http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/18.htm
January 18th, 1941
UNITED KINGDOM: The Ministry of Economic Warfare charges that “Some United States producers are helping Germany indirectly by selling Russia commodities in which Germany is deficient. Of these cotton is the most important.”
Fair Isle, Orkney: An RAF rescue launch, sent to collect the German airmen who crashed yesterday, runs aground at the south end of the island. A second boat is despatched to collect both men and boat. It too runs aground and has to be refloated with the help of the islanders.
Corvette FS Mimosa (ex-HMS Mimose) launched.
Corvette HMS Pentstemon launched.
Destroyer HMS Eskdale laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY: U-77 commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
MALTA: Luftwaffe planes attack the island’s airfields.
CHINA: The Communist Party describes the New Fourth Army incident as “planned by pro-Japanese conspirators and anti-Communist die-hards.”
U.S.A.: The German Consul General in San Francisco, California, displays the prescribed German Reich flag from the consular office in recognition of a German national holiday. At noon the flag is taken down in the presence of what is described as “a large shouting throng of people” and torn to pieces. The German Chargé d’Affaires Hans Thomsen makes “most emphatic protest” to the U.S. Government over the incident. (Jack McKillop)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 506 January 18, 1941
1000 miles off the coast of Angola, German cruiser Admiral Scheer captures Norwegian tanker Sandefjord (carrying 11,000 tons of crude oil) which is taken as prize. Sandefjord is sent to occupied France, arriving on February 27 and renamed Monsun under the German flag.
700 miles West of the Canary Islands, German armed merchant cruiser Kormoran sinks British tanker British Union (10 killed, 28 crew and a pet monkey rescued from 2 lifeboats and taken prisoner, 7 crew in another lifeboat rescued next day by British auxiliary cruiser HMS Arawa).
Destroyer HMS Castleton is damaged by German bombing while under repair at Portsmouth (repairs finally completed February 22).
Luftwaffe Stukas again bomb Malta, destroying 6 RAF aircraft and damaging many more at the Luqa and Hal Far airfields.