British destroyer Glowworm sinks after ramming the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper

April 8
Sea War, North Sea
The British destroyer Glowworm intercepts part of the German invasion fleet bound for Norway. It is sunk after ramming the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, but a British submarine then sinks the transport Rio de Janiero. However, Royal Navy vessels deployed in the North Sea have not received sufficient information about the German invading force and are unable to intercept it.

April 9
Western Front, Norway/Denmark
A German invasion force, including surface ships, U-boats, and 1000 aircraft, attacks Denmark and Norway. Denmark is overrun immediately.

The first ever airborne assault is made on Oslo and Stavanger airports in Norway, while ships land troops at six locations. Norway's six divisions have no tanks or effective artillery, while its coastal defenses and navy are generally inferior.

However, in Oslo Fiord, shore guns sink the German cruiser Blücher, claiming 1600 lives. This enables King Haakon to escape northward with his government. The British battlecruiser Rodney engages the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, damaging the latter. The cruiser Karlsruhe is later sunk off Kristiansand by a British submarine.

April 10-13
Sea War, Norway
Five British destroyers launch a surprise attack on 10 German destroyers and shore batteries to the west of Narvik. During short and confused engagements each side loses two destroyers, while eight German merchant vessels and an ammunition carrier are also sunk. The cruiser Königsberg becomes the first vessel to be sunk by dive-bombing during a British air attack on Bergen.

Subsequent air attacks on the Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, and Admiral Hipper by the British on the 12th fail. A British battleship and nine destroyers succeed in sinking eight German destroyers, plus a U-boat, by aerial attack in the Second Battle of Narvik on April 13.

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