http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/21.htm
February 21st, 1941
UNITED KINGDOM: London: Chiefs of Staff to CIGS: “...anxious that Romanian oilfields should be bombed if only lightly, as a prelude to subversive activities in Romania which are timed to begin on 28th February. There are two difficulties:
1. We should require use of Greek aerodromes, which might result in German retaliation.
2. It would be necessary to violate Bulgarian air. Foreign Office raise no objection.”
London: Churchill telegrams Eden with the advice, “Do not consider yourselves obligated to a Greek enterprise if in your hearts you feel it will only be another Norwegian fiasco.”
NORTH SEA: ASW trawler HMS Lincoln City sunk by German aircraft off the Faeroe Islands. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY: A Messerschmidt Me-321 Gigant fitted with 8 bolt on hydrogen-peroxide rockets capable of providing 1102 pounds thrust for 30 seconds, was towed along a one mile runway behind a four-engined Junkers 90 (itself regarded as underpowered) and became airborne at some 100 mph. The tow was dropped at 2000 and the Gigant made a wide circuit of Leipheim airfield for 20 minutes at 87 mph. (Alex Gordon)
U-511 laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
NORWAY: The government breaks diplomatic relations with Romania. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Maxim Litvinov, the former Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, has been further downgraded by Stalin be being expelled from the central committee. Litvinov, a Jew married to an Englishwoman and bitterly opposed to Hitler, is an embarrassment to Stalin in his dealings with the Fuhrer.
Polina Molotova, the wife of the current, hard-line Foreign Affairs Commissar, Vyacheslav Molotov, has also been sacked. She was appointed commissar for the fishing industries in 1939. She, too, is Jewish.
ITALY: Olive oil, cooking fat and butter rations are halved.
ERITREA: Fleet Air Arm Albacore biplanes from the carrier HMS Formidable attack Massawa.
TERRITORY OF HAWAII: The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) arrives off Oahu and launches 30 USAAC P-36 Hawks that will be based at Wheeler Field. (Jack McKillop)
The Japanese consulate in Honolulu sends a message to Tokyo stating that “The capital ships and others departed from Pearl Harbor on the 13th and returned on the 19th. (It is said that they will depart again on the coming Wednesday and return on the following Wednesday).” The message also contains a list of the ships in the harbour.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-552 attacked by an aircraft in the North Atlantic, suffering some damage. (Dave Shirlaw)
Day 540 February 21, 1941
Luftwaffe bombs Swansea for 5 hours starting at 7.50 PM. In 3 nights, 70 German bombers have dropped 35,000 incendiary canisters and 800 high explosive bombs, destroying much of the city center and killing 230 (409 wounded). The docks are almost unscathed, despite being the main target.
575 miles West of the Seychelles, German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer attacks British steamer Canadian Cruiser. Canadian Cruiser manages to radio distress signals (which are received by British cruiser HMS Glasgow) before she is sunk and the crew taken prisoner.
British antisubmarine trawler HMT Lincoln City shoots down a German bomber but is then bombed and sunk at Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (8 killed).
British aircraft carrier HMS Formidable is stuck in the Red Sea due to closure of the Suez Canal by German mines. She launches 7 Albacore aircraft to dive bomb the harbour at Massawa, Eritrea, but they do little damage.
16 miles North of Chebba, Tunisia, British submarine HMS Ursula attacks an Italian convoy from Trapani on the toe of Italy to Tripoli, Libya, damaging Italian steamer Sabbia. Italian torpedo boat Montanari counterattacks damaging HMS Ursula and then escorts steamer Sabbia to Tripoli, arriving February 24.