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February 2nd, 1940 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:
The popularity of rabbit meat has increased as part of the menu in British households since meat rationing began.
Recipes for enhancing - or disguising - its taste fill the cookery columns. Rabbit, they point out, can be stewed, blanched, fricasseed, jugged or, of course, put in a pie. It is also plentiful and cheap, at 2 shillings for one rabbit. Fish is also unrationed but always seems to be scarce and is getting expensive. Cod is now 1/4 a pound. Herring, the price of which is controlled, costs 6d a pound.

RAF Coastal Command: Seven men on raft rescued with aid of aircraft.

NORTH SEA: At 0624, the unescorted tanker Creofield was torpedoed and sunk by U-59 east of Lowestoft. The master and 15 crewmembers were lost.

FINLAND: In Soviet air raids 15 were killed and 54 wounded at Sortavala, 21 killed at Pori.

YUGOSLAVIA:  The Balkan Entente Conference held in Belgrade begins and includes a proclamation by the neutral states of Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania and Turkey declaring a common interest in maintaining peace in southeastern Europe and the renewal of the pact. 

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Matapedia laid down Quebec City, Province of Quebec.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The U.S. passenger liner SS Manhattan is stopped by the French auxiliary patrol vessel Vaillant about 25 miles (40 kilometres) southeast of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal, and ordered to proceed to Gibraltar for examination. 

At 2040, the unescorted SS Portelet was hit in the stern by one torpedo from U-59 and sank less than one mile WSW of Smith’s Knoll Lightship. Two crewmembers were lost. The master and eight crewmembers were picked up by the Finnish SS Oscar Midling and landed at Immingham on 4 February.

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