March 4th, 1940 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber and Coastal Commands: German Submarine sunk in Schillig Roads.An extension to the football season is granted for a "War Cup" to take place. Bonuses are also introduced for players - £1 for a win and ten shillings for a draw.
NORTH SEA: The minesweeper HMS Sphinx sinks a day
after being bombed by German aircraft.
GERMANY:
U-351 laid down.
FINLAND: Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov threatens to make peace with the puppet Kuusinen government if the Finnish government delays its decision to start negotiations.
After fierce fighting, Red Army captures the last Finnish-held islands in the Bay of Viipuri, and manages to establish a foothold on the western shore of the Bay.
YUGOSLAVIA: In Belgrade, the Balkan Entente indicate they will remain neutral in the war between Britain, France and Germany.
GIBRALTAR: U.S. freighter SS Exeter, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 1 March, is released, but not before 155 sacks of mail for Germany are removed, as are 95 sacks for Italy and 59 for Switzerland. Some 140 sacks previously removed from other neutral ships, however, are brought on board and the ship is permitted to sail.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Orillia laid down Collingwood, Ontario.
Minesweeper (ex-fishing vessel) HMCS Joan W II commissioned. 62ft overall, halibut boat, built Jul 1937, by W.R. Menchions, owned by James and Joan Fiddler (they also owned 'Joan W I') chartered for $360.00 per month, returned to owner 1945.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1208 and 1209,
U-29 fired one torpedo each at
two ships in a group of three dispersed from Convoy HX-19 and observed a hit on
the Pacific Reliance and a small detonation near the second (the xB-Dienst
reported the sinking of the San Florentino, but the vessel was in fact not hit).
The torpedoed vessel first stopped and the crew prepared to launch the
lifeboats, but then returned to the ship and proceeded. The U-boat hit her with
a stern torpedo at 1239, which was a dud. However the ship broke in two
amidships and sank slowly north of Lands End. The Pacific Reliance had been the
ship of the convoy commodore RP Galer CBE RNR RD. The master, the commodore,
four naval staff members and 47 crewmembers were picked up by the British SS
Macville and landed at Newlyn, Cornwall. The second ship sunk was the SS
Thurston.