Today In the History Of Atlantic and Mediterranean Theaters

January 17, 1940
-U.S. passenger liner Manhattan and freighter Excambion are detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; the former is kept there for only a few hours before being allowed to proceed.
-British Foreign Office replies to U.S. protest on treatment of mail, concluding that "His Majesty's Government find themselves unable to share the views of the United States government that their [the British] action in examining neutral mail in British or neutral shipping is contrary to their obligations under international law."

January 17, 1942
-U.S. freighter San Jose is sunk in collision with freighter Santa Elisa off Atlantic City, New Jersey.

January 17, 1944
-Airship K 36 crashes in a fog on the lee side of Ilha de Cabo Frio, Brazil.

January 17, 1945
-In the Mediterranean Sea, the tank landing ship LST-906, which had been aground at Leghorn, Italy, since 18 October 1944, is refloated.

 

January 18, 1940
-British commence censorship of air mail passing through Bermuda; censor there removes through-bound mail for European destinations from Lisbon-bound Pan American Airways Boeing 314 American Clipper. A written protest is lodged and no assistance in the unloading process is offered.

January 18, 1942
-Germany, Italy, and Japan sign new military pact in Berlin.
-Unarmed U.S. freighter Frances Salman is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-552 off St. John's, Newfoundland. There are no survivors from the 28-man crew.
-Unarmed U.S. tanker Allan Jackson is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-66 about 50 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina; destroyer Roe (DD-418) rescues the 13 survivors from the 35-man crew.
-Unarmed U.S. tanker Malay is shelled and damaged by German submarine U-123 off Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. Freighter Scania provides fire-fighting assistance while the tanker's assailant pursues other game (Latvian freighter Ciltvaria). Although Malay is torpedoed by U-123 upon the U-boat's return and damaged further, the holed tanker reaches Hampton Roads safely the next day. One man perishes in the shelling; four drown when the ship is abandoned after she is torpedoed.

 

January 19, 1940
-Auxiliary Bear (AG-29) steams eastward to begin flight operations in the vicinity of Biscoe Bay; the ship's embarked Barkley-Grow floatplane (Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, navigator) reconnoiters Sulzberger Bay to determine leads in the ice to permit Bear's movement further to the east.

January 19, 1941
-Secretary of State Cordell Hull responds to German Chargé d'Affaires Hans Thomsen's protest over the incident concerning the tearing down of the Reich flag over the consulate in San Francisco, promising a full investigation.

January 19, 1942
-In attacks against unescorted coastal shipping, unarmed U.S. steamship City of Atlanta is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-123 off the North Carolina coast; railroad ferry Seatrain Texas rescues the three survivors of the 46-man crew.
-German submarine U-66 torpedoes and sinks Canadian steamer Lady Hawkins.

January 19, 1943
-Carrier Ranger (CV-4) launches USAAF P-40s off Accra, Gold Coast, for further transfer to the North African theater.

 

great stuff bill

 

January 20, 1940
-United States protests British treatment of American shipping in the Mediterranean.
-U.S. freighter Examelia is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; passenger liner Washington, bound for Genoa, is detained only a few hours before being allowed to proceed.

January 20, 1943
-U.S. tanker Brilliant departs St. John's, Newfoundland, under tow, bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, but breaks up in storm.
-In the Mediterranean Sea, German planes attack United Kingdom-bound convoy MKS 6 off coast of Algeria; U.S. freighter Walt Whitman is torpedoed. Four sailors of the 17-man Armed Guard are blown overboard by the explosion but are recovered by an escort vessel within a quarter-hour. There are no casualties and the ship ultimately reaches Algiers under her own power.

January 20, 1944
-Tank landing ship LST-228 sinks after running aground off the Azores.

January 20, 1945
-Hungary surrenders to the allies.
-Naval Technical Mission in Europe (Commodore Henry A. Schade) is established with headquarters in Paris, France.

 

January 21, 1940
-Auxiliary Bear (AG-29) follows leads in the ice spotted on the 19th; the ship's Barkley-Grow floatplane flies over the northern limits of the Edsel Ford Mountains.
-U.S. freighter Nishmaha is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

January 21, 1943
-Naval Base and Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, Corinto, Nicaragua, are established.

January 21, 1945
-U.S. freighter George Hawley, in convoy TBC 43, is torpedoed and irreparably damaged by German submarine U-1199 off the Isle of Wight.

 

January 22, 1940
-U.S. freighter Excellency is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities; freighter Nishmaha, detained there the previous day, is released.

January 22, 1941
-Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA-28) arrives at New York, with $148,342,212.55 in British gold brought from Simonstown, South Africa, to be deposited in American banks.

January 22, 1942
-Unarmed U.S. freighter Norvana is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-123 south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. There are no survivors, and pieces of wreckage from the ship when she explodes hit her attacker.

January 22, 1944
-Tank landing craft LCT-582 sinks after running aground, Azores.

 

January 23, 1940
-Great Britain and France announce they will attack any German vessels encountered in Pan-American Safety Zone.
-U.S. freighter Excambion, detained at Gibraltar by British authorities since 17 January, is released to proceed on her voyage to Genoa, Italy, but not before 470 sacks of mail (bound for Germany and Italy) are seized; freighter Excellency, detained at Gibraltar the previous day, is released.

January 23, 1942
-Unarmed U.S. collier Venore is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-66 about 20 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

January 23, 1943
-Casablanca (SYMBOL) Conference ends. Major accomplishments of the talks include the American decision to invade Sicily, and to delay a cross-channel invasion of the European continent until 1944. With German U-boats taking an increasing toll of Allied shipping in the Battle of the Atlantic, U.S. and Britain agree to accord priority to building antisubmarine weapons. President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill declare that the Allies will pursue a policy of "Unconditional Surrender" of the Axis.
-District patrol craft YP-577 is destroyed by explosion of undetermined origin, Great Lakes, Lake Michigan Illinois.
-German submarine U-175 torpedoes and sinks U.S. freighter Benjamin Smith off Cape Palmas, Liberia. The 23-man Armed Guard detachment (as well as the 43-man merchant complement) survives intact; all hands reach Sassandra, French Ivory Coast, the next day.

January 23, 1945
-President Roosevelt embarks in heavy cruiser Quincy (CA-69) at Newport News, Virginia, on the beginning of the trip that will include his participation in ARGONAUT Conferences at Malta and Yalta.

 

January 24, 1940
-Interior Department motorship North Star (U.S. Antarctic Service) departs Bay of Whales, Antarctica for Valparaiso, Chile, for additional supplies and equipment to establish East Base. Construction of West Base commences immediately at the site chosen that lies two miles from the edge of the ice barrier and five miles northeast of the site of Little America I and Little America II, the previous Byrd expedition bases. Until the main building is completed for habitation, the men live in regulation army tents.

January 24, 1941
-Interior Department motorship North Star arrives at Bay of Whales, Antarctica, to take part in evacuating West Base of U.S. Antarctic Service.

January 24, 1942
-Submarine S-26 (SS-131) is accidentally rammed and sunk by submarine chaser PC-460 in Gulf of Panama. PC-460 rescues three survivors. Despite a search by the patrol craft and the other three submarines in company, S-21 (SS-126), S-29 (SS-134) and S-44 (SS-155), no other survivors are found; 46 men lose their lives in the mishap.

January 24, 1943
-Submarine chaser PC-576 rescues one Armed Guard sailor (Seaman First Class Basil D. Izzi, USNR) and two Dutch seamen from Dutch motorship Zaandam. Zaandam had been sunk by German submarine U-174 on 2 November 1942. The three survivors have spent 83 days on the small raft, subsisting on raw fish, fowl, and rainwater.
-Survivors of U.S. tanker Brilliant, which had broken in two on 20 January, are rescued by Canadian minesweeper from the after portion of the ship. Of the 54 men on board, 31 merchant seamen are saved; 13 of the Armed Guard survive.

January 24, 1944
-In the Mediterranean Sea, tank landing craft LCT-185 founders and sinks in heavy weather off Bizerte, Tunisia.
-German planes attack invasion shipping off the Anzio beachhead: bombs damage destroyer Plunkett (DD-431) and minesweeper Prevail (AM-107); aerial torpedo damages destroyer Mayo (DD-422).
-During German air raid on Allied shipping at Naples, Italy, U.S. freighter F.A.C. Muhlenberg is damaged by bomb and by near-miss of bomb; ship's crew and port firefighting crews extinguish the fires thus started. Of the ship's complement, 6 of 46 merchant sailors die; 1 of the 31-man Armed Guard perishes in the blaze.
In the Arctic Ocean, German submarines attack Murmansk-bound convoy JW 56A. U.S. freighter Penelope Barker is torpedoed and sunk by U-278 about 115 miles from North Cape, Norway; 10 merchant sailors and 5 Armed Guard men (of the 43-man merchant complement and the 28-man Armed Guard, respectively) perish in the explosions. British destroyer HMS Savage rescues the survivors.

January 24, 1945
-German planes bomb Antwerp, Belgium, damaging U.S. freighter Alcoa Banner; she is later written off as a total loss.

 

January 25, 1940
-Auxiliary Bear (AG-29) (U.S. Antarctic Service) reaches 77°43'S, 143°52'W; it marks the deepest penetration by any ship into the Antarctic region.

January 25, 1941
-Keel of battleship Wisconsin (BB-64) is laid at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She will be the last battleship ever built by the U.S. Navy.

January 25, 1942
-German submarine U-125 attacks unarmed U.S. tanker Olney, forcing the latter aground off Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Olney is subsequently removed from her predicament, however, repaired, and returned to service.
-U.S. steamer Tennessee rescues one boatload of 21 survivors from U.S. collier Venore, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-66 on 25 January; two survivors reach port in a second boat. U.S. motor tanker Australia rescues the only other surviving sailor the same day. Seventeen men of Venore's crew perish.

January 25, 1943
-Submarine Shad (SS-235) torpedoes German blockade runner (ore transport) Nordfels in Bay of Biscay.
-German submarine U-575 torpedoes and sinks U.S. freighter City of Flint, straggling from Casablanca-bound convoy UGS 4, about 300 miles south of the Azores; 4 of 24 Armed Guard sailors are lost.

January 25, 1944
-In the Mediterranean Sea, off Anzio, motor minesweeper YMS-30 is sunk by mine; submarine chaser PC-676 is damaged by near-miss of bomb.

January 25, 1945
-In the Mediterranean Sea, the destroyer McLanahan (DD-615) shells German command post and then silences shore battery on the Italian Riviera.

 

January 26, 1942
-First U.S. Expeditionary Force to Europe in World War II arrives in Northern Ireland.
-U.S. freighter West Ivis is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-125 off the eastern seaboard. There are no survivors from either the 36-man civilian crew or the 9-man Armed Guard.

January 26, 1944
-In the Mediterranean Sea, off Anzio, mines sink Infantry landing craft LCI-32 and damage tank landing ship LST-422. During German air raid on shipping off the invasion beaches, U.S. freighter John Banyard is damaged by near-miss of aerial bomb. While there are no casualties to those on board (including the 27-man Armed Guard), the ship will later be written off as a total loss. Off Nettuno, a German fighter plane crashes into freighter Hilary A. Herbert shortly before the freighter is further damaged by the near-miss of a bomb. Beached to prevent her loss, Hilary A. Herbert is later repaired and returned to service.
-In the Arctic area, German submarines continue attacks against Murmansk- bound convoy JW 56A. U.S. freighter Andrew G. Curtin is torpedoed and sunk by U-716; two of the merchant crew and one Armed Guard sailor (of the 43-man merchant complement and the 28-man Armed Guard, respectively) perish. British destroyer HMS Inconstant rescues the survivors.

 

January 27, 1940
-U.S. freighter Cold Harbor, bound for Odessa, is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities,

January 27, 1942
-Unarmed U.S. tanker Francis E. Powell is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-130 about eight miles northeast of Winter Quarter Lightship; a Coast Guard boat from the Assateague Island station and U.S. tanker W. C. Fairbanks rescue the 28 survivors from the 32-man crew. U.S. tanker Halo is torpedoed and damaged by U-130 about 17 miles northeast of Diamond Shoals Lightship.
-U.S. steamship Coamo rescues 71 survivors of Canadian steamer Lady Hawkins that had been sunk by U-66 on 19 January.

January 27, 1943
-U.S. freighter Cape Decision, steaming independently from Charleston, South Carolina to Freetown, Sierra Leone, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-105; all 45 merchant sailors, 26-man Armed Guard, and six passengers, survive the sinking.
-U.S. freighter Charles C. Pinckney, a straggler from convoy UGS 4, is torpedoed by German submarine U-514 about 200 miles southwest of the Azores. When U-514 surfaces nearby, Armed Guard gunners hold fire until well within range, at which point they open up and score hits on their assailant, driving her off for the time being.

January 27, 1944
-In the Mediterranean Sea, German air opposition to landings at Anzio begins to increase; submarine chaser SC-534 is damaged by near- miss of bomb. Adverse weather conditions there cause damage to one large infantry landing craft (LCI[L]) and eleven tank landing craft (LCT).

January 27, 1945
-U.S. freighter Ruben Dario is torpedoed and damaged by German submarine, most likely U-852, off Saint George's Channel. There are no casualties among the 27-man Armed Guard.

 

January 28, 1940
-U.S. freighter Sarcoxic is detained temporarily at Gibraltar for several hours by British authorities; freighter Waban, bound for Italy and Greece, is also held there briefly but is allowed to proceed after one item of cargo is seized as contraband and 34 detained for investigation.

January 28, 1942
-PBO (VP 82) on an antisubmarine sweep astern of convoy HX 172 attacks a surfaced submarine in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland. Although pilot (Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class Donald F. Mason) reports "sighted sub, sank same" no U-boat is lost on this date.

January 28, 1943
-In the Mediterranean Sea, German submarines continue operations against stragglers from convoy UGS 4. U-514 resumes attack on freighter Charles C. Pinckney. The freighter is abandoned for a second time, after which time U-514's officers question the survivors. The U-boat then sinks Charles C. Pinckney with gunfire; a storm separates the four boatloads of survivors (see 8 February). U-442 torpedoes and sinks freighter Julia Ward Howe about 175 miles south of the Azores, 1 of the 29-man Armed Guard is lost with the ship.
-Portuguese destroyer Lima rescues 48 survivors from sunken U.S. freighter City of Flint.

January 28, 1944
-PB4Y-1 (VB 103) sinks German submarine U-271 off Limerick, Ireland.
-In the Mediterranean Sea, off Anzio, motor torpedo boat PT-201--that has Lieutenant General Mark Clark, Commanding General of the U.S. Fifth Army, on board--is damaged by friendly fire from minesweeper Sway (AM-120); submarine chaser SC-534 is damaged by near-miss of bomb.

 

January 29, 1940
-British Admiralty orders that no American ships should, under any circumstances, be diverted into the war zone delineated by President Roosevelt in the provisions of the Neutrality Act.
-Light cruiser Helena (CL-50) steams from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Montevideo, Uruguay, on her shakedown cruise.
-U.S. freighter Exochorda is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

January 29, 1942
-Coast Guard cutter Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34) is torpedoed by German submarine U-132 off Reykjavik, Iceland.
-PBYs (VP 52) operating out of Natal, Brazil, are fired upon by British freighter Debrett owing to difficulty of mutual identification.

January 29, 1943
-Portuguese destroyer Lima recovers survivors from U.S. freighter Julia Ward Howe, sunk by German submarine U-442 about 350 miles southwest of the Azores.

January 29, 1944
-In the Mediterranean Sea, German planes bomb U.S. shipping off the invasion beaches at Anzio and Nettuno; off the former place, rescue tug ATR-1 is damaged by near-miss of bomb. The freighter Alexander Martin is damaged by strafing but there are no fatalities among the ship's complement (including the 24-man Armed Guard). Off Nettuno, freighter Samuel Huntington is sunk by bombs; three merchant sailors die in the explosions, one will die of his wounds later. Her survivors are rescued by tank landing craft LCT-277. There are no casualties among the 39-man Armed Guard; the ship will later be written off as a total loss. LCT-198 rescues survivors from British light AA cruiser HMS Spartan [along with HMS Dido and HMS Delhi, among others.]

 

January 30, 1940
-U.S. freighters Examelia (detained at Gibraltar since 20 January) and Cold Harbor (detained there since 27 January) are released by British authorities.

January 30, 1941
-Germany announces that ships of any nationality bringing aid to Great Britain will be torpedoed.

January 30, 1942
-Coast Guard cutter Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34), torpedoed by German submarine U-132 the previous day, is scuttled by gunfire of destroyer Ericsson (DD-440) off Reykjavik, Iceland.
-Unarmed U.S. tanker Rochester is torpedoed, shelled, and sunk by German submarine U-106 off the Chesapeake Lightship; three crewmen perish in the initial torpedo explosion. Destroyer Roe (DD-418) rescues the 29 survivors.

January 30, 1943
-Grossadmiral Karl Doenitz succeeds Grossadmiral Erich Raeder as Commander in Chief of the German Navy.

 

January 31, 1940
-U.S. passenger liner Washington is detained for several hours at Gibraltar by British authorities, but is allowed to proceed the same day; freighter Jomar is also detained there.

January 31, 1941
-West Base, U.S. Antarctic Service, is closed.

January 31, 1942
-Office of Procurement and Material is established in the office of the Under Secretary of the Navy; Vice Admiral Samuel M. Robinson, Chief of the Bureau of Ships, is named its director. He must build, from the ground up, an organization that will assure the flow of vital materials essential to the production of ships, planes, and other munitions. He will instill in the production program the need for more production and greater speed, and will apply himself to breaking complex bottlenecks in production, settling conflicts in priorities, solving labor difficulties and curing the multitudinous ills besetting the Navy's production efforts.
-British tanker San Arcadio is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-107.
-British tanker Tacoma Star is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-109; destroyer Roe (DD-418), on temporary duty with the Fifth Naval District defense forces due to the increase in ship sinkings off Cape Hatteras, is sent to rescue survivors.

 

February 1, 1940
-President Roosevelt writes First Lord of the Admiralty Winston S. Churchill, concerning the detention of U.S. merchantmen, and frankly informs him of adverse American reaction to the British policy. "The general feeling is," Roosevelt informs Churchill, "that the net benefit to your people and the French is hardly worth the definite annoyance caused to us.
-U.S. freighter Exminster is detained by British authorities at Gibraltar; freighters Exochorda (detained since 30 January) and Jomar (detained since 31 January) are released.

February 1, 1941
-Navy Department announces reorganization of U.S. Fleet, reviving old names Atlantic Fleet and Pacific Fleet; Asiatic Fleet remains unchanged.
-Marine Corps expansion occurs as the 1st and 2d Marine Brigades are brought up to division strength.
-Auxiliary Bear (AG-29) and Interior Department motorship North Star depart Bay of Whales; they will proceed via different routes to rendezvous off Adelaide Island to evacuate Antarctic Service's East Base.

February 1, 1942
-Seventh Naval District with headquarters at Key West, Florida, is reestablished.
-In the Caribbean Sea, Naval Air Stations, St. Lucia, British West Indies, and British Guiana; and Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, Antigua, British West Indies, are established.

February 1, 1944
-In the Mediterranean Sea, German planes carry out torpedo attack on convoy UGS 30, freighter Richmond P. Hobson is damaged. There are no casualties among the crew (including the Armed Guard) and the ship reaches Port Said, Egypt, on 10 February. Freighter Edward Bates is torpedoed 65 miles from Oran and is abandoned; one of the 46-man merchant complement iskilled, but there are no casualties among the 38-man Armed Guard or the seven passengers.

 

February 2, 1940
-Light cruiser Helena (CL-50), at Montevideo, Uruguay, on her shakedown cruise, sends party to inspect wreck of German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee.
-U.S. passenger liner Manhattan is stopped by French auxiliary patrol vessel Vaillant about 25 miles southeast of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal, and ordered to proceed to Gibraltar for examination.

February 2, 1942
-Unarmed U.S. tanker W.L. Steed is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-103 about 90 miles east of the mouth of the Delaware River. Exposure to the frigid weather will eventually kill 34 of the 38-man crew who survive the loss of the ship at the outset.

February 2, 1943
-German submarine U-456 attacks convoy HX 224 in the North Atlantic and torpedoes U.S. freighter Jeremiah Van Renssalaer; 10 of the 28-man Armed Guard are lost; the ship is scuttled by escorts later the same day.

 

February 3, 1940
-Light cruiser Helena (CL-50) departs Montevideo, Uruguay, for Brazilian waters as her shakedown cruise continues (see 5 February).
-U.S. passenger liner Manhattan is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities.

February 3, 1941
-Navy Department General Order No. 143 creates three independent fleets, each commanded by an admiral. Admiral Husband E. Kimmel becomes Commander in Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet (and also Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet in the event that two or more fleets operate together); Patrol Force U.S. Fleet becomes U.S. Atlantic Fleet under command of Admiral Ernest J. King; Admiral Thomas C. Hart continues as Commander in Chief U.S. Asiatic Fleet.

February 3, 1942
-Panamanian freighter San Gil is torpedoed, shelled, and sunk by German submarine U-103 approximately 15 miles south of Fenwick Island light. Two crewmen perish in the attack; Coast Guard cutter Nike (WPC-112) rescues the 38 survivors.

February 3, 1943
-German submarine U-223 attacks Greenland-bound supply convoy SG 19 which is escorted by Coast Guard cutters Tampa (WPG-48), Escanaba (WPG-77), and Comanche (WPG-76), and sinks War Department-chartered transport Dorchester about 150 miles west of Cape Farewell, Greenland and damages Norwegian freighter Biscaya. Casualties on board Dorchester are heavy, 675 men (including 15 of 24 Armed Guard sailors) being lost. Four Army chaplains, representing four different faiths, bravely give up their lifebelts to soldiers who have none; all four perish with the ship.
-German submarine U-255 attacks convoy RA 52 600 miles northeast of Iceland, torpedoing U.S. freighter Greylock; there are no casualties, British escort trawler HMS Lady Madeleine rescues all hands.
-In the Mediterranean Sea, command designated U.S. Naval Forces Northwest African Waters is established with headquarters at Algiers.
-In the Caribbean, open lighters YC-886 and YC-887 founder and sink in heavy weather, Guantanamo, Cuba.

February 3, 1944
-USAAF planes (8th Air Force) bomb German naval base at Wilhelmshaven, sinking accommodation ship Monte Pasqual and damaging minesweepers M 18 and M 19.

 

February 4, 1940
-U.S. passenger liner Manhattan, detained at Gibraltar the previous day, is released, but not before British authorities seize 390 sacks of German mail. American diplomatic mail pouches, however, are not disturbed.

February 4, 1941
-Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 7 begins in Culebra-Vieques, Puerto Rico, area, with all available ships of the Atlantic Fleet and elements of the 1st Marine Division and the U.S. Army's First Division, to train "Army and Navy Forces in the amphibious operations incident to a Joint Overseas Expedition." Unlike FLEX No. 6 in 1940, bona fide transports are available for, and participate in, the maneuvers.

February 4, 1942
-Unarmed U.S. tanker India Arrow is torpedoed, shelled, and sunk by German submarine U-103 about 20 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey. Two of her men perish when the ship is shelled; 24 drown when two lifeboats are swamped. Fishing skiff Gitana rescues the 12 survivors 12 miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey.
-Canadian armed merchant cruiser HMCS Alcantara comes across lifeboat from torpedoed U.S. tanker W.L. Steed (sunk by German submarine U-103 on 2 February) and rescues the three survivors she finds.

February 4, 1943
-German submarines attack convoy SC 118; Coast Guard cutter Bibb (WPG-31) pinpoints location of U-187, which is sunk by British destroyers HMS Vimy and HMS Beverly. Bibb later participates in driving off the four U-boats that try to close the convoy during the night.

February 4, 1945
-Yalta (ARGONAUT) Conference attended by President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Churchill, and Russian Premier Stalin, begins. Matters discussed include the timing of the Russian entry into the war against Japan, and three postwar issues: the division of Germany, the extent of the Soviet sphere of influence in Europe, and the status of Poland.