January 21st, 1945 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
In the evening, SS Galatea was torpedoed and sunk by U-1051 off Bardsey Island in the St Georges Channel. The sole survivor, stoker Harald Hvidtsten was picked up by frigate HMS Tyler in the early morning hours of the next day. 17 crewmembers and three gunners died.
In the morning, SS George Hawley joined the two-column convoy TBC-43 off the Isle of Wight and took station as the second ship in the starboard column. At 1538 George Hawley was hit by one torpedo from U-1199 about 3 miles off Wolf Trap Lighthouse. The torpedo struck on the starboard side amidships. The explosion destroyed the engines, flooded the engine room immediately, killed one officer and one crewman on watch below and started a small fire in the galley. The Liberty ship began to list to port as the British coastal tug TID-74 and SS Wiley A. Wakeman stood by. The remaining seven officers, 32 men and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship 20 minutes after the hit in all four lifeboats. They were picked up by the other two ships and landed at Cardiff. The master, the chief mate, to bos'n and another crewman reboarded the vessel at 1700. They passed a line to the tug, which did not have the power to tow the Liberty ship. Eight hours after the attack salvage tug HMS Allegiance arrived and took the ship in tow to Falmouth, arriving there on 22 January. She lay beached there until June 1946, when she was refloated, towed to Bremerhaven, Germany, loaded with obsolete chemical ammunition and scuttled at sea in October 1946
Corvette HMCS Lindsay damaged collision with destroyer HMS Brilliant SW Isle of Wight. Lindsay was effectively removed from the war by the damage suffered in the collision. She was taken to Devonport for temporary repairs from 19 Jan to 19 Feb. After being made seaworthy, she sailed for Saint John NB on 15 Mar for a refit that lasted until 22 Jun. Afterwards, Lindsay was dispatched to Sydney NS and was paid off there on 18 Jul.
FRANCE: The French First Army begins an offensive in the Vosges near Colmar.
ENGLISH CHANNEL: near the Scilly Isles: U-1199 is sunk in 240 feet of water in position 49. 57N 05. 42W by depth charges from destroyer HMS ICARUS and corvette HMS MIGNONETTE. 48 members of the crew are lost, but there is 1 survivor from the U-Boat. (Alex Gordon)
When attacked the entire crew, per late war doctrine, was wearing Drager gear. When the boat was hit and began sinking, one member of the crew managed to get into the conning tower and execute a self-escape through the conning tower hatch without an airlock and before the boat bottomed out. His mouthpiece was yanked out in the exit and he began blowing air, a fact that assuredly saved his life as he was too deep to execute a proper ascent. When he popped to the surface the Royal Navy ships were searching for wreckage and other signs of success and picked him up. (Mark Horan)
Minesweeping trawler HMS Computator sunk after collision with destroyer HMS Vanoc off Normandy. Vanoc was heavily damaged.
GERMANY: Berlin: Hitler orders all his commanders to report their decisions to him truthfully and quickly.
One man died in an accident onboard U-3507 [Maschinengefreiter Rudi Grötzschel].
U-3034 launched.
NORWAY: U-300 sailed from Trondheim on her third and final patrol.
U-1018 sailed from Horten on her first and final patrol.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Luzon: US forces capture Tarlac and advance on Clark Field.
BURMA:Indian troops land on Ramree Island and attack Kangaw.