January 18th, 1940 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: A British company has today delivered the first of a very large Admiralty order for buoyant electrical cable. It is to be used in the fight against the magnetic mine. When the cable is towed behind a wooden trawler, a current generated by the ship will produce a magnetic field around it sufficient to detonate a mine. In the meantime ships continue to be sunk by mines - over 260,000 tons between September and December 1939.Waltham Abbey Essex: Nazi saboteurs are blamed for an explosion at an arms factory which killed five people. Mr. Leo Francis O'Hagan (d. 1968) and Mr. Stanley William Sewell (1906 - 1969) employees of the Royal Gunpowder Factory, were working on over 1,000lbs of unstable nitro-glycerine when an explosion partly wrecked their building. Mr. William George Sylvester (b. 1914) was even closer to the blast. However, despite the obvious danger, all three men remained at their posts until the danger was past. All were awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal (later exchanged for the George Cross).
RAF Bomber Command: Reconnaissance of North-West Germany for naval targets.
Glasgow: Cpl. John McIntosh McClymont (b.1903) Auxiliary Air Force, was badly burnt pulling two men from a blazing aircraft. Unfortunately both men were dead. He was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal which was later changed to a George Cross.
GERMANY:
U-756 laid down
U-63 commissioned.
POLAND: Warsaw: The Gestapo shoots dead 250 Jews in woods outside the city following the arrest of Jewish born catholic resistance leader Andrzej Kott.
BERMUDA: The British commence censorship of air mail passing through Bermuda; the censor there removes mail for European destinations from the Lisbon-bound Pan American World Airways Boeing 314 “American Clipper.” A written protest is lodged and no assistance in the unloading process is offered.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1625, SS Pajala was hit in the bow by one torpedo from U-25, after the ship had been spotted 20 minutes earlier together with an escort. A first coup de grāce at 1650 missed due to bad visibility, but the second at 1703 hours hit in the stern and caused the ship to sink 10 miles 072° from North Rona, Hebrides.
At 1126, MS Canadian Reefer was torpedoed and sunk by U-44 25 nautical miles east of Cape Villano.
At about 1745, SS Foxen was sunk by an explosion about 85 miles from Pentland Sound. The ship broke in two and sank within 90 seconds. On 24 January, the Norwegian steam merchant Leka picked up one survivor, another survivor was rescued earlier by another Norwegian ship, which took him to Bergen. There is no corresponding U-boat report since U-55 did not return from her patrol, but the likelihood is that she sank the Foxen.
At 2030, SS Patria was spotted on a southerly course by U-9 and was suspicious because no national markings could be seen from the distance of 500 meters. At 2223 and 2240, the U-boat fired one torpedo each, but missed with both. 30 minutes later, the Flandria was spotted and sunk with one torpedo at 2.53 about 95 miles north of Ymuiden before the Patria was hit underneath the bridge by one torpedo at 0145 hours on 19 January, which caused the ship to sink rapidly north of Ymuiden.