http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1941/feb41/f11feb41.htm
Darlan to be Petain’s deputy
Tuesday, February 11, 1941 www.onwar.com
In Vichy France... Darlan is nominated to be successor and deputy to Petain. He is to hold office as Foreign Minister, Minister of the Interior and Minister of Information as well as his rank as Commander in Chief of the Navy.
In East Africa... General Cunningham’s forces extend their advance from Kenya into the Italian Somaliland and take Afmadu.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/11.htm
February 11th, 1941
UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: The Stirling bomber made its operational debut last night when three of No. 7 Squadron’s Stirlings, led by Sqn. Ldr. Griffith-Jones, DFC, dropped 56 500lb bombs on oil-storage tanks in Rotterdam.
Prime Minister to Minister of Shipping:
Is it true that the steamship ‘New Toronto’, which arrived at Liverpool, was ordered to proceed north-about to London, and is it true that this order was only cancelled as a result of the protest of the captain, who pointed out the enormous value of his cargo, which contained, inter alia, 19,677 sub-machine guns and 2,456,000 cartridges? The arrival of these ships with large consignments of invaluable munitions ought to receive your personal attention in every case.
Submarine HMS Ultimatum launched.
Light cruiser Jacob Van Heemskerck commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
FRANCE: Admiral Darlan becomes Marshall Petain’s successor and Deputy in the Vichy government. Darlan is also named Foeriegn Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Information, and Commander in Chief of the French Navy.
THE NETHERLANDS: The government breaks diplomatic relations with Romania.
GERMANY:
U-80 launched.
U-68 commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
LIBYA: Tripoli: The first troops of German 5th Light Infantry Division land.
ITALIAN SOMALILAND: South African and Gold Coast troops occupy the military centre of Afmadu.
U.S.A.: Destroyers USS Aaron Ward and Buchanan laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Submarine HMS Snapper is sunk in the Atlantic Southwest of Ushant. All 39 crew are lost. It is believed that she was attacked by German minesweepers M2, M13 and M25 which were conducting an A/S sweep in the area and dropped over 50 depth charges when Snapper broke surface after firing a torpedo. (Alex Gordon)(108)
Between 0133 and 0135, U-136 fired four torpedoes at Convoy SC-67 south of Iceland and reported hits on two steamers and on a corvette and later sighted debris and two lifeboats. In fact, the Heina and HMCS Spikenard were sunk. Heina in station #72 was hit below the #2 hatch, developed a heavy list and sank vertically three hours later. All men were picked up by HMCS Dauphin and landed at Londonderry, where the injured master was taken to a hospital. The remaining survivors left for Glasgow on 14 February.
Destroyer ORP Blyskawica escorted a convoy to Iceland. But on the 14th she was again damaged in a storm and returned to Greenock. (Dave Shirlaw)