http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/feb40/f02feb40.htm
Balkan Entente Conference held
Friday, February 2, 1940 www.onwar.com
In Belgrade... The Balkan Entente Conference begins and includes a proclamation by the neutral states of Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania and Turkey declaring a common interest in maintaining peace in southeastern Europe and the renewal of the pact.
The Winter War... The Finnish army succeeds in holding the Soviet attack on the Mannerheim Line.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/02.htm
February 2nd, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM:
The popularity of rabbit meat has increased as part of the menu in British households since meat rationing began.
Recipes for enhancing - or disguising - its taste fill the cookery columns. Rabbit, they point out, can be stewed, blanched, fricasseed, jugged or, of course, put in a pie. It is also plentiful and cheap, at 2 shillings for one rabbit. Fish is also unrationed but always seems to be scarce and is getting expensive. Cod is now 1/4 a pound. Herring, the price of which is controlled, costs 6d a pound.
RAF Coastal Command: Seven men on raft rescued with aid of aircraft.
NORTH SEA: At 0624, the unescorted tanker Creofield was torpedoed and sunk by U-59 east of Lowestoft. The master and 15 crewmembers were lost. (Dave Shirlaw)
FINLAND: In Soviet air raids 15 were killed and 54 wounded at Sortavala, 21 killed at Pori. (Mikko Härmeinen)
YUGOSLAVIA: The Balkan Entente Conference held in Belgrade begins and includes a proclamation by the neutral states of Yugoslavia, Greece, Romaniaand Turkey declaring a common interest in maintaining peace in southeastern Europe and the renewal of the pact. (Jack McKillop)
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Matapedia laid down Quebec City, Province of Quebec. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The U.S. passenger liner SS Manhattan is stopped by the French auxiliary patrol vessel Vaillant about 25 miles (40 kilometres) southeast of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal, and ordered to proceed to Gibraltar for examination. (Jack McKillop)
At 2040, the unescorted SS Portelet was hit in the stern by one torpedo from U-59 and sank less than one mile WSW of Smith’s Knoll Lightship. Two crewmembers were lost. The master and eight crewmembers were picked up by the Finnish SS Oscar Midling and landed at Immingham on 4 February. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 155 February 2, 1940
U-59 sinks British steamers SS Creofield (6.24 AM, all 9 lives lost) and SS Portelet (8.40 PM, 2 lives lost) with 1 torpedo each, 20 miles East of Lowestoft, Suffolk, England. 9 survivors from Portelet are picked up by the Finnish steamer SS Oscar Midling and landed 100 miles North at Immingham, England.
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/226.html
Finland. Soviet shelling, aerial bombing and small unit combined infantry/armour attacks continue on the Karelian Isthmus, designed to wear down the Finnish defenders rather than penetrate the fortified defensive line. Further North, above Lake Lagoda, Finnish 9th division continues to surround Soviet 54th division near Kuhmo. In a rare example of reinforcing the trapped Red Army units, Siberian ski battalion under Colonel Vyatsheslav Dmitrievitsh Dolin is sent in to help 54th division.