Portsmouth: Intense night air attacks are made on the town, churches, hospitals and private dwellings are hit and many are rendered homeless.

London: Churchill insists that assistance to Greece must be top priority after the capture of Tobruk. But Wavell denies this, saying that the German build-up is a "...move in a war of nerves designed with object of helping Italy by upsetting Greek nerves, inducing us to disperse our forces in Middle East and to stop our advance in Libya. Nothing (repeat nothing) we can do from here is likely to be in time to stop German advance if really intended..."

Fleetwood, Lancashire: Lord Derby, speaking to Rossall School, told the boys that after the war there would be a commercial battle for the markets of the world, and he urged: "Fit yourselves for that battle, because it will be battle, make no mistake about it."

FRANCE: The RAF begins "Circus" operations. This operation consists of a heavy fighter escort of a small force of bombers designed to provoke Luftwaffe fighter activity. In this first mission, six Blenheims, escorted by 72 fighters, attack an ammunition dump south of Calais.

GERMANY: The synthetic oil plants at Gelsenkirchen are raided by less than half of the 135 RAF Bomber Command aircraft dispatched.

U-560 is launched.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Germany and Russia signed a new, enlarged, economic agreement in Moscow today. The agreement is of special value to the Nazi war machine, for the Russians are sending the Germans industrial raw materials, oil products and foodstuffs, particularly grain.

It is believed that among the raw materials are rubber, manganese and chromium. Vital in the production of weapons, these materials are in short supply in Germany because of the British blockade. The Germans will also get petroleum products and trainloads of wheat from the Ukraine, the "bread-basket of Europe".

In return the Russians will receive German machine tools to re-equip the Soviet Union's out-of-date factories. According to the official Soviet communiqué: "This new economic agreement marks a great step forward."

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Operation 'Excess' has reached the Strait of Sicily and is attacked by Italian torpedo boats. 'Vega' is sunk by escorting cruiser HMS Bonaventure and destroyer HMS Hereward. As the Mediterranean Fleet meets the convoy off Pantalleria one of the screening destroyers HMS Gallant, is mined in the 120 miles west of Malta at 36 27N 12 11E. As her bows are blown off right back to the bridge, she is towed back to Malta stern first, however, after survey, she is declared a total loss. There are 60 casualties, but 85 of the crew survive. Towed back to Malta, she is not re-commissioned and is finally wrecked by bombing in April 1942. (Alex Gordon)(108)

Still to the west of Malta, heavy attacks by German and Italian aircraft are launched. HMS Illustrious is singled out and soon hit six times by thirty JU87 and Ju88 bombers of the Luftwaffe's elite X Fliegerkorps, a unit specially trained to dive-bomb surface ships. It began with a feint attack by two Italian torpedo bombers which drew off Illustrious's fighters, leaving her without air protection. She struggles into Malta with 200 casualties, her steering gear smashed

ALBANIA:  Greek forces take Klisura after the four Italian divisions in the area are pulled back. 

NETHERLANDS: All Jews are ordered to register with the authorities.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: The Thai army renews their ground offensive against the French. (Michael Alexander)

CANADA: Minesweepers HMCS Vegreville, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Drummondville laid down.

U.S.A.: Washington: The administrations leading supporters in Congress asked their colleagues today to give President Roosevelt what amounts to a blank cheque to arm Britain. The bill authorising massive deliveries of arms to Britain is popularly known as the "Lease-and-Lend" Bill. It empowers the President to send weapons, munitions, aircraft, ships, machinery and blueprints to any country whose defence he deems vital to that of the United States. Estimates of the eventual cost of this bill have reached $2.5 billion. The bill also gives the President sweeping powers to:

1. Test, inspect, fit out or otherwise place in good working order any defence article for any government whose defence it deems vital;

2. Sell, transfer, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of any defence article;

3. Communicate to any government any defence information.

At the same time the President took special powers to prevent six essential raw materials from reaching the Axis powers - copper, brass, bronze, zinc, nickel and potash. It is US policy to help the democracies to survive, he told a press conference, speedy methods must be used which were strictly legal.

Washington: Before the House committee on naval affairs, Rear Admiral Towers stated that, in the past year, only 445 planes were obtained by the navy. He attributed the small output to "indecision and vagueness" on the part of the administration. Admiral Towers said that the Navy's goal is 16,000 fighting planes. At present there are 2,590 in use, and, of these, very few are modern.

The Vought SB2U-3 Vindicator makes its first flight.