October 8th, 1941 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS Loyal launched.
Destroyer HMS Onslow commissioned.
GERMANY:
U-255 launched.
ROMANIA: By decree, the Romanian government annexes Odessa and the region beyond the Dniester River (Transniestra).
ITALY: Rome: Mussolini calls on the Japanese to pull their weight in the Axis by waging war on Britain.
U.S.S.R.: In the German Army Group South area, the 1st Panzer Army captures Mariupol on the Sea of Azov surrounding the 9th and 18th Soviet Armies. They continue their drive toward Rostov.
In the Army Group Center area, elements of the 2nd Panzer Army captures Orel as heavy rain slows the attacks around Moscow. The 17th Panzer Division captures Bryansk. 18th Panzer Division meets elements of the 113th Infantry Division (2nd Army), completing the encirclement of the 600,000 troops of the Soviet 3rd, 13th and 50th Armies. The encirclement is not strong and the Soviets order withdrawals. 3 and 50 Army move back in good order while 13 Army fights its way east.
CHINA: Chinese troops arrive outside Yuezhou, ending the second battle of Changsha.
NEWFOUNDLAND: Corvette HMCS Camrose departed St. John's for Iceland for Convoy SC-48.
U.S.A.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt sends a letter to the Soviet Union premier Joseph Stalin stating that "I am confident that ways will be found to provide the material and supplies necessary to fight Hitler on all fronts, including your own."
Organizational provision for guided missiles is made in the U.S. fleet by the establishment of “Special Project Dog” in Utility Squadron Five (VJ-5) at NAS Cape May, New Jersey, to test and operate radio-controlled offensive weapons and to train personnel in their use. VJ-5 is also directed to develop a radio-controlled fighter plane—“aerial ram” or “aerial torpedo”—to be flown into enemy bomber formations and exploded.
ATLANTIC OCEAN:
U-83 fired three torpedoes at a convoy escort, but all three missed.
U-573 fired three torpedoes at a freighter, but all three missed.
While escorting Convoy ON-22 (U.K. to North America), the USN destroyer USS Dallas (DD-199) depth charges a contact (later evaluated as "non-submarine") about 382 nautical miles (708 kilometers) southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, in position 58.54N, 29.31W.