18-Nov-39: IRA Terrorists Explode Bombs in London’s Piccadilly Circus; German Magnetic Mines Claim Five Ships, Including Dutch Ocean Liner
Today is 18-Nov-1939, the 49th day of World War II; there are 2,114 days left in the conflict.
Irish Republican Army terrorists explode four small bombs outside businesses in London’s Piccadilly Circus. No deaths or injuries are reported.
German Luftwaffe aircraft drop magnetic mines via parachute into British waters for the first time since the war began. Off the eastern coast, four merchant ships are sunk almost immediately. In the North Sea, the mines manage to sink the Dutch ocean liner Simon Bolivar; out of 400 passengers and crew members on board, 86 are killed. Outrage is recorded in the Netherlands; the Dutch claim that the liner was being operated in a major traffic lane and that international law requires notification of any mine-laying activity in the area.