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• RMS Queen Mary arrived at Sydney, Australia. ww2dbase [Queen Mary | Sydney | CPC]

• Before dawn, British cruiser HMS Suffolk shelled the German-controlled airfield of Sola at Stavanger, Norway. Suffolk's Walrus seaplane, used to drop flares over the airfield, was shot down early in the bombardment, thus the shelling was largely inaccurate and destroyed only 4 aircraft. After sunrise, Suffolk was repeated attacked by German aircraft. She was hit twice and heavily damaged, and was placed out of action until Feb 1941. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the British War Cabinet approved direct troop landings at Trondheim, Norway (rather than the landing done at Narvik in which troops were dropped off at undefended beaches far away). The landing was to be supported by simultaneous landings at Namsos in the north and Åndalsnes in the south. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | Sola, Stavanger | CPC]

• German submarine U-13 torpedoed and sank British steamer Swainby 25 miles north of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom at 1733 hours. 38 survivors reached Norwick Bay in the Shetland Islands on lifeboats. ww2dbase [Shetland Islands, Scotland | CPC]

• Italian "Grado" naval infantry battalion landed at Sibenik, Croatia, Yugoslavia. ww2dbase [Sibenik, Croatia | CPC]

17 Apr 1940 Interactive Map