January 20th, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Battersea, London: Maj. Cyril Arthur Joseph Martin (1897-1973), who had done disposal work since 1940, removed the TNT from a bomb in a long and dangerous operation. (George Cross)
Submarine HMS Untiring launched.
GERMANY: Himmler demands more trains to "wind up" the extermination of the Jews quickly, even though they are desperately needed to ferry arms to the eastern front.
A young Polish farm worker from Ebersbach, near Wurttemberg, is hanged because he had a sexual relationship with the farmers daughter. All slave workers from five kilometres around, were rounded up and brought in to witness the penalty for such a crime.
About the same time, ten German women are caught having sexual relations with French prisoners of war. Between May and August, 1942, the Gestapo dealt with 4,960 cases of forbidden relations between Germans and foreign slave workers.
These two separate, but similar responses to threats to parts of Nazi Ideology are typical of life in Germany during the last two years of the war.
(Denis Peck)
U-1301 laid down.
U-311 launched.
NORTH AFRICA: U-66 landed espionage agent Jean Lallart on the coast of Mauritania near Cape Blanc. Lallart and the two crewmen who rowed him ashore (Bootsmaat Wagner and Matrosenobergefreiter Daschkey) were immediately captured by the French. After waiting in vain for over 13 hours for the crewmen to return, Kptlt Markworth was forced to abandon his crewmen to whatever fate they had suffered. Ten days later Markworth learned of the capture of his men.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: No action against the "Gifu" today due to heavy rain.
U.S.A.: The 14th Anti-aircraft Artillery Group is activated at Camp Stewart as the 14th Coastal Artillery Group (AA). (Jean Beach)
Escort carrier USS Midway laid down.
Destroyers USS Paul Hamilton and Twiggs laid down.
Destroyer escort USS Brennan commissioned.
CHILE: Santiago breaks off diplomatic relations with Berlin. (Mike Yared)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-553 (Type VIIC) is missing and presumed sunk, in the mid North Atlantic after going missing in January 1943. 47 dead (all hanDave Shirlaw lost) . Last radio-message sent on 20 Jan, 1943: "Seerohr unklar" (periscope not clear)
Previously on 25 April, 1941 U-553 was forced to return to base due to major engine trouble. (Alex Gordon)
Between 1633 and 1635, U-453 fired four torpedoes at Convoy KMS-7 off Cape Tenès and heard three detonations and one ship sinking. The only ship hit and sunk was the Jean Jadot, which carried 323 soldiers. 6 dead and 397 survivors.
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