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• German submarine U-65 sank British ship Kohinur 200 miles southwest of Sierra Leone at 1511 hours; 17 were killed. As Norwegian tanker Havbør stopped to pick up the 68 survivors, U-65 attacked her with a torpedo at 1816 hours, igniting her cargo of 11,500 tons of cruide oil, killing 28 of her crew and 31 survivors of Kohinur. Only 36 from Kohinur and 4 from Havbør would ultimately survive. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Vice Admiral Teruhisa Komatsu succeeded Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya as the commanding officer of the Ryojun Military Port (previously known as Port Arthur; now Lushunkou, Liaoning Province, China), Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China. ww2dbase [Ryojun Guard District | Lushunkou, Liaoning | CPC]

• A convoy of 5 transports, escorted by British warships, departed from Alexandra, Egypt for Pireaus, Greece, carrying 4,230 troops, 700 trucks, gasoline, and other supplies. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | Alexandria | CPC]

• Jean Masson spoke on radio, asking the youth and the general population of France to assist the Secours National as the nation prepared for winter. ww2dbase [CPC]

• A heavy British air raid on Hamburg, Germany caused extensive damage. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Hamburg | TH]

• Akagi was assigned as special duty ship in Yokosuka Naval District, Japan. ww2dbase [Akagi | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]
• Isoroku Yamamoto was promoted to the rank of admiral. ww2dbase [Isoroku Yamamoto | CPC]
• Hiroaki Abe became the commanding officer of Japanese Navy Destroyer Squadron 6. ww2dbase [Hiroaki Abe | CPC]
• Tenryu began a period of modernization, replacing her coal boilers and receiving better anti-aircraft weaponry. Captain Yuji Takahishi was named her new commanding officer. ww2dbase [Tenryu | CPC]
• Captain Tamotsu Takama was named the commanding officer of Nachi. ww2dbase [Nachi | CPC]
• Vice Admiral Tsunejiro Ishii was made the commanding officer of Maizuru Naval Arsenal in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Maizuru Naval Arsenal | Maizuru, Kyoto | CPC]
• Captain Tamotsu Furukawa was made the commanding officer of Kamoi. The ship was officially re-rated as a flying boat tender on this date. ww2dbase [Kamoi | CPC]
• Katori was made the flagship of Vice Admiral Mitsumi Shimizu of Japanese Sixth Fleet. ww2dbase [Katori | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• Rear Admiral Shigeki Ando was named the chief of staff of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea. ww2dbase [Chinkai Guard District | Chinkai, Gyeongsangnam | CPC]
• The Japanese Navy Genzan Air Group was established at Genzan Airfield, Japanese-occupied Korea. The unit began its service as a part of the Second Air Fleet, with 33 G3M1 bombers and 25 A5M4 fighters. ww2dbase [Genzan Airfield | Genzan, Hamgyongnam | CPC]

• The Warsaw ghetto in Poland was sealed from the rest of the city, enclosing 400,000 Jews inside. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Warsaw | TH]

• British tug HMS Guardsman hit a mine and sank in the mouth of the Thames Estuary, England, United Kingdom, killing 2. ww2dbase [England | CPC]
• Radio Inconnue, a black radio station operated by the propaganda section (S01) of SOE, began broadcasting from Britain, though claiming to be from Toulouse. ww2dbase [Special Operations Executive | CPC]

15 Nov 1940 Interactive Map