Swansea: The town is badly hit by incendiaries and HE.

Glasgow:

Winston Churchill ended his tour of the civil defence organisation here with a speech made in the presence of President Roosevelt's personal envoy, Harry Hopkins. The Prime Minister told his American visitor: "We don't require in 1941 large armies from overseas. What we do require are weapons, ships and aeroplanes. All that we can pay for we will pay for, but we require far more than we shall be able to pay for ..."

Minesweeping trawler HMS Horatio commissioned.

Fair Isle: A Luftwaffe Heinkel He-111 crash lands at Vaasetter on Orkney, killing two of its crew. The plane had been on a weather reconnaissance mission when it was pursued and shot down by allied aircraft. Miraculously three crew members survive the crash, and are met by a small group of islanders, led by George 'Fieldy' Stout, who made a citizen's arrest. The men await the arrival of a Royal naval detachment. 

GERMANY: In a speech to miners Göring says "There is not task so great that it cannot be solved by a German." Referring to air-raids he remarks, "Everywhere in the Reich, armament factories are undisturbed. Here and there an occasional bomb has temporarily caused interruptions, but not a single plant, not a single factory of importance, has been destroyed."

GREECE: CIGS to Wavell:

The refusal of the Greeks of 102 Reg. RHA and company of light tanks for the Albanian front is noted.

...Assume you have explained to Metaxas the information on which our desire to supply forces to meet a German invasion is based ... may be the Greeks have information ... which causes them to view the German preparations in a different light.

CHINA: The Nationalist government disbands the Communist New Fourth Army as rebellious.

SOUTH CHINA SEA:   The Vichy French and Thailand fight the Battle of Koh Chang: the Vichy French retaliate against Thai moves against Cambodia. The French squadron (Rear Admiral Jules Terraux) consisting of light cruiser Lamotte-Picquet, colonial sloops Admiral Charner and Dumont D'Urville and sloops Tahure and Marne, decisively defeats a Thai Navy force in a surface gunnery and torpedo action fought in the Gulf of Siam, sinking coast defence ship Dhonburi and torpedo boats Cholbury and Songkhla and damaging coast defence ship Sri Ayuthia and torpedo boat Trat in about two hours. 

NEWFOUNDLAND: The first American troops arrive at St. John’s, Newfoundland, aboard the USAT Edmund B. Alexander. She will serve as a barracks ship for the 1200 troops until permanent quarters are built ashore. 
 

U.S.A.: The first Consolidated Liberator destined for the RAF (AM 258) makes its maiden flight. It will be delivered by air across the Atlantic in March.

Bethlehem Steel, of Lehigh, Pennsylvania, changes its operations to all-out war production of steel plate for ships and tanks, structural steel for defence plants and forgings for guns, shells and aircraft engines.

Bethlehem's 15 shipyards will build 1,121 ships, more than any other shipbuilder in World War II. At peak of production, Bethlehem employs almost 300,000 people, 180,000 of them in shipbuilding. (Drew Halevy)

Secretary of the Navy Knox testified for the lend-lease bill.