February 7th, 1942 (SATURDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Minesweeping trawler HMS Egilsay launched.
GERMANY: East Prussia: The Nazi armaments and munitions minister, Fritz Todt, returning to Berlin after talks with Hitler, is killed when his plane crashes on take-off. Albert Speer is appointed as Minister of Munitions in his place.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 32 Hampdens on a minelaying mission in the Frisian Islands; Luftwaffe fighters attack and three Hampdens are lost.
FINLAND: The month-long battles at Maaselkä Isthmus culminate today as the Finnish reinforced 3rd Brigade (Lt-Col. Kai Savonjousi) finish destroying the encircled Soviet 367th Rifle Division in Krivi. The recapture of Krivi, which the Red Army had captured on the first day of their offensive on 1 Jan, brings the battles to close, and the front-line is back where it was before the Soviet offensive.
The encircled Russians fought back furiously, and the last two days have been bloody. The final Finnish offensive starts at 3 am, and by 2.45 pm the pocket has been destroyed. Finns count 4000 Russian corpses from the battlefield, only 152 POWs are taken. Finnish losses are 121 killed or missing. During the last month, both sides have suffered heavy losses and are now exhausted.
U.S.S.R.: Soviet forces attack Rzhev, to the west of Moscow.
NORTH AFRICA: Rommel's forces stop near the Gazala Line. He has recaptured the ground he lost last year.
BORNEO: Nine USAAF 5th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses based at Singosari Airdrome on Java, attempt to bomb Japanese shipping at Balikpapan but are driven off by fighters.
NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Four additional USAAF 5th Air Force P-40s arrive at Blimbing Airdrome on Java from Australia.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: On Bataan, the I Corps opens an all-out attack against enemy pockets and partially encircles both. The 1st Division, Philippine Army (PA) is employed against Little Pocket. The 92d Infantry of the 91st Division, PA, makes the main attack against Big Pocket from the west and is supported by elements of the 11th and 51st Divisions, PA. In the South Sector, after the Philippine Scouts on the left flank come up against enemy positions in the Anyasan-Silaiim area and are brought to a halt, Filipino air corps troops and a Philippine Constabulary battalion are committed to form a continuous line from Silaiim Bay to Quinauan Point. The methodical destruction of Japanese remnants at Quinauan Point continues. A Japanese relief force attempting to evacuate troops from the southwestern coast is attacked by P-40s and shore guns and forced back to Olongapo.
AUSTRALIA: The Japanese submarine HIJMS I-25 launches a Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane (later given the Allied Code Name “Glen”), to recconnoitre Sydney, New South Wales.
USN announced that the combined naval forces of the Australian-New, Zealand area had been placed under command of Vice Admiral Herbert F. Leary, of the United States Navy, with the title of "Commander Anzac Forces" .
Destroyer HMAS Warramunga launched.
CANADA: Canadian Government merchantman Maurienne (3,259 GRT) was damaged by fire while at Pier 27/28 in Halifax Harbour. She was salvaged, repaired, and returned to service in 1943.
Ch/Skr (Chief/Skipper) Henry William Stone, RCNR, was appointed to HMCS Avalon, a depot ship berthed at St. John’s, while awaiting subsequent transfer to HMCS Cowichan, a Bangor-class minesweeper. Avalon was a Great Lakes passenger steamer that had been requisitioned for use in St. John’s, as the base facilities there were rudimentary. She was used as an administrative support and temporary accommodation facility, supporting minor warships until the end of the war. Later in the war, William Stone returned to Cowichan on 23 Apr 45, this time as Skpr/Lt. (Skipper/Lieutenant), the rank designation for a Commanding Officer from the RCNR. He remained with the ship until she decommissioned on 09 Oct 45. Skippers, Chief/Skippers, and Skipper/Lieutenants, were ranks in the RCNR, whereas Skipper/Coxswains and Coxswains were Fisherman Reserve ranks. Fishermen Reserve officer ranks were supposedly equivalent to warrant ranks. Fishermen Reserve Officers did not wear braid, which made them difficult to distinguish from Padres.
U.S.A.: "A String of Pearls" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. This song, which debuted on the charts on 10 January 1942, was charted for 18 weeks, was Number 1 for 2 weeks and was ranked Number 7 for the year 1942.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9054
establishing the War Shipping Administration (WSA) to bring the control and
operation of all U.S. merchant shipping under a single head. The WSA's most
pressing task is to mobilize the shipping capacity of the country (the majority
of which is still in private hands by the end of the year 1941) to bring it
under single control so that vessels can be allocated more readily on the basis
of overall shipping needs of the U.S. and the Allies.
The federal government orders passenger car production stopped and the
automobile industry converted to wartime purposes. The government offers
automakers guaranteed profits regardless of production costs throughout the war
years. Furthermore, the Office of Production Management allocates US$11 billion
to the construction of war manufacturing plants that would be sold to the
automobile manufacturers at remarkable discounts after the war.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0552, the unescorted SS Empire Sun was torpedoed and sunk by U-751 south of Halifax. Eight crewmembers, two gunners and one RAF personnel were lost. The master, 34 crewmembers, twelve gunners and seven RAF personnel landed at Liverpool , Nova Scotia.