February 26th, 1941(WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Convoy WN91 sails from Gourock, Scotland at 1830 with the SS FORTHBANK as the commodore ship leading the port column. Escorts were HM Trawlers PIROUETTE and GAVOTTE, joined by Anti-Aircraft Cruiser HMS CURAÇOA. The convoy experienced a very strong gale for much of its passage. SS FORTHBANK is inbound with steel and general cargo from New York via the Mersey and the Clyde for Hull. At Methil TEWKESBURY joined the awaiting convoy EN79 for passage around the north coast of Scotland to Loch Ewe, where she was scheduled to join an Atlantic convoy, to begin the ocean part of her passage to Buenos Aires on the River Plate. There she was to unload and then pick up cargo for return to the UK. (Bernard de Neumann) (next on 1 March 1941)
Corvette HMS Convolvulus commissioned.
GERMANY: U-84 and U-408 launched.
GREECE: The Greek government agrees to accept a British force of 100,000 men with suitable artillery and tank support. Decisions about where to place this force are not made.SPAIN: Dictator Francisco
Franco, in response to Chancellor Adolf
Hitler's appeal to enter the war, says, “I
stand today already at your side, entirely and decidedly at your disposal,” but
refuses to enter the war.
LIBYA: Koufra: Leclerc's Free French force blows up the Italian ammunition
dump of 250 cases of bombs.
TURKEY: British Secretary of
State Anthony Eden and Field Marshall Sir John Dill, Chief of the Imperial
General Staff, continue their Middle East mission with a visit to Ankara, but
they get no real response to their efforts to interest the Turks in an
alliance.
JAPAN: The Japanese Foreign Minister sends the following message to the consulate in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: “Please wire reports covering the positions and movements also of the ships of Canada's Pacific Fleet. Please transmit to Ottawa and from that office ----- to the Naval Attaché.”
U.S.A.: An extensive modification of
aircraft markings added the National Star Insignia to both sides of the fuselage
or hull and eliminate those on the upper right and lower left wings;
discontinued the use of colored tail markings, fuselage bands and cowl markings;
made removal of vertical red, white and blue rudder stripes mandatory; and
changed the color of all markings, except the National Insignia, to those of
least contrast to the background.
Eastern Air Lines Douglas DST-318A, msn 3250, registered NC28394, crashes
at Atlanta Municipal Airport, Georgia, killing all eight on board.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Eleven ships of convoy OB-290 are sunk by German planes; the submarine U-47 called in the attack.
SS Göteborg with 20 crewmembers and three passengers Göteborg with 20 crewmembers and three passengers believed sunk by U-70 SE of Iceland.
In the early morning on 26 Feb 1941, U-47 attacked the convoy OB-290 and reported four ships of 22,000 tons sunk. In fact, the Kasongo, Rydboholm and Borgland were sunk and Diala was damaged. At 0137, Borgland in station #35 was struck by one torpedo on the port side in the #2 hold. The crew abandoned the slowly sinking ship with an increasing list in 55°53N/13°33W and was picked up by HMS Pimpernel. Rydboholm was hit at 0110 by a torpedo on port side in her bow in the second attack from U-47 on the convoy OB-290. She sank slowly with her propeller above water and the crew abandoned the ship. Still afloat in the morning, she was reboarded by the crew, but sank as the wind increased. All crewmembers were picked up by Pimpernel.