February 8th, 1944 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Frigate HMS Largo Bay laid down.
Frigates HMS Lochy and Hotham commissioned.
Corvette HMCS Arnprior (ex-HMS Rising Castle) launched Belfast, Northern Ireland.
HMCS Qu’Appelle, a River-class destroyer (ex-HMS Foxhound), Cdr. D.C. Wallace DSC RCNR, was commissioned into the RCN in the UK. Although Qu’Appelle’s career in the RCN was somewhat unremarkable, she was very active while she served with the RN. At the outbreak of the war, she was a member of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet. On 14 Sep 39, she shared in the destruction of the long-range Type IX submarine U-39, KptLt. Gerhard Glates, CO, off the Hebrides. Foxhound and her sisters Faulkenor and Firedrake were screening the fleet carrier Ark Royal, while engaged in ASW operations. U-39 fired two torpedoes at the carrier, which detonated prematurely only 80 meters short of their target. The explosion alerted the escorts to the submarine’s presence and they eventually located and attacked her, forcing the submarine to the surface where the entire crew safely abandoned the boat before it sank. This was the first U-boat ‘kill’ of the war. In Apr 40, Foxhound took part in the Second Battle of Narvik. In Nov 40, she was transferred to the famous Force ‘H’, based at Gibraltar, and saw extensive service in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. On 18 Jun 41, she shared with four of her F-class sisters in the destruction of the short-range Type II submarine U-138, OLtzS Franz Gramitzky, CO, west of Cadiz. Foxhound was also part of the escort for one of the dangerous ‘Malta Convoys’ during this period. From Jan 42 to May 43, she served with the Eastern Fleet. On completion of this duty, she was transferred to the West Africa Command, based out of Freetown, Sierra Leone. She returned to the UK in Sep 43 for a much needed refit and was transferred to the RCN immediately afterwards.
GERMANY: U-1016, U-1275 launched.
U.S.S.R.: The Third Ukrainian Front captures Nikopol, a vital centre of manganese production.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Submarine HMS Sportsman torpedoed and sank the German POW Transport Petrella north of Souda Bay (Crete). 2,670 out of 3,173 Italian POWs where killed. German Guards did not open the POW rooms and fired at them while they tried to break out.
ALGERIA: Algiers: Two key agreements between the British government and the French committee of National Liberation were signed at a villa on the outskirts of Algiers today. One provides for mutual assistance in the war effort, free of cost on both sides. The other establishes a common rate of exchange of 200 Francs to the pound in all parts of the French empire. This will make it possible for something like normal trading to be resumed between the French territories.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Mimico commissioned.
U.S.A.: Jackson, Mississippi: The Royal Netherlands Military Flying School discontinues training at the Jackson Army Air Base.
Destroyer USS Henley laid down.
Destroyer USS Laffey commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN:
At 0145, SS Margit, a straggler from Convoy UR-108 since 7 February due to bad weather, was hit in the stern by one of two torpedoes fired by U-985 SE of Iceland. The ship first sank on even keel, but then settled by the stern and finally capsized. The master, 23 crewmembers and six gunners were lost.