manhattan and freighter SS Excambion are detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; the former is kept there for only a few hours before being allowed to proceed.
AUSTRALIA: AMC HMAS Westralia commissioned.