forces of the 5th Division and 18th Division (some 23,000 men) begin to cross the Johor Strait and attack the Australian 22nd Brigade (some 3,000 men) at Singapore. Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war. António Óscar Carmona is elected president of Portugal. Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States. February 9 – The ocean liner catches fire while being converted into the troopship USS Lafayette (AP-53) for WWII at Pier 88 in New York City; she capsizes early the following morning. February 11–13 – WWII: Operation Cerberus: A Kriegsmarine (German navy) squadron comprising the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and their escort, dash from Brest through the English Channel to German ports; the British fail to sink any of them. February 14–18 – Battle of Bilin River: Indian forces of the 17th Division under General John Snyth are ordered to halt the Japanese advance but are outflanked and retreat to the Sittang River. February 14 – WWII: Battle of Palembang: Japanese paratroopers (240 men) are dropped near Palembang, and capture the oil refinery complex undamaged. Dutch forces counter-attack and manage to retake the complex but take heavy losses. A planned demolition fails to do any serious damage to the refinery, but the oil stores are set ablaze. The , Scottish steamship, is bombed and sunk by Japanese planes while evacuating nurses and wounded servicemen from Singapore. Rescue boats with many survivors reach Bangka Island. February 15 – WWII: Fall of Singapore: Commonwealth forces under General Arthur Percival surrender to the Japanese 25th Army. About 80,000 British, Indian, Australian, and local troops become prisoners of war, joining the 50,000 soldiers taken in the Malayan campaign. February 16 – WWII: Bangka Island Massacre: Japanese soldiers machine-gun 22 Australian Army nurses and 60 Australian and British soldiers and crew who have survived the sinking of SS Vyner Brooke. February 18 – WWII: Japanese occupation of Singapore: Sook Ching – Japanese forces begin the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among Chinese Singaporeans. More than 200 American sailors die in Newfoundland when runs aground near Chambers Cove and runs aground at Lawn Point. February 19 – WWII: Bombing of Darwin: The Japanese 1st Air Fleet under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo bombs Darwin, Australia. This force comprises the aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and Sōryū and a powerful force