5 February 1943

Rome: The first signs of a major crack in the facade of Mussolini's Fascist Italy began to show today when a tired and bitter Duce sacked his son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano, Italy's foreign minister since 1936, and two other senior members of his cabinet. Mussolini himself has taken charge of foreign affairs.

Mussolini today is described as no more than a sad shadow of the bombastic, boastful and vain Duce who set out to recreate the grandeur of imperial Rome by engineering excuses to invade soft targets like Albania and Ethiopia - only to see his "empire" snatched from him by Allied troops.

His people are disillusioned. Il Duce promised them victories, not lengthy lists of casualties and prisoners. Morale is low throughout the country, and major strikes have taken place in the industrial north for "bread, peace and freedom."

With Anglo-American forces converging on Tunisia, he knows that the invasion of Italy cannot be far away and has pleaded with Hitler to sue for peace in Russia after his defeat at Stalingrad and bolster Italy's shattered army against the Allies.

On the other hand, Count Ciano has been appointed ambassador to the Vatican and many observers believe that the desperate Mussolini has sent him there to negotiate peace with the Allies.

SICILY: Operating as a "wolfpack" - in the style of their U-boat counterparts - British submarines have caused havoc to Axis transports off the Sicilian coast, it was learned today. One unnamed submarine even sailed into the Straits of Messina, risking rocks and the legendary whirlpool opposite the headland of Scylla, to sink a heavy transport under tow by two tugs.

Altogether ten vessels - including an anti-submarine ship - were sunk. The Italian navy was singularly absent.

U.S.S.R.: The Red Army reaches the Sea of Azov at Yeisk, cutting off German troops at Novorossiisk.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Minesweeping trawler HMS Stronsay mined and sunk in the western Mediterranean.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "The Outlaw" premieres at the Geary Theater in San Francisco, California. Directed by Howard Hughes, this western, which was filmed in 1941, stars Jane Russell, Walter Huston and Thomas Mitchell. Very controversial in 1943.

Submarine USS Bream laid down.

Destroyer USS Abner Read commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-617 shadowed a northbound convoy (probably on the XT or XTG route), consisting of four steamers and four escorts from grid CO92 to CO67. At 0802 hours, the U-boat torpedoed and sunk the Henrik and Corona. Corona was hit by one torpedo and 15 minutes later by another on the starboard side. The forecastle deck line split to keel and from keel to about 15 feet from deckline port side. The collision bulkhead was fractured and forecastle deck dropped 12 inches from aft side windlass to stem. All seven Norwegian officers, 40 Chinese crewmen, the Egyptian messboy, six British gunners and 49 army personnel as passengers abandoned ship. The master, 10 crewmen and 11 passengers were picked up by HMS ML-1012. The master, the 2nd mate and three crewmen returned to the lifeboat with the intention of returning to the ship, but on the way back he came across HMS ML-356 and being uncertain of the condition of the ship they decided to board the motor launch. HMS Erica put a boarding party on the Corona, including one Indian stoker from Henrik and later took the survivors on board and brought them to Tobruk. The next day, the Corona was taken in tow to Tobruk and beached. In the afternoon on 24 February, she sank during a storm. On 17 Oct 1947, the ship was refloated and was taken in tow by the tug Lenamill, but sank two days later 20 miles north of Derna. Henrik (Master Johan Sørlie) was probably hit by two torpedoes and sank within 3 minutes about 30 miles east of Tobruk. The launched lifeboat swapped as the vessel sank, throwing the occupants into the water. The survivors clung to rafts or debris until an escort vessel picked them up. Two Chinese crewmembers died, out of a complement of seven Norwegian officers, 33 Chinese crewmembers and six gunners.

U-267 was attacked in the North Atlantic by escorts with depth charges. The boat was damaged so severely that a return to base was necessary.