7 November 1940

London: Anna Wolkoff, the daughter of a former Russian naval attache in London, has been jailed for ten years for offences under the Official Secrets Act and the Defence Regulations. Mr Justice Tucker said that she had tried to send a coded letter to Lord Haw-Haw, "a traitor who broadcasts from Germany for the purpose of weakening the war effort of this country."

Submarine HMS Swordfish is lost to a mine a few miles south of St Catherine’s Point on the Isle of Wight. There were no survivors. Previously, it had been believed that Swordfish was mined off Brest, until July 1983 when the wreckage was discovered in 150 feet of water, showing that it had been lost just a few hours after setting out from Portsmouth. (Alex Gordon)(108)

NORTH SEA: A planned attack by German torpedo boats off the coast of Scotland ends when T6 is mined on the East Coast barrage and goes down.

ÉIRE: Dublin: Despite Winston Churchill's anger, Eire will remain neutral and continue to refuse to allow the use of its ports as British bases, the prime minister, Eamon de Valera, told the 'Dail' [parliament] today. He denied rumours that German submarines were being refuelled and re-provisioned in Eire.

"I say it is a lie," he said. "And I say further that it is known to be a falsehood by the British government itself." In a speech last week, Churchill spoke of the handicap under which Britain was suffering as a result of being denied naval and air facilities in Eire. He described it as a "grievous burden which should never have been placed on our shoulders".

The use of Irish ports could extend the range of convoy escorts by several hundred miles, and the fact that Irish ships themselves are being protected is being stressed in a major British propaganda campaign in the United States.

Wanted was the former big RN base at Queenstown, which had been left behind in 1936. Churchill was correct in his assessment of the risk problem; having that old base would indeed have saved hundreds of miles steaming by protective armed escorts, and not having it thereby limited the extent of their protection, which in turn left convoys short of protection at distances quite predictable by U-boat skippers intent on sinking them. Interestingly, it was reportedly none other than the late Lord Mountbatten who, using his uniquely powerful position vis-a-vis both Admiralty and the Royal Family, persuaded British politicians not to push the matter, on the grounds that having given Eire independence inclusive of the base (which astonished the Irish leaders, who fully expected and were willing to have it retained at the time), taking it back during wartime it would only exacerbate future relations between the two nations postwar.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command aircraft attack the Krupp munition works at Essen. .

U-553, U-554 launched.

U-551 commissioned.

CRETE: The Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney (D 48), and the destroyers HMAS Vampire (D 68) and Waterhen (D 22) land more men and supplies in Suda Bay.

FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA: General LeClerc's Free French forces land near Libreville.

U.S.A.: The middle section of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state collapsed during a windstorm. The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge was completed in 1940 to connect the city of Tacoma and the surrounding Puget Sound area with the Peninsula area. The bridge soon became a popular tourist attraction as people came from all around the area to pay their toll to ride the roller-coaster that was called Galloping Gertie. The design flaws that allowed that coaster effect were to become the bridge's undoing, and it collapsed a mere four months and seven days after dedication. At approximately 1100 hours today, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed s Bridge collapsed due to wind-induced vibrations. The only casualty was a cocker spaniel dog left in a car.

Submarine FS Poncelet sunk off Gabon on 7 November 1940 by sloop HMS Milford.

Submarine HMS Swordfish believed sunk by mine after departing Portsmouth for Brest Patrol.